A radically fresh start. But not from scratch.
We structure ground-breaking innovation.
Where do ideas like these come from? The ones that are beyond our horizon. That unhinge business models and create markets. How do we get to radical innovation?
This is where Alpha Innovation comes in. An innovation method developed at NOI. Alpha Innovation guides companies through the fog of possibilities to the path of concrete opportunities.
Alpha Innovation is based on the concept of Front End Innovation (FEI). In 2001, US economist Peter Koen promoted the idea that the beginning of innovation needs to feel unclear or ‘fuzzy’, as he puts it. Koen sees innovation as beginning long before product development as a Fuzzy Front End (FFE), where there is thick ‘fog’, and the path remains open. Any direction is possible.
As the first letter of the Greek alphabet, Alpha represents beginnings.
And indeed, starting from the beginning is essential to any successful innovation process. With Alpha. Alpha Innovation’s goal at NOI is to clear the fog. How? With methodical tools, the knowledge of 900 experts, AI and a database that allows us to make well-informed decisions. The Innovation Management Team leads the process.
Here is Alpha Innovation’s structure:
01.
Discover Opportunities
Identify and understand unimagined possibilities.
Does it feel like everything is in a state of flux? Forget about drifting in the current. Be the current!
At NOI, we have the power to do so. We have the knowledge and experience of 900 scientists at our disposal. We scout new technologies and trends every day to identify risks and opportunities early on.
The instrument that determines the direction is the Alpha Innovation Radar. It assesses companies’ opportunities to pave the way to innovation. The signals are there. Your job is to receive them.
Alpha Innovation Radar: the tool that provides insight into the future.
Alpha Innovation Radar’s first job is to provide orientation. This is why we stick to a limited scope of action and define the fields of innovation with the most significant future potential for your company. The Alpha Innovation Radar’s second job is to capture signals from different innovation fields. Every three to six months, these signals will be analysed, presented as an innovation radar, discussed and evaluated in workshops with your team and integrated into your company’s strategy.
After all, you can only make breakthroughs when you can see clearly.
Further tools to determine your company’s direction.
Delve deeper. Develop scenarios. Fill competency gaps with the help of start-ups. Draw up your map to the future. These custom tools make the leap into the unknown easier. Strengthen your team’s imagination. Examine trends in detail. And weigh opportunities and risks.
02.
Create Ideas
Develop radically new ideas.
Do away with traditional ways of thinking. Today, radically thinking outside of the box means developing open, cross-functional ideas. One of our core values is tailoring all brainstorming tools to your company’s challenges. Structured. But flexible. Our brainstorming method is tailored to every innovation challenge, from the choice of setup and selection of the multidisciplinary team to the implementation, operation and monitoring of the idea phase. Our goal for your company: radically new ideas for products, services and business models. We unleash your team’s creative potential in workshops or with online Alpha Innovation Challenges and multiply it with fresh spirit from our network of start-uppers, students, researchers and experts.
Radical innovation is essentially customer-centric. It creates new markets. The advantage for your company is that you escape from the world of tough competition by doing your own thing.
03.
Support Decision-Making
Make sustainable decisions.
At some point, you will get to the stage when you ask which ideas will allow your company to progress. Are they affordable? Technically possible? Environmentally friendly? And marketable? You have to decide. Even though you have many unknowns on your mind, your gut instinct will not be the only deciding factor. Alpha Innovation guides you through the process:
You have mastered ‘Discovering Opportunities’ and identified relevant innovation fields. ‘Creating Ideas’ has produced ideas within these innovation fields.
Step 3, Support Decision-Making, now validates which ideas make the cut.
Now you are here. In front of the decision you need to think hard about and ensure it can be implemented sustainably. We take four factors into account to come to the right conclusion:
Are people waiting for this innovation? Does this new idea improve our lives? We involve so-called future users to answer these questions. External experts and key decision-makers from the fields of science and technology – regarded as visionary thinkers – can visualise the future of an idea.
We ask critical questions no matter the innovation. For example, are the new products and services scalable? Can they be adapted to a viable, profitable business model? At NOI, we analyse the economic feasibility, e.g. with the Business Model Canvas (Osterwalder method) or the St. Gallen Concept for Business Model Transformation.
It is a fantastic idea! But is it technically and operationally feasible? We will examine that before you make a decision. We use the help of our Tech Transfer teams at NOI to answer this question. The innovation’s technical feasibility is analysed according to its maturity level. We only give the green light once everything checks out.
We promote innovation that improves our lives, protects the planet and ensures the survival of businesses. It is what Alpha Innovation stands for. It is your entrepreneurial ambition. And it is what we use to measure success.
At the end of the Alpha Innovation process, everything is prepared to find the sweet spot: the optimal decision.
Alpha Innovation subscription:
the advantages.
Are you sold on the Alpha Innovation method? Then we will make you an offer. Radically new innovation happens when Alpha Innovation is tailored to your company.Take it seriously.A subscription gives you access to two key components of the innovation process: the Alpha Innovation Radar tool and the Alpha Innovation Live event.
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