Employee-driven Innovation
Definition
Employee-driven Innovation is a structured approach to unlocking the creative potential of employees across all levels of an organization. Rather than relying solely on top-down strategies, this method empowers individuals closest to daily operations, customers, and products to identify problems, generate solutions, and test new ideas.
This type of innovation builds on trust, autonomy, and the belief that employees are not just executors of change but creators of it. Organizations that enable employee-driven innovation often see improved engagement, stronger culture, and faster learning.
Initiatives such as Innovation Challenges, open ideation campaigns, and cross-functional collaboration formats help bring this model to life. They create platforms for employees to share ideas, experiment safely, and influence the direction of innovation programs.
Successful employee-driven innovation also requires support systems like idea management platforms, mentoring structures, and validation frameworks. Teams need time, guidance, and recognition to move from idea to impact. When supported, this grassroots innovation can generate high-value solutions, foster a culture of experimentation, and build resilience.
Relevant links and use cases
- Nosco Consultancy – enabling bottom-up innovation through culture, capability building, and structured programs
- Ørsted Use Case – example of employee-driven innovation in a large-scale global organization
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Related concepts
Ideation
Ideation is the creative process of conceiving and shaping new ideas. It includes everything from the first thought or inspiration to the formulation of an idea. In the context of an innovation challenge, it refers to the initial phase in which ideas are submitted online and…
Idea management
Idea management is the structured process of managing ideas from ideation through evaluation and refinement to selection. Many companies use an idea management platform to support this process (the Nosco platform is an example of this).
Call for ideas
A call for ideas is an announcement used when an organization or person looks for ideas on a specific topic or project. In the field of innovation, it is used to describe the types of ideas welcome to an innovation challenge…
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