23rd ISPI EMEA Annual Conference
Performance Improvement within an Evolving Technology Landscape
September 26 – 28, and 30 - October 1, 2024
Online
Overview and Registration
Program and Sessions
Open Assist Experience
WHAT IT IS
As in previous years, the 2024 virtual conference will be organized around an opportunity for participants to be immersed in a unique live teamwork experience recently renamed, Open Assist. This important centrepiece, which runs throughout our conference, provides an exciting opportunity for teams of participants to engage directly with senior management representing a real organization (client). The objective for the teams is to respond to the organization’s (client’s) Request For Proposals (RFP) to outline an approach for resolving a current problem the organization is facing and/or to identify and take advantage of opportunities to perform and produce “even better” results.
Through the Open Assist process the client organization receives real value for their participation, as measured by their immediate feedback at the end of the process and also, importantly, one year later. Participant teams gain valuable knowledge and actual experience, working on a diverse multinational team, as they interact directly with, present to and get feedback from a senior management team, all in a “safe”, supportive, constructive environment of learning, sharing and enriching each participant’s experience and ability to grow their professional network.
OPEN ASSIST RATIONALE
“open“: looking outside of the organization’s boundaries to get something (innovation, solutions, ideas, etc.) from external individuals or organizations in a crowdsourcing environment.
“assist“: putting the client in the best conditions to achieve its objectives. In basketball, an assist (the proposal) happens when a player (team at the conference) passes the ball to a teammate (the client) in a way that leads to a score by field goal (achieve the objectives illustrated in the RFP). It reminds the magic chemistry of Karl Malone (the second scoring leaders of NBA ever: 36,928 points, more than the legend Michael Jordan) and John Stockton (holding the NBA records for most career assists: 15,806): in the NBA, there is no other combination of passer and scorer that even comes close to Malone and Stockton.
At the conference, client is the scorer (the champion) and teams are the passer (who sets up the best conditions for the champion to make a field goal).
HOW IT WORKS
Seven steps:
TEAM LEADERS SELECTION AND INTRODUCTION
The process begins by inviting professionals, who are already registered to participate in the upcoming conference, to volunteer for the important role of Open Assist Team Leader, in advance of the conference. In order to properly introduce them, we ask them to provide us with a brief bio and a short statement about why they were willing to take on the Team Leader role.
THE CLIENT’S REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS
The Request for Proposals (RFP) made by the Client is delivered to each participant at the registration desks. Team Leaders are provided with a package of Open Assist Overview Materials before the conference. The Client explains the key elements of the RFP during the opening session of the Conference.
RECRUITING TEAM MEMBERS
Each Team Leader has 60 seconds to introduce herself during the opening session and invite participants to join her team. Participants that want to try the Open Assist exprerience can join the preferred team. At the end of the “recruiting” session, team members of a bigger team are invited to join a smaller team on a voluntary basis, to balance the number of members of each team.
QUESTIONS AND ASWERS SESSION WITH THE CLIENT
In order to develop an effective proposal, teams often need more information than what is detailed in the request. Information about the request itself, the business of the client, the context in which it operates, its organization, structure and culture. A 2 hours session of questions and answers with the client held on Friday morning should help to clarify each additional detail.
TEAM WORKING ON PROPOSAL
The time to work on the proposal is never enough. An hour and a half on Thursday after the opening session, two hours on Friday afternoon, an hour and a half Saturday morning. These are the slots for team working. In a very short time you need to contribute in creating a collaborative team, exploring the request and making a winner proposal. This is the challenge.
PRESENTATION OF TEAM PROPOSALS
On the last afternoon, all the proposals are presented to the Client. Each team has 10 to 15 minutes to deliver its presententation, answer questions, and convince the Client that its proposal is absolutely perfect for them. The advice is to use few Powerpoint slides, and make them very effective.
FINAL EVALUATION OF PROPOSALS
After the presentation of proposals made by teams, the Client people move in another room, take some time to closely evaluate each proposal and choose the one that most suits their request and needs. Then they come back to the plenary room and announce who is the winner. No prize, just glory.
