Jeroen Jongejans Innovate Northland Award
Please complete the online Specialist Entry Form. This award recognises innovation and the vital role it plays in business and is sponsored by Northland Inc.
About the Award:
The Innovate Category may include businesses who have not been trading/operating for the prerequisite number of months required to be eligible for entry into the main Awards i.e., Baldridge Criteria. Therefore, this entry form is more detailed to ensure data is captured that would otherwise be taken from a main entry form.
This category can also be entered with an idea, proof of concept, prototype or product or service that is already in market. However, to be eligible for the Supreme Award the Business Category will also need to be entered.
Why Innovate?
- Northland Inc and NorthChamber, with the help of local industry, support and encourage the next generation of Northland businesses to develop good ideas that are coherently constructed so that valued and sustainable businesses can be generated.
- Creating links and networks for upcoming businesses, encouraging local businesses to think creatively.
- Providing the opportunity to test new ideas in a supportive, local business environment.
- Keeping the talent in Northland and developing local talent to take on the world.
- Celebration of a good idea rather than a rigorous business model. Focus on the product more than on the company, but that still means:
– Level of technical stretch (innovation).
– Path to market (market research).
– Investment and returns (business model, sale price, cost of material, projected revenue etc.).
– Ability to deliver (project well planned scoped, risk assessment, funding options identified etc.). - Integrated within the existing Northland Business Excellence Awards to reiterate that whatever the business, innovation is essential to achieving business success.
Innovate Criteria:
Please consider the following before completing your entry form.
- Originality of the innovation
- Is it a new concept or a variation of an existing idea?
- Was it developed independently or in cooperation with others?
- Impact of the innovation
- Will it make a fundamental change in processes or simply a minor adjustment?
- Will it impact multiple operational areas or just one specific area?
- Will it lead to more potential uses / applications within other functions of the organisation?
- Practicality of its application
- Will it be readily integrated into existing systems?
- Will it be cost-effective to implement?
- Does its implementation present any risk / uncertainty to ongoing operations?
- Measurability of the benefits
- Is there a measurable cost saving?
- Does it result in measurable revenue increases?
- Does it create measurable efficiencies in operations / marketing?
- The development process
- Did the development of the innovation lead to better internal processes (i.e., teambuilding, problem solving?)
- Can the development approach be applied to similar problems / opportunities?
- Will staff learn / benefit from the experience?
- Applicability
- Is this an innovation that can be applied to other facilities?
- Is it specific to one region or country, or could it be applied internationally?
- Could it lead to changes in how industry processes are carried out?
- Sustainability of the business
- Environmental
- Economic – Long term financial viability and opportunities for job creation
- Social
About Northland Inc – Sponsor of the Jeroen Jongejans Innovate Northland Award
Northland Inc, Northland’s economic development agency, works with communities and strategically important partners to create jobs and business and investment opportunities that will strengthen, diversify and grow the region’s economy.
Programmes that support new technology, collaborative workspaces, incubators, technology hubs, and supporting creativity and innovation are important to an economically sustainable and competitive future. Northland Inc’s team of business, innovation and growth professionals provide targeted support for innovation activities that educate, empower and enable new opportunities for stronger entrepreneurial culture and growth in Northland.
