Spark
Spark Your Innovation!
The CorporateIntrapreneur Summit (organized by the Institute
for International Research and Culturevate) that took place on October 8 in NYC brought
together more than 70 thought leaders and practitioners in the field of
corporate innovation. Over the day packed with panel discussions, case study
presentations and interactive working sessions, they discussed the benefits and
problems large companies face when launching corporate intrapreneurship
programs.
One
of the most interesting presentations was given by Roel de Vries, Innovation Program
Manager with Liberty Global, an international telecommunication company. Roel
spoke about Spark, Liberty Global's innovation program. After Summit closing, I
sat with Roel and asked him a few questions about Spark.
of the most interesting presentations was given by Roel de Vries, Innovation Program
Manager with Liberty Global, an international telecommunication company. Roel
spoke about Spark, Liberty Global's innovation program. After Summit closing, I
sat with Roel and asked him a few questions about Spark.
E.I.: Roel, what is Spark and
what were your objectives for launching this program?
what were your objectives for launching this program?
R. de V.: Spark is Liberty Global's
innovation initiative designed to source and refine ideas in response to real
business challenges by tapping into collective creativity of our employees and
partners. It was conceived as a very bottom-up initiative to
involve employees in the wider scheme of innovation. The journey started in 2011 with the single
implementation of a very raw platform offered to our employees in the
Netherlands. This platform allowed employees to submit their ideas - an online
suggestion scheme, so to speak. We got
first results and launched the initiative in some other countries, but we also
saw that we weren't getting the most out of this endeavor.
innovation initiative designed to source and refine ideas in response to real
business challenges by tapping into collective creativity of our employees and
partners. It was conceived as a very bottom-up initiative to
involve employees in the wider scheme of innovation. The journey started in 2011 with the single
implementation of a very raw platform offered to our employees in the
Netherlands. This platform allowed employees to submit their ideas - an online
suggestion scheme, so to speak. We got
first results and launched the initiative in some other countries, but we also
saw that we weren't getting the most out of this endeavor.
E.I.: Why?
R. de V.: Best practices and ideas
weren't shared between business units and employees, and we also saw a lot of
ideas that didn't fit to what we were looking for.
weren't shared between business units and employees, and we also saw a lot of
ideas that didn't fit to what we were looking for.
E.I.: So, what happened next?
R. de V.: In 2013, we decided to try
another approach: we started with the end
in mind. A framework was first developed by which we aligned the idea inflow to
the company strategy. Then we ran focused ideation campaigns online to
gather ideas from our employees. By putting focus on the question and by taking
effort to carefully formulate it, we made sure we're collecting ideas our
business units were looking for. During
these campaigns we also supported the idea maturing process by providing appropriate
tools and by connecting ideas to ideas and employees to employees.
another approach: we started with the end
in mind. A framework was first developed by which we aligned the idea inflow to
the company strategy. Then we ran focused ideation campaigns online to
gather ideas from our employees. By putting focus on the question and by taking
effort to carefully formulate it, we made sure we're collecting ideas our
business units were looking for. During
these campaigns we also supported the idea maturing process by providing appropriate
tools and by connecting ideas to ideas and employees to employees.
E.I.: Did that make a
difference?
difference?
R. de V.: It did. Now, in the year
2015, with the help of this new supporting platform, we're
connecting ideas and employees worldwide, which
really results in great interactions! Through
the platform we're also capable of tracking implementation and return on
investment (ROI) realized by these implementations. Spark has become the Swiss army knife--or MacGyver, if
you prefer--for the whole organization. It has created tools that allow the
business to innovate with all employees. Obviously, we're looking into the future to find new ways of supporting
our corporate intrapreneurs, helping them realize their own ideas.
2015, with the help of this new supporting platform, we're
connecting ideas and employees worldwide, which
really results in great interactions! Through
the platform we're also capable of tracking implementation and return on
investment (ROI) realized by these implementations. Spark has become the Swiss army knife--or MacGyver, if
you prefer--for the whole organization. It has created tools that allow the
business to innovate with all employees. Obviously, we're looking into the future to find new ways of supporting
our corporate intrapreneurs, helping them realize their own ideas.
E.I.: Is Spark exclusively
internal innovation program or it also has an 'external' arm?
internal innovation program or it also has an 'external' arm?
R. de V.: Spark also looks for external
ideas. We run similar online ideation campaigns with vendors and we work
together with students from the Technical University in the Netherlands who can
complete part of their Master assignments on campus at Liberty Global. Also
here, Spark creates the environment and methods that business units can use to
easily involve these external parties in their innovation efforts.
ideas. We run similar online ideation campaigns with vendors and we work
together with students from the Technical University in the Netherlands who can
complete part of their Master assignments on campus at Liberty Global. Also
here, Spark creates the environment and methods that business units can use to
easily involve these external parties in their innovation efforts.
E.I.: Roel, can you give us
some numbers to better understand the scope of Spark?
some numbers to better understand the scope of Spark?
R. de V.: Sure. The program is
available to 20,000 Liberty Global employees, and we register above 35% overall
activity. About 15%-20% of employees invited to ideation campaigns participate
in them. Overall, 13,000 ideas have been collected over all these years, of
which about 1,000 were implemented. As a result, ROI for the programs runs into
millions of dollars of new revenue and cost savings, and we see millions more
in the pipeline.
available to 20,000 Liberty Global employees, and we register above 35% overall
activity. About 15%-20% of employees invited to ideation campaigns participate
in them. Overall, 13,000 ideas have been collected over all these years, of
which about 1,000 were implemented. As a result, ROI for the programs runs into
millions of dollars of new revenue and cost savings, and we see millions more
in the pipeline.
About the Author: Eugene Ivanov is helping organizations of different sizes design and implement internal and external innovation programs. He's an expert in selecting and defining R&D problems that can be successfully solved by crowdsourcing. He writes blog Innovation Observer and tweets @eugeneivanov101.