Interpretative innovation, proximity and distance

The green transition in health and care services relies on innovation, collaboration and social interaction. Interpretative innovation is a continuous, open-ended process driven by shared ideas, facilitated by Communities of Practice (CoPs). These groups foster dialogue, brainstorming and creative initiatives to promote environmentally sustainable practices. Proximity and distance are key concepts for innovation. Proximity builds trust and knowledge sharing, while distance introduces diverse perspectives and encourages new ideas. Social proximity is vital for exchanging tacit knowledge embedded in practices and intuition. CoPs enable staff to understand and adapt practices for green transition. Open discussions within CoPs promote collaborative ideation, leading to new practices and processes that enhance environmental protection and deepen the collective understanding of the green transition's importance.

The green transition in health and care services requires innovation, people's innovativeness and innovative practices. Interpretative innovation is a fragmented, continuous and open-ended process, strongly based on social interaction. The metaphor of the hostess or host at a cocktail party illustrates the interpretative stage of the innovation process. This stage highlights the role of members of the Community of Practice in facilitating conversations, forward-looking interventions and creative initiatives and in steering ideation in a positive direction.

Proximity and distance

Proximity and distance are crucial concepts in this context. While proximity between actors (for example, a person from the same unit or industry) can facilitate knowledge sharing and trust-based relationships, it can also lead to a lack of openness and flexibility, known as 'lock-in.' On the other hand, distance between actors (for example, staff from different units of the organisation) can facilitate the generation of new ideas by combining diverse bodies of knowledge and perspectives.

Social proximity

Social proximity is particularly important for the exchange of tacit knowledge. Tacit knowledge is deeply embedded in organisational practices and often manifests itself as insights and intuitions. However, innovation often requires bridging distances and interacting with diverse groups to overcome constraints and enhance creative thinking. The continuous and open-ended nature of interpretative innovation implies that change is a continuous process of modifications in work processes and social practices.

Communities of Practice, as transformational agents of change towards the green transition, play a vital role in managing and facilitating this process by making visible sequences of workflows around green transition, revealing recurring patterns, and helping other staff members to re-interpret and re-label these patterns. The Community of Practice thus plays the role of facilitator in joint brainstorming and development situations where environmental policies and practices are developed and adapted to health and care services. At a practical level, this means that the Community of Practice brings environmental chains to the fore, i.e. it makes visible event chains that work well and event chains that need to be changed. By making visible concrete events that are relevant to everyday life, other staff are helped to understand how they can contribute to more environmentally friendly practices. Members of the Community of Practice, together with other staff, structure and develop work practices that promote environmental awareness and sustainable solutions.

In such a process, it is essential that environmental issues are discussed openly and that all parties can contribute to the idea generation and development process. This can lead to new practices and habits that not only improve environmental protection but also create a deeper understanding within the community of the importance and potential of the environment.

Further information:

Lester, R., & Piore, M. (2004). Innovation: The missing dimension. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. 

Pässilä, A., Oikarinen, T., Parjanen, S., & Harmaakorpi, V. (2013). Interpretative dimension of user‐driven service innovation: Forum Theatre in facilitating renewal in Finnish public health care. Baltic Journal of Management, 8(2), 166-182. https://doi.org/10.1108/17465261311310009

Parjanen, S., Melkas, H., & Uotila, T. (2011). Distances, knowledge brokerage and absorptive capacity in enhancing regional innovativeness: A qualitative case study of Lahti Region, Finland. European Planning Studies, 19(6), 921–948. https://doi.org/10.1080/09654313.2011.568804