FONTE-EID

Introduction (45 minutes)
• Personal introductions
• Explanation about how the two half-day sessions will work (participants work in groups of 4-5 people on a series of activities related to growing an IP-rich agri-tech startup)
• Introduction to the case study (AgriSensaur)
• Introduction to the Business Model Canvas framework

Activity 1: Understanding Customers (45 minutes)
• Introduction to customer segmentation
• Break
• Participants complete customer persona activity in their groups

Activity 2: Mapping the buying journey (45 minutes)
• Introduction to customer journey mapping activity
• Participants complete customer journey mapping activity in their groups

Activity 3: Designing a brand and a business model (45 minutes)
• Introduction to brand design and business model design
• Break
• Participants complete brand design and business model design activities in their groups

Presentations and discussion (60 minutes)
• Each groups presents a short summary of their output from the session’s activities
• Participants will be encouraged to ask questions of one another, particularly about the differences in decisions between groups
• I will also answer any questions participants may have

13:00-16:15

This interactive workshop will explore the practical application of project management to research projects. Working through a project lifecycle we will explore:
• How to work with collaborators and stakeholders to define project success
• How to effectively plan projects taking into account the iterative nature of research
• How to pre-empt issues and risk manage the project
• How to assess progress and resolve issues with the project.
Throughout the workshop we will discuss how the same skills that can be applied within research can be applied to future projects that participants may undertake both within and beyond academia with a variety of stakeholders including in industry, business start up and public sector.

Key topics explored:
• Definitions: projects and project management
• Brief introduction to the project lifecycle (define, plan, execute, close) and agile approaches to project management
• Defining project success – how to work with stakeholders to define a clear view of project success. For PhD students we use an activity focussing on defining success for their PhDs with stakeholder views including funders, collaborators, and supervisors.
• Working effectively with project stakeholders – how to set up meaningful contracted relationships with the stakeholders within the project with a focus on discussing and agreeing expectations.
• Project planning – we use a “Rolling Wave” approach to planning where the high level plan is developed and then the detail is added as the project progresses. This is very similar to Agile and offers a good planning process which works effectively for research. Within the planning process we would explore:
o How to develop structured breakdowns for the work.
o Putting together timelines.
o Identifying risks and how to manage these.
o Signpost to budget management, and research data management requirements
o How to effectively share the plan.
• Project control – methods to assess progress and techniques to address issues on the project. Dependent upon requirement we can also slip in a bit of time management here.
• Project close out – capturing lessons learnt and end of project knowledge management

Workshop approach:
A blend of plenary input and lots of small group discussions (project success), group work (identifying and mapping stakeholders, work breakdown structures, risk management), and signposting to additional resources (including project management tools, sector specific resources, project management best practice).