Creating Innovation Networks

The literature suggests six distinct stages in building successful networks. The stages include:
  • Awareness of a network possibility
  • The search for partners
  • Building trust and a shared knowledge base
  • Organizing and engaging the network participants
  • Ensuring the availability and commitment of complementary resources from various members
  • Active cooperation in accomplishing tasks

The Concept of a Hub Unit for a Network

Building and sustaining an innovative network cluster is a complex challenge. In part, this is because many innovations involve a long and complex journey with many "twists and turns" en route and, in part, because the innovation supports needed by the different members of the network often end up competing for attention.
To create an effective innovation network, there is a need for a sustaining, focused and creative network Hub, which nourishes the network and ensures it is effective in meeting the varied needds of the clients the network is serving.
Network Hubs are not control points for tightly managing all aspects of network activity, though they often take on management of specific activities related to:
  • building credibility and funding support for the overall network
  • providing cross-cutting initiatives aimed at supporting the activities of the individual network nodes and facilitating collaboration among the nodes
Hubs are facilitating centres which link, leverage, share, support, cherish, nourish, nurture and help to create new aspects of the network to better serve clients.
Positioning the Hub as a Concierge with a Focus on Serving the Network—The Hub can be seen as the "concierge" for the network. By that, we mean it functions similar to a concierge in a hotel whose role is to help clients clarify their needs and then to provide appropriate responses directing them to the best source for meeting their needs whether or not this source is part of the hotel's operation.
The Hub should adopt this "concierge culture" with its overarching commitment to serving the operational nodes of the network, as well as individual members of the network. Remember, not only does a concierge tell you where to get what you want and how to get there, he or she also asks you what is important and helps you clarify your priority needs (your key challenge) before making any recommendations.
The ability of a concierge (Hub) to ask high level questions and to nurture high level conversations lead them to not only make more appropriate recommendations but also to further develop good relationships between the customer (in the case of the network—the regional node) adn the hotel (the overall network operation and its funders).
Functions of a Hub Unit
Before determining who should be part of the virtual Hub Unit there is a need to identify the key functions which the members of the network cluster want the unit to carry out. A sample list of functions from a network cluster in North America can be seen here.