ISPI EMEA 2024 Open Assist Client
2024 – Online Conference – CoolBricks
CoolBricks is a young company with a huge vision and mission. It aims to revolutionize the affordable housing market in the Global South, by using research science to make very traditional earthen home building new again, and greatly improved for housing solutions that are: low cost, created from locally sourced natural raw materials, safe, strong and 100% circular (recyclable), i.e., able to be completely reclaimed and reusable. Note that the term Global South has geographic and socioeconomic connotations. CoolBricks considers weather, production raw material quality and proximity, as well as skills and availability of trained masons and other workers that are related to locations. For example, proper soil composition (fundamental ingredients) must be present in the local soil. So, desert or rocky areas are not suitable, nor are flood zones.
The science behind what looks like a very old, simple building material and technique for CoolBricks production and construction, is actually sophisticated and innovative in its ability to make CoolBricks 20% stronger, yet 50% cheaper than Fired Bricks, while also 100% recyclable. Further, because CoolBricks are not fired, the production and construction processes for CoolBricks buildings result in 90% less carbon emissions released into the environment. The formula and production process for bricks, as well as, building techniques for CoolBricks buildings were developed at TU Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands, where the University has unique expertise in biological binders for earthen bricks, particularly those related and suited to cow-dung.
Developing a new, effective and innovative formula and process for brick (and mortar) production, which combines cow-dung as an important ingredient, could have been enough of a breakthrough discovery for some university researchers. However, at TU Delft, the combination of scientific expertise with business acumen and conceptual creativity, drove the founders of CoolBricks to take their award-winning product to the marketplace, and apply them in the field, where they could produce important results for real people, real communities, and support both society and the environment, based on implementation of the CoolBricks formula.
CoolBricks was fittingly selected by What Design Can Do (WDCD) within the (Make It Circular Challenge). Their submission featured a single formula for producing a building material that is high value, including stronger than fired bricks, for 50% of the cost, completely recyclable, and capable of substantially reducing production process emissions (90%), not to mention made from readily available raw materials in many to most agrarian locations. In this way, the bricks and even the mortar produced are more affordable and their production creates an additional revenue source and stream for farmers. What Design Can Do (WDCD) selected 13 winners from a global group. CoolBricks was named as a winner in the Making It Circular Challenge May 18, 2023.
Selection as a winner within the Make It Circular Challenge, was a great accomplishment and rewards the work done to great such a circular product. Great first step to make a real and sustainable impact on reducing homelessness and in an environmentally sensitive, supportive way.
The CoolBricks organization has a mission to provide the bottom of the pyramid with affordable housing solutions that are truly low-cost, safe and circular. CoolBricks is a young, intelligent, innovative, flexible organization, whose multidisciplinary and multinational (Netherlands, Uganda, and India) leadership team, lives a continuous improvement model. They want to grow and develop a global organization that is sustainable. CoolBricks is about to undertake its first big project and is currently hiring to staff its first major project, which will be an important step toward its societal and environmental goals and objectives.
The first major project of CoolBricks is scheduled to start in August 2024. The client is a Safari lodge in Uganda, for which CoolBricks will work together with other partners to construct the back of house for all staff members. Everything will be brought together onsite. The production process of the CoolBricks, the construction of the houses.
Houses that are comfortable, attractive and provide a valuable benefit for working at the park.
This project will also provide feedback, within their continuous improvement process, to CoolBricks, as they strive to produce even better results, in this case for multiunit dwelling designs. Combined with learnings, the residential units within this project serve as a great example and finished-unit models for potential future customers.
2024 OPEN ASSIST TEAM LEADERS
Sylvia Lee
Owner, Kieran:Patrick Consulting, Inc.
As an HR leader in public/private sector organizations, and business owner, I have written/guided many teams in writing effective job descriptions. As consultant have helped teams at unit/executive levels analyze current job descriptions, develop strategic ones. I am also writing a book on the topic. Have presented to many audiences including ISPI and EMEA.
Email: kpc@kieranpatrick.com
Dr. Fritz Lebowsky
Founder & CEO, FLY-CE-SAI SOLUTIONS
Fritz received his PhD in electrical engineering from the Technical University of Braunschweig, Germany. He continues investigating astonishing performance in human visual perception and transferring the findings into consumer products. His Master’s degree in executive Management at the Grenoble School of Management opened a path to innovative concepts for creating harmony between human emotional intelligence, artificial intelligence, and ethics in the era of ‘digital transformation’ while envisioning a sustainable human future for ALL. https://flycesai.com/about
Ria Roy, PhD, MBA, MSHFID, M.S.
