Santamaría and de Guindos pave the way: “do more with less” Meets Innovation
How would Spain be affected by the deployment of a PPM strategy?
el ministro de Economía y Competitividad, Luis de Guindos
Soraya Sáenz de Santamaría assured yesterday that budgets for 2012 have proved that it is possible to do “more with less”, highlighting the fact that the ministry of the Presidency has already optimized resources and reduced other expenses such as expense allowances and representative activities or summits such as the one celebrated in Cadiz in November which expenses have been cut to the half if compared to the summit celebrated in Salamanca last 2005. “This is the best example we can find in our austerity policies, to do the same but investing the half,” assured the vice-president.
In the same fashion, the Minister of Economic Affairs and Competitiveness, Luis de Guindos , assured yesterday that 2012 accounts, “are the most austere and rigorous of the last decade, this will contribute to fix the total deficit from the 8,9% to the 5,3%,” in order for this to be possible it will be necessary “to do an unprecedented realistic adjustment.” In terms of I+D+I (investigation, development, and innovation), the Economy headline reminded that 6,400 millions of Euros would be invested on innovation, this implies a reduction of the 25, 6% with respect to the approved budget of 2011.
In conclusion, the speech of the executive members seems to focus on the popular slogan “do more with less.” Truth is tha I+d+i is an strategic sector and a priority, and if we are not able of materializing this premise we could condemn it to an absolute and permanent precariousness which will result on a “brain drain” of the younger generations, the best formed generation in the history of Spain. After taking this first step Gringos and Co. must confront the challenge: “How to maintain a favorable environment for innovation in spite of the reduction in budget?” In a recent survey by the Boston Consulting Group, 72% of the respondents placed “Innovation” as one of their top three priorities. Organizations have one thing in common in a rapidly-changing business environment: the ability to meet any challenge starts with an idea. Here comes our!
Imagine state leaders could capture the ideas of internal stakeholders, coordinate the initiatives with public strategies, develop project plans in accordance, manage the delivery of projects and optimize inversions and resources constantly. This is the ideal scenario for them to enter the game of Project and Portfolio management that could become the perfect ally for innovation in Spain. But the key question is: how would affect the deployment of a PPM software the innovation strategy in Spain? From our experience, forged by years working hand in hand with large companies we can assure that the deployment of such a tool will report 4 benefits that will help Spain to overcome this bump on the road:
1. First of all the solution would allow us to capture and prioritize ideas coming from external and internal clients and keep this ideas intact throughout all the development process until its implementations. Trusting actively “the power of the crowd” the state will not only locate the best and most valuable ideas but would provide their clients and employees with a voice throughout the process of designing the roadmaps of new products and services. With the technology available nowadays there shouldn’t be limits for innovation.
2. A PPM software would provide public managers with the ability to capture innovation targets and goals, and then report actual performance against targets by drilling down into interactive real-time dashboards, all of which can be configured to meet the specific needs of innovation stakeholders (citizens) at all levels. Additionally, such dashboards can be easily integrated with information from other IT systems, giving leaders a single destination for management information to support innovation decision-making.
3. Furthermore, it will not only provide leaders a holistic view of the entire innovation portfolio including new ideas, requirements, current development projects and in-market product performance, but are also better able to communicate strategy and priorities to all levels of the organization, allowing them to take better decisions that show a long term strategy.
4. The do “more with less” slogan would also be supported by an improved utilization of resources and a reduction of development costs through comprehensive program, project and resource management. This ensures that development projects I+D+i are executed efficiently with less waste.
And you? Which is your proposal to innovate in such a restrictive environment?
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STILL DON’T KNOW HOW TO HELP YOUR COMPANY TO DO MORE WITH LESS?
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