Innovation decision making framework

Abstract

This thesis accomplishes two major goals: 1. it establishes an innovation decision making framework suitable for the public service sector; and 2. it provides in-depth understanding of the established framework through two detailed accounts of innovation in Saskatchewan Department of Highways and Transportation. The major benefit from applying the findings from this research is a disciplined and structured approach to managing innovation. This in turn significantly increases the chance of innovation’s success. The decision making framework identifies the most important success drivers that influence the innovation process from conceptual ideas to diffusion. The accompanying “idea to launch” innovation stage gate model is a structured and disciplined approach to managing innovation and allocating resources in a most optimized way. Both the guiding innovation framework and the idea to launch process maintain a strong strategic focus and provide an environment for intelligent risk taking.