Clinical Assistant Professor, Boise State University
Ria’s experiences have been in areas of strategy and commercialization, setting up SBUs, KMS, commercial analytics and decision support, new product planning, and consulting. Her research interests lie in the development of the field of PI, organization design, organizational performance, innovation, and future of work. She has presented at AEA, ISPI, and AHRD, and has published for PX, PIJ, and PIQ.
Email: riaroy@boisestate.edu
WHAT THEY SAY
“The Simulation Case Study (now Open Assist) was a great, interactive way to meet people, try out new ideas, and get practice making a pitch to a potential client. I met great people and thoroughly enjoyed the valuable experience. I hope I am able to return again in the future.“
PREVIOUS CLIENTS
2023 – Hybrid Conference – Spatial and Urban Development Agency of Georgia
The Georgian Spatial and Urban Development Agency (SUDA), a Legal Entity of Public Law (LEPL), is one (1) of a system of sixteen (18) Legal Entities that come under the Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development of Georgia. SUDA was established in 2022 as an independent agency, rather than an internal department of nine (9) people, within a government ministry. The change to Agency status for Spatial and Urban Development, was significant, as it recognized the strategic importance of SUDA’s results and the anticipated impact of the goals of those results in supporting Georgia’s GDP growth and essential country-level sustainable development goals and objectives.
Anticipated results of SUDA’s National Spatial Development Planning process:
- Categorization and documentation of lands throughout the country (detailed mapping)
- Faster and more effective decision-making
- Balanced economic growth
- A “manual” specific to Georgia for large infrastructure projects
- Protection of the country’s cultural heritage through heritage sites
- Systematic reduction of negative/undesirable environmental impact
2022 – Online Conference – Georgia National Tourism Administration
The Georgian National Tourism Administration (GNTA), a Legal Entity of Public Law (LEPL), is one (1) of a system of sixteen (16) Legal Entities that come under the Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development of Georgia. The GNTA plays an important role in support of the economy of Georgia. Prior to the pandemic, it was the greatest single contributor to the country’s GDP. Therefore, since tourism revenues are largely from foreign sources, the GNTA influences revenues that contribute directly to the objective of a positive Balance of Trade for Georgia.
The goals and objectives of the GNTA include the:
• Creation and implementation of the Georgian tourism development state policy,
• Promotion of sustainable tourism development,
• Promotion of export income growth and related job creation (based on tourism development),
• Attraction of foreign tourists to Georgia (and development of domestic tourism, as well), and,
• Promotion of human resources development in the field of tourism destinations, infrastructure, and tourism.
As so many countries around the world, the Georgian economy suffered the consequences of Covid-19, and, in Georgia’s case, GDP went from a positive (5%) for 2019 to a negative (-6.2%) for 2020. Travel and tourism certainly felt the consequences, because of lock down rules and travel restrictions on a global scale. However, tourism did begin to rebound in Georgia during 2021.
2021 – Online Conference – Namibia Statistics Agency
Before Namibian independence in 1990, there was no stand-alone statistical authority. Statistical data was managed through a department of the South African Statistical Services. After independence the Central Statistical Office was established as a division of the Namibia National Planning Commission. The Central Statistical Office was later renamed the Central Bureau of Statistics.
In 2011, the Namibia Statistics Agency (NSA) was formally established on the basis of the Statistics Act, 2011 (Act No 9 of 2011), which was passed by the Parliament and signed by the President, in terms of the Namibian Constitution. The NSA reports to and is funded by the Namibian Government through the National Planning Commission (NPC).
The Statistics Act No. 9 of 2011 provides for the development of a National Statistics System and provides for its components and objectives, which are to establish the Namibia Statistics Agency and the Board of the Namibia Statistics Agency, as well as to provide for their powers and functions.
2020 – Online Conference – Comunicare
Communicare, a non profit company, is the oldest provider of social housing in South Africa. It began more than 90 years ago (1929), as the Citizens Housing League Utility Company, formed in response to poor housing conditions in Cape Town. Providing rental housing to a wide range of tenants, including a large portfolio of social rentals (properties rented at discounted rates), Communicare, today, is not just another landlord.
