Fulbourn Hospital Innovation Project

This was an action research project to develop processes of self-innovation in hospitals. In 1971, Fulbourn Hospital was visited by members of the Hospital Advisory Service, who suggested an experiment to see how far the potential of groups of staff involved in the 'grass roots' care could be harnessed by encouraging them to examine problems encountered in their day to day practice. The project instated the role of a Social Research Advisor to aid staff in undertaking research in areas of hospital organisation and practice in order to bring about improvements. Primarily, the project focused on increasing the awareness of hospital staff of the contribution of research in facilitating self-appraisal within hospitals, both in Fulbourn and on a wider scale.

Eric Miller undertook a consultancy role on behalf of the Tavistock Institute Centre for Applied Social Research to aid staff members in undertaking research projects of likely significance to current problems of hospital organisation and practice. The project took place in three stages over three years and involved staff members of all levels in research on topics and issues that affected their own practice in order to facilitate continued self-development and organisational innovation within the hospital. The second stage of the project was the preparation for dissemination of the approach to other interested hospitals. The work at Fulbourn was guided by the establishment of a Steering Committee of senior staff who were tasked with assessing priorities and relating the project work to the management structure of the hospital.

A further stage of the project was a proposal by Tavistock member Lisl Klein for an outside analysis of the progress of the project through regular interviews with members of the project team in order to provide feedback on progress, essentially a 'study of a study'.

After success at Fulbourn, at the end of 1973, the project developed further into a broader organisational development project designed to disseminate the approach to hospital innovation to a number of other suitable hospitals.