Innovation Endorsement (InE)®

Overview

Endorsement of an innovation by GInI is GInI’s recognition of a specific, individual innovation that a business has conceived and implemented, as measured by that innovation’s value and actual business impact. Endorsement thus serves as a means of validating the business’ efforts and outcomes without requiring it to reveal confidential details to the public.

Endorsement of an innovation by GInI signifies that the innovation has not only satisfied the qualification requirements set by GInI, but just as importantly, has demonstrated its true merit as an innovation on the basis of its actual adoption, usage, and business impact, delivering value where none existed previously. Thus irrespective of whatever acclaim, recognition, and/or financial success it might have otherwise achieved, the innovation is recognized for its real business impact. Since not every purported “innovation” meets GInI’s strict qualifications, having one’s innovation endorsed by GInI is an honorable achievement.

GInI offers three tiers of endorsement based on the type of innovation and the scope of effort associated with executing it. These are:

• Tier 1: Internal Process Innovations – innovations internal to the business; these do not result in new market offerings.
• Tier 2: Value Capture Innovations – extensions of current offerings to enable the business to capture greater market share.
• Tier 3: Value Creation Innovations – delivery of completely new offerings to grow the business beyond its current core.

In general, higher tier innovations by their very nature require more effort and more investment to achieve than do lower tier innovations. These higher tier innovations also represent the greatest risk/reward profile. They are therefore rarer and thus more prestigious.

In order for a business’ innovation to be endorsed by GInI, it must:

1. Represent a solution to a problem that is truly novel relative to existing solutions.
2. Be legitimately conceived, defined, developed, and implemented by the business.
3. Be used exclusively by the business and/or licensed to another business for exclusive use.
4. Have been in use for a minimum of six (6) months and thus able to demonstrate a positive impact on the business and the intended customers.

If an innovation can meet these four qualifications, then it is eligible for endorsement.

GInI Innovation Endorsements are valid for the life of the innovation and never expire.

Endorsement also offers the opportunity for the organization to have those individuals who contributed to the realization of the new innovation officially recognized by GInI as Recognized Innovators, there is an optional fee of 100 USD per individual to have GInI officially recognize the contributors to the innovation as official GInI recognized innovators - which includes GInI issuing a corresponding Recognized Innovator Certificate to each such individual.

What Organizations Should Apply?

GInI places no restrictions on the nature or type of business that may apply for an Innovation Endorsement. The business can be in the private or public sector, privately-held or publicly-traded, for-profit or not-for-profit, SME or MNC, and so forth. The business may even be a sole proprietorship. What is important is the nature of the innovation and the details of its conception, definition, development, and deployment, regardless of who or what the business is behind it. Accordingly, GInI does not discriminate on the basis of any factor relating to the business itself.

Eligibility

The GInI Innovation Endorsement is intended for actual, real innovations that a business conceived, defined, developed, and deployed into real-world usage. The nature of these innovations can range widely – from innovative new internal processes and/or process changes, to innovative improvements in existing offerings, to radical, breakthrough innovations never ever seen before. All of these are fair subjects for endorsement so long as they meet the qualification requirements set forth by GInI.

Benefits

Endorsement signifies that the business involved is the one who has conceived, defined, developed, and deployed the innovation.

Endorsement further signifies that the innovation involved has demonstrated its true merit on the basis of actual adoption, usage, and business impact, delivering value where none had existed previously. Endorsement is an honorable achievement given that not every purported “innovation” meets GInI’s strict qualifications.

Endorsement is an excellent means for a business to demonstrate to the world how effective its innovation efforts have been, and by association, how innovative of a business it is.

Endorsement also offers the opportunity for the organization to have those individuals who contributed to the realization of the new innovation officially recognized by GInI as Recognized Innovators

Obtaining

Endorsement Qualification

In order for a business’ innovation to qualify for endorsement by GInI, it must meet all four of the following criteria:

1. Represent a solution to a problem that is truly novel relative to previous solutions.
2. Be legitimately conceived, defined, developed, and implemented by the business – either alone or in partnership with other businesses.
3. Be used exclusively by the business and/or licensed to another business for exclusive use.
4. Have been in use for a minimum of six (6) months and thus able to demonstrate a positive impact on the business and the intended customers.

The Assessment Process

In order for a business’ innovation to achieve endorsement by GInI, the business must successfully complete the following seven-steps:

1. The business must engage and work through a GInI Authorized Training & Assessment Provider® (ATAP®). This ATAP® will provide and oversee a GInI Authorized Innovation Assessor® (AInA®) to complete the Innovation Endorsement Application and submit the Application to GInI.
2. The Authorized Innovation Assessor® (AInA®) will complete the following two steps:
1. Review first-hand all of the business’ evidence and documentation of the innovation, and…
2. Submit the Innovation Endorsement Application to GInI via the supervising ATAP®.
3. The Innovation Endorsement Application may be completed either by an internal author or by the external Assessor (AInA®). Regardless of which party completes it, it may only be submitted to the ATAP® by the external Assessor (AInA®), and in turn may only be submitted to GInI by the ATAP.
4. Once submitted, GInI will then review the Endorsement Application, studying it first for thoroughness and accuracy, and second for merit. Reviews typically require 7-10 business days to complete.
5. If the evidence presented to GInI in the Endorsement Application satisfactorily meets GInI’s requirements, then GInI will approve the Application and thereby endorse the innovation. If the evidence does not meet GInI’s requirements, then GInI will reject the Application and not endorse the innovation.
6. GInI will thereafter notify the applying organization and their ATAP® of its determination.
7. If the Endorsement is granted, a certificate will be delivered to the applying organization via postal courier so documenting the Endorsement.

• GInI’s Authorized Innovation Assessors® – AInAs® – are the only individuals authorized by GInI to submit Endorsement Applications to GInI via the ATAP®. GInI will only accept Applications from AInAs® and ATAPs® in good standing.
• Regardless of who completes the application, it must be verified in person, attested to, and submitted by the External Assessor retained by the ATAP®. Thus if the business has internal AInAs® on its staff, those individuals may complete the application, but they may not submit it to GInI or to the ATAP®. Only an External AInA® may submit the Endorsement Application.

Scoring

The CInOrg Assessment scores and ranks each of the 30 Categories in the GInI Innovation Maturity Assessment Tool (InMAT) on a scale of 0 – 10, and weights these according to specific GInI guidelines. The final overall score is therefore a weighted average of these 30 Categories and will thus also range between 0 and 10. This allows organizations to be recognized as a Certified Innovative Organization® at one of the three possible levels, as reflected in the following chart.

Maintaining

Once granted, GInI Innovation Endorsements are valid for the life of the innovation. Therefore no maintenance or renewal efforts are required to maintain the endorsement.

Investment

There is a one-time Administrative Processing Fee of 1,000 USD to apply for a GInI Innovation Endorsement, payable to GInI. This does not include the fees the business will pay to the ATAP for conducting the Innovation Endorsement Application process.

There is an optional fee of 100 USD per individual to have GInI officially recognize the contributors to the innovation as official GInI recognized innovators - which includes GInI issuing a corresponding Recognized Innovator Certificate to each such individual.

Other Certifications

Certified Innovative Organization

Certified Government Innovative Organization

Accredited Innovation Lab

Accredited Business Incubator

Accredited Accelerator Program

Accredited Innovation Training Program

Accredited Innovation Education Program

Certified Innovative Growth Venture

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