Why do so many promising innovations succeed as pilots but struggle to become part of everyday operations?
In this episode of the Innovation Storytellers Show, I speak with Ian Small, Innovation Lead at Expedition Engineering and convener of the Water Innovator Alliance, about the difficult work that begins after someone has already had the great idea.
Ian works at the intersection of innovation, engineering, infrastructure, and the UK water sector, where new technologies have to satisfy regulators, operators, customers, commercial partners, and teams responsible for assets that may remain in service for more than a century.
We talk about innovation happening behind infrastructure most of us rarely think about, from drones that can help identify leaking water mains to new technologies for removing PFAS and microplastics, improved sensing, water reuse, and lower-carbon approaches to flood defenses. But our conversation quickly moves beyond the technology itself.
Ian explains why getting an innovation adopted can be harder than developing it in the first place. A startup may have a brilliant solution but struggle to identify the right problem, the right water company, or even the right person inside that organization. Meanwhile, large organizations can struggle to communicate their needs clearly enough for innovators to respond.
The result is often an expensive gap between invention and adoption.
One of my favorite parts of this conversation is Ian’s approach to storytelling around pilots. His team deliberately refuses to tell only the polished success story. When something works, they also explain what failed, what proved difficult, and what still needs improvement.
That history gives future teams a much clearer understanding of the risks and helps build confidence as a solution progresses from experiment to something ready for wider adoption.
Ian also tells me why his team has virtually stopped using the word “innovation” on one major Environment Agency program. The word had become too closely associated with pilots and trials, while the actual objective was delivering lower-carbon solutions at scale and creating measurable value.
We discuss why innovation investment needs a clearer view of value from the beginning, why organizations underestimate the work required after a successful pilot, and how storytelling can help secure the resources, runway, and confidence required for long-term adoption.
Finally, when I ask Ian what innovation the world needs now, he turns to AI. He argues that we don’t need another model or tool. It is that we may still be waiting for the moment when we truly understand how to use the technology we already have effectively.
Perhaps that is the bigger lesson running through our entire conversation. Invention is only one part of innovation. The real value arrives when people understand how to adopt it, communicate it, and make it work at scale.
How much of your innovation investment is still sitting somewhere between a successful pilot and real-world adoption?
Name: Ian Small
Title: Innovation Expert, Public Speaker, Finder of Solutions
LinkedIn | Website |
Ian Small is the Innovation Lead at Expedition Engineering. Building on his networking skills and interest in new technologies Ian is working to connect people and teams to deliver amazing outcomes for our clients. Ian’s primary focus at the moment is developing ways to accelerate the scale up and adoption of innovations as we aim for net zero carbon.