KIC InnoEnergy selects Sopheon as Partner to Manage and Support all KIC InnoEnergy’s Pan-European Innovation Initiatives in Sustainable Energy
Sopheon’s Accolade® Platform ensures KIC InnoEnergy maintains Leading Innovation Management Position
AMSTERDAM and EINDHOVEN—December 15, 2015—KIC InnoEnergy, the innovation engine for sustainable energy across Europe, and Sopheon, the international provider of software, expertise, and best practices for Enterprise Innovation Performance, are joining forces to support the new KIC Innovation Management Platform and all its innovation initiatives across Europe.
KIC InnoEnergy’s Innovation Projects connect inventors and innovators with enablers and business customers. They help product developers create collaborative partnerships that bring together complementary knowledge to transform technologies into commercial products and services. Their focus is developing and investing in innovative and commercially viable products or services that will enhance energy sustainability.
A new innovation management ICT platform was required to support the submission, selection and execution of innovation initiatives in the European energy space. Sopheon’s Accolade platform will underpin the submission of requests for funding by research institutions, companies and universities. This will enable KIC InnoEnergy to easily visualise alternative investment scenarios, select the projects that it will ultimately fund, track the performance of the portfolio of projects, and analyse and report on the performance of the projects as they progress towards completion.
By investing in engaged researchers, innovative ideas, and viable products and services, KIC InnoEnergy are expanding the circle of innovation in Europe’s energy sector.
Berend Rijnsdorp, Senior Chief Operating Officer at KIC InnoEnergy, said: “Our vision is to become the leading engine of innovation in the field of sustainable energy in Europe. We have found in Sopheon a professional, trustworthy and flexible partner who not only met the regulatory requirements for hosting our sensitive project data, but proved to have a deep understanding of our business needs and processes.”
KIC InnoEnergy will have full oversight of the portfolio of projects both completed and underway, including measurement of progress and results against targets laid out in initial project funding requests. This will be key to improving the speed and quality of investment decision-making and will strengthen KIC InnoEnergy’s innovation management leadership position in sustainable energy in Europe.
Pieter Leijten, VP Europe at Sopheon, added:
“Sopheon is pleased that the Accolade solution has been selected as the Innovation System Platform by KIC InnoEnergy. Fundamental to the work with KIC InnoEnergy is that collaboration between KIC InnoEnergy and its broad pan-European partner network is supported in a seamless manner. Our solution provides a common platform for KIC InnoEnergy and the relevant partners for each individual project, as well as providing KIC InnoEnergy a consolidated portfolio view across projects, and insights and synergies across multiple projects. More and more we see that innovation doesn’t just happen within a silo of an organisation or within the defined boundaries of countries; rather it cuts across organisations, functions and national borders, and smooth collaboration between the relevant parties is key to achieving innovation excellence.”
Sopheon and Accolade are trademarks of Sopheon plc.
About KIC InnoEnergy (www.kic-innoenergy.com)
KIC InnoEnergy is the innovation engine for sustainable energy across Europe.
The challenge is big but our goal is simple: to achieve a sustainable energy future for Europe. Innovation is the answer. New ideas, products and solutions that make a real difference, new businesses and new people to deliver them to market.
At KIC InnoEnergy we support and invest in innovation at every stage of the journey – from classroom to customers. With our network of partners we build connections across Europe, bringing together inventors and industry, entrepreneurs and markets, graduates and employers, researchers and businesses.
We work in three essential areas of the innovation mix:
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Education to help create an informed and ambitious workforce that understands what sustainability demands and industry needs – for the future of the industry.
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Innovation Projects to bring together ideas, inventors and industry in collaboration to enable commercially viable products and services that deliver real results.
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Business Creation Services to help entrepreneurs and start-ups who are creating sustainable businesses to grow rapidly to contribute to the global energy ecosystem.
Together, our work creates and connects the building blocks for the sustainable energy industry that Europe needs.
About Sopheon
Sopheon partners with customers to provide complete Enterprise Innovation Performance solutions including patented software, expertise, and best practices to achieve exceptional long-term revenue growth and profitability. Sopheon’s Accolade solution provides unique, fully-integrated coverage for the entire innovation management and new product development lifecycle, including strategic innovation planning, roadmapping, idea and concept development, process and project management, portfolio management and resource planning. Sopheon’s solutions have been implemented by over 200 customers with over 60,000 users in over 50 countries. Sopheon is listed on the AIM Market of the London Stock Exchange.