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Social Innovation in the Engineering Sector -

Importance, Benefits and Approach

Silversoft & Deltek’s 2014 Engineering and Social innovation in the Engineering
Architecture report investigated current trends and Sector
needs in global engineering markets, including When focusing on innovation in engineering firms,
South Africa. The research was conducted by Ipsos the first thing that comes to mind is technical
Synovate on behalf of the NL ingerieurs Association innovation. Though product development is a core
and Deltek. The study asked 250+ European,
activity in the engineering sector, 34% of firms
Australian and South African consulting firms cited this area as one of the top functions they
what they considered as their main opportunities outsource. Another key form of innovation, often
to improve productivity and profitability. The top overlooked, is social innovation. This refers to the
three responses were:
way in which an organization is managed and how
1. Improved efficiency (51%)
collaboration between employees is organised.
2. Innovation (41%) Social innovation & collaboration is essential
3. Improving customer satisfaction (41%) in difficult economic times, as it helps firms do
Innovation, tied for the second most popular more with less. Engineering firms are constantly
response, can bring great value to engineering trying to get a better return on billable hours and
firms if understood and harnessed correctly. The social innovation can assist through improving
current economic climate puts pressure on firms productivity - also a top priority for many firms.
to increase efficiency, but also requires a higher
level of flexibility. This article outlines the three Get the full article here: http://silversoft.co.za/
signs of an innovative corporation and focuses on resources/social-innovation-engineering-sector-
how social innovation can increase productivity for importance-benefits-approach/
engineering and other professional services firms.

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