Workforce Innovation Research Articles

Exploring Skills and Competencies for Innovators

Innovative and creative organizations build capacity by extending “thinking outside of the box” to literally “breaking the box.” In an effort to select the most qualified personnel, these firms often strive to bridge workforce gaps by redefining competency. Through a scoping review of workplace skills, this paper leverages innovation theory by considering Schumpeter’s (1939) economic framework and Prahalad and Hamel’s (1990) competencies associated with the firm. This paper explores empirical studies that inform workplace innovation to respond to the review question, “How do skills and competencies help build innovator capabilities within the organization?” Findings suggest a relationship between innovator competencies, such as cognitive style, technical knowledge, managing change, creativity, and innovation, innovative capabilities. Implications for management include opportunities to build innovation as a competency to address succession planning needs. Future research should focus on quantifying innovator competencies that position organizations to build a more strategic and innovative workforce.

Customized employment: A review of the literature

BACKGROUND: Customized employment (CE) is a strategy that has shown promise in improving poor employment outcome for individuals with disabilities. The term customized employment was first used in 2001 and originated from efforts by the Department of Labor, Office of Disability Employment Policy to provide access to One-Stop centers and improve employment outcomes for people with disabilities. More recently, the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act of 2014 (WIOA) contained a number of provisions and modifications to the Rehabilitation Act that more formally recognized CE as service delivery option. Specifically, WIOA modified the definition of supported employment to include CE and provided a formal definition in the statute. Given its recognition at the federal policy level, it is increasingly important to ensure that practitioners and adult service systems are implementing evidence-based practices associated with CE service delivery. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this review, therefore, is to examine the existing literature to identify the underlying conceptual and empirical basis for CE and to make recommendations for future research. CONCLUSIONS: Findings from this review indicate that CE is contributing to positive integrated employment outcomes for individuals with disabilities. More research is needed to replicate, validate, and establish the evidence base for CE.

The origin and implementation of the Broadening Experiences in Scientific Training programs: an NIH common fund initiative.

Recent national reports and commentaries on the current status and needs of the U.S. biomedical research workforce have highlighted the limited career development opportunities for predoctoral and postdoctoral trainees in academia, yet little attention is paid to preparation for career pathways outside of the traditional faculty path. Recognizing this issue, in 2013, the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) Common Fund issued a request for application titled "NIH Director's Biomedical Research Workforce Innovation Award: Broadening Experiences in Scientific Training (BEST)." These 5-yr 1-time grants, awarded to 17 single or partnering institutions, were designed to develop sustainable approaches to broaden graduate and postgraduate training, aimed at creating training programs that reflect the range of career options that trainees may ultimately pursue. These institutions have formed a consortium in order to work together to develop, evaluate, share, and disseminate best practices and challenges. This is a first report on the early experiences of the consortium and the scope of participating BEST programs. In this report, we describe the state of the U.S. biomedical workforce and development of the BEST award, variations of programmatic approaches to assist with program design without BEST funding, and novel approaches to engage faculty in career development programs. To test the effectiveness of these BEST programs, external evaluators will assess their outcomes not only over the 5 yr grant period but also for an additional 10 yr beyond award completion.

Emigration of Innovative Workforce in the Light of Patent Data

The study uses patent data statistics from World Intellectual Property Database (WIPO) to reveal emigration of innovative workforce issue which has adverse effects on the economies of origin countries. Statistical data indicate that emigration of innovative workforce is not only a problem for developing countries but also it is a problem for developed nations as well. The study directly refers to the mobility of inventors since it uses the patent data statistics. Elimination of spillover effects that might be obtained by the new inventions from a Schumpeterian point of view, loss of the most important segment of human capital and characteristics of emigrant receiving and sending countries are also discussed in the study. To prevent emigration of high skilled workforce particularly the inventors, the study discusses the effects of active labor market policies as a measure. The study therefore aims to stress the importance of retaining innovative workforce and attract as many as possible to improve potential of economy by using data analysis and literature review methods.

Access funding assistance to help connect students with job opportunities

Students want their college degree to help them land meaningful employment opportunities. This month's funder cares deeply about preparing students for employment and connecting them to jobs, and stands behind that by providing support to innovative workforce preparation programs.

