People, process and tools for smart innovation.Catalysed by partnerships: connecting the dots, creating speed, impact and risk reduction.
What a tree connects to decides how it grows. A short introduction to smart innovation: the people, process and tools behind it, partnership as the catalyst, and the book that brings it together.
Smart innovation rests on three pillars in balance: people who keep developing, processes that are optimised, and tools for every aspect of innovation. Strategic partnership is the catalyst: it speeds up all three and makes the results stick. Like a tree with roots, a trunk and a crown, growing in fertile ground.
Innovations are carried by people. We help them grow as professionals and work better as a team, inside their own organisation and with partners.
Good ideas get lost in slow or unclear processes. We optimise the route from first idea to delivery, so it becomes visible, governed and repeatable.
From spotting an opportunity to building the business case. Instruments tested in practice, with guided instructions and templates. Some use AI to speed up the analysis; the judgement stays with you.
Strategic collaboration speeds up innovation success and strengthens all three pillars. It brings impact and speed now, and a longer tail of insights for people, processes and tools that stick.
13 instruments plus the Due Diligence Scan, each with guided instructions and editable templates, ready to use from day one. Pick by pillar, or start with the free Opportunity Scanner.
Maps trends, weak signals and market shifts against your SWOT, so attention goes where growth is real. You get an opportunity radar, a readiness verdict and five next steps. 12–15 min.
A 360° red flag report on a partnership before you sign, based on your own documents, emails and minutes. Built on the book and 15,000+ contracts handled.
See how it works →Defines the real problem before ideation begins, so the team solves the right issue.
Structured methods to uncover the behaviours, needs and pain points behind a good solution.
Design thinking, SCAMPER and rapid concepting, kept close to real user needs.
Shapes ideas into propositions that balance desirability, feasibility and viability.
Quantifies value, ROI and operational gains for evidence-based investment decisions.
MVP formats, test scripts and assumption mapping. Test early, learn fast, reduce risk.
Milestones, ownership, resources and timelines, from validated idea to delivery.
Tracks adoption, behaviour change and impact, so momentum stays measurable.
Measures dynamics, collaboration patterns and psychological safety, so development is aimed where it counts.
Builds the empathy, adaptability and foresight leaders need to steer real transformation.
Makes culture change tangible by working on the visible and the invisible drivers of behaviour.
Roles, formats and conflict resolution for working across teams and with partner organisations.
InnovateSmart is about smart innovation, and strategic collaboration is one of its strongest accelerators. It brings success, impact and speed that few organisations reach alone, and a longer tail: new insights for people, processes and tools that stick long after the project has ended.
Access to capabilities, knowledge and markets you do not own yourself.
Combined strengths that reach further than either partner alone.
A shorter route from idea to market, with risk shared between partners.
New skills, perspectives and a network that stays with your team.
Better ways of working, learned from a partner and adopted at home.
Sharper instruments, tested and refined in a real collaboration.
The right skills, mandate and attitude at the table, from both sides.
Decision rights, governance, IP and exit agreed before you sign.
A shared way to scan, assess and track the partnership as it grows.
The book on the catalyst of smart innovation. Each chapter comes with an instrument you can use straight away.
The Essentials of Innovation Partnerships, how to create Success and manage Risks.
Most partnerships fail on what was never checked, never agreed, never formalised. This book changes that. Drawing on 20+ years of real innovation partnerships, hundreds of collaborations, and the analysis of 15,000+ contracts handled, it gives you a practical, field-tested playbook for creating partnerships that actually work.
Whether you are an entrepreneur, corporate leader, project manager, or policymaker, this book gives you the knowledge to navigate the world of innovation collaboration with confidence, in the European context and beyond.
Plus startups, SMEs, NGOs, government and academic practices
"In an era refined by rapid technological change and unseen global challenges, the power of collaboration has never been more decisive."
