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Model 14 of 74 · Strategy & Governance

Innovation Maturity Assessment

Assess how effectively your organisation generates, develops, and scales new ideas into repeatable value.

Pillars & areas

Cultivate

Grow the mindset

  1. 01Innovation Culture & Mindset
  2. 02Idea Generation & Pipeline

Test

Try and learn fast

  1. 03Experimentation & Prototyping
  2. 04Innovation Governance & Investment

Scale

Make it real

  1. 05Knowledge & External Sensing
  2. 06Scaling & Commercialisation

Levels

  1. 1SporadicHappens by accident
  2. 2StructuredDefined & resourced
  3. 3SystemicEmbedded in DNA

01 Innovation Culture & Mindset

Does the organisation actively foster a culture where new thinking is welcomed, safe, and rewarded?

0/4 answered

ICM-1How does your organisation respond when someone proposes an unconventional idea?

Think about the last time someone suggested doing something fundamentally differently — was the reaction curiosity or dismissal?

ICM-2What happens when an innovation initiative fails?

Consider whether failed experiments result in blame, silence, or genuine learning that informs the next attempt.

ICM-3How much time do employees have to explore new ideas outside their core responsibilities?

Think about whether people can legitimately spend work time on exploratory thinking, or whether every hour must be tied to immediate deliverables.

ICM-4How does your organisation recognise and reward innovative contributions?

Consider whether people who drive new ideas receive the same visibility and career advancement as those who deliver operational targets.

02 Idea Generation & Pipeline

Does the organisation systematically capture, evaluate, and prioritise new ideas from diverse sources?

0/4 answered

IGP-1How does your organisation collect new ideas from employees?

Think about whether there is a clear, accessible channel for anyone to submit an idea, or whether good ideas depend on knowing the right person.

IGP-2How does your organisation evaluate which ideas to pursue?

Consider whether idea selection is based on who shouts loudest, or whether there are transparent criteria that anyone can see.

IGP-3How visible is the current pipeline of innovation ideas across the organisation?

Think about whether employees can see what ideas are being explored, what stage they are at, and why some were selected or rejected.

IGP-4How diverse are the sources your organisation draws on for new ideas?

Consider whether ideas come only from senior leaders and R&D, or whether frontline staff, customers, partners, and adjacent industries also contribute.

03 Experimentation & Prototyping

Does the organisation test ideas quickly and cheaply before committing to full-scale implementation?

0/4 answered

EP-1How does your organisation test new ideas before committing significant resources?

Think about whether ideas go straight from concept to full implementation, or whether there is a deliberate phase of small-scale testing first.

EP-2How quickly can your organisation move from an approved idea to a working prototype or pilot?

Consider the typical elapsed time between an idea getting the green light and something tangible existing that can be tested with real users.

EP-3How does your organisation decide whether to scale, pivot, or stop an experiment?

Think about whether go/no-go decisions are based on data from the experiment, or on politics and sunk-cost reasoning.

EP-4How does your organisation involve end users or customers in testing new ideas?

Consider whether prototypes are tested internally only, or whether real users provide feedback before significant investment.

04 Innovation Governance & Investment

Does the organisation allocate resources, make decisions, and manage innovation with appropriate rigour and speed?

0/4 answered

IGI-1How does your organisation fund innovation initiatives?

Think about whether innovation competes for budget with operational priorities, or whether it has protected funding.

IGI-2Who is accountable for innovation outcomes in your organisation?

Consider whether innovation has a named senior owner, or whether it is everybody's job in theory and nobody's job in practice.

IGI-3How does your organisation balance short-term operational improvements with longer-term transformational innovation?

Think about whether the portfolio is dominated by safe, incremental improvements, or whether genuinely new ventures also receive investment.

IGI-4How does your organisation manage the intellectual property generated through innovation?

Consider whether new ideas, inventions, and know-how are formally captured and protected, or whether they exist only in people's heads.

05 Knowledge & External Sensing

Does the organisation actively scan the external environment and build internal knowledge to inform innovation?

0/4 answered

KES-1How does your organisation stay informed about emerging trends, technologies, and market shifts?

Think about whether horizon scanning is a deliberate activity or whether the organisation only reacts when competitors move first.

KES-2How does your organisation engage with external innovation ecosystems?

Consider whether the organisation collaborates with startups, universities, industry groups, or open-innovation networks, or whether innovation is entirely internal.

KES-3How effectively does your organisation share knowledge and insights across teams and departments?

Think about whether lessons from one team's experiments reach other teams, or whether knowledge stays siloed.

KES-4How does your organisation use data and evidence to identify innovation opportunities?

Consider whether innovation priorities are driven by data (customer analytics, operational metrics, market research) or by intuition alone.

06 Scaling & Commercialisation

Does the organisation successfully move proven innovations from pilot to full-scale adoption and value realisation?

0/4 answered

SC-1How effectively does your organisation transition successful pilots into full-scale operations?

Think about whether proven innovations actually get rolled out broadly, or whether they remain perpetual pilots that never reach their potential.

SC-2How does your organisation capture and measure the value generated by its innovation efforts?

Consider whether you can quantify the return on your innovation investment, or whether value is assumed but never measured.

SC-3How well does your organisation adapt its operational processes to accommodate innovations?

Think about whether existing processes, compliance requirements, and IT systems help or hinder the rollout of new ideas.

SC-4How does your organisation handle innovations that disrupt its existing products, services, or business model?

Consider whether the organisation can cannibalise its own offerings when something better emerges, or whether internal politics protect the status quo.