The role of hematologists in a changing United States health care system

AbstractMajor and ongoing changes in health care financing and delivery in the United States have altered opportunities and incentives for new physicians to specialize in nonmalignant hematology. At the same time, effective clinical tools and strategies continue to rapidly emerge. Consequently, there is an imperative to foster workforce innovation to ensure sustainable professional roles for hematologists, reliable patient access to optimal hematology expertise, and optimal patient outcomes. The American Society of Hematology is building a collection of case studies to guide the creation of institutionally supported systems-based clinical hematologist positions that predominantly focus on nonmalignant hematology. These roles offer a mix of guidance regarding patient management and the appropriate use and stewardship of clinical resources, as well as development of new testing procedures and protocols.

Transformation by Design

The evolution of care delivery from an acute care and inpatient standard to the outpatient setting and health promotion model is generating the need for innovative workforce and infrastructure adjustments to meet the new paradigm of population health management. Successful transformation of the nursing workforce necessitates a positive style of thinking that addresses rational concerns during times of difficult transition. Nurse leaders are called to recognize and appreciate the strengths of the nursing workforce by involving them in the course of change through collaboration, planning, and discussion. One unique way to plan and develop new care delivery models is to adopt the framework used in health facility planning and design for new services, units, or hospitals. This framework is flexible and can be adjusted easily to meet the objectives of a small nursing workforce innovation project or expanded to encompass the needs of a large-scale hospital transformation. Structured questioning further helps the team to identify barriers to care and allows for the development of new concepts that are objective and in accord with evidence-based practice and data. This article explores the advantages and disadvantages of implementing innovative workforce redesign and workforce reduction strategies.

Bringing Recovery to Practice: Improving Provider Competencies and Promoting Positive Outcomes.

The concept of "recovery" in the context of treating mental illness-including serious mental illness-has been recognized as a central guiding principle for the orientation of behavioral health systems, including the delivery of effective treatment and services, and the development of practices, policies, and systems change. As the adoption of recovery-oriented care expands, there is a need to prepare the mental health and addictions workforce with recovery-based clinical skills and practice delivery approaches. In response, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) created an innovative workforce collaborative to increase clinician skills to deliver evidence-based, recovery-oriented treatment, services, and supports. This column describes that collaborative-the Recovery to Practice project.

A social network analysis of South Central Kansas Workforce Innovations in Regional Economic Development

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to evaluate the composition and strengths/weaknesses and major actors of a coalition of regional economic leaders in the composites participating in the Workforce Innovations in Regional Economic Development (WIRED) project aimed at supporting high-skilled and high-wage careers. Design/methodology/approach – Social network analysis (SNA) was used to assess south-central (SC) Kansas WIRED coalition (n = 81) based on three surveys question: Who do you know? Who do you communicate with? and Who do you collaborate with? All the surveys were administered online in two waves. Findings – SC Kansas WIRED network has a strong core, well-defined periphery and is immune to key actor losses, which suggests that they are well developed and sustainable. The well-defined periphery positions the collaborative to reach out to resources outside of the network and innovation. Practical implications – SC Kansas WIRED Leadership team used the SNA to identify opportunities for further collaboration and reach out to individuals and groups who are not engaged well with others but are positioned well for sparking innovation and bringing resources to the region. Originality/value – There are few analytic resources to empirically examine coalitions/collaboratives and the human and economic resources embedded in them. The results of this study and the feedback from SC Kansas WIRED Leadership team suggests that SNA was very valuable in identifying areas for action or improvement of the SC Kansas WIRED collaborative and can be utilized for effective decision-making.

De facto language policy in legislation defining adult basic education in the United States

This paper investigates the impact of differing interpretation of federal education policy in three different states. The policy, the Workforce Investment Act Title II, has defined the services provided for adult English language learners (ELLs) enrolled in Adult Basic Education programs in the United States since it was passed in 1998. At the time the Act was legislated, ELL success in school and work did not depend on their capacity to use online technology; consequently, WIA II addressed neither limitations nor support for digital literacy instruction. This paper describes how over time this created a lack of fit between the policy and an increasingly technological reality. This misalignment resulted in de facto language policy that limited learner access to English language instruction differently in each of the states, at times negatively impacting ELL ability to prepare for full participation in civic and economic life in the US. The paper includes a discussion about key changes evident in new legislation, the Workforce Innovation and Opportunities Act passed in 2014, which supplants WIA II, and how it may mitigate the issue of inadequate digital literacy support for English language learners.

