Innovation has risen rapidly to the top of the agenda of executive team’s agendas across many industries. Yet research has shown that CEOs continue to be frustrate by the speed and impact of innovation efforts within their organisation. Perhaps metrics are unclear or are not being reached consistently. Perhaps the culture of the company is creating challenges in terms of delivering on goals or generating the change you are looking to achieve. Or perhaps there is a feeling that the company lacks ideas or creativity.

Innovation for the sake of innovation often lacks focus. To be successful, it needs to be tied into the strategic direction of the organisation and help to solve real organisational challenges. With this in mind, we work with organisations to develop their thinking on their biggest challenges and map potential solutions with them. We will then seek the most effective ways to deliver on these solutions, whether that be internally focused, co-developing solutions with startups in your space, buying in appropriate technologies or even acquiring startups outright if that is the most appropriate path. Journey Partners act as the catalyst for matching problems and opportunities to those best suited to bring those ideas forward. We work closely with you to develop your thinking and provide particular assistance on topics including:

Ensuring you have clarity around your goals and assist you in putting metrics in place around your innovation efforts, as every strong strategy is based on grounded goals

Establishing the right vehicle for innovation, whether that be an innovation lab, external unit, developing innovation champions or more

Establishing governance systems that enable effective and efficient decision making

Building the skillsets and mindsets of the team and wider stakeholders to ensure a common understanding and will for change

Introducing the team to external stakeholders who can assist in developing the thinking of the team

If the lab is focused on working with startups in the space, assisting with investment principles, deal flow, engagement strategies and pilot programmes

We live in a world where cities and regions globally are in competition for investment, talent and innovation. The factors which determine where multinational companies locate, where entrepreneurial ecosystems thrive and where communities are engaged with the social and cultural fabric of the area, are often challenging for cities to recognise. We combine quantitative and qualitative research to establish key indicators that will contribute to a region’s success, supporting our clients in developing actionable projects to deliver on their promise.

Some of the projects the principals of the firm have successfully delivered include:

The establishment of Propeller Shannon, an accelerator focused on investing in and assisting world class startups in the aviation, aerospace and travel tech industries to scale. This programme is backed by leading organisations such as Boeing, Datalex, the Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) and Enterprise Ireland. This was also a significant contributor to the region’s ecosystem, bringing a new lease of life to an already established history of excellence. The programme was a first for several reasons. It was the first time Boeing and Datalex invested in such an initiative, bringing the expertise of true world leaders to the entrepreneurs on the programme, as well as giving those organisations access to the latest innovations. It was also remarkable as the IAA are the first and only regulator to invest in such a programme worldwide.
The design, development and leadership of Viva Air Labs. In partnership with Viva Air, we have developed the first innovation lab in the region. This initiative brings together a community of data scientists and technologists, academics and students, entrepreneurs and corporate partners, public sector bodies and government departments, investors and more, to build an ecosystem of innovation which contributes not only to the success of Viva Air, but also the wider Medellin location, Colombia as a nation and the wider Latin American region.
In a ground-breaking public-private partnership, we designed and raised the funding to establish Ireland’s first accelerator over a decade ago. The organisation has since gone on to be listed as one of the top accelerators in Europe and globally by a variety of sources and has meaningfully contributed to Dublin’s prominent positioning as a startup hub of significance on the global scene.
We have developed and written published public policy documents on behalf of government departments which have led to decisions on ecosystem development, public investment initiatives and FDI programmes of global significance.
With international connectivity being at the core of our values as an organisation, Journey Partners have developed on this by building knowledge building and exchange programmes for policy makers across Africa, the Middle East and Asia. These programmes allow policy makers to connect and share experiences on areas of common interest.

Market Mapping

In today’s market, the threat of disruption is now coming not just from your competitors, but from organisations in entirely different fields, making it very challenging to see where the next disruptive technology or business model may come from. This new market paradigm means it’s more challenging than ever to predict where change may come from, and what shape that may take. We take that burden from you, mapping out the innovation marketplace to explore who your competitors are working with, what new technologies are coming through, and what business models have been created that may create that disruption in your business. This allows you to be ahead of the game in adapting when the inevitable happens.

Customer Engagement

Customers are becoming increasingly savvy in their engagement with organisations, both in terms of B2B and B2C. Therefore, a different approach is increasingly being taken to truly engage customers in your company’s journey. We support organisations in developing innovative approaches to their customer base, opening up new markets and new approaches to brand and market development that make your company stand out in the market place.

Key Talent Introductions

We develop bespoke talent strategies, identifying your immediate and long-term needs and sourcing C-Level and senior management executives that will contribute to business success. Through detailed market mapping, we use both local and global networks to ensure that you have insight into the best talent.

Innovation through your People

Capacity for innovation in organisations is only limited by their people. The most successful organisations are those in which the habits of innovation are embedded into the day-to-day working lives of team members. We work with our partners to design and execute programmes which assist leaders experientially develop the innovation skills to run tomorrow’s enterprise

Introductions to external Experts and Mentors

For organisations experiencing rapid change, sometimes the best solution is to seek the advice of someone who has experienced these issues before. Whether you need a technical expert for a new piece of technology, a professional to drive the digital transformation of the company, or someone who can give the appropriate client-side advice at a delicate time, we use our networks to find the right fit for you.This includes board and C-level advisory panels, genuine specialist key opinion leaders that can help identify gaps in the market, suitable technologies, and ease of market access to improve your chance of success.

Team and Leadership Creation and Development

Now, more than ever, it is vital to ensure that your people have the skills and abilities to make the step up to the next level. Traditional training programmes no longer suffice as they have been proven to be ineffective at building sustainable skills and lack the ability to engage staff in the learning process.

Journey Partners reimagine the leadership development process, working with you to develop the individuals that will bring your organisation to the next level. We do this by creating multifaceted programmes which bring the latest in leadership development thinking, grounded in research and driven by action-learning techniques.

These programmes are proven to engage and energise people, increase retention and put in place the elements for future success.

Organisational Culture

There is increasing evidence that corporate culture is an indicator of the success and failure of organisations. In fact, almost 70% of business leaders believe that culture provides the greatest source of competitive advantage.

For smaller organisations in pre- and early-growth phases, it is important to spend time identifying, implementing and measuring the type of culture you need to create in order build your brand, compete in your market and ensure successful engagement with employees, clients and customers.

For larger organisations, especially those who have gone through changes to either the internal or external environments, it is important to ensure that the culture which has been created is one which will bring you success in the future, not just the one that brought you successfully through the challenges of the past.

Journey Partners perform culture audits and assessment, culture reframing programmes and implementation strategies with targeted interventions.