Research, Development, and Innovation: Why Stakeholder Validation is Critical (Part 2)
Kerianne Gibney, former Consultant II with expertise in virtual and in-person stakeholder engagement in the public safety, homeland security, and rural broadband domains
Boulder, CO
Government science and technology organizations face intense pressure to deliver game changing research & development (R&D) results to their customers. These results should maximize emerging technology capabilities while demonstrating return on investment (ROI). As described in Research, Development, and Innovation: How to Innovate, not Duplicate (Part 1), agencies sometimes respond to this pressure by creating R&D portfolios that can unintentionally cause challenges leading to duplicate solutions. The challenge is made worse when stakeholder needs are not validated as part of the overarching R&D process. As a result, agencies can find themselves with duplicate solutions or solutions that need refinement because they are not aligned with stakeholder needs.
Issue: Stakeholder integration in R&D and solution validation
Agencies can miss the mark on successful solutions when they do not integrate stakeholders into every step of the process. These steps include stakeholder needs collection, gap analysis and solution scouting, solution development, testing and validation, and transition to stakeholders. Not integrating stakeholders during these phases can lead to challenges including low adoption rates and solutions that do not work under real-world conditions. Real-world failures are particularly prevalent with public safety solutions as the operational nature of solutions may present different use cases than agencies identify during research design.
Recommendation: Start and finish with stakeholders
Achieving successful solutions that meet the needs and solve the problems of stakeholders is rather simple to state and harder to implement: begin and end with the stakeholders.
Start with stakeholders. Put them at the forefront of solution development by identifying and understanding their needs.
Involve stakeholders throughout the entire R&D process, validating solutions during development before they go to market.
Test solutions in their dynamic and diverse operating environments, and collect feedback from stakeholders.
Now let’s dive into each of these recommendations in more detail:
#1 Start with stakeholders. Put them at the forefront of the solution by identifying and understanding their needs.
When stakeholders’ needs are not considered prior to research design and planning, how does an agency know that their project will solve the issues their stakeholders face? Or, how does an agency even know what problem they are trying to solve? To answer these questions, it is imperative to convene stakeholders in a collaborative environment and capture their honest inputs about real requirements. This vital stakeholder input can be captured either in-person or virtually. Recently, Corner Alliance has proven that virtually conducted stakeholder engagement can be successful. In fact, it can be more convenient and less expensive for participants. The virtual world has opened the door to low-lift low-cost solutions that don't require large meeting spaces. Stakeholders can be convened in the following formats to identify priority needs and capability gaps:
| Types of Stakeholder Engagement | Purpose of Engagement |
|---|---|
| Workshops/roundtable discussions | Engage a smaller audience with a particular knowledge or skillset |
| One-on-one interviews | Collect input from specific key players in the industry |
| Webinars | Gather anonymous input on a larger scale |
| Stakeholder meetings | Invite industry stakeholders and influencers to deliver keynotes or speak on panel discussions |
*See Corner Alliance’s blog post: “Virtual Platforms Aren’t “One Size Fits All” to determine the best format for your virtual stakeholder engagement*
#2: Involve stakeholders throughout the entire R&D process, validating solutions during development before they go to market.
Thorough R&D requires several validation checks, sometimes requiring researchers to scratch their plans, go back to the drawing board, and start over. Getting input during the research design, planning, development, and testing ensures R&D doesn’t go too far down the wrong path before it’s too late. Similar to collecting stakeholders’ input on their needs before R&D, there are several ways in which an agency can integrate stakeholders into the R&D process depending on the type of product or solution being developed. Consider the following formats to engage stakeholders throughout the R&D process:
Prize challenges
Invite stakeholders to serve as subject matter experts or prize challenge judges to evaluate the effectiveness of various technological solutions.
Stakeholder meetings
Convene stakeholders at a large-scale event to provide researchers with a feedback collection channel that allows stakeholders to interact with researchers and ask relevant questions about their technological solutions while under development.
Advisory panels or working groups
Lean on a reliable group of stakeholders for advice and guidance throughout the timeline of the project.
Virtual lab tours
Engage stakeholders with ongoing R&D in a digital format where the research is conducted without the ability to bring them in person.
#3: Test solutions in their operating environment and collect feedback from stakeholders.
How can a solution prove to be successful without testing it with its intended users in the appropriate environment? It’s important to ensure the solution works in the operating environment, and user feedback is crucial to continue making R&D improvements. Prototypes can be tested in real-life training scenarios or in virtual reality environments, with realistic scenarios that stakeholders may face. In either case, conducting operational experiments to “assess technology integration and mission impact” (DHS, 2019, p. 21) will guarantee the solution solves the problems of the stakeholder community.
How Corner Alliance can help
Corner Alliance has 14+ years of experience supporting science and technology centric organizations with their research and development programs and portfolios. Our consultants across several agencies such as DHS, NIST, NTIA, and DOE have experience with stakeholder engagement to validate research, test solutions, and collect feedback to inform future R&D efforts. We also possess broad subject matter expertise, including public safety broadband communications technology. Corner Alliance helps the government do amazing things by starting every solution with their stakeholders.
References
U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T), Shaken Fury 2019 Response and Recovery Exercise After Action Report p. 21 (2020).
Author
Kerianne Gibney, former Consultant supporting the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Public Safety Communications Research (PSCR) Division, has a mission to make a powerful impact achieving innovative solutions for the government. She has expertise in stakeholder engagement, meeting design, and meeting facilitation, most recently with PSCR 2021: The Digital Experience. She is passionate about improving public safety by helping to advance communications technology for first responders.