About ICE

The design of the programme is based on the premise that maximum learning potential is achieved be combining knowledge transfer and skills development. As such, the programme consists of a series of guided learning activities that are centred on the completion of a supported in-company Innovation project(s), where companies can test their understanding and develop their innovation leadership skills in a managed way. A key element of the learning programme is the company specific, action based learning between group sessions to ensure learning is tailored and applied to address the specific needs of each company. This ensures that each company receives the maximum gain from the programme and results in real economic value for the company in terms of increased turnover and profitability.

The programme is designed for a maximum of 3 people participating per company with 10 companies per annual programme per region.

The target audience for the programme group sessions and on-site action based learning is a combination and integration of the various functional levels within an organisation, including:

• Owner Managers
• Representatives of the management team who have the authority to enact change within their organisation, and will include representation from technology and support function personnel.

Approach And Methodology

A comprehensive training and action based learning programme has been developed to address the identified needs and requirements for the participating company to ensure innovative practices within their organisation The ethos of the learning programme is to take the participating companies through a practical programme that will address the requirements for successful innovation exploitation within an organisation by addressing innovation stimulation, identification, validation, commercialisation and exploitation. At the end of the training and action learning program each participating company will have taken identified opportunities through the complete process, resulting in identified commercialisation opportunities and routes.

The programme will be delivered on a modular basis combining workshop-based learning and on-site company specific action based learning sessions for the participating companies over a 12-month period.

A key objective of the programme is to combine the theoretical aspects of innovation management and exploitation with practical implementation directly into an individual’s organisation. This will be achieved through a combination of ‘group workshops’; ‘in situ action based learning within the work place’’ and a number of real ‘innovation projects’ that each individual will be responsible for progressing from the initial stimulation of ideas all the way through to exploitation.

Each element of the programme will have real, practical company based work that the participating company will have to undertake within their organisation. This work will be practical in nature and assist in embedding sustainable innovation within the organisation.

Through the programme all the participating companies will become drivers of innovation within their own organisations. At the end of the programme the participating companies will:

• Have an understanding of the importance and value creation of innovation
• Be able to develop and tailor the most appropriate approach to innovation within their business
• Have developed a company specific sustainable innovation strategy, with supporting actions and projects
• Have a clear understanding of the various stages involved in the innovation cycle.

Each participating company through the programme will have detailed knowledge of the innovation process from being able to:

• Create an environment where the stimulation of ideas can begin
• Understand and create a mechanism for the identification of commercially valuable ideas for further progression
• Progress each potentially good idea through a structured validation where a rigorous and structured market pull approach is applied to create a robust commercial and financial business risk assessment plan
• Realise these business plans through a structured commercialisation process; which will lead to the successful exploitation of the commercial opportunity resulting in new revenue streams.

The following is an outline of the group workshop sessions. The in-company action based learning conducted through the implementation of a real-life innovation project will be scheduled between sessions over the period of one year.