HundrEDorg’s Post

While calls for cross-sector collaborations to tackle complex societal issues abound, in practice, only few succeed. Those that do often have a collaboration intermediary, which can bring together different actors, develop relationships among collaborators, and create an ecosystem to support ideas over time. With their strengths in knowledge creation and their role as community anchors, universities are ideally equipped to create and orchestrate support for the kind of innovation that the sustainability imperative requires. However, to be able to take on this role they need to develop a culture of open innovation, experimentation and iteration, and value, which requires supporting teams that will champion the change and facilitate collaborations among the diverse actors of the innovation ecosystem.

For the last few months, I’ve been thinking a lot about the consequences and impact of tech.  And my gut feeling says: if we’re going to focus on SDGs, we also need STBs.  👊 Sustainable Tech Behaviour.  Rather than focus on the typical tech-native added values (efficiency, abundance, scalability,…), I've been taking a different view: what if we can get a better view on the unintended consequences and/or less positive impact of our tech choices. I have been trying and turn those thoughts into a practical framework. Facilitator FTW. 🤷🏼♂️ 🤓 ⚒️ And yesterday I got the chance to do a first test run (scary) with some Idea and Innovation Management students at Erasmushogeschool Brussel.  TLDR:  - the very simple v0.1 worked for quick identification. - the very simple v0.1 is a bit too simple. But some students were really triggered and today offered up to elaborate the framework as part of their project work.  Which is way more than one can wish for. 🙏 So I’m following my gut feeling and will look more into STB: Sustainable Tech Behaviour.  To be continued… Thanks to Fredo De Smet for the invite (and the photo). 📸 

Corporate Innovation Education Innovation is a topic close to our heart. Witnessing firsthand the seismic shifts that working collaboratively on (big) ideas and innovations can bring to organizations is always an exciting event. Working and thinking with an innovative mindset isn’t always easy – especially for larger corporates. And despite the clear advantages, embedding a culture of innovation through education remains a great challenge for many organizations on their path to being innovation leaders in their game. The term innovation education encompasses all methods, approaches, tools, and processes for the continuous and gradual enhancement of an organization's innovation readiness and capabilities. But why is innovation education so challenging in corporate environments? Based on our experience, we have identified four key reasons, detailed in the attached PDF. Of course, there is no one-size-fits-all solution for any organization to these problems. But we strongly believe that every organization can learn and adapt in tackling these challenges. One approach that we successfully refined and developed especially for such cases is our tailor-made venture clienting approach. Get in contact if you want to learn more about the Bloom way of enabling innovation acceleration and driving corporate innovation education.

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS FROM NEO BUSINESSES TO "REVERSE PITCH" A CHALLENGE AT THE INNOVATION DAY 2024 The Northeast Ohio Public Universities Research Alliance (NEO-PURA) is accepting requests from businesses across the region to bring some of your pressing challenges to present as part of a selected group of companies at Innovation Day 2024. https://lnkd.in/gdnjXjKs The "Reverse Pitch" approach is designed to allow companies to build awareness of your business to and potentially forge productive connections with a diverse audience comprising of faculty, staff and students from each of the NEO public universities and representatives from various industries. Proposals to this program should include a brief, but clear, statement of a challenge or 'pain point' connected to your business that requires further collaboration and investigation to tackle and solve. Selected problem statements will be presented on Innovation Day 2024 by a representative from your company in a 7-minute format. Following the presentations by the selected companies, a "Q&A Breakout Session" will be held in which each of the presenting companies can meet directly with individuals and teams interested in learning more and/or helping to address the challenge. Eligibility: Any registered business, with at least two years of operating and at least $100K of gross revenue can submit a challenge statement. Submission Guidelines: The problem statement (max. 250 words) should be submitted via email to InnovationDay2024@ysu.edu with the subject line: “Submission: Reverse Pitch Session” and include the following: • state the larger context of the problem/challenge in the sector/ your business is facing • describe how the challenge connects to the needs/vision for your business • outline the expected outcome • the last sentence of the statement should complete the sentence - "How Might We.... ?" Submission Deadline: September 11, 2024 Criteria for Selection: The review committee will be looking for clearly stated challenges/problems that are relevant and feasible, have a broader impact and are likely to result in collaborations with the universities. Selected businesses will be notified by September 16, 2024 and provided with further details for the participation in the ”Reverse Pitch” Session on Innovation Day 2024.