Organization’s Performance, Customer Value and the Functional Capabilities of Information Systems

This study investigates how the functional capabilities of information systems, such as workforce management, innovation, and monitoring, affect the creation of customer value that leads to organizational performance. A cross-sectional field study (i.e., survey questionnaire) was conducted with 104 small- and medium-sized enterprises in the service industry in Malaysia. Results from the study suggest that information systems functional capabilities do influence the creation of customer value and ultimately organizational performance.

Artists and Higher Education Partnerships: A Living Enquiry

In this article our central argument is that we should be promoting creative education and that this is a necessity, not an option. How creative education is applied by and to different individuals, groups of people, in different communities, institutions and societies, historically and culturally, is dependent on how the term ‘creativity’ is grounded, politicised, and practised. We are told that we need new thinking in the current world crises of economics and global environmental concerns. We are also told that in education, a new critically reflexive form of creativity is in order to address the task of the age of reconciling the need for a stable, safe, ethical and empathetic world within which a productive, adaptive and innovative workforce can operate. In this article we make a case and provide evidence from several projects for how artists-in-residence transform higher education and provide teachers and learners an excellent resource for exploring a creative paradigm to guide pedagogic practices.

Organizational Climate Factors of Successful and Not Successful Implementations of Workforce Innovations in Voluntary Child Welfare Agencies

This study advances research on implementing innovations in child welfare organizations, confirming the association between a positive organizational climate and successful change initiative implementation. Administrators and child welfare workers from six agencies were surveyed using independent samples t-and OLS regressions. The organizational climate dimensions found significant were organization, job and role, indicating the three agencies that fully implemented a change initiative enjoyed a more positive organizational climate. The organization dimension was also significant for administrators, indicating a more positive climate perception than workers. Supervisor dimension was not significant, indicating no association whether or not the change initiative was implemented.

The economy as a driver of change in the Great Lakes–St. Lawrence River basin

The economic capacity of the Great Lakes–St. Lawrence River basin rivals the largest industrialized economies in the world today. Abundant natural resources, an efficient transportation system, binational economic integration through a complex network of supply chains, and a world-class system of higher education have all helped the region generate considerable wealth. Despite its historic success, the region's economy is undergoing a transition. The service sector continues to account for a growing proportion of regional employment and economic activity while manufacturing accounts for a declining share of the economy. As was the case historically, the region's natural endowments, especially the Great Lakes themselves, continue to be important economic engines. However, certain sectors such as agriculture, heavy industry, and trans-oceanic shipping have negatively impacted the health of the Great Lakes while other sectors such as tourism and sport fishing impact the lakes very little but are directly reliant on Great Lakes ecological integrity. To achieve a vibrant and sustainable economic future, investments must be made in: education, infrastructure, new high-growth manufacturing, and environmental restoration. Such investments will help the region to attract and retain a young, talented, and innovative workforce to be competitive in emerging global markets. These investments are also necessary to bolster the region's exports, an important component of long-term economic vitality. We used a scenario building approach to illustrate potential economic futures for the region. The scenarios can aid in planning and decision-making as Great Lakes communities and governments strive to lead the region toward a desirable economic future.

STEM Education and Sustainable Growth in Regions: Lessons Learned from the U.S. WIRED Program Evaluation

It is recent that STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) education emerged as a great concern of the U.S. policy makers in terms of securing national and regional competitiveness. However, few attempts to embrace STEM education as a source for sustainable re- gional growth have been made mainly due to methodological challenges. This paper investigates the role of STEM education in achieving sustainable economic growth. For the purpose of the paper, a U.S. federal workforce development program named Workforce Innovation in Regional Economic Development (WIRED) in Southeastern Virginia that was implemented between 2007 and 2010 is selected and evaluated qualitatively. By identifying three themes as a result of three-stage coding methods, the evaluation results call for particular attention of local policy makers and key stakeholders to STEM education as a source of sustainable long-term economic growth in regions.

