An Impactful Win
Posted 8 months ago
Impact Innovation is delighted to be recognised as an ABA100 Winner for Business Innovation in The Australian Business Awards.
Impact Innovation have been recognised for its Impact and Commercialisation Readiness (IC Readiness®) Program.
“We are really excited about winning this award. The IC Readiness® Program is helping to change the way that pre-revenue R&D and innovation projects are managed and monitored”, Impact Innovation Managing Partner Brian Ruddle said. “We would like to thank the Australian Business Awards for recognising the impact that this tool is having within Australia and internationally.”
What is the IC Readiness® Program?
IC Readiness® is designed for researchers and innovation managers who navigate the uncertainties of R&D innovation, empowering them to make well-informed decisions. It expands on NASA’s 9-point technology readiness scale, guiding users to advance pre-revenue ideas into commercial outcomes by assessing three additional readiness levels that focused on the project’s market, supply chain, and financial capabilities.
Why did we create the IC Readiness® Program?
In the 1970s, NASA developed the Technology Readiness Levels (TRLs) to measure and monitor R&D progress and improve decision-making during the development of cutting-edge technologies. Impact Innovation utilised TRLs to assist clients in navigating the uncertainties associated with commercialisation of innovative R&D projects. However, the TRL system had significant drawbacks as it neglected to consider other crucial commercialisation factors such as the market, supply chain, and financial aspects. The absence of assessing these factors limited the guidance provided to our clients, which in turn hindered their ability to navigate commercialisation uncertainties and make informed decisions regarding their next steps.
What impact is it having?
Innovation, R&D and design enable organisations to effectively harness knowledge, creativity and ambition from within their ecosystem to achieve competitive advantage, increase revenue, build reputation and enhance sustainability. It takes commitment and investment. The impact of the IC Readiness® tool is how it takes an organisation from simply having a process that facilitates innovation and R&D activity to having a blueprint that is laser focused on navigating uncertainty to generate value. It means time, money and talent are invested to generate a return. The wider ecosystem is engaged and consulted. The organisation learns and grows.
Impact in Action
IC Readiness® is already being used in multiple Australian Research and Development Corporations (RDCs).
One such organisation required a simple and effective framework to help address uncertainty in processes and decision making. They needed a solution that would improve the speed of commercial activity and the impact of project investments.
Research managers and the senior leadership team were engaged in analysing and mapping existing processes, to co-design a new decision support framework using IC Readiness®. The new framework was validated against current projects. Decision support documentation and process maps were created to operationalise the framework for implementation.
IC Readiness® enabled this organisation to build skills, confidence and experience in decision making. The project led to improved processes for decision making as well as more effective selection of research priorities, procurement systems and portfolio management. Co-design of the framework resulted in an impactful reporting process for the organisation to demonstrate a return on innovation investment.
Is IC Readiness® right for you?
If you are looking for a framework or process to enable more effective decision-making while navigating the uncertainty of innovation and R&D, then IC Readiness® might be for you.