#impact analysis and #indicators 📈 ⏱ End of a year and beginning of the next one is also the time to collect data and results and studying them, at personal and professional level. Of course same goes for our support and funding programs at Innosuisse. Specifically, in the case of the #swissinnovationbooster we developed since the launch of the program an impact analysis model. The starting point - the #missionstatement of the program - is clear: --- The Innovation Booster instrument is creating an environment to foster science-based and sustainable radical innovation and provide a competitive advantage to Swiss companies and organisations. --- From there, and with the help of the managing teams and the experts, we defined and we continuously measure outputs, medium and long term outcomes, and the final impact the program has to achieve. Because of its specificities - the focus on #openinnovation, on the creation of more #radical innovation ideas - a number of indicators come directly from the users and customers of the initiatives: #feedbacks on events, self-declarations from the ideas supported. These direct feedbacks hugely help us understand how the translation of the program into practice is working and if needed modify and adjust rules and guidelines to improve the program framework conditions. In general, we have a mix of qualitative and quantitative indicators to then also evaluate the effectiveness of each single initiative. The provisional numbers for 2023 are very good and the congratulations go to the teams managing the running initiatives. For instance, via the events organised (until end of September), the Booster reached out to around 7000 innovators. 🤝 These ecosystems, thanks to the Booster help, incorporating design thinking methods and idea generation sessions, generated around 700 ideas of possible new solutions to their problems (around 280 of them were then directly tested with the support of the Boosters). 💡 More than 85% of the participants to the activities organised recommend the program to their peers; almost 50% of the events presenters, speakers, moderators were women. ⚖ Some of these numbers will be included in the Innosuisse annual Discover magazine together with outcomes and impacts of our other support and funding programs.   And from January first, we have 8 new innovation boosters starting their work: Innovation Booster Artificial Intelligence Innovation Booster Carbon Removal Innovation Booster New Mobility Lab Innovation Booster #fashion and #lifestyle Innovation Booster #future #urban #society Innovation Booster #future #food #farming They will be part of the program cohort and I look forward to seeing their results in sectors that are strategically relevant for Switzerland! The next call to select additional innovation boosters is tentatively planned for 2025. For more details: https://lnkd.in/dhgcFXFK

Innovation for Industry – Closing Week We continue to understand the key soft behavior skills needed to be innovators in industry. The class on Leading Innovation in Industry is quite engaging and insightful! On April 30, 2024, we welcomed a guest speaker to our class of STEM-based PhD students from 13 different disciplines at the University of Arkansas. The class is “Leading Innovation in Industry: Unlock your Potential.”   The guest speaker was Yang Luo-Branch, PhD (骆阳). She spoke on her journey from China to working at Tyson Foods. Her journey from academia to industry, particularly at Tyson Foods, offered valuable perspectives on navigating the transition and fostering innovation within a corporate setting. She spoke on process, technology and organization innovation including working across functional dotted lines. Yang spoke of the challenges when the “traditional” meets the “new”. The session was excellent.   The Innovation class has been led by the key instructors, Dr. Jose Vega, and Michael Mourot .with support from Ed Clausen and Kevin Hall.  Personal innovation success is very dependent on developing “soft” behavior, communication skills to succeed in transforming creative concepts. Our behavior is a true reflection of our personality. As the saying goes, our actions are more powerful than our words.   The emphasis on soft behavior skills is crucial in today's professional landscape, especially in fields like STEM where technical expertise is abundant. Understanding how to effectively communicate ideas, collaborate across disciplines, and navigate organizational structures is key to driving innovation forward.   Behavior is the greatest language. Behavior often communicates more effectively than words alone. Actions can convey emotions, intentions, and attitudes in ways that language sometimes cannot fully express in the behavioral act of a person. Technical knowledge can be learned, but soft skills must be practiced.   Innovation is defined as the process of bringing about new ideas, methods, products, services, or solutions that have a significant positive impact and value. It involves transforming creative concepts into tangible outcomes that improve efficiency, and effectiveness, or address unmet needs.   While creativity is part of innovation, they’re not the same thing. A great idea is good, but if the idea doesn’t work in the real world, it’s not an innovation. Companies that innovate outperform those that don’t. People who can lead innovation will be more successful. The class provides valuable insights into the process of innovation and equipping students with the skills they need to thrive in industry. With the right combination of technical knowledge and soft skills, the students will be well-positioned to lead innovation efforts and drive success in their careers.   Michael Mourot Email: mourot@uark.edu   #innovation #sustainability Yang Luo-Branch, PhD (骆阳) Jose Vega University of Arkansas College of Engineering

