Insights | Spinverse

Ecosystems tackle grand challenges — Spinverse helps them to succeed and create impact!

Written by Spinverse | Oct 13, 2020 7:00:36 AM

Spinverse has accumulated years of experience on professionally leading and orchestrating innovation ecosystems with varying levels of complexity and size. Recently our experts Laura Koponen, Markku Heino and Sari Kola joined forces with Ulla Koivukoski to share their experiences in a brand-new Ecosystem Handbook. Spinverse also offers a renewed service portfolio to help with the inevitable challenges of working in ecosystems. Read here how we can help you and your company to succeed in ecosystems and make a real impact together with your partners!

Our world is currently undergoing many large-scale changes requiring immediate actions. How to tackle these grand challenges of climate change, urbanisation and, most recently, pandemics? What's more: how to build sustainable business for the future? It is safe to say that nobody can solve them alone – creating real impact can often be achieved through close cooperation across different industries and disciplines. However, where there are people with different cultural and organisational backgrounds dealing with complex matters, the practical implementation of ecosystems is rarely a walk in the park.

Literally fresh from the press today, the Ecosystem Handbook is the brainchild of Sari Kola, Laura Koponen, Markku Heino and Ulla Koivukoski who put their years of collective experience on leading ecosystems and working in them into an engaging and practical handbook. The book is aimed to give some tools and fresh insights to anyone building, leading or orchestrating ecosystems and working in them. The co-writers wish to support equally those who work in SMEs, large corporations or in research organisations alike.

Spinverse’s experience on ecosystems can help companies work more efficiently

Spinverse’s managing director Laura Koponen sees a surge in building ecosystems and investing in them. One implication is the recent Business Finland competition that was arranged for companies with international operations; Business Finland wanted to challenge them to solve significant future problems and increase their research, development and innovation investments in Finland. Nokia, Fortum, Metsä Group and Neste with their three projects were announced as the winners of the competition.

Spinverse had an opportunity to participate in the proposal preparations with three winning companies — Nokia, Fortum and Metsä Group. Laura Koponen says: “We feel that Spinverse’s expertise on ecosystems came to good use at the preparation phase and we are glad to have been able to contribute to projects that will create new R&D jobs and investments in Finland.”

Ecosystem is all about people!

Markku Heino has years of experience in leading and orchestrating complex multi-party ecosystems. He sees committed people and a joint purpose as the most important elements inthe ecosystem. “Cooperation does not take place between organisations — it is done between people. Engaging people to work together on well-defined problems and common goals and establishing an atmosphere of trust and enthusiasm enable real cooperation which at best, leads to great results. Communication on all levels forms a key part of a successful leadership,” Markku emphasises as learnings in his own work.

Ambitious multi-party activities need professional building and leadership skills to make the brave plans materialise in concrete actions and lead to results with expected impact. This is where Spinverse experts bring high added value.

Spinverse’s ecosystem services address the strategic design of the ecosystem journey

In line with the Ecosystem Handbook launch, Spinverse has also created services to help companies and other organisations to build and lead ecosystems. Sari Kola has worked closely with other Spinverse experts with the service portfolio to address the strategic design and leadership of the ecosystem journey.

Sari Kola sums up: “”Solving grand challenges together calls for both rational and emotional commitment to the ecosystem purpose. Defining the purpose in ecosystem, organisational and individual levels is fundamental for successful execution and impact. When followed with clear objectives that link to the purpose, an ecosystem is well underway.”

Would you like to learn more about building and leading ecosystems and how to work in them to make an impact?

Join our free 30-minute webinar with our ecosystem experts on 3rd November, 2020!

Spinverse’s ecosystem services cover the following areas:

Understanding ecosystems This is a half-day training session to introduce the ecosystem journey and discuss the initial purpose and plan of the ecosystem.

Scoping: This is about defining the objectives and analysing the ecosystem business model and roles of partners and people.

Partner search: Partner search calls for finding the right strategic fit but also the right culture for collaboration.

Funding services: This is about identifying the right instrument and applying for funding for the project.

Governance model: Spinverse can support in the design of the ecosystem’s operating model, main processes and definition of clear roles and responsibilities etc.

Ecosystem health check: whatever the phase of the ecosystem journey, Spinverse can help assess if the path is going to the right direction to create an impact.

Read more here how we have helped our customers to build and lead ecosystems:

More information about the Ecosystem Handbook:

www.ecosystemhandbook.com

Get your own copy of Ecosystem Handbook here.