An on-line platform for Innovation Management that allows SMEs to assess their innovation performance relative to a database of 1,500 European SMEs. All the key innovative nations of the EU have been involved with supplying data for this tool. Upper Quartile specifically has been the major contributor of companies and Scotland is well represented in the Improve database. AT Kearney is now working with a committee of innovation consultants of which Upper Quartile are one of the members, regarding the commercialisation of this product.
To effectively measure innovation all the influencing factors need to be taken into account as there is no single standalone measure for innovation. The ‘House of Innovation’, developed by AT Kearney, has evolved as the basis for Improve. The Improve Report is holistic and looks at all interlinked aspect of innovation.
The Improve process offers comprehensive benchmark and objective analysis, a detailed personal feedback with suggestions as to improvement areas. Access to information about Innovation Management is also offered. With the assistance of an innovation expert the client SME can benchmark how they compare against the best in their industry across Europe and this in turn focuses the company on value generation.
The process starts with the SME completing an online self assessment. This automatically generates an Improve Report with comparisons against the Improve database; the questionnaire is split under the headings of Innovation Strategy, Organisation, Culture, Life Cycle and Knowledge Management, enabling factors and business/ innovation performance. In this report, results are presented under the five headings of Innovation defined by AT Kearney and their House of Innovation; the principle is that all the influencing factors are crucial to understanding how effective the innovation performance of any one organisation can be.
With this tool you will:
- be able to understand if you are truly innovative
- be able to measure aspects of your innovativeness comparatively
- focus on the parts of your process where you are under performing
- be introduced to innovation experts
- meet experts who can assist with improvements in bringing more products or services to market, more quickly and more profitably
