Collaboration is the norm when being innovative
Most participants in the Innovation survey Netherlands 2018 primarily collaborate with external partners when trying to be innovative. Who are their main innovation partners? Why do they collaborate with such partners and what could be improved? PwC partner Richard Goldstein, Public Sector leader at PwC Netherlands, reflects on the findings.
One or more collaboration partners
Almost all respondents work with one or more collaboration partners during their innovation activities. Only four percent said they have no collaboration partners. They said they did not need them or that collaboration was not in keeping with their organisation’s business model or policy.
Harmony between colleges and industry could be improved
42% of respondents collaborate with educational institutions. Over half of them work with universities and research institutions. It is noteworthy that only a fifth collaborated with colleges of higher education. Collaboration with regional training centres (ROCs) was very rarely encountered. A third of the respondents that did not collaborate with educational and research institutions said the difference in culture was insurmountable. Other respondents said they were unable to find a compatible education partner.
The most common form of collaboration involves technology companies. Although they only occupied third spot last year, over half of all respondents collaborate with them in the meantime. This should come as no surprise in this era of digitalisation. Many innovations have a digital component, which is often developed with help from technology companies or is based on the technology they offer.
1 NB: This year we decided to include all external partnerships in our survey, which meant the ‘own employees’ category – which was last year’s second most popular group of people to collaborate with - could not be selected.
Promote public-private partnerships
Richard Goldstein had expected partnerships with colleges to score higher than partnerships with universities: “Whereas universities focus on fundamental research, colleges work on specific research that can be better translated into industrial applications.” Goldstein believes colleges also want to upscale their collaboration with companies. “But this will not happen automatically. The government must set aside more funds in the long-term. But a clearer framework and legislation must also be created if public-private partnerships are to be promoted.”
Cultural differences
Companies that collaborate with educational institutions are sometimes known to encounter cultural differences. For example, respondents mentioned bureaucracy and differences in the speed of day-to-day processes. Goldstein acknowledges these challenges. “However, cultural differences can also be used as a convenient excuse. Processes in educational institutions are often deemed bureaucratic, but is this any different in large corporate groups? Do they not carefully consider all options before committing to investments? If this is difficult to accept, we recommend taking a step back and examine your own organisation. Having enough patience and truly becoming familiar with one another will also have a positive impact on the rest of the partnership.”
Intellectual property
Although they represent a challenge, respondents said formal aspects, such as making contractual agreements about intellectual property or availability of data, are a lot less problematic. “It is wise to have most discussions about intellectual property at the very beginning,” says Goldstein, “but do not allow this to be an obstacle for the rest of the collaboration process. A lot of innovation does not lead to immediate success, and there must be room to experiment and make mistakes. We think it is best to first achieve results in pilot phases and to then round off the discussion about intellectual property.”
Goldstein adds that industry must occasionally change its mindset towards educational institutions. “Especially companies that have identified collaboration as one of their core values. If you work together on something successful, then also be honest enough to give the concerned educational institution the deserved recognition and financial compensation. This can allow the institution to develop further and possibly set aside enough resources for the next breakthrough.”
From control to offering freedom
The results of true innovation cannot be determined in advance. And this conflicts with the traditional approach adopted by control functions. Innovation processes often involve working in smaller sprints, towards a specific result that can be validated with relevant stakeholders. If such innovation is unsuccessful, projects must be modified or stopped. We believe control functions must be more willing to embrace this way of working and offer freedom to experiment.
In an interview last year, Annemarie Jorritsma said innovation requires public administrations to adopt another approach to reporting and control. As far as we are concerned, this also applies to industry, educational and knowledge institutions as well as all partnerships between these parties. What are the main points when auditing innovation? Take into account more risks and audit continuously instead of only afterwards.
For the fourth year in a row, PwC researched the innovation climate in public and private organisations in the Netherlands. The Innovation Survey Netherlands 2018 involved interviewing almost one hundred participants about five themes: challenges, process and core values, cooperation, trends and the digital transformation. A third of all respondents work at C-level and another third occupy positions that involve innovation or R&D. A sizeable majority work for organisations with a turnover ranging from at least fifty million euros to one billion euros. Two thirds work for organisations with more than 250 employees.
Contact us
Industry Leader Publieke Sector PwC Europe en Nederland, PwC Netherlands
Tel: +31 (0)88 792 50 48
