Innovation and risk in an innovative learning environment: A Private Public Partnership in Australia

Abstract

Across many international contexts, the design and construction of architecturally different school buildings has become a key strategy in providing innovative learning environments designed to prepare students for work and life in the 21st century. Despite the global popularity of this strategy, research has highlighted persistent challenges associated with the transition to, and occupation of innovative learning environments. We explore the nexus between risk and innovation, reporting on data arising from a primary school in Australia, built as part of one state government’s Private Public Partnership initiatives. We apply a conceptual framework for risk and public service innovation and a responsible innovation framework to investigate how the school leaders and the architect understood the educational intentions, values and risks that shaped their school design and to assess users’ perceptions of their new school. Our findings draw attention to how responses to externally driven design innovation in the complex and dynamic environment of a school can create risk and uncertainty for users on multiple levels. We argue that the application of a responsible innovation framework provides a mechanism to highlight limitations in school design processes and opportunities to improve alignment and on-going adaptation of schools for future conditions.

The combined impact of school design and procurement on student wellbeing and educational outcomes

“…A recent international study that does consider the various stages of design, procurement (PPP), delivery and operation process by involving relevant stakeholders including the school community is that by Deppeler et al (2021). While the study examines how stakeholders perceived they met the challenges of educational aims and vision and how that translated into an innovative learning area and the lived experience of stakeholders, there is no comparison with other PPP primary or secondary schools, or with schools procured through more traditional approaches.…”

“…Research suggests that the choice to use a PPP procurement method where a government department has a contractual arrangement with a private consortium to finance, design, build and maintain school buildings after construction is compelled by the desire for greater cost and time efficiency, innovation and overall, greater perceived VfM (Regan et al , 2011). However, as various researchers have noted, design innovation and quality may suffer if the role and autonomy of the architect is reduced impacting the quality of design, and there is minimal or no participation in the design process by the educational community affecting the embedding of educational goals and vision in the design (Association of Consulting Architects, 2017; Deppeler et al , 2021).…”