Workforce Development Innovations with Direct Care Workers: Better Jobs, Better Services, Better Business.

This study describes findings from a national search to identify innovative workforce practices designed to improve the lives of direct care workers serving individuals with mental health and substance use conditions, while simultaneously improving client care, and the business vitality of the employer. The search process, conducted by The Annapolis Coalition on the Behavioral Health Workforce, resulted in the selection of five programs to receive the Pacesetter Award from among 51 nominations received. Awardees understood the value of investing in direct care workers, who constitute an essential, but often overlooked, group within the behavioral health workforce. A review of these innovations yielded six cross-cutting principles that should inform future workforce efforts (a) supporting educational and career development (b) increasing wages and benefits

Who will establish a proper data model for family medicine and primary care?

The policy brief in this issue[1][1] used recent data concerning published accounts of primary care workforce innovations to contrast the way questions were formulated and the grants and interventions designed for National Institutes of Health (NIH)–funded studies versus studies based on routine

Human Capital and New Product Development Performance Efficiency- The Mediating Role of Organizational Learning Capability

Intellectual framework of today's organizations is full of pointing out of the information and participation of expert and innovative workforce instead of operational workforce. In this space, improving performance and sustaining competitive advantage are fundamental concerns for managers. Innovation and organizational learning are the best important bases for improving performance and obtaining competitive advantage. Therefore, this research wants to investigate and model the relationship between human capital (HC) and new product development performance (NPDP) efficiency with regard to the mediating role of organizational learning capability (OLC). Automobile industry in Iran is elected as statistical society. In this study, results are obtained by structural equations and path model. Also for better description of results, we use other deducible statistic such as binamial test and one-Sample Kolmogorov-Smirnov Test. The results of this study bode that human capital can improve NPDP efficiency by organizational learning capability. Also the provided model in this research is supported by data.

A Typology of Primary Care Workforce Innovations in the United States Since 2000

Innovative workforce models are being developed and implemented to meet the changing demands of primary care. A literature review was conducted to construct a typology of workforce models used by primary care practices. Ovid Medline, CINAHL, and PsycInfo were used to identify published descriptions of the primary care workforce that deviated from what would be expected in the typical practice in the year 2000. Expert consultants identified additional articles that would not show up in a regular computerized search. Full texts of relevant articles were read and matrices for sorting articles were developed. Each article was reviewed and assigned to one of 18 cells in the matrices. Articles within each cell were then read again to identify patterns and develop an understanding of the full spectrum of workforce innovation within each category. This synthesis led to the development of a typology of workforce innovations represented in the literature. Many workforce innovations added personnel to existing practices, whereas others sought to retrain existing personnel or even develop roles outside the traditional practice. Most of these sought to minimize the impact on the existing practice roles and functions, particularly that of physicians. The synthesis also identified recent innovations which attempted to fundamentally transform the existing practice, with transformation being defined as a change in practice members' governing variables or values in regard to their workforce role. Most conceptualizations of the primary care workforce described in the literature do not reflect the level of innovation needed to meet the needs of the burgeoning numbers of patients with complex health issues, the necessity for roles and identities of physicians to change, and the call for fundamentally redesigned practices. However, we identified 5 key workforce innovation concepts that emerged from the literature: team care, population focus, additional resource support, creating workforce connections, and role change.

Health workforce policy and industrial relations in Australia: ministerial insights into challenges and opportunities for reform.

Since the Productivity Commission released its research report Australia's Health Workforce in 2005, there has been a significant increase in government funding and policy capacity aimed at health workforce reform and innovation in Australia. This research paper presents the results of semistructured interviews with three key stakeholders in health policy formation in Australia: (1) The Honourable Lindsay Tanner, former Federal Minister for Finance and therefore 100% shareholder of Medibank Private on behalf of the Commonwealth; (2) The Honourable Daniel Andrews, former Victorian Minister for Health and current Victorian Opposition Leader; and (3) The Honourable Jim McGinty, former Minister for Health and Attorney General of Western Australia and current inaugural Chair of Health Workforce Australia. The paper examines key issues they identified in relation to health workforce policy in Australia, particularly where it intersects with industrial relations, and conducts a comparative analysis between their responses and theoretical methodologies of policy formation as a means of informing a reform process.