Self-assessment report

Innovation

Answer the questions above and your report builds here: an overall score, a score and target for each area, and the three changes that matter most.

About this model

About the Innovation maturity model

Innovation is not about occasional flashes of brilliance — it is about an organisation's sustained ability to turn new ideas into real value. The most innovative organisations do not rely on a few creative individuals or a single R&D department. They build systems, habits, and governance structures that make innovation a repeatable capability rather than a lucky accident.

This model assesses innovation as an end-to-end discipline: from the cultural conditions that encourage new thinking, through the processes that capture and test ideas, to the governance that funds them and the operational capability that scales them. It deliberately avoids equating innovation with technology alone — process innovation, business model innovation, and service innovation are equally important.

True innovation maturity means the organisation can simultaneously exploit what it has today and explore what it needs for tomorrow. That requires psychological safety, disciplined experimentation, honest measurement, and the willingness to cannibalise your own success when the evidence demands it.

24 questions across 6 key areas, assessing your organisation's ability to generate, develop, govern, and scale innovation. Takes approximately 10-15 minutes to complete.

Scoring is based on 3 maturity levels per question. Your overall score reflects the average maturity across all areas, giving you a clear picture of where your innovation capability is strong and where it needs deliberate investment.

Who this assessment is for

  • CEOs, COOs, and strategy leaders responsible for organisational growth
  • Chief Innovation Officers and heads of R&D
  • Product leaders and portfolio managers
  • Business unit heads seeking to embed innovation in their teams
  • Transformation and change leaders driving new ways of working
  • Board members evaluating organisational innovation health

The three maturity levels

  • Level 1 — Sporadic: Innovation happens by accident, not by design. Good ideas occasionally emerge from motivated individuals, but there is no process to capture, evaluate, or develop them. Risk aversion dominates. Failed experiments are punished rather than learned from. Innovation funding competes with — and loses to — operational priorities. Successful pilots rarely scale. The organisation talks about innovation but has no measurable output to show for it.
  • Level 2 — Structured: Innovation is recognised as a strategic priority and supported with defined processes, dedicated resources, and visible leadership commitment. Idea submission channels exist. Experimentation happens through organised pilots and proofs of concept. Funding is ring-fenced. The organisation learns from both successes and failures, though lessons do not always transfer across teams. Scaling from pilot to production is possible but requires significant effort and sponsorship.
  • Level 3 — Systemic: Innovation is embedded in the organisation's operating model. It is continuous, data-informed, externally connected, and commercially disciplined. Every employee has a pathway to contribute. Experimentation is rapid and evidence-based. The portfolio is deliberately balanced between incremental and transformational bets. Knowledge flows freely across teams and from external ecosystems. The organisation can scale proven innovations efficiently and is willing to disrupt its own offerings when the evidence demands it. Innovation performance is measured and reported with the same rigour as financial performance.

The 6 areas assessed

  1. Innovation Culture & Mindset — Does the organisation actively foster a culture where new thinking is welcomed, safe, and rewarded?
  2. Idea Generation & Pipeline — Does the organisation systematically capture, evaluate, and prioritise new ideas from diverse sources?
  3. Experimentation & Prototyping — Does the organisation test ideas quickly and cheaply before committing to full-scale implementation?
  4. Innovation Governance & Investment — Does the organisation allocate resources, make decisions, and manage innovation with appropriate rigour and speed?
  5. Knowledge & External Sensing — Does the organisation actively scan the external environment and build internal knowledge to inform innovation?
  6. Scaling & Commercialisation — Does the organisation successfully move proven innovations from pilot to full-scale adoption and value realisation?

How this model relates to other frameworks

  • ISO 56001 / ISO 56002 — innovation management system requirements and guidance
  • Doblin Ten Types of Innovation (Deloitte)
  • McKinsey Three Horizons of Growth
  • The ambidextrous organisation (O'Reilly and Tushman)
  • OECD Oslo Manual — Guidelines for collecting and interpreting innovation data
  • Stage-Gate (Cooper) — Gated innovation process model
  • Lean Startup methodology (Ries) — Build-Measure-Learn cycle
  • Design Thinking (Stanford d.school / IDEO)

Frequently asked questions

What is the Innovation maturity model?

Assess how effectively your organisation generates, develops, and scales new ideas into repeatable value. It is an original, simplified model with three maturity levels (Sporadic, Structured and Systemic), assessed through 24 questions across 6 areas: Innovation Culture & Mindset, Idea Generation & Pipeline, Experimentation & Prototyping, Innovation Governance & Investment, Knowledge & External Sensing and Scaling & Commercialisation.

How long does the Innovation assessment take?

Most people finish in 10–14 minutes. Each of the 24 questions has three concrete answer options. Your progress is saved in the page URL, so you can bookmark it and come back later.

How is the score calculated?

Each answer scores 1 (Sporadic), 2 (Structured) or 3 (Systemic). An area's score is the average of its answered questions, and the overall score is the average of the area scores, so every area counts equally. Scores run from 1.0 to 3.0.

Is my data stored or shared?

No. Your answers are never sent to a server. They are stored only in the page URL, which you control. Copy the link to share results with colleagues, or export a PDF or CSV report.

How should I use the results?

Start with "Where to focus" in your report. It lists the questions with the biggest gap to the target you set for each area, and shows what the next level looks like in practice. For a fuller picture, ask several people from different teams to complete the assessment and compare their links. Differences in perception are often as revealing as the scores themselves.