On November 21, 2018 the Blueprint 2020 “Battle of the Innovators”, marked the end of the Defence Team Innovation Challenge (DTIC) which received a spectacular number of diverse projects and innovations from across the Department and Canadian Armed Forces.

As we move to Beyond 2020, the DTIC Challenge, folded into the new Data, Innovation and Analytics (DIA) Innovation/Change Management Team, continues to evolve with local, organizational and enterprise-wide discussions and experimentation for a number of the Top 10 submissions. You can find out here their latest developments.

While not all of the top 10 contenders are moving forward for immediate consideration, a number of them are at various stages of exploration, including initial submissions. The DIA Innovation Team looks forward to bringing updates on those as they unfold.

The Defence Team Innovation Challenge was a great demonstration of the eagerness and skillset that exists within our Department as an opportunity to engage grass-roots, employee-generated innovation.

All of the projects that continue to be explored are excellent examples of how we can become a more Agile, Inclusive and Equipped workplace in line with the Government of Canada Beyond 2020 objectives. They align our resources and workforce to more high priority tasks using digitization, they enable a more autonomous workforce, involve experimentation with technology and are cross-organizational and inclusive in their development.

The evolution for Beyond 2020 will include establishment of the Innovation Exchange, or Innovation Ex, a hub that will create a collective ecosystem for workforce and workplace modernization. Innovation Ex will also help to foster an environment where innovation like those brought forward in the Defence Team Innovation Challenge can continue to move from ideas to action. This is just one project that shows how the DIA Innovation Team continues to look for ways to see the ideas and innovations of previous challenges continue their momentum.

If your team is involved in local and organizational innovation and wish to join the conversation on the continuing evolution of innovation within Defence, please reach out to the DIA Innovation Team by emailing +Innovation@ADM(DIA).