Q3 Network Meeting Sustainability: transformation, innovation, collaboration

Thursday, September 28th, 2017

“Everyone is striving for independence but the future will be platform economies built on collaboration and interdependence” (David Erixon, Head of Digital & Customer Innovation, Ulster Bank)

The theme for the Q3 Dublin and Munster network meetings was innovation, business transformation and collaboration for sustainability. Both meetings showcased Business in the Community Ireland’s new relationship with the Centre for Business and Society (CeBaS) at the Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School in University College Dublin (UCD), highlighting how a collaborative approach can drive responsible and sustainable approaches to business transformation.

Innovation through technology was a theme of the Dublin meeting, beginning with a talk from David Erixon, Head of Digital & Customer Innovation at Ulster Bank. David focused on technological innovation in the banking sector, arguing that “change is the new normal” and that organisations must innovate in line with consumers’ rapidly changing behaviour. He suggested that we are now in “the business of the unknown” and organisations must innovate by collaborating with multiple stakeholders, citing the example of Swish, the payment app created by a consortium of Nordic financial institutions working together.

The Dublin meeting also featured a panel discussion on business transformation with Prof. Séamas Kelly, Professor of Organisation, Technology and Society at UCD, Prof. Andy Prothero, Professor of Business and Society at UCD, Matthew Chalkley, Supply Chain Consultant at IBM and Prof. Donna Marshall, Professor of Supply Chain Management at UCD. Prof. Kelly spoke of the need to understand the context around technological change, noting that organisations must take into account that technology often has unintended outcomes that they cannot always control. The roundtables that followed the panel picked up on this point, with a number of delegates highlighting the importance of relationships in organisations and suggesting that technological innovation should be guided by human behaviour.

Matthew Chalkley and Prof. Marshall provided insight into the 15 year partnership between IBM and UCD, which has included joint research projects, student engagement and student placements. Through working with Donna and her team in supply chain management, IBM has gained valuable advice on strategies, behaviours and practices to manage diverse, customised relationships in the supply chain. IBM has also gained access to talent through careers fairs and workshops with UCD students. Matthew noted that the association with UCD gave research projects added credibility within the organisation, and introduced his team to new, innovative ideas. He suggested that “sometimes we get constrained by corporate thinking, [through engaging with UCD] we get access to that free thinking and research that we don’t get time to do”.

The Munster network meeting featured a presentation on the work of UCD’s Centre for Business and Society (CeBaS), including the mapping of existing CeBaS work to the areas of the Business Working Responsibly Mark. The meeting also focused on the BITC network in Munster and the opportunities for members to collaborate and contribute in the area.

You can download the slides from both the Q3 National Network Meeting and the Q3 Munster Network Meeting below.

‘Introduction to CeBaS’ presentation slides 

Munster Insights presentation slides