Connect, learn, be inspired!
Regular activities facilitate the sharing of experience and wisdom across the community while highly topical issues are addressed. Whether you are interested in disruptive tech, leading innovation processes, managing innovation teams, running an innovative organisation, or being an innovator, you will find much to interest and educate you, and you’ll become part of a special community of impressive peers.
We look forward to engaging with you!
Annual Gathering
The Innovators' Assembly
This event provides a unique opportunity for leaders and innovators across the high-tech manufacturing ecosystem to engage on the many systemic contexts in which they operate.
“It’s a conference, Jim, but not as we know it!”
The Assembly take a very different approach to traditional conferences – it’s carefully designed to ensure that a diverse mix of peers connect and co-create rich insights they can take back to their workplace. A gentle (and unique) process ensures full participation that is enjoyable and rewarding.
Manufacturers can send a representative from up to four distinct functions. This helps build shared understanding and adds more heft to good ideas brought back to the organisation.
Thursday 12th September 2024
8am registration; 8.30am start; 4.30pm end
Milton Hill House
with easy access from the M4 and A34
Space and Sustainability
Col “Foggy” Fogarty, Chief of Staff, UK Space Command
Hear about the opportunities of new frontiers, set against threats from nefarious actors, space weather and debris; the international state of play and the emerging role of UK Space Command in ensuring that space is safe, secure, and sustainable for future generations.
Seats are limited, so please get in touch if you would like to be part of this unique experience and particularly if you think your organisation is a candidate for the Innovation Network.
The Assembly kicks off the season and leads into the following three activity streams below.
Three Streams
GYMS
So what is a “Gym”?
These are four expertly facilitated half-day practice spaces for innovators to practice powerful tools to address shared issues, while getting to know colleagues from other organisations, and seeing through different cultural lenses. Participants range from mid-career to senior innovators and find the gyms illuminating and highly practical.
The tools:
- A well-recognised problem-solving approach used in change management to address systemic challenges and engage stakeholders. Attendees can bring this back and can use with their colleagues.
- An approach to facilitate others to solve an innovation challenge of their own; an invaluable capability for developing team members and when seeking to understand and support customers.
Outcomes:
Participants get to view a problem through the eyes of peers in different industries who address it differently. Fresh perspectives spark fresh thinking to apply straight away.
What are the benefits?
Comments from participants:
“Clear direction with the session – took us on a journey”
“I gained a useful tool to take away to my own organisation”
“The session was well-presented and easy to understand.”
“Interesting how other companies are facing the same issues.”
“Great opportunity to talk through similar challenges with those independent of the norm.”
“The group discussions, especially with those I don’t normally interact with, provide huge value.”
“Great forum to share and refreshing to hear that all of us in the breakout faced the same issues, but with varied ideas and solutions.”
“Good to think of innovation in cultural, not just technological terms.”
“Good diversity of individuals within the session, breadth of experience and seniority”
CIRCLES
So what is a Senior Circle?
The Senior Circles are a rare confidential space for small groups of senior leaders and innovators to share personal challenges over the course of a day in a comfortable environment. Intelligent input and support is generously given by deeply experienced peers, and a seasoned facilitator.
Outcomes:
- clear mapping of the complex systemic issues put on the table
- creative and pragmatic options to address the issue
- clarity, confidence, tools, and commitment to resolve the issue brought
Participants can be transformation leaders, product developers or leaders of customer-facing teams.
What are the benefits?
Here are the words of some participants:
“The session had an engaging atmosphere that led to some really interesting dialogue between the delegates.
The agenda for the session was to discuss, as a group, an ongoing issue that we each were personally attempting to deal with in our organisations. This led to some insightful discussions around wider geo-political issues that are affecting us all right through to some specific actions that each of us could take back and apply.”
Research and Innovation Manager
“The Innovator’s circle is support we all would like from our own organisations but rarely experience. The ability to discuss pressing work-related issues with likeminded individuals from different corporate cultural influences in an open and “safe space” is both cathartic and enabling.
We often try to think of radical and innovative solutions to our problems when we are in the office – “brainstorming” our way out of the situation – when the real answer is much simpler and often hidden in plain sight. It takes a “friendly stranger” to point these things out sometimes.
The topic I chose was relevant and timely. The thoughts and actions developed in the Innovators Circle will guide my approach to resolving the situation.”
Innovation Manager
MATCHES
So what are Matches?
Mentors and mentees are matched across the Innovation Network community for two consecutive rounds of up to 8 sessions. An invaluable orientation session for each role is given at the outset.
Outcomes:
- Leaders develop skills that can put to valuable use in their own organisation.
- Mentees gain valuable insights enhancing their performance, and motivating them in their career path.
- Both gain a fascinating window into other organisations, helping them see beyond unconscious cultural biases.
- Wisdom is exchanged between generations and cultures.
What are the benefits?
Comments from Mentors:
“I think I got as much from it as my mentee”
“I was surprised how quickly it felt ‘natural’ between myself and my mentee – it drove the sessions and meant we were able to cover more ground.”
“We were able to cover a lot of detail in our sessions, the relationship was open quickly, which helped.”
“It’s good to know that many of the problems in other companies are similar to those we have experienced”
Comments from Mentees:
“Different insights into common themes have given me new avenues to explore.”
“I valued the listening, focus and understanding.”
“I enjoyed the experience”
“The reassurance helped quench self-doubt. I learned where I was doing well, which instilled confidence. I now have a clearer path towards achieving my goals.”
“I feel more relaxed about not knowing and am more inclined to seek advice. The belief of unrealistic performance expectation is no longer there.”
“It helped me capitalise on my skills to excel and focus my ambitions; we defined areas to improve for career progression.”
“I appreciated the very open, insightful, and supportive discussions.”
Flexibility
Construct membership to suit your organisation
Organisations can sign up to one or more streams and can choose how many “seats” to purchase per stream.
A “seat” means…
- Innovators’ Exchange: a mentor-mentee pair. We suggest several pairs for the exchange.
- The mentor would ideally be
- a function head
- a department head
- possibly a manager of a group of team leaders.
- The mentee would ideally be
- an individual contributor, or
- a team leader.
- The mentor would ideally be
- Innovators’ Gym: one early-to-late career innovator per gym. They could be from any part of the business, not necessarily tech. Places are transferable so a different person could be sent to each of the four gyms. We recommend you consider several seats for the gym.
- Innovators’ Circle: One department head or Director per circle. E.g. Head of R&D, Head of Innovation, Director of Innovation and Reseearch – though they may also be from other functions, e.g. Director, or Head of Operations, Finance, Marketing, HR.
An organisation that signs up to one stream becomes a Member.
An organisation that signs up to a minimum of one seat at each of the three stream becomes a Full member.
Discounts for “Full members”
If your business subscribes to a minimum of one seat at each of the three activity streams above, it will benefit from a 10% discount off:
- The price per seat on each stream
- The Assembly seats