A series of practical workshops to help small businesses identify their next innovation is being staged in Cumbria.
The Coaching for Innovation mini-series has been organised by Cumbria Innovations Platform and The Harrison Network to help business owners identify changing customer needs and to explore how they can meet those needs.
The workshops aim to help find creative solutions, while designing and testing ideas, and will look at the need for continual innovation to keep a business moving forward.
The first workshop (November 14) at the People First Conference Centre in Carlisle will look at the challenges faced by a businesses from the customer’s point of view, and examining the competition. It will be driven by the needs of individual delegates to explore what customers really want, how to overcome barriers to innovation, and if you are focusing in the right area.
The end result will be a “problem statement” to take through into the second workshop (December 12) where ideas to solve problems will be explored and ways of unlocking creativity will be discussed. Each delegate will come away with at least one innovative solution to test out with clients.
The third workshop (January 16) will follow up the process and examine what worked – and what didn’t.
“We want to give small businesses the opportunity to see how they can stay ahead of the competition by continuously innovating,” said Cumbria Innovations Platform project manager Sarah Allison.
“What does innovation mean for your business now? What value does it create? How do you motivate, influence, plan, and communicate your innovation? How do you know it’s working?
“These workshops are designed to create step change in approach to innovation and a network of people with the will, ability and relationships to support one another into the future. In addition to the workshops we will be providing each business with a 1:2:1 coaching session to support them in taking forward their innovation goals.”
Venues for the second and third workshops will be chosen to suit the delegates who attend from the outset of the series.
Cumbria Innovations Platform is open to small and medium sized enterprises based in Cumbria, to facilitate business innovation and commercial success.
Further details and booking form: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/coaching-for-innovation-mini-series-overcoming-the-barriers-registration-73250567419
