b'2 0 2 1T E C H N O LO G YT R A N S F E R A N N U A L R E P O R TFocus on innovation, execution, and efficiency for the greater goodInnovation Week Idaho National Laboratorys first Innovation Week was hostedThe first goal, set by lab leadership, was to demonstrate in May, featuring dozens of speakers, panelists and workshops,commitment to fostering a culture of innovation. The week was all aimed at fostering a culture of innovation and adopting anddesigned to be an employee-owned event, because sustainable deploying new ideas. innovation occurs when employees focus on value and impact. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the event was done virtually,A lot of people think of innovation as being about inventions, which required innovation all by itself. The result, however, wasintellectual property and patents, Summers said. But there are that Innovation Week 2021 can be experienced even now onlinea lot of times when they are innovating even though they dont on a SharePoint site. know it. When John Wagner became INLs director in December 2020,For many participants, INL Innovation Week 2021 was their he called on all employees to focus on innovation, execution,first experience with CO*STAR and Rapid Idea Improvement and efficiency. This would be essential, he said, to buildingSession , or RIIS, communication and ideation tools used to a culture that embraces the connection between inclusivity,accelerate innovation as a discipline. RIISinvolves presentation excellence, and outcomes, and understanding that every day isand feedback in a unique, structured setting in which ideas can an unprecedented opportunity to make our world a better placebe substantially improved in a short period of time. CO*STAR for billions of people around the world. involves value propositions that start with a compelling question, There were specific objectives involved in planning INLfact or statement and lead to the identification of customers, Innovation Week 2021. Although it was the labs first attempt,opportunities and solutions.there were plenty of examples to follow from organizations and companies that had done their own versions, said Natalie Summers, who coordinated the INL event.20'