Continuous results-driven innovation management program

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to present the innovation management program (IMP) (FAZ Program) and analyze its results according to the public policy goals that support it (Pró-Inova) suggesting improvements. Design/methodology/approach - Intensive-direct-observation method in 43 companies; systematic data gathering and analysis (172 meeting documents); and innovation maturity diagnostics in 30 companies between August 2013 and May 2016. Findings - The FAZ Program success rate according to the Pró-Inova goals achieved 81 percent. The percentage of completion of FAZ activities decreases during its implementation from 100 percent (strategic module) to 74 percent (management module) and ending at 46 percent (project module). The maturity for innovation of these committees/teams is decisive for those percentages. Companies whose maturity for innovation of the strategic committee and the organizational team are above average or excellent have, respectively, 1.8 and 1.7 times greater probability of implementing the program successfully. Research limitations/implications - The FAZ Program represents only 4 percent of the programs supported by Pró-Inova. The innovative products, processes and businesses produced by the FAZ Program implementation are not measured. These innovations usually happen several years after an innovative management models implementation. Practical implications - The maturity for innovation diagnosis is useful both to evaluate the company’s innovation capacity and to predict its chances of implementing the program successfully. Adjusting the structure of the model (e.g. PDCA cycle for the organizational module) and improving the program’s implementation (e.g. ensure management module resources and maturity for innovation capacity) can increase the program’s success rate. Originality/value - Previous research works on IMPs supported by Pro-Inova focus on describing their methodology or benefits. The results allow answering what and how one of these programs offers in a return to the public innovation support received.