PhD defence Monique Wilhelmina van den Hoed

Keywords: Innovation readiness, Conditions for innovation, Long-term care for older adults, Learning climate

"Advancing Innovation Readiness in Long-term Care for Older Adults"

This PhD research focused on advancing the understanding of innovation readiness in long-term care for older adults and developing an approach to assess it. Long-term care organizations increasingly rely on innovation to respond to rising demand, workforce shortages, and resource limitations. However, many innovations fail due to a lack of strategic direction, staff involvement, and structures for learning and evaluation.

The dissertation resulted in the development of the Maastricht Innovation Readiness Approach (MIRA), consisting of a self-assessment questionnaire and a consensus meeting. MIRA helps organizations gain insight into their current innovation readiness, identify strengths and areas for improvement, and stimulate dialogue about organizing innovation in a more deliberate and sustainable way.

The research identified four main factors of innovation readiness: strategic direction, organization of innovation, leadership for innovation, and learning climate. MIRA is now nationally available in the Netherlands through RegioPlus to support healthcare and social care organizations in strengthening their innovation readiness.

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