Part of the national character?

We're underway at the Innovation Edge.  There are thousands of people here - delegates, speakers and exhibitors.  There's a very real buzz around and it's a nice day to boot!

Chris Powell, our Chair, has set out the agenda for the day, looking to remind ourselves of the need for innovation in the first place, and to discuss where the leading edge of that innovation may be or take us.  In a broad overview of the state of innovation in the UK, he spoke of the ways that DIUS and DCMS are helping to embed innovation in the UK, and citing examples such as the Fairtrade Association of innovation in action.

Jonathan Kestenbaum, our CEO, has built on these themes by restating our mission - to improve both the capacity and climate of innovation in the UK.  He summarised it in three key areas:

• risk - NESTA is at it's best when it takes risks, experiments.  Innovation flourishes when there are a committed set of risk-takers in this country.
• the power of partnerships, collaborations.  In the diversity of disciplines, sectors and approaches comes real breakthroughs.  And it's not just us - there are a growing set of public sector, voluntary and other organisations driving this forward.
• a huge national appetite for doing things differently.  There is a common misconception that Britain has no appetite for innovation, which is simply not true.

Real innovation is not an elite activity the way it used to be - it's now part of the national character.  He left us with a quote from Bobby Kennedy - 'the future belongs to those with passion, with reason and with courage'.

Do you agree?  Is innovation now part of the British mind-set?  Do we have the right skills and attitudes, or are we on the way to develop these?

*Update - Podcasts are now being uploaded - first sessions are now online.