Bord ná Mona - Source Issue 6 - (Page 16)
UPWARDS
Onwards and
It’s all change at InnovatIon, as It should be, wIth new Ideas now reachIng the marketplace and excItIng projects In the pIpelIne
a
t Innovation, a lot of hard work is now beginning to bear fruit in terms of new concepts, processes, and ideas. “the next stage is to link this process more closely into our markets and to have a commercial rationale, even at the early stage, with all the applied innovation to assist in the prioritisation process,” says ceo, gabriel d’arcy. to do that, Innovation will work more in tandem with the company’s strategic marketing team, not alone based on good ideas, but also on rationalised and accommodating consumer insights. “I’m very excited by the innovation agenda that has been created, and I am looking forward to lifting that on to a new level, in terms of this link up with strategic marketing,” says gabriel. “I see this as a close association where strategic marketing will guide the innovation process to increase the effectiveness and success of the innovation agenda.” tasked with putting an innovation structure in place was head of Innovation, hugh henry, who is justly proud that bord na móna is the first company in Ireland to have an accredited, results-based system for harnessing and stage-gating ideas generated throughout the company. “Innovation is not a random
process, it requires that structure,” says hugh, adding that the cost is partially offset by external funding from the government, via tax credits and from direct grants from organisations, such as enterprise Ireland and other sources. Interaction with external agencies also occurs with third level institutions, including nuI galway. “we have to adopt an open innovation model, which means we have to be led by what the customer wants, and we have to engage with external bodies and organisations. we don’t want to just innovate internally. You get maximum return by maximising your tentacles in various areas.” In january, the Innovation unit hosted a very successful Innovation seminar. “the overall objective was to stimulate interaction between groups and actively embed innovation,” says sean creedon, who co-ordinated the event. with exhibition stands and speakers, the seminar successfully highlighted different projects and facilitated the exchange of ideas between staff from various business units. please take a look at nationwide (pg 25), which features some photographs of the event. It was also an opportunity to do in person what the staff does using teaming, a collaboration software
that facilitates interaction in a company as diverse and dispersed as bord na móna. “the essence of innovation is sharing, and teaming is just one tool that increases the efficiency of the innovation process. we also use mind-mapping software. the next tool will be ideation sessions where we get together to deal with a particular problem and we will be following that up with a whole series of enabling tools.” those tools underpin the stage processes of ideas, which fit into either short-term, medium-term or longerterm projects – horizon 1, 2, and 3. “It is very much the 80/20 rule, 80% should be short-term/mid-term projects and 20% should be long-term,” says hugh. “we are very market-aware and led across our three horizons. It’s all about balancing projects, risk versus reward. and bord na móna has to be a little bit more risk-taking and less risk averse to make the transition it wants to make.”
mORe infO
For more information e-mail: innovationcentre@bnm.ie
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16 | Source Spring 2011
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Bord ná Mona - Source Issue 6
Bord ná Mona - Source Issue 6
Contents
A Round-Up of News From Around the Company
A Values-Driven Company
A Bright Future
Snowed Under!
Training & Development for Performance
Onwards and Upwards
Updates on Important Developments and Projects Around the Company
Heritage Corner
The World at His Feet
A Nationwide Spotlight on Special Occasions, Events and Achievements Across the Company.
Health & Wellness Supplement
Bord ná Mona - Source Issue 6
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