Where has a structured innovation method actually been used, and by what kind of organisation?
Most innovation methods are published and then discussed. Far fewer are published and then counted. This is the book the FORTH innovation method comes from, the original in-depth guide, from defining the innovation assignment and observing customers through to generating ideas, testing concepts and presenting a convincing mini new business case.
Since it appeared, the method has been documented in 40 completed innovation projects across 15 countries and every continent, each one facilitated by a certified FORTH facilitator. The record is not a list of logos. It is specific about sector, organisation, country and year.
Consumer goods at Philip Morris International in Switzerland. Construction at BRUIL and at Struyk Verwo Infra in the Netherlands. Government at the Ministry of Security and Justice. Healthcare at MEE de Meentgroep. Higher education at Hanzehogeschool in the Netherlands and Miskolc University in Hungary. ICT at NEC in Japan, in three separate divisions, and at PULSE Business Solutions. Energy at EDISON in Italy. Start-ups at Incipio Ventures in Mexico. Business services at Patent Security Group in Hungary.
The spread is the point. A method that only works in one sector, one country or one company size is a case study. One that produces the same deliverables in a Japanese ICT division, a Dutch ministry and a Mexican venture builder is a method.
Several of the 2020 projects were run fully online or hybrid, which answered a question the 2011 book could not have anticipated: whether a structured, multi-week innovation process survives without a room.