Though funding and other resources are undoubtedly imperative to an organization's innovation efforts, equally important is buy-in from executives who value and prioritize innovation.
To get the entire organization on board, innovation teams must be able to demonstrate the benefits their work will generate — from increased revenue to improved customer satisfaction to a total transformation of the industry landscape. From there, the innovation department will need support at every stage of development.
Here, according to an article from Palo Alto-based fintech company Due, are ways an organization can support innovation, from initial idea generation to total digital transformation.
1. Find the money for innovation early: In the earliest stages of innovation, securing as much funding as possible is key, whether the money comes from internal budgets or external grants or investors.
2. Structure your organization in an innovation-friendly way: Once firmly in the growth stage, be sure to continue to promote innovation, even as the focus shifts to scaling out existing projects and technologies.
3. Pursue digital transformation and innovation labs: After the department has established a level of success that makes funding easier to attain, it is not time to sit back and relax, but to apply the methods developed in the early stages of growth to even broader initiatives, such as total digital transformation or the development of an internal innovation hub.