Institute for Innovation

About the ACT-IAC Institute for Innovation

The ACT-IAC Institute for Innovation provides a place for government and industry innovators to come together to address high-priority challenges and develop game-changing ideas.

Mission: Enable and Accelerate innovation in government through collaboration with, connections to, and the work of innovators in the innovation ecosystem.
Vision: Innovative, adaptive, world-class government missions that deliver for the public
Purpose: Accelerate governments’ ability and opportunities to be innovative; and catalyze and guide the adoption of innovation.
Objective: Be recognized by government, industry and non-members as a catalyst and nexus for “doing innovation” in government

Through our work, the Institute:

Connects: Bring people and ideas together via thought leadership, convenings, info sharing and create and leverage new and existing partnerships to inject new thinking, perspectives, and solutions to government challenges.
Enables: Address the enablers for being innovative and leveraging innovation: People (develop workforce capabilities via education and information sharing), Policy (assess and recommend policy actions; define and promote pathways to use or expand existing authorities and policy-related guidance); Process (expand tools and models to rapidly identify, cultivate, and acquire innovation); Governance, Planning, and Resources (develop, curate and/or integrate the planning tools and resources that stimulate innovative, agility and speed in government).
Practices: Develop innovative solutions through projects that accelerate government impact and changes to mission or management and produce practice tools and guides for government adoption and use.
Adopts: Incubate new ideas, initiatives, relationships, and partnerships; Promote the use of ACT-IAC developed innovative tools, insights, and solutions broadly to advance the “state of the practice” and transition for Government use.

The work of the Institute directly relates to activities in the innovation cycle:

InnOvation News

Want to get the latest news about innovation in the government/industry community? Click here to read past editions of our newsletter - InnOvation News.

Ways for Innovators to Connect

Want to connect, learn, and share your innovation challenges and successes with other innovators? Join the Innovators Ecosystem Community LinkedIn Group and using hashtags #GovInnovators and #GovInnovations.

For more information or to get involved in the Institute for Innovation, contact Carol Miller at [email protected] or Nancy Delanoche.

History

The Institute for Innovation was established as a venue for public-private collaboration explore, evaluate, develop and adopt innovative practices and technologies from government industry. Our common objective is to accelerate the pace of change and continually enhance the government's ability to deliver results for the public. The Institute provides a place for thought leaders from government, industry and others who create and enable new ideas and solutions to connect, enable, practice and adopt innovative responses to high priority challenges.

The need for the Institute was first identified in 2010 when the Department of Veterans Affairs asked ACT-IAC for advice on how to transition a major legacy health care system (VistA) into the 21st century. In response, a group of ACT-IAC members produced a strategy that is still in use today. Later that same year, the Office of Management and Budget asked ACT-IAC for recommendations on how to improve the sustainability of Federal financial information systems. Both projects provided valuable input for government decision makers and, more importantly, demonstrated the need for a forum to address significant, game-changing issues that could transform the way government operates. ACT-IAC subsequently established the Institute for Innovation with the mission to:

Provide an objective and non-partisan forum for strategic thought leadership to advance government missions through the innovative application and management of information technology.

Institute projects are selected based on their impact on government and industry, scale and timeliness, and the ability of the Institute to provide a unique perspective and expertise. In 2014, the Institute launched “Igniting Innovation” – an annual showcase and awards program to identify, recognize, and promote innovative products and services from government and industry. Since 2021, the awards program has evolved to a multi-day Spring event called the Emerging Technology & Innovation Conference where innovative techniques are recognized in a much larger venue.

The Institute is supported by funding provided by IAC member companies. Sponsor representatives, ACT-IAC leaders, and government advisors form the Innovators Circle that oversees the activities of the Institute. ACT-IAC thanks all of them for making the work of the Institute possible. For more information about Institute membership, click here.

Cross Boundary Partnerships

The Institute for Innovation coordinates with other ACT-IAC programs to promote innovation including:

integrating innovation into ACT-IAC's major events including Imagine Nation ELC and Emerging Technology and Innovation
coordinating with ACT-IAC's Communities of Interest to include innovation in their projects
incorporating innovation in ACT-IAC's professional development programs

Testimonials

"A Once in a Lifetime Opportunity

After years of participating in the Acquisition COI and leading the ACT-IAC Acquisition Excellence partnership between government and industry, I seized the opportunity to join the Institute for Innovation. I created and led the project for the Institute that became the "Periodic Table of Acquisition Innovations" working closely with the Office of Federal Procurement Policy and the Department of Homeland Security to create this knowledge management resource that continues to light the way for acquisition innovators today. The PTAI is referenced hundreds of times per month by acquisition teams in search of better, faster, and cheaper procurements under the full range of authorities to federal buyers. It provides descriptions and artifacts for practitioners to consider tailoring to achieve desired mission outcomes. It is being regularly updated to maintain its currency and relevance as technology and business models evolve.

The Institute gives you the opportunity to create similar lasting improvements for the federal acquisition workforce to succeed in the challenging missions that they serve on behalf of the nation's economic and national security.

As part of the ACT-IAC Institute for Innovation, you can help the government navigate the accelerating avalanche of the generative economy."

-Timothy W. Cooke, PhD, CEO and Owner, ASI Government LLC