As a group, grant recipients in ASAE Foundation’s five-year-old Innovation Grants Program (IGP) represent a diverse set of organizations seeking to address a range of association needs. But when asked about their innovation experiences, project team members at those organizations often identified similar issues and raised common concerns.

In a recent series of interviews, IGP project recipients shared their perspectives on innovation at associations and the development of innovative cultures in their organizations. These common themes emerged from those conversations:

Associations can do better at embracing innovation. According to grant recipients, associations tend to be risk averse, particularly regarding spending and programming. Members may also be resistant to change, which puts association leaders in a tough position when analyzing programs and services. As Miguel Figueroa, director of the American Library Association’s Center for the Future of Libraries, said, “Sometimes in our association we get stuck trying to improve, enhance, or sustain our programs. But we can’t just rely on improving existing services. We all have to ask, ‘What’s the next wave?’”

External recognition helps teams embrace risk. Recipients said that receiving the grant made them feel validated, allowed them to see themselves as innovators and risk-takers, and spurred them to action on an idea they might not have otherwise pursued. But teams don’t need a grant to get that recognition. A project presentation and review process—whether formal or informal—can provide an avenue for staff to polish ideas and move them forward.

People drive innovation. Many recipients stressed the importance of the human element to innovation. Developing willing and able champions on the board and on staff is key to fostering innovation. Leadership team buy-in makes staff feel supported in implementing innovation practices. Cross-functional teams shake up silo mentalities and generate new ideas. At grant recipient organizations, these types of changes caused a ripple effect: Once employees not only heard but also saw that innovation was an organizational value, they became empowered to take risks.

Innovation takes work. Grant recipients agreed that innovation doesn’t just happen. It is fostered through the use of intentional processes, including empowering key personnel, problem solving, and challenging current practices. Interviewees used tools like innovation flowcharts and design thinking processes to turn their ideas into action. Recipients also stressed that innovation takes time and often happens through incremental change rather than revolutions.

Innovation takes time and often happens through incremental change rather than revolutions.

In other words, great, organization-changing ideas don’t just appear out of thin air. Dedicated concept and product development practices establish time and space for innovation to grow. In fact, grant recipients found that grant timeline and reporting requirements gave them a sense of accountability that helped them follow through on their ideas. Organizations can foster that type of structure by tying innovation to goals.

Failure is an option. Grantees said that innovators have to be comfortable with risk-taking, which can be a challenge for many associations. One suggestion was to try to design efforts that, if they fail, will fail fast—to learn the lesson and then try to apply it toward a better plan.

“Ideas are gold—don’t just let them sit there,” said Jim Hieb, CAE, CEO of MIA+BSI, the Natural Stone Institute. “See how you can develop them. Even though not all ideas will fly, ideas are what we grow with.” Your employees can’t create and test innovative practices unless they have the space to make mistakes and learn from them.

Innovation isn’t just an idea. It takes time, money, and effort. Organizations that have made innovation part of their internal culture set aside resources for innovation just as they would for marketing, learning, or other association functions. They empower staff to test innovative concepts, with the understanding that failure is part of the process, and they help teams carve out time to develop and implement new concepts.

Creating a culture of innovation is a challenge for many associations, but the experience of IGP grant recipients shows that it is possible for every association.