Strategy - UNIT webinars

The UN Innovation Toolkit

The Strategy Module

START

Process

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit

Scale

Design

Fail

Repeat

Learn

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet

Team information

Berin McKenzie

Paula de Blas

Johanna Jochim

Learning Portfolio ManagerUNSSC

Associate FellowUNSSC

ManagerUN Innovation Network

Poll #1 Did you join our last UN Innovation Toolkit webinar two weeks ago?

Motivator

Yes

Motivator

Motivator

No

1.

UN Innovation Toolkit

Recap

Online Diagnostic Tool: 27 Questions​

• Evaluates team/unit/organization readiness to innovate​, giving an Innovation Profile and Detailed Results.
• Identifies current capabilities as well as needs and challenges, with five recommended tools.

un-innovation.tools/register​

Scan Me

UNSSC Free Course: Introduction to Innovation

www.unssc.org/courses/blue-line-free-open-courses-and-tools-un-staff/

Scan Me

1.

The Strategy Module

Introduction and Overview

TRATEGY

Innovation strategies help organizations and teams make key decisions about how to get from where they are to where they want to go and how to allocate resources effectively.

WITHOUT AN INNOVATION STRATEGY, ORGANIZATIONS OFTEN FIND THEMSEVES:

Launching innovation initiatives that are not complementary to each other or to broader mission priorities

Missing new opportunities and threats associated with new trends and technologies

Taking on responsibilities that are better suited to another player in the broader mission ecosystem.

Why do why need an Innovation Strategy?

To establish a clear set of innovation goals to drive its innovation efforts.

To understand what resources and capabilities are required to execute its innovation activities and achieve its goals.

To treat innovation efforts as portfolios of investments that balance risk and reward.​

To consider its broader programmatic and operational ecosystem when selecting innovation tactics and strategies to execute.

To assess broader trends and emerging technologies when charting the course for its innovation efforts

3.

The Tools

5 UN-derived tools

Headlines of the Future

This tool helps users to think through their innovation goals, imagine what success looks like, and discover which barriers to overcome in order to realize success.

OBJECTIVES

BEFORE YOU BEGIN

CASE STUDY

STEPS YOU WILL TAKE

Scenario Blueprint

This tool helps users assess potential futures that can influence their goals and to strategize how best to prepare for these unknowns.

OBJECTIVES

BEFORE YOU BEGIN

CASE STUDY

STEPS YOU WILL TAKE

Ecosystem Analysis

This tool helps users identify the actors in their innovation ecosystem and determine their comparative advantage.

OBJECTIVES

BEFORE YOU BEGIN

CASE STUDY

STEPS YOU WILL TAKE

Portfolio Strategy

This tool helps users analyze an existing “portfolio” of projects focused on a specific goal, to determine whether they represent the right risk level for their innovation ambitions.

OBJECTIVES

BEFORE YOU BEGIN

CASE STUDY

STEPS YOU WILL TAKE

Innovation Planner

Helps users plan for the execution of an individual innovation project and to identify gaps that require additional resources or additional innovative solutions.

OBJECTIVES

BEFORE YOU BEGIN

CASE STUDY

STEPS YOU WILL TAKE

Most popular tools in the Strategy Module

Innovation planner

Scenario Blueprint

Poll #2 Which tool would you like to delve into today?

Motivator

Scenario Blueprint

Motivator

Innovation Planner

Scenario Blueprint

This tool helps users assess potential futures that can influence their goals and to strategize how best to prepare for these unknowns.

OBJECTIVES

BEFORE YOU BEGIN

CASE STUDY

STEPS YOU WILL TAKE

Scenario Blueprint

Step 1: Determine a focal question and identify driving forces.

Driving Forces​ Worksheet​

1. Identify a key question related to this topic that you would like to explore to inform your innovation goals.
2. List some of the external driving forces that could affect the answer to your focal question ​

• Identify the two forces with the highest potential for impact that also have a high degree of uncertainty.

Worksheet

Scenario Blueprint

Step 2: Turn your two highest-impact forces into scenarios

Scenario Creation Worksheet​

1. Identify two polar-opposite futures for each force
2. Create a 2x2 table in which each of your selected forces represents an axis, and the opposite futures are the end points on each axis
3. Construct four different scenarios representing the quadrants where the extremes of these forces intersect

Plausible

Relevant

Challenging

Divergent

Balanced

Worksheet

Scenario Blueprint

Step 3: Assess each scenario and capture critical insights

Scenario Response Worksheet​

1. Explore the implications and solutions that each future presents.
1. How might you respond to each scenario?
2. What are the potential risks and opportunities each one presents?
3. How can you manage them?

Worksheet

Scenario Blueprint

Step 4: Look across scenarios to identify future innovation focus areas

Innovation Planner

Helps users plan for the execution of an individual innovation project and to identify gaps that require additional resources or additional innovative solutions.

OBJECTIVES

BEFORE YOU BEGIN

CASE STUDY

STEPS YOU WILL TAKE

The Innovation Planner

Ecosystem Analysis

Enabling Environment Scan

Scan the Horizon

Innovation Planner

Refer to the 🔧 Ecosystem Analysis tool for more information on how yourorganization can identify the right tactics to generate new solutions.

Refer to the 🔧Scan the Horizon tool for more information on how to execute these activities.

For organizational challenges that hinder innovation, see the 🔧Enabling Environment Scan tool in the Evaluation module.

Now is time to put in practice the Innovation Planner tool!

Innovation Planner

Step 1: Identify current/planned innovation projects​

Innovation Inventory Worksheet​

• List innovation goals and barriers ​
• List current or planned innovation projects​
• Question: Are they aligned to goals and barriers?

Worksheet

Innovation Planner

Step 2: Plot timelines for each project

Innovation Timeline Worksheet​

• List goals/projects detailed on Innovation Inventory​
• Identify: ​

• Start Date/Targeted Start Date​
• Major Milestones​
• Targeted End Date

Interactive

Agile

Worksheet

Innovation Planner

Step 3: Articulate resource needs/projected outcomes

Innovation Resources Worksheet​

• Timelines:​
• When will resources be needed?​
• Piloting: 6 months? 9 months?​
• Scaling: 5 years?​
• Engage relevant viewpoints​
• Do not work in isolation

Innovation Resources Worksheet​

• Identify required human/financial resources/materials​
• Prioritize:​
• Which resources are critical for the activity?​
• Which would be nice to have?​
• Differentiate between actual/requested resources​

Worksheet

Innovation Planner

Step 4: Analyze the completed innovation inventory, roadmap, and resource templates.

Questions and Answers with...

Berin McKenzie

Learning Portfolio ManagerUN System Staff College UNSSC

Scan Me

Thank you!

See you on the next webinar on 11th May 2021: the Strategy Module.