# An internal innovation contest, from bringing sponsors on board to the final pitch > A large energy group runs an innovation contest open to all its branches. We designed and ran the whole journey over several months: bringing the jury on board, remote workshops, weekly coaching, then a four-day bootcamp with a maker space and a pitch in front of the jury. *Real case, anonymised: the company name is invented.* - Company (invented name) : Néolis - Sector : Energy, international group - Size : Several dozen participants from every branch, in a very large group - Format : Several months, remote then a four-day bootcamp - Audience : A few dozen employees from every branch and several countries, in eight teams, with a jury of senior leaders and experts. - URL : https://www.getflowdesign.com/en/cas-clients/concours-innovation-bootcamp ## Context - The contest has two aims: give many employees a real experience of innovation methods, and bring the executive committee solutions solid enough to be tested. - Participants come from every branch and several time zones. They keep their day jobs throughout the contest. - This is a new edition. The review of the previous one said what to keep and what to improve: a jury involved earlier, clearer roles, earlier preparation. ## The challenge Keep scattered teams energised over several months, and take them all the way to a prototype and a test plan that a jury can judge and an executive committee can fund. ## Design ideas - **The jury on board from day one** : A half-day workshop with sponsors, jury and experts opens the journey. They sharpen the theme, the criteria for choosing participants, and a six-criterion jury grid: strategic fit, a pilot possible within the year, a solid test plan, a clear prototype, desirability, and wanting to join the project after the pitch. - **Challenges written by the participants** : At the kick-off, the participants themselves turn the theme into challenges, then form teams around them. A learning journey in five tracks follows: past, present, future, art and nature. The past track has them reread old patents from the group. - **Close coaching between the big moments** : One hour of coaching per week per team, two teams per coach. A mid-point check-in where one ambassador per team runs a kiosk while the others rotate. Then the finalists are supported towards a pilot in the field. - **A bootcamp where people make things** : Every morning, people choose between sport, a collective mural or an inspiring session. The days mix prototyping with industrial designers, test planning and cross-team feedback. A maker space provides the materials, with a budget per team. Each team area shows three boards: feasible, desirable, viable. - **A finale like an inventors’ fair** : An innovation fair open at the end of the day, a public-speaking masterclass, then the pitch to the jury. Each evening is designed on its own: getting to know each other, raising the competition with a music quiz, then letting the pressure go. ## Run of show ### Remote - **On-boarding** : Sponsors, jury and experts: roles, theme, criteria, where to find candidates. - **Kick-off** : Two half-days: participants write the challenges and form teams. - **Learning journey** : Five tracks guided by specialists: past, present, future, art, nature. - **Weekly coaching** : One hour per week per team. - **Mid-point check-in** : One kiosk per team, three rounds of visits. ### The bootcamp - Every morning · **Pick your morning** : Sport, a collective mural or an inspiring session. - **Prototype** : With industrial designers, in the maker space. - **Test** : Test plan, critical assumptions, cross-team feedback. - Late afternoon · **Innovation fair** : Each team shows its prototype. - **Final pitch** : Public-speaking masterclass, pitch, jury deliberation. - Last evening · **Winners announced** : The winners join the in-house incubator. ## Deliverables - One prototype per team, its critical assumptions tested, and a filmed pitch. - A one-page sheet per innovation for the executive committee, and an innovation portfolio. - A map of the test plans and what they taught. - The winners incubated in-house and supported up to the preparation of a pilot. ## Key takeaways - A jury brought on board from the start becomes an ambassador, and its grid tells the teams what is expected of them. - Over several months, regular appointments keep the energy going: the weekly coaching matters as much as the bootcamp. - Each edition learns from the last. The review of the previous one shaped this one. Related expertise : [Seminar design](https://www.getflowdesign.com/en/design-de-seminaire), [Seminar facilitation](https://www.getflowdesign.com/en/facilitation-de-seminaire), [Collective intelligence](https://www.getflowdesign.com/en/intelligence-collective) --- Source: Flow Design, https://www.getflowdesign.com Contact: victoire@getflowdesign.com, marie-violaine@getflowdesign.com, +33 6 72 15 94 77. Request a quote: https://www.getflowdesign.com/en/nous-contacter. Draft a run of show online: https://www.getflowdesign.com/en/concevoir-mon-seminaire.