Commentary

How to lead disciplined innovation

The TSA Innovation Doctrine is the only established innovation doctrine in the federal space that outlines how the agency will effect change more deliberately.

Andrew Haskins

September 27, 2024 12:17 pm

5 min read

While many government organizations strive to be “innovative,” getting there is not always easy or efficient. This is because innovation is abstract. It can be difficult to define, and difficult to defend against demands for returns on investment before the effort is allowed time to mature. In addition, it can be challenging because an organization’s approach to change may be impacted by its mission, culture and vision.

To achieve your organization’s full innovative potential requires discipline. My team at the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has seen some success in this space. It boils down to the following:

Clear communication: Tell the workforce what you aspire to in clear and simple terms
Empower innovators: Give innovators the means and opportunity to organize and act
Build partnerships: Collaborate with partners within and outside of your agency

Setting expectations with the field

In October 2022, TSA Administrator David Pekoske released the TSA Innovation Doctrine, the only established innovation doctrine in the federal space that outlines how the agency will effect change more deliberately and efficiently. The doctrine focuses on building culture from the bottom up to encourage innovation around the employee experience and describes a disciplined five-stage approach developed by BMNT to achieve that. The doctrine effectively gives employees permission to innovate and the tools with which to do it. It is intended to evolve as the innovation effort grows to meet the needs of the agency.

The doctrine, and more importantly the employee-focused culture it has created, also gives TSA a framework to better collaborate with other federal partners to leverage our collective expertise for faster, broader and more efficient innovation benefiting multiple agencies, instead of individual agencies working independently to solve the same problem. The principles contained in the doctrine are accelerating projects that support national security and save taxpayer dollars.

Giving innovators a means and opportunity

In March, my team hosted the 2024 Lift Summit, the third conference for our TSA Lift Cells Program, a national network of innovation teams comprised of our frontline workforce and leadership at headquarters and airports across the country. BMNT’s team helped support the effort, which involved the practical application of the TSA Innovation Doctrine. Over the course of three days, dozens of Lift Cells from around the country had an opportunity to network and learn from our partners and each other, ultimately benefiting their mission to focus on local learning, experimentation and solution adoption. Our workforce received resources on how to operate as a Lift Cell and guidance on different skill sets, such as facilitation and pitching. They also received guidance on common databases and resources they can access from the intranet. Further, a handful were able to communicate around common problems to discuss individual efforts that may have never been shared, such as the disparate efforts to curb the appearance of firearms at airports. The event culminated with a shark tank-like event called “Lift Off,” where innovation officers pitched solutions from their Lift Cells to a panel of judges to showcase innovations from the workforce.

Finding partners outside the agency

In May, my team joined program representatives from the Coast Guard and Air Force for a collaboration hosted at USCG Base NOLA and the Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport. It was a rare opportunity for these agencies to work together. The goal for this exercise was to explore shared knowledge, networks and mutual challenges around 3D printing. Our workforce benefits from this knowledge for solving specifically local challenges with their own niche, and designing solutions that can be shared and replicated across airports at low cost. Benefits like this allow for our workforce to more efficiently execute their duties for the benefit of passengers and homeland security.

AFWERX Spark Cells, an innovation arm of the Air Force that works on locally generated ideas and projects at Air Force bases worldwide; Coast Guard District Commands; and the TSA Lift Cells all have independent 3D printing knowledge and technology that ranges across each agency geographically. Each agency also has differing levels of capacity to serve their needs.

By combining forces, the three agencies can leverage capacity, access and training opportunities that far exceed the capabilities of these agencies on their own. This initial collaboration in New Orleans resulted in the three agencies agreeing to an exchange of resources and training for 3D printing arrangements.

Participants told us they see this as the beginning of what could be a much larger effort. While initially this collaboration would allow Coast Guard commands to access 3D printing labs beyond the Mississippi River Valley, there is also potential training access down the line. The Air Force and TSA offer their own innovation training for specialists and workforce alike.

From paper to practice

The TSA Innovation Doctrine is my organization’s start to provide strategic, guiding principles as we work toward a culture of innovation, and more importantly, start seeing results from those efforts.

Setting expectations with your target innovator demographic is key. Having a publicly accessible, simple strategy eliminates confusion. Being able to amend and communicate expectations to fit your organization’s needs when it makes sense is powerful.

Give innovators the right tools enables them to make change more effectively. This seems obvious but is easily forgotten in the minutiae of day-to-day tasks. Lowering the barrier to effect change by circulating standardized tools and an interface to engage the right people empowers innovators without burdening their primary responsibilities. Finally, building relationships with other partners, federal or otherwise, can fill important gaps for everyone involved.

Every federal agency faces new challenges as new threats emerge. I know I have counterparts in other federal organizations who are also tasked with trying to accomplish culture change so that innovation is a natural process. We can be more effective by working together, and we’ve built a framework we believe can make that happen.

If you would like to work collaboratively for effective solutions in support of our national security or share your own insights on responding quickly to new federal challenges, please contact us at innovation@tsa.dhs.gov.

Andrew Haskins is a program manager at TSA.