New Game-Plan: Roadmapping

    

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Our services and capabilities:

  • Enabling groups to explore Where are we?, What will the future look like?, What might be possible?, Where do we want to be?, How do we get there?
  • Working with businesses, public bodies and stakeholder groups alike to develop Roadmaps
  • Tackling areas of technology, policy and practice where there is considerable uncertainty
  • Ensuring effective engagement with stakeholders, throughout the Roadmapping process
  • Using special technology to support the process - yielding well-articulated ideas
  • Using roadmapping to catalyse networking and strategy development
  • Using techniques equally applicable to Horizon Scanning, Foresight and Futures initiatives 

 

What is 'Roadmapping'?

'Roadmapping' originated as a business concept but has now been adopted enthusiastically by global companies, public bodies, and stakeholder groups alike. 'Technology Roadmapping' has been a particular focus - yet Roadmapping is valuable in many contexts.  We define Roadmapping as: 'The use of a framework to develop and share a 'big-picture' view of a complex subject, and define strategic actions.'

 

Roadmapping is distinct from traditional 'planning'. 'Project planning' is most appropriate where objectives, assumptions and actions can be clearly specified. The focus is on developing a logical process where all the activities are properly sequenced. 'Strategic planning' is concerned with the bigger picture but also usually focuses on producing 'one right answer'. Traditionally, this work was undertaken by a select group of strategists, admired for their foresight, yet rather remote from the organisational 'coal-face'.

 

Roadmapping is also distinct from Horizon Scanning (HS) - which the Government defines as 'the systematic examination of potential threats, opportunities and likely developments including but not restricted to those at the margins of current thinking and planning'. While Roadmapping encompasses much of what HS does (e.g. considering drivers, trends and developments), it also goes several steps further by translating what the Horizon Scan for a specific area of activity means, what might be possible, and how to act on these insights.

 

The distinctiveness of Roadmapping can be illustrated by this example. When travelling by road, we use maps to help us 'get from A to B'. However, the map usually offers a choice of routes, and can be used for a more exploratory journey too - the map could suggest somewhere to break our journey that was not part of our original plans. The map is full of information, and a useful basis for discussing and agreeing with others how to make the journey. But the map itself does not force us along one fixed path.

 

We define a Roadmap as: 'A visual big-picture framework of a complex field, created to provide a record and to aid communication, positioning trends and activities on a time axis, and showing interdependencies.'

 

There is no fixed standard for what a Roadmap should contain - one of its strengths is its flexibility. Our generic Roadmap model, which we flexibly adapt to any set of circumstances, brings together four main components, as illustrated below: 'Drivers', 'Actions', 'Promoters' and 'Outcomes'. The fully-developed Roadmap places them on a time axis which links 'Where we are now' with 'Where we want to be'.

 

 

The widely-used 'PESTLE' model provides a starting point in identifying 'Drivers' - Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Legal and Environmental. 'Actions' can be very diverse, depending on the context (e.g. innovations in products, services, processes, or business models). 'Promoters' enable the Actions (e.g. by overcoming 'blockers') and include technological developments, investment requirements or changes in Government policy or legislation. 'Outcomes' define the destination for the journey.

 

Various IT tools are available to support Roadmaps, from simple templates and spreadsheets to bespoke software. However, Roadmapping is not simply about assembling individual pieces of information and views and filling in a template. Our approach is much more about challenging existing thinking, moving it into new areas outside current 'comfort zones', and, in the process, creating new knowledge and commitments. We do this by bringing stakeholders together in a Brain-Pool Workshop to discuss and develop a Roadmap collaboratively. Our approach uses special technology to capture, share, manipulate and assess all inputs to the Roadmap design.

 

What are the benefits?

Roadmapping facilitates group exploration of three questions: 'Where are we now?', 'Where do we want to go?' and 'How do we get there?' Its key characteristics and benefits include: 

