What do we mean by Next Practice?

In one sense ‘next' practice is like tomorrow: it is never here. The term is meant, though, to convey the notion of genuinely new approaches rooted in practical understanding. CK Prahalad, Professor of Business Administration at the University of Michigan, remarked:

"There is a lot of research focused on best practice, but I focus on next practice. Next practice by definition has three problems: firstly it is future-oriented; secondly, no single institution or company is an exemplar of everything that you think will happen; and third, next practice is about amplifying weak signals, connecting the dots. Next practice is disciplined imagination." (Prahalad, C.K., 2004. Interview posted on The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid)

In an Improvement and Development Agency (IDeA) pamphlet Charles Leadbeater argues, on the basis of work in local government, that

"Next practices - emergent innovations that could open up new ways of working - are much more likely to come from thoughtful, experienced, self-confident practitioners trying to find new and more effective solutions to intractable problems." (Leadbeater, C., 2006 The Innovation Forum: Beyond Excellence IDeA)

The concept of Next Practice suggests a way forward for purposeful, disciplined interventions, which nevertheless optimise the scope for professional creativity.

Next Practice, which The Innovation Unit believes is a key contribution to the evolution of public service innovation and improvement, is a new approach to stimulating, incubating and accelerating innovation, which is strongly driven by users' needs. 

The Innovation Unit have identified a number of characteristics of Next Practice:

• significantly changed methods of service delivery, organisation or structure, which, if shown to be successful, would hold implications for the wider system
• in advance of hard evidence of effectiveness
• not (yet) officially sanctioned and therefore maybe entailing some risk
• consciously designed with an awareness of the strengths and limitations of conventional ‘best' practice
• generated by very able, informed practitioners aware of the existing knowledge base
• informed by critical scanning of the wider environment
• directed at serious, contemporary problems
• user focused.

Next Practice is keenly aware of conventional good practice - its strengths and limitations - but sets out to move it to a new level. In some cases, Next Practice will disrupt, profoundly evolve or revolutionise good practice. 

Best Practice asks what works? Next Practice asks what could work better?

An overview of Best Practice vs Next Practice can be found here.