"Finally a book that doesn't just talk about partnerships in theory. The frameworks are directly usable. We applied the partnership formalisation checklist before our next contract and it changed the negotiation completely."
"What sets this book apart is the combination of practical insight and legal depth. The chapter on IP ownership and exit clauses alone was worth the price. Essential reading before signing anything."
"Highly recommended for anyone building corporate-startup or university partnerships. The European context is spot-on and the real-world cases from Heineken, IKEA and others make it immediately relevant."
| Title | InnovateSmart /PARTNERSHIPS |
| Subtitle | The Essentials of Innovation Partnerships, how to create Success and manage Risks |
| ISBN | 9789465264691 |
| Pages | 272 pages |
| Language | English |
| Edition | 1st edition, December 2025 |
| Publisher | Novactum |
| Rating | ★★★★★ 5.0 / 5 |
| Price | €24.75 |
Secure · Response within 1 business day · Bulk orders welcome · Also available on Managementboek.nl
Get a 360° red flag report, from business model to legal structure, before you commit to anything. Based on your documents, emails, and meeting minutes.
A membership gives you the instruments. When the stakes are high or time is short, we work alongside your team. Services come on top of any membership, or on their own.
One-to-one sessions on the skills that move innovation forward: influencing stakeholders, negotiating and deciding with incomplete information.
Series of sessionsYour team completes the Team Development Scan. We run the session on the results and agree what to work on first.
Half-day workshopTraining on innovation and partnerships based on the book, adapted to your sector and your live projects.
Half day to multi-dayWe map how ideas move from first spark to launch in your organisation and show where time and value leak away.
Assessment and reportBalance H1, H2 and H3 bets with clear decision rights and a steady review rhythm.
Workshops and templatesHands-on support to make the new way of working stick in daily practice.
Interim or part-timeWe run the Opportunity Scanner with your team and turn the results into a focused plan.
Workshop and reportYour team learns to use the instruments on a live case of its own.
Half dayTemplates, scoring and outputs adapted to your organisation, your terminology and your brand.
ProjectWe run the Due Diligence Scan on your documents and walk you through every red flag before you sign.
Report and review callDecision rights, steering, IP, escalation and exit, agreed before the first conflict arrives.
Workshops and templatesAn experienced partnership manager inside your organisation, for a launch, a turnaround or a gap in the team.
Interim assignmentMike Vermeer on innovation partnerships, for your leadership team, your event or your school.
Talk or workshopOur tools cover the full innovation journey, from low-hanging fruit you can act on this week, to solving the most complex multi-party partnership challenges. Each tier gives you immediate access to proven instruments built on 500+ real partnerships delivered.
Coaching, process optimisation and done-for-you partnership reviews are available on top of every tier.
Frameworks, research digests and field notes, sorted by pillar. Curated by Mike Vermeer from 20+ years of innovation practice. New articles every month, free with a Freemium account.
Why the best innovation teams start by looking outward, and how the X-Team framework changes the way organisations sense, seize and act on opportunity.
How to govern innovation investment across three time horizons, balancing near-term wins with structural bets. A practical guide for leadership teams.
Step by step through the InnovateSmart Opportunity Scanner, including how to brief your team on the results.
From first conversation to signed agreement: what works and what kills deals early. A practitioner's guide to moving fast and keeping control.
How BMW built a structured bridge to startup innovation, and what every organisation can learn from the venture client model in practice.
How a Philips spin-out built one of the most advanced partnership ecosystems in industry, and why it is so hard to replicate.
The structural and behavioural patterns that predict failure, and how to design around them.
The most common red flags, and how leading organisations protect themselves before signing.
Join the InnovateSmart group on LinkedIn: more than 300 innovation managers, founders, researchers and partnership professionals sharing cases, questions and what works in practice. The best partnerships often start with a conversation in this group.
Whether you want to explore membership, request your free intake call, discuss a specific challenge, or find out how InnovateSmart can work for your organisation, reach out. We respond within one business day.