  • Flexibility: While three main types of Roadmap predominate - for markets, technology, and products - they can be developed for any walk of life. They are equally relevant and valuable to companies, public bodies and cross-sector groups alike.
  • Scalability: Roadmapping can be applied at many scales - from a single technology, or societal challenge, through sectors, to economies and societies as a whole.
  • Resilience: By explicitly recognising that there can be multiple routes towards the same outcomes, Roadmapping is a robust tool to use in any area of rapid change. A Roadmap is accordingly likely to have a longer shelf-life than a project plan or strategic plan.
  • Engagement: Diverse perspectives are desirable - even essential - to the success of Roadmapping initiatives. Roadmapping is particularly strong at interfaces between sectors (e.g. industry, research and public policy) where no one organisation can possibly have a complete understanding of all of the components of the Roadmap.
  • Collaboration: Roadmapping is at its most powerful where collaborative working is built into the process. This enables not only capture of the key components - drivers, outcomes, actions and promoters - but also effective deliberation on all of them.
  • Connections: Roadmapping identifies and exploits the connections and interdependencies between 'technology push','market pull', current trends, foresight, and strategic actions. The Roadmap becomes more than the sum of its components.
  • Networking: Bringing together people with diverse perspectives to develop a Roadmap helps to kick-start networks to deliver shared outcomes. Our approach produces not only the analysis but also the actions and the necessary buy-in for implementation.
  • Ongoing relevance: While the initial focus may be on a one-off event, Roadmapping is best seen as a 'rolling' process. Any one or more of the individual components can be revisited and the Roadmap adjusted as necessary in response to changes. Properly managed, a Roadmap can provide an enduring touchstone for activity in the sector or sphere for which it has been prepared.
  • Visualisation: Roadmaps can be presented - at a high level - in strong visual formats which are powerful aids to communication.
  • Coherence: Roadmaps provide a framework for disparate activities, such as capability development, long-range planning, and budget prioritisation. They provide a central unifying and rallying point.
  • Identity: Roadmaps can help create a strong identity for a function, organisation or network.

Our approach to Roadmapping

We have developed and successfully deployed our approch to Roadmapping with diverse organisations, including four Knowledge Transfer Networks and Faraday Partnerships. Our process not only delivered the Roadmaps through collaboration between industry, academia and Government, but also enabled knowledge-sharing, network-building and priority-setting.

 

Our approach involves much more than simply 'holding a workshop'. Our 'fusion' of knowledge from sector experts, facilitation services, a practical toolkit, and supporting technology, underlies all our services. We work jointly with our sponsors at each stage - design, facilitation, analysis and reporting. So, for example, we identify relevant drivers and outcomes jointly and invite participants to read and comment on these in advance of the Workshop. This 'pre-work' greatly improves productivity on the day.

 

We also work with our sponsors to develop future visions to help participants 'get into the right timeframe' and consider outcomes. We ensure common understanding of key concepts - essential for successful group working. On the day itself, participants experience a varied programme of presentations, group discussions, and individual working. We use special technology to capture, share and build on the individual contributions. Everyone is provided with a mini-laptop, linked by a wireless network, to enter and review typed-in contributions. Through a staged process, ideas are generated and collaboratively built on and assessed.

 

After the Workshop, we generate a verbatim report which includes all the contributions made by participants. This is valuable not only as a record of the proceedings, but in demonstrating transparency. We subsequently develop, for the sponsors, a synthesis report which includes the draft Roadmap itself. In the whole process we take care to act entirely as independent catalysts, enabling the participants to take the lead in shaping the draft Roadmap for the sponsors to review and finalise. We also equip the sponsors with the tools needed to revise and develop the Roadmap to meet changing needs in its lifetime.

 

What's distinctive about our approach?

Effective engagement has been a key ingredient in the success of our approach. Failure to engage stakeholders, whether internal or external, characterises many 'change initiatives'. By getting the right people together, ensuring that they have a common understanding of key concepts, and getting them to collaborate in creating the Roadmap, we build strong ownership based on a shared vision. It is not only the resulting Roadmap which is shared but also the will and actions to take it forward. The success of this approach is demonstrated by the enduring networks kick-started by our earlier Roadmapping engagements.

 

Our use of special technology to support the Roadmapping process is also distinctive. This enables rough ideas not only to be captured - as they would, say, on Post-it Notes - but also to be developed by successive rounds of review and comment by all participants. Anyone has the ability to read a contribution made by another participant, and to offer positive builds or critical comments. Again, these are captured using our special technology, creating a 'snowball of learning' based around the original idea. Our own analysts then group comments together under emerging themes, to further concentrate discussion. The end result is a powerful suite of well-articulated ideas which have been through several rounds of deliberation.

 

As a team we bring significant capabilities and broad experience in strategy work, from senior roles in diverse fields and organisations. Our independence provides a valuable external view, whether the focus is on new products, services, processes, or even new business models. Our experience in catalysing structures and capabilities for effective networking, within and between the public, private and voluntary sectors, aligned with our experience in enabling strategic change, is a powerful consultancy combination.

 

Case studies

We have used our Roadmapping approach to develop Roadmaps, innovation programmes, and strategies for future research, for global businesses and diverse cross-sector partnerships.

 

Roadmaps for Knowledge Transfer Networks

We have been working with Knowledge Transfer Networks - and their predecessors, the Faraday Partnerships - for several years. All these networks are focused on commercialising research to bring diverse benefits. The Brain-Pool Workshops provided for four Networks have enabled stakeholders to share knowledge, build networks, develop Roadmaps and set priorities for future innovation through research:

 

GRID COMPUTING NOW! - this Network aims to stimulate the market adoption of grid computing to increase UK competitiveness. The project is part of the Government's Technology Programme. We brought together 25 participants to develop and deliberate on the key roadmap components - drivers, outcomes, actions and promoters. See also the Grid Computing Now! web site.

