Community Forum – Internal Technology Council

Resource Type
Survey (Community Forum)
Author
Innovation Research Interchange
Topic
Process Improvement
Associated Event
Publication

What is the optimal make-up of an internal technology council?

For an internal company technology/technical council that is focused on alignment with overall company objectives and generating innovative technology direction, what make-up and objectives have given the best outcomes? – Michael Joosten, Production Technology Fellow, ConocoPhillips

Community Responses

Rob Slone, Technology Director, BP
In general, we have had success when including Research, Marketing and Legal (IP) as the three key Technology decision-makers.  These three groups help define the direction, value and differentiation needs for a technology strategy.  Sales, Supply Chain, HR and other key business organizations are kept informed of the clear and specific direction for tech investment but are generally not included in the decision-making group.  Having too many decision-makers can favor short-term options so there is value to limiting the number of players to a minimum core group. 

Glenn Vonk, Director Advanced Technology, Corporate/Shared Services, BD
The make-up of an internal technology council should align with corporate innovation strategy.  More product-oriented strategies benefit from increased business unit representation.   Organizations that compete primarily with new technologies benefit from increased scientific participation.  The specific mix may depend on how well business units and technology units individually align with the corporate strategy.   More important than mix is finding delegates that have experience in both technology and business developments and evidence of integrating functional capabilities into productive teams that create value.   

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