Ecosystem Mapping

Who it's for

Corporate open innovation and technology scouting teams that need to see the universities, startups, funders, and intermediaries around a technology area, not only those they already work with. University corporate relations, economic development, and technology transfer offices that want a map of the companies and labs around their research strengths. Regional consortium and center leads whose job is the ecosystem itself, and alliance managers on either side who inherited a partner list and want to know what surrounds it. Mixed groups mapping a shared region.

The problem it fixes

Most organizations know their ecosystem through a few individuals, so the map lives in their heads, leaves when they do, and shows only the actors those people happened to meet. Faculty in our primary research described industry connections that "happen by chance and are personal". Without a well-researched map, the Match phase starts from the same short list every time, and the trust that Hemmert, Bstieler and Okamuro (2014) studied forming across 618 university-industry collaborations stays concentrated in the relationships that already exist. This workshop teaches your team a method for mapping actors and relationships, starts your map in the room together, and sets up the ownership and cadence that keep it current.

Agenda

Four blocks of about 45 minutes.

• 0:00 to 0:45. Debrief of your Ecosystem Mapping Canvas results. We review the actors and relationships the team listed in the pre-work, sort them by type, and discuss what it says about where the team's attention has been.
• 0:45 to 1:30. The method. Actor types (universities and labs, companies, startups, funders, intermediaries), relationship types (funding, licensing, co-publication, advisory, supply), and how to source each from records your team holds or can reach.
• 1:30 to 2:15. Building the map. The team extends the map live, looks for clusters, isolated actors and missing links, and marks which relationships need verifying before anyone acts.
• 2:15 to 3:00. Maintaining and using it. Who owns the map, how often it gets reviewed, what triggers an update, and how it feeds the Match phase: which gaps to fill first and which actors to approach.

What you bring

• Your Ecosystem Mapping Canvas results, with the actors and relationships your team listed
• The technology area, region, or research strength the map should focus on
• The people who will own the map, and whoever decides which relationships to pursue

What you leave with

• A started ecosystem map with actor and relationship types agreed
• A prioritized list of gaps and unverified relationships
• A maintenance plan naming an owner, a review cadence and update triggers
• A short list of actors to approach, with the reason for each

Included instrument and pre-work

The Ecosystem Mapping Canvas is issued at booking and completed two weeks before the session. The pre-work asks the team to list the actors and relationships it already knows, without research. In the first block, we read that list as the team's current field of view, and the session widens it. The canvas is what your team keeps using afterwards, so the maintenance plan is built on it.

Logistics

Capped at 12 participants: J. Richard Hackman's team research found that coordination and candor erode once a working group climbs into the double digits (Hackman, interviewed in Harvard Business Review, 2009), and a working session needs everyone contributing, so larger teams add breakouts or split into additional sessions. Virtual by default, onsite available with travel billed at cost at federal per-diem rates. Series pricing is 15% off three or more workshops. We schedule within one business day of booking.

Frequently asked questions

Can we run it for a mixed university and company group?

Yes, and it can be even more effective this way. Both sides hear the same debrief in one room, see where their results already differ, and make decisions that would otherwise take months of meetings.

What if we already own the tool?

The instrument's price is not deducted from the workshop fee. We use your existing results as the pre-work, and you keep the second license for a second team or partnership.

How is this different from the Ecosystem Mapping sprint?

Level of effort. The workshop is guided do-it-yourself: we teach the method, your team starts the map in the session and your team maintains it. Our Ecosystem Mapping sprint is full service: we build the map for you, apply network analysis, and deliver a gap analysis and a strategy document. If you have people to maintain a map and want the capability in-house, book the workshop; if you need the finished analysis, ask about the sprint on a scoping call.