INNOWATER
Introduction to Business Proposition
Toolkit
July 2013
Overview of INNOWATER
•
INNOWATER is an innovation partnership of public innovation agencies,
water associations, technology specialists, innovation experts and ecoinnovative cluster organisations from Belgium, Cyprus, Denmark, the
Netherlands, Spain and the UK, coordinated by the European Water
Partnership (EWP);
•
The overall objective of INNOWATER is to establish and implement a
water innovation partnership that develops and tests new and better
support tools and delivery mechanisms for innovative SMEs and first user
industries;
•
A priority for the project is facilitating the market transition of innovative
products and services;
•
A three year project, started in Feb 2010; pilot testing of tools from Sept
2011.
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Seven key challenges facing innovators
1. Scientific Isolation – resulting from poor communication, cooperation and
collaboration between market and innovators;
2. Lack of Research Funding - specifically investment from end users;
3. Technology Push Paradigm – innovators often fail to generate market
intelligence and to define end users’ economic, regulatory, and risk
profiles; as a result it is difficult to define differentiating USP;
4. Proof of Performance Paradox – a lack of understanding of key routes to
market and procurement processes leads to difficulty in convincing end
users to test new technology, and act as champions;
5. Inadequate Entrepreneurship Capabilities - including market insights;
6. ROI and Risk Reduction Trap – it is difficult to convince end users with
risk averse purchasing policies to adopt new technologies;
7. Lack of Sustainable Finance - linked to the lack of a compelling business
case.
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INNOWATER aims to bridge the gap
SME
Innovator
Barriers relating to the
lack of understanding
of end user needs
(commercial, technical
and operational) and
procurement behaviour
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Market
facing
toolkits
Industrial
End user
Barriers relating to the
lack of sector knowledge,
difficulty in articulating the
economic justification,
and perceived risk to the
end user.
Defining a Business Model – the Missing Link
A “business model” defines the manner by which the business enterprise
delivers value to customers, entices customers to pay for the value, and
converts those payments to profit. In other words it should reflect what
customers want, how they want it, and how an enterprise can organize to
best meet those needs.
•
Success requires the right technology, skilled resources, and the most
appropriate “business model”;
•
Few entrepreneurs have an appreciation of the complexity involved;
•
The water sector is a mature and relatively risk averse market, with a well
established supply chain, raising specific challenges...
•
... And making the need for a compelling value proposition critical.
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The Business Proposition Toolkit (BPT)
The BPT is a business support framework that assists
innovating SMEs within the water sector in the articulation of a
robust value proposition and the formulation of an appropriate
business model to meet the needs of the end user markets.
Consultant’s
Manual
INNOWATER
Web Portal
Unit Summaries &
Data Collection
work books
Outputs
1. Business Model Overview
2. Capability Assessment
3. Action Plan
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Role of the INNOWATER Web Portal
•
Developed as an information resource to be used alongside the BPT –
available to both Consultant and SME during development;
•
Purpose to provide Pan European, sector specific intelligence to:
 Provide evidence to inform the decision making process
 Act as a prompt to support idea generation
Signpost to suitable third party sources and networks;
•
Provides sector specific Case Studies of successful business models;
•
To become a ‘living’ document, continually updated on the basis of
intelligence gained through the delivery of the BPT.
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The BPT is a consultant led process
Role of Consultant:
• To facilitate, coach and
challenge the SME in
development of content for/
completion of the BPT
• Signpost to appropriate
sources of third party
data/networks/contacts;
• Review quality of outputs at
key points;
• Provide feedback on the
process for future
development.
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Role of SME:
• To generate primary
supporting data and
evidence;
• Complete the Work Sheets;
• Ownership and ‘sign off’ of
the outputs;
• Provide feedback on the
process (and performance
of the Consultant) for future
development.
The Overall Process
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The core of the BPT is divided into units
1. Technology Value
2. Market Segments
3. Value Proposition
13. Viability Check
Ok
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10. Channels
12. Business model
9. Customer
Relations
8. Competitive
Analysis
7. Key Partners
6. Key Resources
5. Key Activities
4. Revenue
Streams
11. Cost structure
• The interrelationship
between units is not linear
– it is an interactive and
iterative process with ongoing feedback;
• The consultants will agree
with the SME where effort
should be focused;
• Completed over a period of
several lapsed weeks, as
evidence is gathered to
support decision making.
Output automatically generated by the Unit
Summaries work book
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What’s in it for the SME?
1. One-to-one support from a specialist business consultant, trained in
the delivery of the BPT and with access to the supporting collateral;
2. Development of a validated business model, with robust supporting
evidence, specific to their needs;
3. An Action Plan providing priority next steps, and associated
resources, to ensure that the business model is progressed,
implemented, and refined as appropriate;
4. An understanding of any key gaps in current delivery capability;
5. Improved knowledge of, and access to, a variety of sector specific
resources and contacts.
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