The Background. The earliest stages of innovation are often seen to depend on serendipity, and are noticeable for an abs
Early Stage Innovation SIG – Special Interest Session
Obtaining public investment for the Fuzzy Front End of Innovation The Background The earliest stages of innovation are often seen to depend on serendipity, and are noticeable for an absence of innovation management processes to connect with later, established new product introduction systems. Through a series of ISPIM workshops we seek insights for succeeding through the fuzzy front end of innovation. The Session Writing on innovation has repeatedly drawn attention to the difficult of funding early stage innovation work. The uncertainty inherent at the fuzzy front end makes such investments difficult for private capital, and so the case for Governmental support is justified. However previous work at ISPIM has highlighted problems in practice that include: tensions between supporting the established economy & fostering innovation in new sectors; disjointed policy initiatives & absence of complementary resources; too much focus on supporting SMEs and/or creating jobs in short term. By means of short talks offering different perspectives on innovation policies, along with open discussion with the audience, the session will seek an answer to the following questions:
What public investments/schemes have proved successful? What are key success factors for companies seeking public investments? What are the roles of other innovation stakeholders (e.g. consultants, universities) in securing public investments?
‘Take-aways’ will include presentational material covering: case studies of successful support initiatives; research studies on investing at the fuzzy front end. Who should attend? We are interested in gathering insights from both academic and practitioners who have experience of seeking early stage investment/support for innovation projects. People experienced more generally in the management of the front end of innovation are welcome and will also find the session of interest. As an indication this may include innovation professionals working in roles such as: Government agencies creating innovation support infrastructure; Innovation management consultancy; University technology transfer; Private sector technology brokers; Research management; Academic research in intermediation and/or the early stages of innovation. Conveners Dr Ceri Williams, Dr Paul Ellwood (
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