By Anne-Laure Mention, ISPIM Advisory Board Member and Head of “Innovation Economics & Service Valuation” Research Unit at the Public Research Centre Henri Tudor
The cooperation between Québec seeks solutions and the International Society for Professional Innovation Management (ISPIM) started almost 2 years ago, when the first edition of this solutions lab was launched simultaneously to the 2010 ISPIM Symposium in Québec City.
With more than 6000 members and associated members coming from various horizons (universities and research centers, consulting and private sector firms, innovation agencies) and multidisciplinary backgrounds (business, management, economics, engineering, etc.), ISPIM is the leading worldwide innovation management network which gathers academics and researchers, industrialists, consultants and public bodies with a shared interest in innovation management. Founded in 1983 by Professor Knut Holt, ISPIM produces high quality scientific and educational material and organizes events in view of facilitating knowledge sharing and development in the field of innovation management and ultimately, supporting innovation capabilities in both private and public sector organizations.
In addition to its two annual events, a conference held in June in Europe and a symposium traditionally organized in another continent, ISPIM supports multiple local, regional, thematic or sectorial initiatives aimed at acting as catalyst for innovation within and across industries.
Québec seeks solutions perfectly exemplifies such regional initiatives, as it federates stakeholders from public and private sectors (e.g. research centers, firms from various manufacturing and service sectors, funding agencies, public bodies, etc.) in order to implement state-of-the art methods for innovation management. This structured approach covers problematisation stage, ideation process, idea screening and finally, the selection of solutions based on feasibility and applicability criteria.
The variety of players involved, their shared cultural identity and willingness to adopt an open and constructive approach to innovation, together with mutual trust, facilitate the collaborative innovation process and lead to tangible and pragmatic outcomes. These features also mirror the ISPIM philosophy, leverage the performance of the undertaken initiatives, and enable the emergence of cross-fertilization opportunities. In supporting such events, ISPIM adds an international dimension to local or regional events, thereby reinforcing the impact and visibility of these initiatives.
Along the same lines, the forthcoming Barcelona conference (please visit our website, http://conference.ispim.org/) will host the first ISPIM seeks solutions workshop, which will gather solution seekers from various horizons to tackle challenges facing manufacturing and service firms. Building upon their respective strengths and successes, no wonder that further cooperation is foreseen!