Innovation Fellows learn and apply innovation skills that are grounded in the science of innovation ecosystems. The ROI begins when your people start the program.

about the Innovation fellows program:

The Innovation Fellows program provides a strong working knowledge of innovation ecosystem theory and dynamics. Fellows program graduates help their organizations improve in three ways:

  1. Increase innovation capacity by applying new learning and practical innovation ecosystem skills, and becoming leaders and role models in your organization's existing or emerging culture of innovation; 
  2. Accelerate the tempo of innovation in your organization or ecosystem by learning how innovation ecosystems actually work, then practicing and sharing those new insights and competencies; and
  3. Help sustain innovative states in the organization over time by growing cohorts of Fellows graduates, Rainforest practitioners, and innovation ecosystem leaders, who all share a common language of innovation, and practice proven, science-based methods for building innovation ecosystems.

Each Innovation Fellows program graduate will have the capability to lead the development and implementation of Innovation Initiatives in their organization or ecosystem. Participants experience multiple modes of learning throughout the program, with an emphasis on learning by doing. This translates into Return on Investment during the program.

To start a conversation about increasing the innovation skills and know-how in your culture, contact us about a Fellows program for your people. To get into the details, read on!

Topics

Innovation Fellows program topics can be expanded or consolidated depending on client needs: 

  1. Rainforest Introduction
  2. Stakeholders & Policies
  3. Feedback Loops and Networks
  4. Innovation Flow: People & Policies
  5. Support Infrastructures for Innovation
  6. Innovation and Trust
  7. Incentives & Extra-Rational Motivation
  8. Resources for Innovation
  9. Innovation Funding
  10. Innovation & “Knowledge”
  11. People, Social Contracts & Knowledge Exchange
  12. Support Organizations & Service Providers
  13. Innovation Culture
  14. Innovation Activities & Engagement

Delivery Modalities

Innovation Fellows programming is designed with up-to-date experiential adult learning methodologies in mind.

  • In-person events – one each at the beginning, middle and end of program
  • Live online presentations - weekly
  • Reading, Journaling, and Forum conversations
  • Innovation Initiatives for learning, personal development, and achieving results along the way.

Learning Objectives

Learning and doing are integrated in service to the client's needs. The program learning objectives are to:

  • Understand and intelligibly discuss innovation ecosystems; engage in senior-level strategic conversations addressing organizational innovation issues. 
  • Conduct a strategic assessment of the current innovation state of organizations, and articulate that assessment at a senior level; provide leadership to the growth and improvement of organizational innovation.
  • Demonstrate clear innovation leadership that reflects a deep understanding of both empirical and subjective elements of innovation ecosystems; understand and implement collaborative leadership strategies for innovation.
  • Develop and optimize a personalized social networking strategy for participation in innovation learning communities.
  • Deploy effectively Rainforest principles in organizational development, especially with respect to culture and leadership.
  • Write and speak clearly and convincingly in the explication and championing of organizational innovation.

Program Flow

The typical Innovation Fellows program runs over 15 weeks and has the following elements. This flow can be expanded or consolidated depending on client needs: 

WEEK 1
ONSITE 1-day KICKOFF EVENT and program content Module 1

WEEK 2-7
Program content Modules 2-7 - conducted remotely via WebEx

WEEK 8
ONSITE 1-day MID-TERM EVENT and program content Module 8

WEEK 9-14
Program content Modules 9-14 - conducted remotely via WebEx

WEEK 15
ONSITE 1-day CLOSING EVENT  - Closing Review, Synthesis Dialog & Ceremony

Email or call us to start the conversation about setting up a Innovation Fellows program for your organization or region. To learn about our other services go to: Innovation Culture, Innovation Leadership, and Innovation Strategy.