Organisational development — how can an organisation become innovative?

Many companies and organisations are not always aware of how innovative they are. Or perhaps they do not consider their work and position as being particularly innovative. At the same time, it is difficult to achieve and maintain growth and market position today without utilising new ideas in the organisation. Green Forest Advisors has extensive experience in helping organisations produce the processes needed to identify new ideas and develop projects that can transform them into concrete services or products.

Funding

There are many ways to fund the work involved in transforming an idea into a finished concept.

Green Forest Advisors has many years’ experience in finding and receiving funding for various projects and investments — including everything from feasibility studies to large-scale investments. We have successfully worked with Swedish financial backers such as Vinnova, The Swedish Agency for Economic and Regional Growth, County Administrative Boards, Swedish Board of Agriculture and Swedish Energy Agency. We have also worked with international financial backers such as Nordic Council of Ministers, and coordinated applications to the EU’s many programmes such as FP7, Horizon 2020, SME Instrument, LIFE, etc.

In addition, we have experience from and useful contacts with major investment bodies such as European Investment Bank (EIB), Nordic Investment Bank (NIB), International Monetary Fund (IMF), Asian Development Bank (ADB), Sida, etc.

Project development

A successful innovation process often benefits from being conducted in project form from the beginning. Green Forest Advisors can direct and offer assistance in this work from the beginning to the end. We help identify suitable activities and processes that should be included, suitable partners (when necessary) and the best way for the project to be conducted. Through our network we have access to hundreds of national and international actors, research institutes, technology providers and, in many cases, potential customers and end users who are frequently interested in developing and testing solutions to their problems. When required, we can also incorporate a dimension of ‘open innovation’ (http://spinnovation.se/open-innovation/), thus further strengthening innovation work.

We can also produce measurement methods and suitable approaches for research projects in specific fields.

Communication and sharing results

Demands are increasing for approved projects to be able to demonstrate an effective strategy for sharing their results to the right target groups. At the same time, it is important that the project is well entrenched internally and that employees and partners feel involved in the work. Green Forest Advisors can help produce suitable communication strategies and implement recurrent initiatives to ensure the organisation stays involved. We can subsequently analyse and evaluate the results of the implemented initiatives as a means to strengthen the project’s impact. These efforts might include everything from a rhetorical analysis of the message to producing marketing materials.

Project administration

After the project is approved, reports and documentation need to be sent to the financial backer regularly. It is important to have internal processes in place to ensure that invoices and other documentation are available and that they can be connected to the project’s activities and the presented budget. Green Forest Advisors can assist you in this work from the beginning to the end, either as external assistance for project management or as a partner in the project. We can also create reports and ensure they are communicated on time.

Business development

Many companies that have produced new innovative solutions still have difficulty reaching new markets and customer segments. It can sometimes be difficult to navigate among the many opportunities that have been identified. Green Forest Advisors can assist you in these efforts. We can conduct market analyses and identify suitable market segments. We have access to potential partners and customers in our network, which means we can put you in contact with end users and together clarify whether there is interest in doing business.

E-mail: marcus@greenforestadvisors.com | Phone: 0730 932 985