There are only 2 weeks left to apply for the Innovation Award! Send us your application by the 31 May (12pm) and you could WIN a £25,000 six-month salary contribution and a year of expert support to make your idea a reality! 🚀 The Innovation Award, supported by Bloomberg, nurtures new ideas from the public and FEA members to tackle the root causes of educational inequality in England. Your idea can be anything – a programme, product, service, partnership, campaign or coalition. As long as it has the potential to make education fair by tackling inequality in education, we want to hear from you. If successful, you win: 💷 £25,000 six-month salary contribution 💡 A place on the Innovation Incubator - interactive workshops on key innovation topics and professional start-up advice (legal, financial, HR) 📈 1:1 strategic support 🗣️ Access to a network of entrepreneurs, mentors and peers 🏅 Award logo and endorsement 🏢 Guest access to our new office Fivefields x+why - a hub redefining collaboration and innovation in education 🌱 FEA membership post-programme - connect with over 280 member organisations, including business leaders and policy makers, to amplify your innovation's impact, influence policy, and elevate your profile nationally ✨ Talent development - For FEA members that are internally innovating, we work closely with your organisation to foster a culture of innovation and excellence that is proven to improve organisational growth, retention and impact. At our Innovation and Scale Booster back in March, we asked attendees “what does innovation mean to you?” Watch the video below to hear what they think...

The Innovation Fellowship takes a question-centered approach. Often innovation arises from a challenge or an opportunity in the world that requires change. And questions provide a powerful way in to finding out more about the challenge or opportunity. This is not a linear process. As we move from seeing the world, or context, to taking action, we learn more about the opportunity as a kind of possibility. We also enter into and become part of the system in which the problem exists. And through this process, our questions change - and so too our responses.

While calls for cross-sector collaborations to tackle complex societal issues abound, in practice, only few succeed. Those that do often have a collaboration intermediary, which can bring together different actors, develop relationships among collaborators, and create an ecosystem to support ideas over time. With their strengths in knowledge creation and their role as community anchors, universities are ideally equipped to create and orchestrate support for the kind of innovation that the sustainability imperative requires. However, to be able to take on this role they need to develop a culture of open innovation, experimentation and iteration, and value, which requires supporting teams that will champion the change and facilitate collaborations among the diverse actors of the innovation ecosystem. https://buff.ly/3vZxVlq #openinnovation

The Innovation Growth Lab (IGL), in collaboration with the European Innovation Council (EIC), invites researchers to participate in an asynchronous datathon. This initiative is designed to explore the research potential of EIC's data, one of Europe's largest public funders, within a framework that respects legal and data-sharing limitations. Why participate? This datathon is an excellent opportunity for researchers to leverage EIC data to inform innovation policy, undertake academic research, and potentially influence the EIC's future data-sharing practices. It offers a chance to work with unique datasets and propose innovative research projects that could lead to collaborations with the EIC. Researchers will have secured, indirect access to funding data from April to August. The datathon will conclude with a summit in September, where researchers will have the opportunity to present their early findings to fellow academics, innovation agencies, and EU policymakers. This presents an excellent opportunity to showcase your work and engage with key stakeholders in the field. Get involved: Attached to this message, you will find an introductory presentation containing all the details: objectives, structure, available data, and how to participate. This initiative aims to trial various approaches for enhancing collaboration and data sharing between the agency and researchers. We encourage you to consider participating and to share this information with your network. An informational session was held on February 28th. Details on some of the questions answered and the specific data to be shared are provided in an attached PDF. If you have questions, please contact us at david.ampudia@bse.eu. We also invite participants to submit their project ideas using a short submission form. Submissions are open until March 29th. About IGL: IGL is a global collaboration dedicated to making innovation and growth policy more impactful through research and experimentation. This project with the EIC is part of our broader effort to foster a dialogue on enhancing collaboration between innovation agencies and the research community. About the EIC: The EIC was introduced by the European Commission to support the commercialisation of high-risk, high-impact technologies in the European Union. Its goal is to aid researchers, startups, and SMEs in bringing their innovations to market by providing funding. With a budget of €10.1 billion, it supports innovations and technologies across all readiness levels. For further details about our project, please refer to IGL latest blog post: https://lnkd.in/dJyZdYdf