Modern labs conduct an overwhelming diversity of science. One thing they all have in common is the search for new learning and knowledge. To be successful, a lab must deliver innovations, or practical new developments. Innovation differs from invention because it takes the novel discovery of invention and extends it to a practical use that drives value.
In general, stakeholders fund labs to benefit from the innovations that derive from the bench science. To maintain funding, labs must continue to learn, explore, measure, and drive these innovations. Lab innovations can take many different forms from advancing critical knowledge to improving work processes. This article will explore several different reasons why labs must innovate to stay relevant and be successful.
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Advance knowledge
Many labs, especially at universities and research institutions, are specifically tasked with exploring unknowns of the science and developing new knowledge. Innovation is focused on exploring the cutting edge of research and technology and being the first to understand new aspects of the science. It is critical for these labs to be well aware of others exploring similar areas but focused on publishing or patenting their discoveries. Their ability to penetrate scientific mysteries will result in ongoing grants and other forms of funding.
Improve techniques and methods
An underappreciated aspect of lab innovation is the improvement of technique and methods. These innovations are aimed at how the science is practiced, rather than on new discoveries. Innovation in the craft of bench science can drive significant improvements in the accuracy and precision of measurements. They can also greatly improve the productivity of labs by documenting and sharing improvements with staff and colleagues. This kind of innovation enables labs to conduct science faster and more effectively.
To be competitive in the marketplace, new products must offer novel performance, solve a problem in a new way, or heavily reduce cost.
Innovation in technique also helps drive the development of better and more powerful tools with which to conduct science. For example, significant innovation in analytical instruments has fundamentally changed the work in fields like mass spectrometry, chromatography, and spectroscopy. Modern instruments have become very powerful, with significant improvements in resolution, dynamic range, accuracy, and capacity. These improved tools enable lab scientists to do their science better, faster, and with more confidence.
Enhance safety
The more we learn about the hazards and risks associated with lab work, the better we can mitigate those risks. Innovation in lab safety has explored important areas of research like infectious disease, medicine, nuclear chemistry, and highly reactive chemistry. Innovations in biosafety and biosecurity enable researchers to explore dangerous areas of biotechnology safely. To delve into new areas of research requires understanding how to explore that space safely.
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Reduce cost
It seems that most labs are part of a “do more with less” organizational mentality. To be successful in this paradigm, labs must innovate around efficiency and productivity. These innovations range from how to decrease the time it takes to conduct individual experiments to increasing the use of tools like robotics and automation. Labs can innovate across their workflows to use lower amounts of chemicals and consumables, create less waste, be more efficient with staff time, and use less expensive components in experiments. All of these innovations enable their science to be completed at lower costs. Securing support is competitive, and those that improve their productivity will compete more effectively for funding.
Improve sustainability
Adjacent to reducing cost is improving sustainability. Consuming fewer resources, like electricity, heat, air conditioning, and water all improve the sustainability of labs. Each action also helps reduce the operational cost of the lab. In addition, labs can innovate around using greener components, reducing chemical usage and plastic waste, and recycling non-hazardous materials. Innovating around sustainability helps to reduce cost and helps to attract and retain staff who support sustainable practices. These actions also help to align labs with institutional goals around environmental, social, and governance expectations.
Develop new products
Most industrial labs are part of a research and testing process funded to introduce new products and services for the organization. Bringing new products to market is a key role of innovation for these organizations. To be competitive in the marketplace, new products must offer novel performance, solve a problem in a new way, or heavily reduce cost. Consistent innovation is required for these organizations to stay competitive. Others are always investigating ways to improve upon existing products, so the only way to stay ahead is to innovate.
An underappreciated aspect of lab innovation is the improvement of technique and methods.
Adapt to changing needs
The world is constantly changing, and ongoing innovation is one of the reasons why. As new knowledge, ideas, and products enter the market, labs need to innovate to adjust to those changes and take full advantage of the opportunities they provide.
In addition, this changing world also impacts our stakeholders and customers. To remain valuable to them, and retain sufficient funding, labs need to innovate to help them solve their problems and serve their markets.
Staying competitive
In a world of tight budgets and competition, labs need to prove their worth through innovation by helping the organization meet its mission and goals. For labs, innovation is often at the heart of that effort. It takes innovation to secure funding and investment and to attract and retain talent. Labs that can more effectively use their people and resources to make significant contributions will better compete for money and people.
Innovation is at the heart of the purpose for most labs. That innovation can take many different forms, but it always involves executing well-considered science to generate value for the organization from ideas and learning. Exploring the world is also why most scientists entered their fields of inquiry, what keeps them involved in the lab work, and makes coming to work fun. The more that lab managers can make decisions to drive innovation, the more they continue to engage their staff and justify their budgets. Innovation is not easy, but it is often the most important outcome of the work completed in the lab.
