Capitalizing on the energy behind the concept of “innovation in education” requires establishing some common definitions and principles for what exactly innovation is. This shared understanding can underpin and sustain the work in practice.

This paper presents a definition of innovation that is informed by lessons learned from other industries and that accounts for innovation’s many faces. This paper also analyzes some of the factors that keep innovation from taking hold in education, and uses that analysis as an entry point for describing the current opportunity.

The paper concludes with a series of recommendations designed to encourage the public, private and philanthropic sectors to work productively across the sectors and other traditional boundaries toward a better ecosystem for education innovation.