Building out the clarity of any robust innovations mandate needs a depth of thinking
Following on from my first post “Constructing the Innovation Mandate” we should look further into aspects of the innovation mandate that need considering and clarification
Any innovation mandate needs to consider what is meant by the following and provide explanations:
Corporate Objectives: The innovation mandate should clearly align with the organization’s corporate objectives and business strategy. It should articulate how innovation will contribute to achieving these objectives, and what specific goals and metrics will be used to measure the success of the innovation program.
Value Goals: Innovation should create value for the organization in various forms, including revenue growth, cost savings, improved customer satisfaction, and enhanced brand reputation. The innovation mandate should clearly define the value goals for the innovation program and how they will be measured and tracked over time.
Innovation Policy: An innovation policy provides guidance and direction for the innovation program, defining the types of innovation that will be pursued, how innovation projects will be prioritized, and how intellectual property will be managed. The innovation mandate should articulate the organization’s innovation policy and how it will be implemented.
License to Operate: License to operate refers to the organization’s social and environmental responsibilities and obligations. An innovation mandate should consider how innovation can help the organization fulfil these responsibilities and enhance its reputation as a responsible corporate citizen.
Other relevant points to consider in an innovation mandate includes building the organization’s understanding of the following:
- Risk management: Innovation inherently involves risk, and the innovation mandate should address how risk will be managed, including risk assessment, risk mitigation strategies, and contingency planning. This part of the document provides the guardrails and guidance and the essential encouragement to bring risk evaluations into all innovation conversations.
- Resource allocation: The innovation mandate should outline how resources, including funding, personnel, and technology, will be allocated to support innovation initiatives and where these will be drawn down from and the “equity of resources” shared so this is a collaborative endeavour.
- Collaboration and partnerships: Innovation often requires collaboration with external partners, and the innovation mandate should consider how these partnerships will be managed and how value will be created and shared. Building a detailed Ecosystem thinking and design of collaboration needs
- Intellectual property management: Innovation often generates valuable intellectual property, and the innovation mandate should outline how this intellectual property will be managed and protected. The guiding principles of shared IP and the clarity of who needs to be involved, to assess the protection and be part of the emerging (and often changing) needs of IP in registration updates.
- Performance measurement: The innovation mandate should identify specific metrics and performance indicators that will be used to measure the success of the innovation program and inform ongoing improvement efforts. Designing impact and progress dashboards that are common across the organization enables faster identification and tracking of progress made.
Overall, an innovation mandate should be a comprehensive document that considers all relevant factors that contribute to successful innovation in the organization. Each organization will see the scope, needs and abilities it can support differently.
The innovation mandate should be signed off and disseminated to all relevant stakeholders constantly
The drafting by a small team of senior leaders, innovation experts and subject matter experts should disseminate this policy document to all stakeholders including executives, managers and employees at all levels. In any document, feedback and suggestions should be actively sought.
Understanding this mandate is for all employees and specifically those impacted by the program, especially in research and development, marketing, operations, technical support and development, finance and sales.
In addition, it should be shared and well communicated with external stakeholders such as partners, investors and customers to communicate the organization’s commitment to innovation and its strategy for driving innovation forward.
Finally, this mandate sets expectations and builds out internal marketing, setting and/or seeking well-focused topics that can contribute to the strategic priorities and areas of future value and can be central or validated against any reward and recognition approach as the referencing point. It becomes the licence to operate and encourage valuable contributions to any innovation.
In summary the two posts
The alignment and engagement that forms around the organization’s approach and support of the innovation program are often lacking a detailed innovation mandate. This actually is a vital strategic and operational document, essential for understanding, interpreting and identifying where the role of innovation fits across the entire organization and beyond
Being aware, managing expectations and having clarity of where innovation fits needs this comprehensive innovation mandate document, it offers a bedrock to build upon, not hide behind. It enables, empowers and transforms and can be a catalyst for increasing the rate of growing success.
Equally Innovation Governance becomes increasingly important for innovation.
Having a clear well-structured Governance structure helps to really facilitate innovation. I provide below a couple of post links where I have written on different aspects of Governance that have relevance to any strategic (integrated) design for Innovation.
Innovation Mandates and Governance have a clear need to be well-designed and integral in any innovation process design. The organization should build these into living dynamic documents.
Addressing both makes good sense. I have previously focused on innovation governance, for example, in the posts “Why we should focus on Innovation Governance” and “The Role of Governance Needed in Innovation.“
The first post “Constructing the Innovation Mandate” provides the initial building blocks, here I have considered different aspects that give a deeper strength to this important strategic document, needed by any organization to help support a sustainable innovation process.
I can offer support in building the innovation process
I can provide support and contribution to both the building out of the Innovation Mandate and the Governance of Innovation and provide a significant external contribution in contributing to these and other essential innovation strategic thinking documents that organizations need to work through, that build value and impact, and add different levels of perspective and insight.
I work in supporting and building both the strategic and operational needs of an organization as an external advisor or coach. I would be happy to have any initial conversation that supports your needs.