In Serbia after the end of a period of conflict there was a great need for innovation but a lack of skilled innovation advisers and consultants. A three-month development programme (that included 20 days of classroom training and a live case study) was designed and led by Dr Dave Francis. The objectives included:

 

• To be able to communicate their understanding of the concept of innovation and its centrality in a company’s competitive strategy;

• To match and market their advisery and consulting skills to their chosen target audiences;

• To understand different modes of intervention and be able to choose an appropriate mode and/or update it based on client specifics; 

• To be able to consider contingencies such as organisational type, company sector and local specifics during the intervention process;

• To be able to engage owner/managers and other staff in thought about current innovation capabilities and future trajectories;

• To identify or facilitate the identification of ‘quick wins’;

• To diagnose issues that would promote/hinder innovation in the client company;

• To facilitate diagnosis through communication with a variety of people in the client company;

• To choose or design an intervention based on diagnosis;

• To  facilitate the roll-out of an intervention (project management and monitoring);

• To enhance the efficacy of an intervention through nurturing key personal skills and attributes (particularly those pertaining to group work and facilitation);

• To draw on a broad range of tools during project rollout;

• To  sustain the innovation processes within the everyday processes of the client organisation through facilitating the formation of an innovation strategy.

• To  develop a network of related companies and facilitate learning for advisers and consultants.