An innovation mindset is a must for any organization to survive, and the demand for the necessary soft skills that support Innovation has strongly increased in the last few years. Despite the numerous seminars and workshops that companies might attend, most of the traditional in fact companies fail to develop an innovation mindset. One of the greatest challenges that executives face is promoting innovation and creativity within their companies. Most employees are struggling with their daily work “don’t have time” to take more creative or innovative approaches that add real value to their processes, products and services. Furthermore, even if employees have the necessary creativity, one cannot expect them to be innovators without any support. This valuable seminar, will offer participants concrete ways on how to nurture and sustain an innovation culture and mindset in the very soul of their business.

Managers in SMEs and/or large enterprises, who have some decision-making authority and the responsibility to adjust their departments or the organisation either as a result of the everchanging environment or as a result of the emergence of an unexpected crisis like an economic crisis, the emergence of a pandemic etc. These are managers who are in charge of the company or specific sections (or departments) within the company (e.g. operational processes).

The seminar also addresses the needs of managers in SMEs and/or large enterprises who are involved in the development or the implementation of new business initiatives like new lines of products or services, the expansion of the company in new markets etc. These include examples like IT companies, Educational service providers, Hospitality service providers, Chemical companies and Engineering companies developing radical innovations.

The objectives of the seminar are:

•Identify the company’s innovation needs, protect or adjust its current market position and reinforce its competitive advantage;

•Contrast a strategy to plan ahead and incorporate with this strategy ways to manage unexpected crisis (e.g. Covid-19; War in Ukraine);

•Develop a plan on how to enable the transition from the current position to the aspired future position in the market;

•Recognize the potential of innovation partnerships and their value for the company’s development;

•Identify new EU and national funding instruments and match them to the innovation activities of their company.

•Organise an innovation response to the emergence of an unforeseen crisis that has a significant impact on the business;

•Establish and master the innovation activities that would help the company address its strategic weaknesses, reinforce its competitive advantage and exploit on opportunities and strengths.

•Develop and measure Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to assess ‘innovation’ activities.

•Assess the level of threat from unexpected strategic crisis (e.g. continues epidemiological threats Covid-19, Ukrainian war);

•Select innovation priorities according to the needs of your business;

•Value the potential help from new national or EU funding instruments;

•Specify the critical success factors for winning a bid in the new national and EU funding instruments.