PERU’S PRE-EMINENT UNIVERSITY PONTIFICIA UNIVERSIDAD CATOLICA HAS SIGNED A PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENT WITH AJK SERVICES FOR THE USE OF THE KN3W IDEAS® METHODOLOGY THROUGHOUT LATIN AMERICA.

The Catholic University of Peru one of the pre-eminent academic institutions in Peru has entered into a partnership agreement with AJK Services giving it rights to the use of KN3W IDEAS® throughout Latin America. KN3W IDEAS® is the most advanced front end of innovations methodology delivered through a series of tools and templates extending its reach to every level of an organisation. The Catholic University will be the first academic institution in Latin America to be accredited in the use of KN3W IDEAS® with exclusivity in the delivery of accredited training of KN3W IDEAS® practitioners.

Daniel Bedon, a director of AJK Services Pty Ltd was a key note speaker at the “Innovations Week” in November 2010 that brings together academia, business and government under the one event. Mr. Bedon initiated a series of activities across all three sectors highlighting the importance of innovation that culminated in the Catholic University and AJK Services entering into this partnership.

Today the global village is led by innovation economies that create new corporate strategies, new systems and processes, new products and services, new economic models that are socially integrated. Latin America is at a crossroads and needs to embrace a culture of innovation within all three sectors of the economy, Academia, Business and Government. The establishment of an innovations culture is critical in Latin America to allow the creation of its own economic identity, corporate entities and becoming a participant in the global economy. This is the precise of the message from Mr. Bedon in making his case for the adoption of innovations as a discipline.

The partnership agreement is the recognition of the need to build a discipline in the area of innovation and how KN3W IDEAS® can allow this discipline to develop. What differentiates KN3W IDEAS® from existing and obsolete innovations systems is the focus on identifying a relevant problem that meets the needs of all stakeholders. It takes into account the consumer needs, the company/organisations needs and the realities in which it must succeed. The methodology is not about how many ideas can be generated by a select few that will eliminate the wastage in pursuing ideas with little or no foundation.

John Gerrie the mind behind KN3W IDEAS® spent 27 years in senior management roles in Africa, USA, Asia Pacific and Europe at the global consumer goods giant Reckitt & Colman / Reckitt Benckiser, with Board or Management Committee responsibilities in South Africa, Australia and the UK Global HQ.

He also headed a global innovation and corporate venturing unit at Reckitt BenckiserGHQ in London, reporting to the executive management committee, responsible for qualifying a £750M new product ideas pipeline, annually. He also developed and introduced a new front-end of innovation methodology to the corporation and led the global training program.

John left his global innovation role at Reckitt Benckiser to research and develop a new approach to ideation, or the front-end of innovation. John was motivated to finding a better way, through his frustration with traditional brainstorm-based techniques. “Watching teams literally chuck 100’s of ideas into the air, or at least onto the wall, with no real thought, while often the most knowledgeable people were not participating, made me think – there must a better way”

John has studied virtually every innovation approach around, and has worked with most of the top innovation companies. But it was his exposure to TRIZ in early 2005 that began the exhaustive development and testing process that has led to KN3W IDEAS.

John’s book ‘Solving the Right Problems with the Right Ideas’ published in 2008 is used in over 100 companies, globally and he is a frequent guest speaker at innovation conferences.

Currently John works with both large corporation and SME’s to provide them with the tools and techniques to create bigger and better opportunities for their businesses. John also leads the FMCG Association in Australia and New Zealand, a not-for-profit industry association to help foster better business results and develop future FMCG leaders.

John also serves on the Global Consumer Goods Council for the Gerson Lehrman Group and works in an advisory capacity for Intellectual Ventures and London-based Corven Consulting. John is currently contracted to the Sumitomo Chemical Corporation as a General Manager leading a significant new business project.

The Catholic University through its Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurial Development (CIDE) is entering a new stage in the area of innovation in Peru and Latin America. KN3W IDEAS® is instrumental in establishing innovation as a discipline and becoming an incubator for a culture of national innovation.

December 2012