Managing Innovation
Navigating disruptive and transformational technologies
Major technological changes unleash large-scale social, cultural, economic and political consequences. Digitized computing is the most recent example of disruptive technology; the wheel could be regarded as one of the earliest. MU’s collaborative work across all fields—including the social sciences and the humanities—advances research, education and economic development as scientists and scholars study how current technologies fundamentally change in these rapidly evolving times.
From the beginning, Managing Innovation was envisioned as an overarching subject, with the other four initiatives providing virtual labs for studying the consequences of innovation. Over time, however, Managing Innovation emerged not as an overarching subject, but as a theme that runs deeply through each area.
Mizzou Advantage continues to place emphasis on understanding the consequences of innovation, but rather than focusing on this as a separate area, it was integrated into the other four areas.
The consequences of technological innovation remain a central focus of Mizzou Advantage, and funding remains available to seed grant-funded projects, to sponsor symposia, and otherwise to move forward MU’s strengths in understanding the consequences of innovation in the four areas of Mizzou Advantage.