BNP Paribas Bank: a network of innovators

Aude Albert is Innovation Project Manager at BNP Paribas (Prospective & Transformations Department within Corporate Communication). Her mission is to develop the BNP Paribas Innovation Community: sharing best practices and business watch, facilitating connections, leading transversal projects, in cooperation with business lines’ Heads of Innovation. She explains for us the various initiatives developed to foster a culture of innovation, heading to a Group Innovation Ecosystem.

Innovation Awards

Learning Expeditions bring the innovation laureats in innovation trip: latest journey was about crowdfunding, and gathered 30 participants. An additional approach on participative innovation and ideation has been developed with Jump platform.

Innovation mapping

Innovation does not rely on a central entity: each unit has developed its patch according to its needs and context. Thus, multiple approaches have been tested, and many ‘best practices’ can be shared. The first tool one can bring to the community is a map of the ecosystem, sharing the various initiatives. It started with a mapping of the innovation initiatives in retail banking, and has been completed at a group scale with the Corporate & Institutional Banking and Investment Solutions inputs.

This digital tool is like a compass for innovation, made of innovation bubbles which can be incubation structures, tech and creativity labs, partners like Partech Shaker accelerator, innovation frameworks. One click on a bubble provides useful contacts, and projects list.

In a nutshell, think, act, and mix internal initiatives with external world, over 4 axes: awareness, ideation, proof of concept & test, recognition.

‘Heads of Innovation’ network

Each unit has named a representative for innovation. At BNP Paribas Cardif, it’s a team of 3 people and a lab. The network amounts to 30 innovation leaders, and people involved in innovation is much more. Managing the network is about finding quick wins, with a consensus-building and bottom up approach: for instance, a creativity workshop was tested in 2014, and has become a training offering. Meetings with the network are focused on operational opportunities, concrete topics, information circulation, mentoring and sharing best practices…, as the Innovation Barcamp planned on Quarter 1 2015.

The new collaborative platform crossing cooperation with social networking could be a future tool, where one could expose his skills and interests in innovation.

One hot discussion is on open innovation and co creation with start-ups. The Innov & Connect program is an initiative to enrich service for ETI customers: topics selection, call for projects involving start-ups, and completing proof of concepts is a first big step to enlarge our start-ups network and accelerate collaboration.

Setting-up and managing a network of innovators

In line with Aude’s experience, I had the chance to participate to an Innovation Barcamp last July, and to a discussion about innovators’ network.

“What are the new modes for developing and supporting innovators in the field?” was the question raised.

• Define context and objectives of innovation endeavour: degree of urgency, innovation cycle (short/long), is innovation in the core activity or is an evolution, mission statement, engagement letter, and roadmap;
• Identify skills and profiles wanted: leadership (to create a movement, to communicate toward C-level), innovation profile (can be a facilitator who provides a framework, or a serial innovator, leaning forward creativity), professional pathway within the company (what will I become after this innovation project is completed?), and a breeding ground of innovators;
• Specify the innovator’s role in his business unit: act as a relay for the central innovation division or innovation amabassor, detect and share local innovations, let thrive innovation culture & overview projects locally, connect with the ecosystem locally, particpate to training and meetings held centrally;
• Think of motivation levers: time allocation, protecting sponsor (encouraging risk culture, tolerance for failure), resources, recognition and reward, training, enticement to innovation, playful spirit, project stop (‘celebrate failure’);
• Set-up innovation framework: nursery / incubator / accelerator / corporate venture for intra-preneurship, dedicated innovation cell or office for innovation (like a tourism office), facilitation dynamics (challenge for ideas, business plan competition, innovation tournament, employee crowdfunding), process to reintegrate proof of concept into the core business lines (upstream involvement of BUs in the innovation project, modular innovation design), innovation portfolio (incremental innovation, transversal projects across business units, new domains to investigate, permission for disruptive innovation), resources staffing, tools (innovation passport / tutorial, coaching, serious game).

image credits: BNP Paribas, Service Design Research, Fotolia, Seattle-business

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Nicolas is a senior VP at Orange Innovation Group. Serial innovator, he set-up creative BU with an international challenge, and a focus on new TV experiences. Forward thinker, he completed a thesis on “Rapid Innovation”, implemented successfully at Orange, further developed in his writings. He tweets @nicobry