Where do you get inspiration and support? There are a few regular blogs that we think are must-reads for consultants.

We’ve tried to steer away from discipline-specific ones, as you specialists out there will know better than we do who writes most pithily and persuasively about the latest developments in software for evaluating flow rates in drainage piping. These ones are at a human level and are well worth your time.

Innovation remains the genesis of greatness. It’s at the heart of good client briefs and strategy planning sessions. Whether you're looking to shape your company's culture and market positioning, or giving yourself the edge in that next pitch, there are some great sources of inspiration from people who have been walking the innovation walk over the last couple of years.

We’ve pulled together our favourites for you to bookmark, or add to your preferred offline reading tool (our favourite is Pocket). And we have a tip on getting the government to help.

Five of the best

Innovation Enterprise has made a business out of innovation and curates one of the most comprehensive collections of content on the subject, as well as producing events to inspire both consultants and clients. It covers hot topics like Big Data, and has channels dedicated to specific CxO roles, as well as more niche interests like Supply Chain innovation.

Stephen Shapiro spent 15 years at Accenture before turning pro on the innovation circuit. He leads in the field of corporate innovation consultancy in the USA and, if your mission is to do the same in the UK, he has lots of ideas to inspire you. He talks about his experiences, which make me think “Has that happened to me?” or “Can my company do that?”. If your attention span is similar to mine, you’ll love his 1-minute videos.

Scott Barry Kaufman turns the psychology of creativity into practical insights for business professionals who are trying to understand how and when the best innovations take place. With a bias on personality types and learning methods, he brings the sciency-bits into an understandable format for those of us who failed GCSE biology. Anyone who publishes a podcast on making lawyers happier at work is worth a listen out of pure curiousity.

Wired UK. An iconic magazine rather than a blog, but I couldn’t leave it out. Wired is a fascinating read about the future. It’s perfect for those who are curious about where robots, AI, the internet of things or hacking is taking us. And it can make you look very smart in front of clients.

Innovation Excellence has created a global community of workers, writers and consultants in the world of innovation. Alongside the curated content, its team manages one of the top groups on LinkedIn, if you want to interact with like-minded folks. If you prefer your content pushed to you, subscribe to the weekly newsletter for a quick read on the train.

Barking up the wrong tree. About to become a book as well, Eric Barker’s blog serves up a weekly slice of psychology on subjects ranging from dealing with office psychopaths (not that you or your team will ever need to read that one) to fostering resilience and building better habits. It’s all delivered with a sense of humour and a strong foundation of research-led evidence.

Shep Hyken. One of the foremost commentators on where customer experience is going. He’s a fine source of insight into how customer behaviours are changing and how the best of the best are trying to keep pace. If you do anything for clients that has an impact on their customer experience then you’ll want to have half an eye on this.

Let the government help. Seriously?

When I started pulling together the items for this piece, I would have given serious odds against including any links to government sites. Large public sector organisations and modern thinking are unlikely bedfellows, right? However, like most assumptions, this turned out to be wrong. In the UK, you could do worse than to keep on eye on Innovate UK for areas the government is interested in. Also, check out not-for-profit Nesta which has grants available for innovation projects. Which client wouldn’t love you for coming up with a project idea and the funding for it?