This course is particularly aimed at R&D staff, project managers and others who need to work with external partners on technological innovation. Most participants will have been involved in development projects within an organisation, but working with external partners brings new issues and potential pitfalls. Issues such as developing mutual trust, setting shared expectations, and engaging those over whom you have formal no power become critical success parameters.

This workshop will focus on 3 examples of ways of working with external partners in order to bring out both general and specific lessons on these issues namely, using Consultants; interacting with the University and developing collaborations between different independent partners.

Following this course participants will:

• Be more effective in getting best value from consultants, the University and other external partners
• Understand the principles of effective partnership and common traps that can overturn relationships
• Have practiced techniques for engaging others in collaborations

Prework:

All participants are asked to bring an example of a situation in their organisation in which relationships with an external partner got difficult.

Agenda:

9:30      Introductions

9:45      Working with external partners: principles, options, benefits and potential problems.

10:15    Working with Consultants. Choosing them, managing them, dealing with problems,

getting value from the results. Common traps and possible responses. How do some

consultancy clients get much better value from their consultants than others?

11:15    Break

11:30    Key skills: Common communication traps, building mutual trust. Case studies

and exercises

12:30    Lunch

13:15    Working with the university. Session led by Richard Jennings, Director of Technology

Transfer and Consultancy Services, Cambridge Enterprise, exploring the different ways

of interacting with Cambridge University. How to navigate the entry points. Tips and tricks for getting best value.

14:45    Break

15:00    Collaborations. How to you get people to collaborate when you have no formal power

over them? Exploration of the key techniques for engaging participants in both cross-departmental and multi-organisational collaborations. Case studies and exercises

16:30    Final Reflection and Feedback

16:45    Workshop end

Presenter: Anne Miller

Anne Miller is an authority on creativity and innovation, with extensive experience of building successful collaborations and partnerships between organisations.

She is director of The Creativity Partnership, providing consulting, workshops and management training for some of Europe’s most successful organisations. These include Bayer, Ernst and Young, the NHS, P&G, Rolls-Royce, Sainsbury’s and Smith and Nephew. Her work includes management training, culture change programmes, designing workshops and innovation events.

She has a degree in Engineering, over 20 years experience in R&D and 39 patents for products ranging from power tools to medical products, many of which are now in production. These include the controller for Braun’s cordless gas powered hair styler, power tools for Bosch, Bayer’s DEX blood glucose meter, and the manufacturing system for the Femidom (the female condom).

In 1988 she was one of the founders of the UK’s leading independent technology innovation organisation, TTP Group Plc, before setting up The Creativity Partnership www.tcp-uk.co.uk in 2000.

She is on the Board of the Stop Climate Chaos coalition, the UK’s largest and most diverse coalition of over 100 NGOs active on climate change.

She has written numerous articles on Creativity and Innovation. Her acclaimed book How to get your ideas adopted (and change the world), was published by Marshall Cavendish in 2009. See www.annemiller.info

Cost: 1.5 units

To register please email our Training Co-ordinator on registrations@thelearningcollaboration.com