VOIS - Area 1 - Module 2

  1. MODULE TITLE

Module 2: Main pillars of open innovation strategy
  1. AUTHORS

Ewa Kopczynska
  1. SHORT DESCRIPTION

To benefit from Open Innovation, your company will need an effective strategy accounting for your organisational vision and resource limitations. In this module, you will learn about the key elements of an Open Innovation strategy, such as creating a clear vision of Open Innovation strategy and activities and how to identify needs for external resources in the scope of innovation process. Going through the module, always keep your specific SME in mind to relate the contents to your specific context.
  1. LEARNING OBJECTIVES

    Upon completing this module, you should be able to:

  • Better understand the innovation process and the application of Open Innovation for overcoming shortages in your internal resources and capabilities,
  • Consider different types of innovation for possible application in the scope of your strategy,
  • Design a strategy accounting for a specific vision of your company,
  • Understand the initial steps of your Open Innovation strategy development and what other aspects should be considered afterwards.
  1. Training Content
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Open Innovation – start with a vision

Innovation is currently necessary for any company to survive in a long-term. It does not need to be an innovation revolutionizing the market. But your current product will face constant price pressure as soon as competition will imitate your value proposition. As an SME you need to constantly evolve and distinguish yourself from competitors to ensure that customers wish to pay for what you are selling. While innovating is no longer a choice, your role as a decision-maker and a leader is to ensure that you know why and toward what objective you are innovating. You should not innovate for the pure sake of innovation, but with a specific business direction in mind. Now, that you understand what your innovation options are, and that you can seek out external partners to supplement shortages of relevant for innovation resources, you should consider your general objectives and vision for innovation.

Image by Carlos Alvarenga from Pixabay

Whether you will decide on open or closed innovation, having a vision will help you guide your company through innovation processes, navigate through difficulties, and ensure that your innovation efforts are aligned with the overall aspiration of your company.

Does your company have a defined vision for the business? Do you have a well-defined image of how you want your business to look like in the future? Did your team define common goals and aspirations or a plan how you want to evolve in a long term? Do you know where you want your company to be in 10-20 years?

While it is unrealistic to expect that once you set a vision for your business you will follow it exactly, it is important to understand what the big picture is. It is that vision that will provide you direction, inform your decisions on cross-roads and inspire the actions of your team in the most difficult points in time. The vision will evolve over time as you learn and grow; the market changes, and so will your company.

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