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Contact with the Innovation Ecosystem

Collaborating with the innovation ecosystem is paramount for a Chief Digital Officer (CDO) to drive digital transformation effectively. 
By engaging with startups, accelerators, incubators, research institutions, and innovation hubs, the CDO can tap into a diverse pool of talent, ideas, and technologies. This collaboration fosters a culture of innovation within the organisation, enabling the CDO to access cutting-edge solutions, stay abreast of emerging trends, and experiment with disruptive technologies.

Moreover, partnering with the innovation ecosystem provides opportunities for co-creation, knowledge exchange, and cross-sectoral collaboration, ultimately leading to the development of innovative solutions that address complex challenges and drive sustainable growth. 

Additionally, working with the innovation ecosystem helps the CDO leverage external expertise, resources, and networks to accelerate the implementation of digital initiatives, enhance organisational agility, and position the organisation as a leader in the digital landscape.

Recommendations on the contacts and partnerships with the key contacts and ecosystems described above:

#1 - IDENTIFY OPPORTUNITIES FOR ENHANCED COLLABORATION MECHANISMS 

 Start from existing collaboration mechanisms and identify your objectives (and KPIs) linked with enhanced collaboration: 

  • What and where are the opportunities of collaboration? Within your team as a CDO, as a CDO network, with other teams in your sector, in the interaction between RISA management and CDOs
  • What do we want to improve, achieved thanks to collaboration?
  • How will we see collaboration is beneficial to our digital transformation journey?

Identify (change) management or project management challenges you might have and possible collaboration levers to address them: it can be about rituals, common tools, ways of working… Document your collaboration principles, rituals, roles, and tools as much as possible.

 Start considering training and/or recruitment of facilitators or people with collaboration soft skills.

#2 - EXPERIMENT AND SHARE COLLABORATIONS RITUALS AND TOOLS

As a CDO network, you could test the organisation of monthly forums with all the CDO community of practice (sector CDOs, CDO team members, RISA, potential external stakeholders). Ways to organise them:

  • Each month, a CDO team is in charge of organising: hosting the forum in their ministry/sector, invitation
  • The forum can have a specific topic or be very generic in the image of the betagouv monthly forum in France

As a CDO network and/or coordinated by RISA, start consolidating what could be called Rwanda’s digital open and collaborative tech stack and documentation: the tools you use, the tools you mobilise to work together (“collaborative suites”), the open source codes for public services softwares, the platforms you built for more openness and contribution in your digital transformation journey. Make it a strategic objective for Rwanda. 

#3 - EXPLORE NEW PARTNERSHIPS OR OPEN INITIATIVES

Among ideas:

  • At international level: examine the possibility and interest to become member of the Open Government Partnership
  • At national level: explore collaborations with tech universities or civil society organisations closed to your digital transformation challenges
  • At sector level: organise hackathons or challenges with relevant stakeholders

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