International Women’s Day 2024 was themed around ‘inspiring inclusion and innovation’. Reflecting these topics, we convened a panel discussion featuring some of the region’s top women-led innovators at the BBC Central Square’s Innovation Lounge on the topic of ‘Who’s afraid of innovation?’
Award-winning filmmaker Amy Daniel, Chief Executive of Hijinx Sarah Horner, CEO of edge21 studio Rebecca Hardy and founder of Elemental Health Angela McMillan joined to share their thoughts and experiences around Research, Development and Innovation (R,D & I) in the creative and media sectors.
Here are my top takeaways from the panel discussion:
1. Forget about the stereotypes
‘Innovation’ can tend to be one of those words – a bit like ‘entrepreneur’ or ‘academic’ – that people can feel a bit trepidatious of using to refer to themselves. It’s also a word that can be weighed down with expectations around gender and identity. For example, we might hear the word ‘innovator’ and immediately think of the classic ‘male inventor trope’, or else the playboy billionaire trying to build a space rocket. But we don’t have to look or act a certain way to justify exploring and developing our good ideas.
2. Don’t think you have to have all the answers
Effective innovation is about having the confidence to test and explore potential solutions to a problem or challenge area, and actively learning from your research. It’s not about knowing all the answers before you begin your project, and you do not have to be an ‘expert’ to be an innovator. Research indicates that women are far more likely than men to experience imposter syndrome and be held back by perceived lack of credentials, expertise or status. But good research and development hinges on the ability to remain open to new observations, testing and learning and you go, so don’t let the fear of what you don’t know hold you back from all of the brilliant things you could be finding out.
3. Fresh, diverse and authentic perspectives are essential
It doesn’t matter who are you, you aren’t being as effective as you could be if you’re not being yourself. In today’s world it’s becoming more vital than ever that we embrace new voices and ideas – particularly those from groups that have traditionally been excluded from prevailing power structures – as we seek solutions to compound and complex challenges. Your authenticity, experiences and unique point of view is what gives you your edge as an innovator, enabling you to see opportunities and potential solutions that others might not be able to. So embrace that sense of self as your innovation superpower.
4. Two heads are better than one.
Don’t let gaps in your knowledge put you off engaging in innovation. If you have a great idea for a new solution or challenge, but aren’t sure how to bring it to reality and make it happen, find someone with complementary skills and experiences to your own. We know that creative sector innovation is driven by collaboration across different disciplines and areas of expertise. That’s why Creative Cardiff run a packed programme of informal networking events which are the perfect place to start meeting your potential future collaborators and building new, reciprocal partnerships. Find out more about what’s coming up by checking out our events page.
5. Put your ring in the hat for funding
Whilst we take it for granted that sectors such as engineering and bioscience rely on time and resources for research and development (R&D) of new products and services, this has traditionally been less well provisioned in the creative industries. Also, good R&D takes time, and time costs money, which canme make R&D inaccessible for the majority of sector workers. That’s where initiatives like Media Cymru’s Innovation Pipeline seed fund create valuable opportunities for you to start your journey as a creative industries innovator. Creative freelancers and businesses in the Cardiff Capital Region and across Wales can apply for up for £10,000 of grant funding to R&D ideas for new products, services and experiences in the media sector.
Applications for Media Cymru’s Seed Fund close on Monday 8 April. Find out more here about Seed Fund and apply.
Our next Creative Cuppa event
Creative Cardiff is hosting the next Creative Cuppa event on Friday 19 April 14:00 at Tramshed Tech on the theme of ‘Bilingual communications’ with Senior Digital Content Manager, Laura Truelove. Find out more and book now.
