P1: H., researcher
it’s very diverse. If you look at innovation — and especially the multi-actor aspect, where government is one of the actors — there are different combinations. You have government that needs to innovate itself; in that case the government is the portfolio holder. But governments also sometimes have a mandate to innovate not for themselves, but for the market or a particular sector. Then they are more organising innovation. So I recognise the role of innovation manager, and multi-actor is the case almost everywhere. Practically speaking, it’s everywhere: multi-actor challenges where government is one of the players — sometimes as the provider, sometimes as the driver.
P2: L., more F not really PM
We invest in companies with a technology so they can grow and scale. To do that, we scout companies, help them develop their proposition further, and form consortia for technical or business model validation. We also look at which barriers companies run into when they want to grow further — we call those our ecosystem projects. In terms of how we work: we do almost everything ourselves. We signal a problem, set up a program, co-create with companies to understand what they need, secure budget from municipalities, run voucher rounds, build a website, scout companies, help them write applications, set up selection committees with external parties like Medical Delta and TNO — and then we stay involved throughout. We call companies regularly, connect them to the right people, and organize masterclasses when needed. Sometimes we take a different role — we set up a consortium with companies and a university, find a subsidy scheme that fits, and then step out. So it’s roughly half-half. The community manager role is not something we see as ours. But we do sometimes help set one up. we’re also searching for what our role should be as we’ve matured. we try not to become the secretary. It can happen that you suddenly end up always writing the minutes and setting all the agendas, and at some point you have to place that back with the group — they shouldn’t keep leaning on you
P3: L., not really PM
With only 2.2 FTE, all roles are very much rolled into one at the moment. I’m the director, we have a programme manager, and a caretaker who handles the technical side. There is no separate facilitator or portfolio manager — it’s all combined. we are both a physical location and a network organisation — connecting pupils to companies, arranging company visits, helping students find the right business for a research project. we’re also programme manager. Relationship management is therefore constant. What really helps is honouring commitments, good agenda-setting, following up on action points, and having a fixed meeting structure at director, team leader, and teacher level.
P4: L., more F
What also plays a significant role is the informal influence side. If a good innovation gets stuck in a permits department because it doesn’t fit the format neatly, I can simply call the manager directly and say: this needs to happen, something seems to be going wrong. That person speaks to the right department head and it moves forward. That’s something you can’t easily do from within a municipality yourself. I genuinely think that in a large number of our successes, it’s exactly these kinds of things that made it happen. That’s hard to capture in a model, but it’s very real. a large part of what we do is that process of concretisation. The networking element is equally important — connecting people who want to learn from someone who has already done something. Knowledge is very fragmented, and we certainly don’t have all the answers. But I do dare to claim that we often know better than the average municipal employee what has already been investigated, done, applied, and learned.
P5: S., PM RWS
My role is broadly about making sure innovation within Rijkswaterstaat gets on the map — but not just internally. A big part of my work is getting that organised between stakeholders. That’s also why I work as secretary at TKI Delta Technologie, looking at how you can team up with partners as much as possible, especially in times of financial constraints. If you can create a win-win with knowledge institutions and the business sector, that’s obviously a bonus. My role in all of this is really connecting and accelerating — continuously looking at where the challenges are, who has them, and how we can make a step forward given our limited resources.
P6: M., PM Novum
The PM has a clearly distinct role in each phase of a project. At the start, he assesses whether a project should be taken on at all: does it fit the innovation methodology, are the right people and the right mandate in place, is there sufficient priority, and is the chance of implementation realistic? He actively brings in the right projects and keeps the wrong ones out. During a project, he largely steps back: he monitors via status updates and automatic notifications, produces progress reports for management, and is the first point of contact when something goes wrong or changes — he flags overlap between projects and intervenes when progress stalls or quality comes under pressure. At the end, he ensures that the outcome actually lands in the right place within the organisation, whether follow-up work is needed and how that should be structured — and he critically evaluates whether a project that did not lead to implementation yields lessons for future decisions.