Presentation on Cross iNets Discovery Day Workshop given by Rick Chapman and Nico Macdonald at the iNets South West Launch: 'Accelerating Innovation', 10/02/2011 (UWE Exhibition and Conference Centre, Bristol)

1. Discovery Day An iNet Innovation Lab

2. Overview The most innovative ideas seem to emerge from those unusual gaps where companies, people, and sectors collide. But various obstacles often make trying to work together a headache, if not downright impossible. Our big question was: What can we do to make collaboration become the norm rather than the exception to the rule?

3. Video

4. Objectives 38 delegates across all five iNets were challenged to generate innovation ‘projects’ to address cross-sector opportunities and economic growth Pitch ideas to the iNets for ranking Top projects to receive iNet support through to implementation and deployment

6. What makes a project ‘iNet-esque’

8. Outcomes Four projects were generated on the day All four had strong alignment with iNet targets Swap Shop Action not Talk Low Carbon One-Stop-Shop SME ‘skunkworks’

10. Swap Shop ChallengePlay and the culture of innovation BackgroundThe sharing of ideas across disciplines has tended to be poor. Even in incubators we tend to find ‘silos’ of activity.

11. Objectives Create a model for sharing of ideas and intellectual property that is truly cross-disciplinary and is designed around incentives for sharing

12. Proposal Create an online space in which the iNet can facilitate introductions between potential partners, also supported by domain experts. The parties will then establish whether they want to share ideas and intellectual property.

13. Potential outcomes Sense of community developed around idea sharing Greater value realised from ideas and intellectual property New relationships for collaboration established

14. Action not Talk ChallengeImproving inter-disciplinary working BackgroundNetworking events rarely lead to further activity beyond interesting conversations and swapping business cards

15. Objectives Initiate, Facilitate, and Propagate, to transform network events into vehicles that facilitate the creation of projects

16. Proposal Create an online space to develop relationships started at networking events from which the iNets can develop proactive support projects. Take best practice from it and promote internationally.

17. Potential outcomes Create new projects between people and organisations involved in the iNets, with the potential for the iNets to develop. Better connections between the strong clusters and sectors in the South West

19. Low carbon one-stop-shop ChallengeShort-termism vs strategy BackgroundLow carbon economy is a large arena. Unless you are directly involved in a closely related field, it can be hard for an SME to know where and why to engage. ‘Lean manufacturing’ was readily understood and rapidly adopted.Can we apply previous lessons?

20. Objectives Provide a single source of information to facilitate SME engagement with the low carbon economy Provide compelling case studies, testimonies and information to give context for SME engagement Move the ‘Should I engage?’ question to ‘I would be madnotto engage’

21. Proposal The iNets to coordinate a ‘one-stop-shop’ bringing together all local, sectoral and national partners in a collaborative knowledge sharing program. Take the ‘shop’ on the road throughout the South West to reach the SME community. Positively reinforce adoption through production of case studies and similar material.

22. Potential Outcomes SMEs facilitated to reduce carbon footprint and wastage, improve operational efficiencies and profitability. Cooperative projects across supply chain for waste reuse, new services and potential products.

23. SME Skunkworks ChallengeFacilitating disruptive innovation BackgroundSMEs rarely make time to address strategic issues. Large companies often embed it into corporate culture, eg: Google, Lockheed-Martin. As a result, SMEs often miss strategic opportunities.

24. Objectives Produce a standard ‘support’ offering to illustrate the benefits of strategic development time across any size of organisation Find a way to create buy-in from businesses

25. Proposal Produce a set of support modules (a ‘spice rack’) for the iNets to deploy taking a cluster of SMEs through a capability or ‘skunkworks’ programme Work with two or three lead partners in different industries forsix months, generate test case data, refine models and support for scalable deployment

26. Potential Outcome Rebalance development activity between tactical and strategic New product development and launch Collaborative R&D across traditional boundaries

28. Summary We developed four projects, all with the potential to make significant impact on business practice, efficiency and the economy, all requiring dedicated and focussed support but relatively little other resource We established that people from the diverse disciplines and industries represented by the iNets find it easy to work together effectively when given the chance