Innovation Management Innovation Audits University of Malta Professor Sandra M. Dingli Co-funded by the European Union Ref. number: 542203-LLP-1-2013-1-FI-ERASMUS-ENW
The Edward de Bono Institute University of Malta o Four pillars: Creativity (idea generation), Innovation Management, Foresight (Futures Studies), Entrepreneurship o Master in Creativity and Innovation (3 semesters, location based) o Joint MSc in Strategic Innovation and Future Creation (with University of Potsdam and collaboration with University of Turku, 3 semesters, mainly e-learning) o Services other degree programs, NGOs, Government, Industry, international visitors
Study units on Innovation: IOT5028: Creativity, Innovation and New Digital Technology (5 ECTS) IOT5029: Innovation in Organisations (5 ECTS) Combination of theory, applied practice, reflection and research
Teaching methods utilised o Lectures o Material (soft copy) on the VLE o Discussion Fora (RL and on the VLE) o Brief video clips (e.g., Seth Godin s Purple Cow TED talk, Jane McGonigal on games, P & G Connect+Develop, Ericsson s Idea Boxes, etc. o Collaborative web research o Visiting experts o Visits to organisations
Some topics o What is innovation, incremental and radical innovation; o Idea management systems; o What is an innovation audit? How can innovation be audited ; o Organisational climate and culture; o Innovation in NGOs, charities and state funded organisations; o Open innovation; o Lead users; new product development; o User generated innovation; o Barriers to innovation in organisations; o Innovation diffusion; innovation memes.
Focus on Open innovation Harnessing ideas from: o Lead Users, Suppliers, Clients, Human Resources, the Crowd (or the Public), Ideas may be processed through: o Idea Management System, Strategy o Idea Champions, Idea Scouts, Idea Connectors o Possibly also a Director of Innovation
Research Design and Apply an Innovation Audit (using a real life organisation) Deliver a presentation of the research strategy, background research, results, analysis, barriers, climate, culture, recommendations, possibly research strategy
How would you conduct an Innovation Audit? What are the key indicators you would look for? What questions would you ask?
Innovation Audit considerations o Mission and vision o Publicly available information: website, annual report, adverts, newspapers, etc. o Communication: what do you do with a good idea when you have one? o Risk taking: are you playing it safe? o Added value: what can you offer that the competition does not?
Innovation Audit considerations o Do you have an idea management system? o Does it have a strategic system to identify ideas from external sources? o How receptive is the system to ideas from external sources? o Does it reward ideas? o Does it give feedback? o Is it effective? Is it efficient?
Innovation Audit considerations o How available are you to your staff? o Do you listen to employees when they have ideas to communicate? o When was the last time you went to a movie, an art exhibition, the theatre or read a book unrelated to your work? o Do you give space to your staff, trust them and treat them as responsible individuals? o Are the bean counters always breathing down your neck?
Innovation Audit considerations o Can specific barriers to organisational innovation be identified? o How can these barriers be overcome? o What indicators are required to evaluate the level of innovation within an organisation?
Some learning objectives o To understand the key issues that create barriers and those that enable innovation in organisations o To provide students with skills to conduct strategic assessments of organisational innovation and to develop innovation strategies in organisations o Users, clients, suppliers and other external sources are very important where innovation in organisations is concerned
Some learning outcomes: Students are expected to: o recognise the conditions that inhibit and facilitate organisational creativity and innovation and to understand how creativity and innovation can be fostered and implemented o achieve an understanding of the importance of strategically managing innovation within an organisation and to be capable of exploring and developing strategies which will enable increased innovation
THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION www.um.edu.mt/create sandra.m.dingli@um.edu.mt