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Innovation Capability mini-Assessment

This questionnaire will provide a “quick and dirty” indication of your company's capability to innovate. It is a shortened version of the questionnaire that is part of the innovation capability assessment and improvement process developed by Indutech.

For a quick overview of the Innovation Capability Maturity Model, visit the ICA product page and download the brochure.

For more information on how to improve your company’s capability to innovate, please contact ica@indutech.co.za or +27 21 887 1180.

 

Instructions

Complete each of the 11 questions below as follows:

  1. Read the question
  2. Read the scenarios describing 3 typical organisational statuses relating to the question
  3. Categorise your organisation in 1 of the 5 statuses – status 2 is between 1 and 3, and status 4 between 3 and 5
  4. Click “Interpret” and wait for your results

The results provide a brief description of the strengths and weaknesses relating to your organisation’s innovation capability.

 


Contact Details

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Innovation Process

  • How are opportunities identified and substantiated?
  • Opportunities are identified based on extrapolation of the past. Ideas are seldom elaborated on or put into action. Initiatives to explore markets and identify latent opportunities have been formalised. Mechanisms for bringing forward and elaborating on ideas and developing concepts have been implemented.Future-oriented procedures for identifying latent opportunities are institutional. Ideas are sourced both internally and externally. Opportunities and concepts are all viewed simultaneously, considering timelines of future technologies, changing regulation and society, etc.
  • How is your project portfolio managed and coordinated?
  • Projects are executed and managed in isolation. Resources are assigned in an ad hoc manner.Concepts are tested, screened and prioritised using formal techniques. Project tasks, schedules and resources are planned, allocated and coordinated as a portfolio. Customers and suppliers are regularly involved. Concepts are quickly made tangible and tested. Prioritisation considers interrelations between opportunities, concepts, future scenarios, etc. The project portfolio is integrated by aligning objectives and tasks. Customers and suppliers play an intrinsic role in the process.
  • How are opportunities and concepts consolidated and exploited?
  • Concepts are slow to get taken forward, lacking both direction and focus. Focused practices and procedures for developing and implementing concepts have been defined and implemented. Appropriate techniques and procedures for managing schedule, cost and quality are implemented.Institutional procedures for developing and implementing concepts enable the exploitation of multiple opportunities simultaneously.
  • How is your innovation process controlled and managed?
  • Project decisions are made primarily in times of crisis with limited understanding of progress and risk. Key decision points are identified for each project. Procedures to reduce project uncertainty and identify, manage and mitigate risk have been implemented.Fundamental principles guide decision making. Key decision points within projects consider other projects within the portfolio. Uncertainties and risks are identified, managed, balanced and reduced as an integrated whole within the portfolio.

Knowledge & Competency

  • How is research conducted?
  • Research is limited to known fields and focused on building on existing knowledge. Collaboration is ad hoc, if at all. Exploring existing and new fields of research is an established practice. Collaboration and networking between internal and external parties is facilitated and encouraged. Individuals and teams explore and expand knowledge related to organisational learning objectives and naturally involve the knowledge and skills of others. Teams with complementary objectives are aligned and the nature of interaction is open and trusting.
  • How is research and information consolidated?
  • Information is seldom summarised and often "dumped" into unstructured storage. The practice of summarising, highlighting and/or extracting relevant information is established. Procedures for contextualising, categorising and capturing, and tools for storing and retrieving, information have been implemented. IP is protected and managed. Extracting the core, most relevant information is an institutional behaviour. Individuals and teams have adopted and exploit the deployed procedures, frameworks and tools to capture information. IP policies facilitate collaboration, while offering sufficient protection.
  • How are your core competencies and technologies acquired and managed?
  • Development and acquisition occurs on an "as-and-when-needed" basis and is application specific or used in isolation. Core competencies and technologies are identified, managed and maintained to ensure project and operational needs are continuously fulfilled. Procedures for developing and/or acquiring required competencies and technologies are implemented. Core competencies and technologies are aligned and synchronised for both innovation and operational requirements. Development and acquisition focuses on adaptable and flexible core competencies and technologies to meet multiple requirements.

Organisational Support

  • Is innovation strategy communicated, deployed and supported?
  • Innovation strategy and objectives are not explicit. Little encouragement is provided for innovative behaviour. Innovation strategy supports business objectives. It is clearly and regularly communicated. Innovation champions are identified and tasked with supporting and encouraging innovative behaviour. Innovation strategy holistically captures latent opportunities, future scenarios and business objectives. Objectives are "owned" by individuals. Autonomous behaviour is encouraged. Leaders support, coordinate and ensure alignment.
  • How does organisational structure and infrastructure support innovation?
  • Structure lacks flexibility to adapt to changing business requirements while infrastructure, systems and tools are insufficient to support innovation. Functional and project structures are flexible and able to adapt to changing business requirements. Infrastructure, systems and tools to support innovation are available. Teams are made up of individuals from various functional divisions.Installation and layout of infrastructure is flexible and adaptable. Dedicated systems and tools to facilitate innovation activities are available - needs are continuously monitored, gaps filled and improvements made. Teams are multidisciplinary and cross-functional.
  • How do organisational policies, practices and procedures support innovation?
  • Values and policies focus strongly on conformance and maintaining the status quo. Innovation-specific practices and procedures are limited. Values and policies create an environment that encourages individuals to communicate openly. Change management procedures have been implemented. Initiatives to motivate individuals have been implemented. People and relationships are fundamental drivers of innovation - appropriate freedom fosters continuous learning, improvement and autonomy. Change and mistakes are seen as opportunities to learn. Motivation is linked to business and innovation targets.
  • How are resources allocated to innovation?
  • ROI requirements restrict investment in innovation. Resources assigned to innovation are limited or activities have low priority. Investment in innovation is consistent, ensuring that business and innovation objectives are achievable. Innovation metrics have been aligned with objectives and are continuously monitored. Dedicated resources ensure sufficient "slack" to facilitate innovation - needs are continuously monitored and gaps filled. Measuring, monitoring and improving innovation practices is continuous.

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