 

GENESIS - the Network for Farm Animal Genetics and Genomics - works to improve co-ordination of these technologies by the livestock breeding and animal health industries. We led a Brain-Pool Workshop to develop a Roadmap and bring stakeholders together to kick-start practical collaboration. Our sponsors from key funding bodies deliberately aimed for an ambitious and high-quality event. Click the links to download our Workshop Guide, Verbatim Workshop Report and Synthesis Report. See also www.genesis-faraday.org.

 

INSIGHT - the network for High Throughput Technology (HTT) - focuses on applications for new products and processes. We led a Brain-Pool Workshop for academics and representatives from 50 companies in diverse sectors. We enabled them to develop a technology Roadmap which provides a 'big-picture' view of the economic impact of HTT and defines strategic actions to optimise its exploitation. Click here to download the Roadmap. See also www.insightfaraday.org.

IMPACT - the network for colloid technology - supports the design and development of innovative materials and new formulated products. Colloid science and its related technologies underpin much of the UK chemical industry, including agrochemicals, foodstuffs, pharmaceuticals and soaps. We led a Brain-Pool Workshop for 60 participants from industry and academia, focusing on 'Societal drivers, industrial needs and future directions'. Click here for the 'Technology Roadmap for Colloid and Interface Science in the UK'. See also www.impactfaraday.org.

 

Case-study - Developing strategic roadmaps for 'Lean Manufacturing'

In common with most global companies, our sponsor, a major life sciences company, was shifting the balance of its technological capability and manufacturing capacity to Asia while downsizing its activities in Europe and America. However, it wanted to maintain some existing sites due to the need for specialised manufacturing technologies, or for close proximity to research sites or regional markets. 'Lean Manufacturing', requiring far-reaching changes of philosophy and practice, was the company's chosen approach for securing substantial productivity improvements at these sites. We brought relevant staff together from across the business in a Brain-Pool Workshop to share good practice and, armed with new insights into the theory and practice of lean manufacturing, to translate this into formal roadmaps for lean manufacturing for sites in Europe and America.

Case study - Developing Innovation Programmes for the Agri-Food sector

The Food Strategy Implementation Partnership was established to provide direction, and an industry-focused steer to the Government, on the 'Fit for Market Strategy' for the agri-food sector in Northern Ireland. Exploiting the particular combination of geography, academic expertise and industrial know-how in the sector is a key priority (see www.fsip-ni.com). Through a series of discussions, which we facilitated, the Partnership's Foresight Leadership Group developed discrete 'Visions for 2020' and accompanying 'Innovation Programmes'.

 

We then provided a Brain-Pool Workshop which brought together 50 senior stakeholders to deliberate on the Visions and Innovation Programmes. Through a staged process, the proposals were thoroughly assessed against diverse criteria. There was a strong focus on identifying policy 'enablers' - promoters to ensure practical delivery. The Workshop fostered a remarkable level of consensus and momentum for action.

 

The Leadership Group's report, 'Vision Twenty:Twenty', has now been published and endorsed by the wider Partnership (click here to download a copy). The Group has been commended for 'producing such a comprehensive and farsighted vision and recommendations for innovation into the future to 2020'.

 

Case study - Defining strategic priorities for research through stakeholder networks

The Sustainable Farming and Food Research Priorities Group (RPG), sponsored by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, was established to identify strategic research priorities for UK Farming and Food. We provided six Brain-Pool Workshops - for over 200 stakeholders from 125 organisations - to brainstorm and articulate research ideas. Areas covered included the impact of global drivers on farming, how to satisfy consumer aspirations for food products, and how to reduce the environmental footprint of farming.

 

We collated some 800 research ideas from the Workshops and then distilled these down to 200 rounded ideas for further assessment and prioritisation by the RPG. The weight and quality of the evidence obtained enabled the Group, and Defra, to shift priorities significantly. Critical to the process was our independence and responsiveness to the issues raised by stakeholders, avoiding any suggestion of bias. The RPG web pages provide further background, and carry the published reports.

 

Developing a collaborative research programme for the Meat and Livestock Commission

We worked with the devolved agencies for the red meat sector to develop a single set of research priorities to meet the industry's needs through to 2020. We provided a Brain-Pool Workshop over two days for 30 officials and industry stakeholders. Research ideas were identified, developed, distilled and assessed in response to diverse drivers - consumers, markets at home and abroad, and environmental pressures. Our Synthesis report identified several clear priorities for research and for knowledge-transfer work.