This article describes and analyses a piece of participative action research in which the author, working with three projects in a UK children's voluntary organization, inquired into the nature and management of innovation. The research enabled those involved to reflect upon innovation as an incremental process of service and practice development. We learnt that, for it to be effective, such a process requires opportunities for critical reflection by practitioners, working collaboratively within an organizational framework where individual and organizational learning is valued and facilitated. The concept of the learning organization has proved a useful tool in evaluating and critically analysing this research work.
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