CZ is one of the largest health insurers in the Netherlands, committed to affordable and accessible healthcare for all. The healthcare sector is under increasing pressure. An ageing population and rising demand for care, combined with severe staff shortages, are putting access to care at risk and leading to growing waiting lists. This imbalance also puts pressure on CZ in safeguarding its duty of care. Innovation is essential to stay relevant.
The IT Strategy & Innovation department focuses primarily on Horizon 2 and Horizon 3 innovations. This innovation team plays an important role in exploring and translating disruptive technological developments into opportunities and risks for CZ’s business model.
Although the IT Strategy & Innovation team of CZ had strong expertise in technology and long-term trends, its visibility and impact within the organization were limited. To strengthen effectiveness, the team needed to sharpen its role and innovation proposition, embed its activities more firmly across the organization and build stronger stakeholder engagement.
The challenge was to professionalize the innovation approach by validating the innovation focus and ambition, ensuring strategic alignment, and defining a clear way of working.
CZ asked RevelX to support in developing the innovation proposition, designing a structured innovation process and funnel and translating these into a stakeholder engagement strategy.
RevelX designed and facilitated a two-phase approach:
Phase 1 – Exploration & definition
Through interviews with several stakeholders across the CZ organization and dedicated working sessions, RevelX gathered insights into the current situation. The analysis covered the context of the team, its operational model and scope as well as the motivation for innovation within CZ. This exploration helped to uncover strengths and bottlenecks in the effectiveness of the innovation team. Together with the team, a first draft of the innovation proposition, ambition, process (funnel with stage gates), and stakeholder map was developed. In addition, initial enablers and preconditions for success of the innovation team were identified.
Phase 2 – Validation & sharpening
Building on the draft results from Phase 1, RevelX validated the innovation proposition and funnel with a broad set of internal stakeholders across different layers of the organization. Based on their feedback, the ambition, process, and stakeholder model were sharpened. A first design for an organizational model was introduced, including the concept of a dedicated vehicle to accelerate experimentation and embed promising applications within the organization.
Throughout both phases, RevelX acted as a driving force and sparring partner, bringing in best practices from innovation management and ensuring co-creation with the team and stakeholders.
- Sharpened innovation mission and proposition: Clear articulation of how the team adds value by translating disruptive technological developments into opportunities and risks for the CZ-organization.
- Draft innovation process: A structured funnel with defined phases and corresponding activities and deliverables.
- Stakeholder map and engagement plan: Insight into the most relevant stakeholders, their influence and interests, where they interact in the funnel and an approach for involvement.
- Defined enablers: Clear overview of the internal preconditions for success
- Draft organizational model for innovation: First design of an organizational set-up, as a promising way to improve innovation effectiveness and connect business needs with technological opportunities
