A recurring virtual roundtable for IRI members focused on innovation process, speed, and organizational excellence. One signup covers every session in the series. Sessions run about an hour and are held virtually. Sign up once and you’re registered for the full series — a calendar invitation is emailed for each session, and your calendar updates automatically if a time changes.
Session Topics
September 16, 2026 — Building Consensus Around Technology Strategy (Joint with Open Innovation)
Without a clear strategy for which internal or external technologies to pursue, when to advance them, and why they matter to the business, even promising opportunities can stall. How do organizations build and maintain internal consensus and buy-in when pursuing technologies from early exploration to execution? What approaches help teams move from fragmented perspectives to shared direction? In this joint session between the Innovation Excellence and Open Innovation roundtables, members will share how they align internal teams around innovation efforts, from defining clear technology strategies to integrating stakeholders into governance processes.
October 14, 2026 — Driving Continuous Improvement Without Overloading Teams
R&D organizations face constant pressure to improve how they work, whether through AI, new processes, technologies, tools, or ways of working. However, teams need sufficient time to adopt and integrate change effectively, and too many initiatives can lead to fatigue and disengagement. How do organizations decide which improvements to prioritize, delay, or stop? How do they assess whether a change is actually creating value? And how do leaders maintain momentum without overwhelming the people expected to adopt it? In this session, members will share lessons learned from continuous improvement efforts and discuss strategies for driving meaningful change while maintaining engagement and focus.
November 13, 2026 — Getting Valuable Ideas into the Innovation Pipeline
Organizations have more potential sources of ideas than ever before, from employees, customers, and partners to AI-powered tools. However, generating more ideas does not necessarily lead to better innovation. How are organizations finding promising ideas from the right sources and determining which have the greatest potential? How is AI changing the way ideas are sourced, generated, and refined? In this session, members will share lessons learned from their idea-sourcing approaches and discuss strategies for identifying, evaluating, and cultivating high-potential ideas.
