Characteristics
Organizational Structure
- Hierarchical governance: Multi-level decision-making (Level 0: steering group, Level 1: portfolio managers, Level 2: facilitators, Level 3: community contributors)
- Portfolio organization: Multiple portfolios managed by dedicated portfolio owners
- Clear roles and responsibilities: Distinct separation between strategic steering, portfolio management, facilitation, and contribution
Innovation Management Approach
- Structured process: Projects follow relatively clear, sequential steps through an innovation funnel
- Theme/topic clustering: Projects grouped by themes or topics to enable cross-learning within the organization and across portfolios
- Phase-based progression: Projects move through defined phases with clear visibility on progress
Key Stakeholders
- Steering Group / Innovation Lead: Takes strategic decisions for the organization’s innovation direction
- Portfolio Managers: Manage portfolios based on strategic priorities set by steering group
- Facilitators: Guide projects through the innovation funnel and enable project teams
- Community Members / Contributors: Provide bottom-up input and execute project work
Portfolio Management
- Dashboard visibility: Track number of projects, themes, phases, and contact persons
- Bottom-up signal gathering: Collect innovation signals from various regions and departments
- Shared task portfolio: Combine bottom-up signals into shared innovation tasks (opgaveportfolio)
Collaboration Characteristics
- Structured collaboration: Defined workflows and approval processes
- Theme-based learning: Projects within same theme can share learnings and insights
- Centralized coordination: Portfolio and innovation leadership coordinates across multiple initiatives
- Predictable timelines: Steps and phases are relatively clear, enabling better planning
Key Needs & Pain Points
Visibility & Governance Needs
- Portfolio owners and innovation leads need to see:
- Themes/clusters (including themes across other portfolios)
- Dashboard with project count, themes, phases, and contact persons
- Cross-portfolio theme insights
Platform Requirements
- Task/signal management: Centralized location to gather bottom-up innovation signals
- Portfolio dashboard: Overview of portfolio health and project distribution
- Theme management: Ability to organize projects by themes and enable cross-learning
- Progress tracking: Visual representation of where projects are in their innovation journey
- Multi-level access: Support for different views and permissions for steering group, portfolio managers, facilitators, and contributors
Differentiators from Other Segments
Unlike more informal or distributed collaboration models, this segment is characterized by:
- Formal governance structures rather than ad-hoc collaboration
- Top-down strategic alignment with bottom-up signal gathering
- Structured innovation funnel vs. open-ended exploration
- Portfolio-level management vs. project-level focus
- Organizational ownership of innovation themes vs. individual or community-driven initiatives