PANEL: What is This-- Innovation for Ants? (Unfreezing the Middle and Creating a Culture of Innovation, from an NCO Perspective)

We mostly think of innovation as something that occurs at the margins of an organization, driven by those with the right combination of authority and expertise in a subject. Most dedicated innovation efforts focus on creating labs and accelerators detached from the primary workforce, where the rules can be a little different, risk can be accepted, and experiments can happen. But what can we do for that majority of the force who perhaps won't get the opportunity to play in these spaces? What about those who aren't intrinsically driven to innovate? What role does the infamous "frozen middle" play (if it exists) and what can we do about it? How can we go about creating a "culture of innovation" so that our primary workforce itself becomes a driving force of innovation?

Daniel Hulter, Andrea Murray, and Jeremiah Patterson are going to discuss their experience navigating and influencing the workplace culture of the United States Air Force (USAF) and attempt to answer a few of these questions, plus more based on audience input.

Opinions expressed during this talk are those of the individuals alone and do not represent the views of the US Air Force, Department of Defense, Defense Acquisition University, or any other organization.