Tuesday, June 23rd, 1PM - 5PM

MaRS Centre
Toronto, Ontario

Session size will be limited to
15 innovation practitioners

You’ve got a compelling innovation vision—but uncertainty abounds. Everyone wants a breakthrough success, yet most initiatives stall, drift, or quietly fail in the “messy middle” of the innovation process.

This workshop focuses specifically on the Incubation phase—the most misunderstood and under-managed phase of innovation. It sits between early discovery (where possibilities are explored) and acceleration (where proven business models scale). In Incubation, teams must transform technical promise or early concepts into a credible, evidence-backed business case. This is where uncertainty is highest, data is incomplete, and traditional governance systems often struggle to distinguish real progress from activity.

In this highly interactive and intimate peer-to-peer session, we’ll use a common framework to reflect on how your organization manages Incubation today. Drawing on the Discovery–Incubation–Acceleration model (adapted from Professor Gina O’Connor) and SmartOrg’s Six Vs framework, we will examine how leading organizations structure learning, reduce risk, and make confident punt/pivot/persevere decisions.

Participants will share common problem areas and real-world practices that work, compare approaches across organizations, and identify specific opportunities to upgrade their own incubation systems.

You’ll leave with a personalized reflection map highlighting strengths, gaps, and concrete next steps to make your incubation process more effective, efficient, and evidence-driven.

Learning Objectives

Participants will:

• Clarify what distinguishes Incubation from Discovery and Acceleration
• Identify common failure patterns in the messy middle
• Assess how effectively their organization structures learning and de-risking
• Apply a practical framework to strengthen governance and decision-making
• Define specific actions to upgrade their incubation capability

Audience

This is a facilitated peer-exchange (vs. instructor-led) session for innovation practitioners. Participants should have sufficient experience and willingness to share candid insights about what works—and what doesn’t—within their organizations.

This session is suited for experienced leaders (Director-level and above) in R&D, Innovation, or Finance who play a major role in delivering growth opportunities or achieving growth targets and can influence process and governance changes within their organizations.