January 18 Member Update

New Resource Posted

Summary of the 2022 CTO Forum is available now

15 CTOs met in Washington DC to discuss current challenges to accelerating top line growth through innovation. Regarding sustainability, the discussion identified key challenges and related actions such as:

• Proposed development of an environmental, social, and governance calculator to help in the product design process since renewables and offsets are not typically factored into this process.
• Consider shifting evaluation of sustainability initiatives from value to risk-avoidance (because competitors are actively pursuing these initiatives and governments are incentivizing them).
• Use UN goals at the corporate level to drive the research agenda; increase the percentage of H3 investment targeted to sustainability goals.
• Incorporate sustainability goals into the Stage-Gate process, with a clause that products will not be brought to the market that do not contribute to sustainability objectives.
• Engage the marketing department so that truly sustainable new products are not lumped into a vague bucket (as has happened, for example, with “organic” foods).
• Focus on adjacencies that may improve sustainability.

New Resource Posted

New Innovation Community!

Challenged integrating sustainability into your innovation practices and processes? We are excited to announce the launch of IRI’s new Sustainability Community! The Sustainability Community will help you address this, and other needs related to sustainable development goals. Through the community, you will be able to access:

• Monthly interviews with sustainability thought leaders
• Kick off interview: Sustainable innovation with Rick Michelman, President & CEO of Michelman
• How does a global chemical manufacturer integrate sustainability into new product development? How do they assess the ROI on investments in sustainability and capitalize on regulatory changes?
• Thursday, January 26 at 12pm ET
• Monthly roundtable discussions
• Join your peers each month to share challenges and bounce ideas off of one another.  
• Receive the calendar invitation.
• Case studies
• Our first in the series will be out early this year. Stay tuned!

January 9, 12pm – 1:00pm EST

Digital Knowledge Management Techniques – PILOT Research Roundtable

Confused as to which historical data to keep and who makes those decisions. This roundtable discussion will focus on the decision-making process around what historical data to keep and who makes those decisions. This event is the 2^nd discussion in IRI’s benchmarking project on digitizing knowledge management. By attending, you will have the opportunity to hear from fellow innovation professions how they approach this process.

January 18, 12pm – 1:00pm EST

Making Open Innovation Work – TRACK Workshop

Are your corporate innovation efforts siloed within research labs and boardrooms? This workshop practical recommendations about external technology assessment, intellectual property considerations, and effective project management involving external partners.

January 23, 12pm – 1:00pm EST

Improving Workplace Morale and Motivation – PILOT Research Roundtable

This roundtable will focus on how managers convey the importance of innovation under challenging circumstances, and what concrete cultural or communication policies can be put in place to foster innovation. This roundtable discussion is the 3^rd part in IRI’s benchmarking project on best practices in improving workplace morale and motivation among innovation staff.

Shaping Innovation Leaders

Transition from an innovation manager to an innovation ambassador!

Wish your high-potential scientists could be high-achieving influencers within your company? This intense 1-week course at the top-ranked leadership business school, Kellogg, will provide scientists with an understanding of the business needs throughout the enterprise.

January 30, 12pm – 1:00pm

The Human Side of Technology: Leading People Through Digital Transformation – PILOT Project Update

This project is focused on creating insights related to the human side of digital transformation, learn more about it here. In this webinar, they will focus on how companies can prepare for cultural changes associated with digital transformation.

A Research Team Needs Your Help!

Our Innovation ROI Best Practices research team is investigating specifically WHAT to measure, WHEN to measure and HOW to go about collecting ROI data in a way that’s reliable and systematic. They are currently looking for survey respondents to give them a more robust data set they can incorporate and would appreciate hearing from IRI member companies. Beyond the survey, the research team is also looking for a few in-depth interview subjects. 

A Research Team Needs Your Help!

Alicia Hong, Product Development Engineer with The Boeing Company is currently working to complete her PhD. To do so, she is looking for R&D Portfolio Managers who are willing to spend an hour to participate in a portfolio management computer simulation. Data from this simulation will be used to investigate new methods in R&D decision making under uncertainty. Responses are kept anonymous and participants will receive a summary of the insights which may be used to improve their portfolio management process. The initial study will be running from 1/6-2/3.