...achieving
against the odds
Life Sciences
Case Study
Building a unified
innovation system
A Skarbek effect case study
The needs
Our client, the R&D Digital & Tech division of a top 10 global pharmaceutical company, faced a familiar dilemma. Despite investing in digital and tech innovation, the organisation struggled to instil a culture that could consistently deliver disruptive ideas with speed and scale. Fragmentation across teams, lack of alignment on strategic priorities, and under-leveraged leadership potential were all inhibiting innovation. The organisation turned to Skarbek with a bold ambition: to move from isolated initiatives to a unified, high-performance innovation system that could accelerate breakthrough outcomes and embed innovation deeply into its operating system.
How we helped
Skarbek deployed the Innovation Fitness Index® (IFI) as the cornerstone of a targeted transformation journey. The process included:
- IFI Survey deployment: A diagnostic survey was distributed to over 100 individuals across the R&D and Tech organisation.
- Insight analysis: We analysed criticality, effectiveness, and opportunity scores across innovation domains, revealing gaps between senior leadership and the broader team.
- Leadership engagement: We designed and delivered a bespoke two-day leadership workshop, leveraging the IFI insights to inform the case for change, guide action-focused working sessions, and align on a prioritized action plan for change.
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Transformation blueprint: We consolidated learnings and delivered clear recommendations for the R&D team to lead an impactful transformation looking forward. The IFI will be used to calibrate progress along the journey.
The results
- Activation of a shared vision for innovation embedded in strategic priorities
- Executive sponsorship and leadership involvement
- A clear, data-backed understanding of the organisation’s innovation baseline
- Stronger leadership alignment and engagement
- Concrete action plans addressing leadership, culture, process, and capabilities
- A roadmap to raise the Innovation Fitness score significantly over 12 months
- Data-led insights to drive urgency and clarity
- Tailored workshops and tools to translate strategy into action
- Continuous momentum via a dedicated Transformation Office
A proven path to innovation impact.
Innovation is hard but with the right tools, mindset, and support, it becomes a scalable engine of growth. The Innovation Fitness Index® enables organisations to assess where they stand, where they need to go, and how to get there. At Skarbek, we do not just help our clients dream big. We help them innovate at scale.
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