Who was the most critical contributor to the project?
The people closest to the innovation in terms of its origins or development (product innovator or product team) are the ones who really drive it forward, making it a reality.
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Who was the most critical 'individual' contributor to the project?
A Board Director is overwhelmingly the most critical individual in driving innovation forward.
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Do you have a designer/design team in the company? Did you use external consultants/advisers?
n/a
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How were external consultants/advisers used?
External consultants or advisers were used by over half of companies during the development of their products or services. Specialist designers were the most popular choice of consultant, followed some way behind by universities, manufacturing consultants and market research agencies.
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Which informal, external links were drawn upon for business advice during the development stage?
Informal links were used by around half of respondents, the most frequent being existing or potential customers and personal networks.
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How was the initiative funded?
Companies use a mix of funds for innovation.
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Where did the biggest source of funding for the initiative come from?
Younger companies were more likely to have to rely on private funding, while established companies were over three times as likely to have an R&D/NPD budget to apply to innovation.
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Where did the biggest source of funding for the initiative come from?
Larger companies were more likely than smaller ones to fund their new initiative via their own R&D/NPD budget, or company profit. Conversely, small enterprises tended to seek private finance as a source of funding.
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Which sources of funding did you seek, but were unsuccessful in obtaining?
Around a quarter of companies unsuccessfully sought sources of funding - most were small (the majority) or medium sized organisations. UK Government schemes/grants, bank loans and venture capital were the most commonly sought fund sources that were denied to companies.
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When was market research/testing carried out?
The vast majority of companies carried out market research, or market testing with a prototype, or both, before production and launch.
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How did the project benefit from market research/market testing?
Market research/testing helped companies improve their ideas and position them successfully. It also re-assured companies about the viability of their product, giving them confidence to carry it through to launch.
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What factors made it possible for you to develop and launch this innovation successfully?
The three most important single factors relate to the product team, that is, their commitment, expertise and hard work.
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What factors caused problems in developing the product or service?
Technical difficulties were the main stumbling block for companies during development, followed some way behind by access to finance. One in ten companies said they did not experience any problems during development.
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What enabled you to overcome your major problem?
Extra determination, targeting of efforts and sheer hard work helped companies overcome their main obstacle. For others intensive testing and experimentation, modification of the product, and communicating with experts, potential customers and other interested parties proved to be the key. One in nine put up more of their own money to ensure the venture was taken forward.
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How did your company need to reorganise/change in order to take this idea forward?
Of those companies that did alter their status, a third reorganised staff internally to provide the skills required while another one in five recruited specialists externally. Over one in four set up a new division or separated the product from the core business.
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How much time passed between conception to launch?
The average length of time from conception to launch was 2 years. Half of companies managed to launch their innovation within 2 years, with a quarter doing so in under a year.
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What took the most time between conception and launch?
Companies that took longer than one year to get their product or service to market spent most of this time fine-tuning the product and testing it.
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