Identify and evaluate opportunities for innovation and improvement

This standard is about identifying and evaluating opportunities for innovation and improvement. You collaborate with colleagues and team members to identify opportunities to develop new and existing products or services, markets or processes. The standard covers monitoring trends and developments, including benchmarking your organisation against other comparable organisations. You understand how the organisational culture impacts on innovation. You evaluate potential innovations and improvements against agreed criteria, presenting findings to stakeholders. You also take action to defend intellectual property rights when required.

This standard is for all managers and leaders.

1.      identify opportunities for innovation and improvement through collaboration with colleagues and team members

2.      identify potential new ideas in collaboration with external experts and other organisations

3.      monitor trends and developments in your organisation's operating environment

4.      monitor the performance of your organisation's products, services and processes

5.      benchmark your organisation's products and services with comparable organisations

6.      develop potential new products, services, markets, or processes

7.      manage improvements to existing products, services and processes

8.      encourage, generate and recognise imaginative and innovative solutions from colleagues and team members

9.      agree clear criteria for evaluating potential innovations and improvements with key stakeholders

10.   gather sufficient, valid information to allow potential innovations and improvements to be evaluated

11.   gather, store and retrieve information within the budget and timescales agreed

12.   evaluate potential innovations and improvements against agreed criteria

13.   present your evaluation findings to key stakeholders to help them appreciate the potential value of innovations and improvements

14.   communicate your evaluation to colleagues and team members to reinforce their commitment to seek opportunities for innovation and improvement

15.   defend the intellectual property rights of innovations by acting, where required

16.   follow the legal, organisational, codes of practice and policies relevant to your role when identifying and evaluating opportunities for innovation and improvement

General knowledge and understanding

1.      how to engage employees and stakeholders in identifying and evaluating opportunities for innovation and improvement

2.      how organisational culture impacts on innovation

3.      the principles of monitoring and the methods, tools and techniques that can be used

4.      the principles of benchmarking, and the methods, tools and techniques that support this

5.      the range of change management methodologies, tools and techniques available

6.      how to develop and gain consensus on criteria for evaluating potential innovations and improvements

7.      how to gather and validate information to evaluate potential innovations and improvements against criteria

8.      innovation principles, methods, tools and techniques and how to protect the intellectual property rights

9.      how to evaluate potential innovations and improvements and present finding to stakeholders

Industry and sector specific knowledge and understanding

10.   the current and emerging trends and developments in your sector

11.   the legal, organisational, codes of practice and policies relevant to your role and the activities being carried out

Context specific knowledge and understanding

12.   the colleagues and team members within your area of work, their roles, responsibilities, competences and potential

13.   the political, economic, social, technological, legal and environmental factors that affect your organisation

14.   the external experts and other organisations with which you may collaborate to generate and develop ideas

15.   your organisation's operating environment, business processes, markets, products and services

16.   your organisation's stakeholders, their interests and expectations

17.   the change management approaches used in your organisation

1. Analysing
2. Assessing
3. Benchmarking
4. Building consensus
5. Communicating
6. Consulting
7. Empowering
8. Evaluating
9. Forecasting
10. Information management
11. Innovating
12. Involving others
13. Monitoring
14. Networking
15. Presenting information
16. Scenario building
17. Thinking creatively
18. Valuing and supporting members of staff