New Game-Plan

	New Game-Plan: Roadmapping
Services About Us		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 UK 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 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.' Roadmapping facilitates group exploration of three questions: 'Where are we now?', 'Where do we want to go?' and 'How do we get there?' There is no fixed standard for what a Roadmap should contain. Our generic Roadmap model, which we flexibly adapt to any set of circumstances, brings together five main components: 'Drivers', 'Actions', 'Capabilities, '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'. 'Drivers' are developed using the 'PESTLE' model (Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Legal and Environmental). 'Actions' can be diverse, depending on the context (e.g. innovations in products, services, processes, or business models). 'Capabilities' include those needed to take forward the Roadmap. '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 spreadsheets to bespoke software. However, Roadmapping is not simply about assembling individual pieces of information and views and filling in a template. Our approach challenges existing thinking, moves it into new areas outside current 'comfort zones', and, in the process, co-creates 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. Our approach to Roadmapping We have developed and successfully deployed our approch to Roadmapping with diverse organisations, including four Knowledge Transfer Networks (KTNs). 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 build contributions 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 produce a Verbatim Report which includes all the raw contributions made by participants. This provides a coherent record of the proceedings and demonstrates transparency. We also produce a Synthesis Report for the sponsors. This includes a concise introduction, describing the Workshop's objectives and process and sets out the draft Roadmap itself. We normally include independent recommendations, drawing on our wider experience. The Report is a powerful tool for decision-making and securing lasting value from the Workhshop. In the whole process we act 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 is 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 co-create 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. Alongside the strategic roadmap itself, we typically develop other tools which our clients can use into the future to implement them. For example, we have developed tools for identifying, specifying, assessing and prioritising new products and services, and pathway tools for the systematic translation of innovations into marketed products. Our pathway tools cover all the stages, from concept through to product, taking into account the requirements of testing, manufacture, regulatory approval, financing and business models. Our use of special technology to support the Roadmapping process is also distinctive. This enables ideas not only to be captured - as they would, say, on Post-it Notes - but also to be developed through successive rounds of review by the participants. Any participant can read a contribution made by any other, and offer positive builds or critical comments; these are captured using our special technology, creating a 'snowball of learning' built on the original idea. Our own analysts then group contributions together under emerging themes, to further concentrate discussion. The end result is a powerful set 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, alignedwith our experience in enabling strategic change, is a powerful consultancy combination. The benefits of Roadmapping Flexibility: There are three main types of Roadmap - for markets, technology, and products - but 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 Roadmap components. 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, capabilities 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. Case studies We have used our Roadmapping approach to support global businesses, trade associations and diverse cross-sector partnerships in developing Roadmaps which encompass current and future research, innovation, new industries, or new sectors. 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: Digital Systems KTN: the Scalable Computing community of this KTN aims to stimulate the market adoption of grid computing to increase UK competitiveness. We brought together 25 participants to co-create a Roadmap for Grid Computing. Biosciences KTN: 'Genesis', now part of this KTN, works to improve co-ordination of genetics and genomics to improve livestock breeding and animal health. We led a Brain-Pool Workshop to co-create a Roadmap and kick-start stakeholder collaboration. See our Workshop Guide, Verbatim Workshop Report and Synthesis Workshop Report. Chemistry Innovation KTN: 'Insight', now part of this KTN, focuses on applications for High Throughput Technology (HTT) in new products and processes. Our Brain-Pool Workshop enabled representatives from academia and 50 companies to co-create a Roadmap which provides a 'big-picture' view of the economic impact of HTT and defines strategic actions to optimise exploitation. Chemistry Innovation KTN: 'IMPACT', now part of this KTN, supports the development of innovative materials and new products using colloid technology. This has applications in agrochemicals, foodstuffs, pharmaceuticals and soaps. We brought 60 participants from industry and academia together to co-create the technology Roadmap for Colloid and Interface Science. Case study - Developing a Roadmap for the UK Pharmacy Sector We supported the Company Chemists' Association (CCA) in developing an industry-led collaborative Roadmap for ‘Future Pharmacy’ in the UK. Our Brain-Pool Workshop brought 28 sector leaders together to co-create a strategic Roadmap. This systematically designed new services to respond to demands on the sector to play a greatly-extended role in healthcare provision. Practical implementation plans were also developed. Case study - Developing a Roadmap for the Regenerative Medicine Industry We supported the Scottish Stem Cell Network in developing an industry-led collaborative Roadmap for the Regenerative Medicine Industry in Scotland. Our Brain-Pool Workshop brought 20 senior figures together to co-create a strategic Roadmap which considers not only scientific advances but also, critically, how viable business models can be created for manufacturing, scale-up and marketing of approved products. Case study - Developing a Roadmap for Aquaculture in Europe We supported the pan-European Aquagenome Network in developing a collaborative Roadmap to strengthen European Aquaculture through the application of genetics and genomics. Our Brain-Pool Workshop brought together 29 participants from academia and the aquaculture industry, from 12 different countries, to determine how best to exploit both existing and new technologies in this area. Case study - Developing strategic Roadmaps for 'Lean Manufacturing' We supported our sponsor, a global bioscience company, in developing a Roadmap to secure productivity improvements through 'Lean Manufacturing'. We brought 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 production sites in Europe and America. Case study - Developing Innovation Programmes for the Agri-Food sector We supported the Food Strategy Implementation Partnership in developing discrete 'Visions for 2020' and accompanying 'Innovation Programmes' for the Agri-Food sector in Northern ireland. Through facilitated discussions, we helped the Partnership's Leadership Group develop detailed proposals. We then brought 50 senior stakeholders together in a Brain-Pool Workshop to review these and assess them against diverse criteria. The Workshop fostered a remarkable level of consensus and momentum for action. The Leadership Group's subsequent report, 'Vision Twenty:Twenty', has been commended as 'comprehensive and farsighted'. Case study - Defining strategic priorities for research through stakeholder networks We supported the Sustainable Farming and Food Research Priorities Group (RPG), sponsored by Defra, with six Brain-Pool Workshops to brainstorm and articulate strategic research priorities for UK Farming and Food. 200 stakeholders from 125 organisations participated. 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. 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.