Why innovate? Some preliminary findings from a research project on 'innovations in teaching and learning in higher education'

This article presents information gathered from the first phase of a research project involving interviews with 221 staff at 15 UK universities during 1997-98, which focused on the experiences of those who have introduced innovations in teaching and learning in higher education. In particular it examines the reasons why some staff become involved in innovation and begins an analysis a the institutional contexts within which innovation takes place. it suggests that the reasons which motivated these largely individual innovators may not be sufficient to involve other staff in the process of change, given shifts in the nature of innovation (from 'individual' to 'guided' to 'directed'), the risks involved and the lack of incentives.