Socially Conscious and High-Impact Mission — Communicare is committed to an ambitious mission at the societal level, aimed at having a meaningful impact, not simply financially or with traditional real-estate success measures in the marketplace, but rather to make a difference in the lives of real people. Specifically, Communicare is dedicated to, “Providing opportunities for more people to live with dignity and an improving quality of life, so that caring communities can flourish.”
The Communicare Difference – Communicare’s unique social enterprise business model (below) enables it to provide social rentals while also growing sustainably. To finance the development of new social rentals, Communicare combines the state’s capital grants and subsidies with surpluses from its own commercially-established and viable residential property activities. This makes the social rentals financially feasible and sustainable.
2019 – Skopje, Republic of North Macedonia – Wines of Macedonia (WoM)
WoM is an NGO that has proven itself as a valuable industry representative and marketing resource, not just for member wineries, but also for the Republic of North Macedonia (RNM) wine industry overall, and, by extension, to benefit the country’s economy.
Feedback: “Thank you for this exquisite opportunity! We had received excellent proposals yesterday, and hope that we can implement some of them very soon! Could you please send us their presentations and contacts? At least of the team leaders please so we can send them thank you notes.”
2018 – Gothenburg, Sweden – City of Gothenburg
The City of Gothenburg is a vibrant, growing, international, multicultural port city – in 2018, the largest port in the Nordic countries, trading with the world. Gothenburg is Sweden’s second largest city, strategically located between Oslo and Copenhagen. It is the heart and growth engine of the Gothenburg region and Region Västra Götaland, home to a variety of strong industries. As a department of City government, the Culture Administration has an important role to play in supporting the City’s important sustainability goal. In fact, as stated in the City of Gothenburg (strategic) Cultural Program, the City’s leadership believes that, “A society that is not sustainable from a social, ecological, cultural and economic perspective, is not wholly sustainable.”
Feedback: “We had such a wonderful experience at the conference – we got a lot of boost and pride, great ideas and some eye openers. Thank you for that great opportunity. Our Board spent two days together, working through various ideas from the team proposals. We have a plan now“
2017 – Bologna, Italy – City and Municipality of Arezzo
The Municipal Government of Arezzo provides basic civil functions: registry of births and deaths, registry of deeds, and contracting for local roads and public works, for the local community. Other services include: cultural events, tourism promotion, environment protection and urban planning. The municipal government also maintains a municipal police force, which is responsible for public order and urban security. Traffic control is their primary day-to-day function, in addition to controlling commercial establishments through a licensing process and requirements.
Feedback, 1-yr. Later – The Client joined us virtually to describe the process they used to review all proposals in detail, to permit them to organize and prioritize valuable ideas from all proposals that have supported achievement of positive results.
2016 – Bonn, Germany – Never Again Ruanda
Never Again Rwanda (NAR) is a peace building and social justice organization that arose in response to the 1994 genocide perpetrated against Tutsis. Guided by a vision of a nation where citizens are agents of positive change and work together towards sustainable peace and development, NAR aims to empower Rwandans with opportunities to become active citizens through peace building and development. NAR places a particular emphasis on the youth as the future of a peaceful society. NAR is one of the leading national peace-building organizations with nearly 13 years of experience building a cornerstone for peace.
2015 – Istanbul, Turkey – IETT – Istanbul Electric Tram and Tünel Company
2014 – Warsaw, Poland – Al Majmoua – The Lebanese Association For Development
2013 – Tbilisi, Georgia – EQE – National Center for Educational Quality Enhacement
NCEQE (National Center for Educational Quality Enhancement) in Georgia has a constructive, quality-focused and continuous improvement-oriented mission and goals articulated when the former National Center for Educational Accreditation became the NCEQE on September 1, 2010 and further enhanced in June of 2013. The Center is in place to serve and support the success of the Georgian Education System
Feedback: Thank you and the whole team that was working with us! Special thanks for involving NCEQE, which has moved this interesting project forward! This endeavor was quite timely for the Center, as it will help us in our plans to move the organization forward and develop its capacity.