Associate advisors guide by TCBL

TCBL HANDBOOKS

ASSOCIATE ADVISORS GUIDE

Co-funded by Horizon 2020

TCBL 646133 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; HANDBOOK RELEASED AS ANNEX I TO D2.2 (TASK 2.3) 31st October 2017

CONTENTS Contents..................................................................................................................................... 2 introduction ................................................................................................................................ 3 1.

What is an Advisor and What Do They Do? ...................................................................... 4 Definition ................................................................................................................................ 4 Advisors in the TCBL Ecosystem ........................................................................................... 4 Advisors’ Contribution to the TCBL Ecosystem ..................................................................... 6 Advisors’ Added Value from Ecosystem Participation ........................................................... 7 Advisors’ Added Value from Community Participation .......................................................... 7

Tools and Services for Advisors in TCBL .......................................................................... 9 Knowledge Spaces ................................................................................................................ 9 The TCBL Open Platform..................................................................................................... 10 TCBL Business Services ...................................................................................................... 10

3. Becoming (and Staying) a TCBL Advisor ............................................................................ 11 Merit-based Selection .......................................................................................................... 11 Starting Proposal .................................................................................................................. 11 Listing of Associate Advisors and Knowledge Champions .................................................. 12 4.

Next Steps ....................................................................................................................... 14

DOCUMENT INFORMATION ...................................................................................................... 15

TCBL Knowledge Exchange and Community Engagement TCBL Handbooks Textile & Clothing Business Labs

INTRODUCTION This publication presents a definition of the role of Associate Advisors in TCBL and specifies what services they offer to the TCBL ecosystem, the benefits received, and the means for becoming an Advisor or, within that group, one of the top 25 members: the so-called Knowledge Champions. Advisors play an important role in the TCBL ecosystem in that they provide the human connection between the open-ended research agendas of the TCBL Labs and the specific needs of TCBL Enterprises and the T&C industry. In parallel with their consultancy role, they also feed the TCBL Knowledge Spaces with publications (guidebooks such as this one and articles in the TCBL_Zine) as well as materials produced from presentations and activities at the yearly #TCBL events. This guidebook describes how Advisors interact with the other roles in the TCBL ecosystem, as well as the facilities provided to Advisors by the TCBL Open Platform. In addition, it describes the mechanism for becoming an Advisor, which is based on an objective system of points assigned for the different activities the role entails. The point system described here is a first proposal for testing and feedback, with the goal of a final definition on occasion of #TCBL_2018, planned for May/June, 2018. This guidebook is intended for three main types of reader: -

Current, potential and future Associate Advisors and Knowledge Champions interested in better understanding their role and how they can make the best use of the opportunities that TCBL offers them. Advisors currently part of the EU project partnership (Partner Advisors) interested in how this role might shape their continued participation after EU funding. Prospective clients potentially interested in interacting with Advisors and purchasing their services â&#x20AC;&#x201C; notably the TCBL Associate Enterprises.

WHAT IS AN ADVISOR AND WHAT DO THEY DO?

While interaction in TCBL is generally carried out through companies and institutions, there is also a very strong role for individual expertise. Names for this abound in the real world, including “local expert”, “advisor”, “after-action reviewer”, “animator”, “team leader”, “innovation manager”, “interim manager”, “mentor”, “compliance manager”, “oversight manager”, “knowledge manager”, “orchestrator”, etc. In TCBL, we like to keep it simple: we just call them Advisors. Advisors can be acting as professional consultants, working for one of the EU project’s partner organisations, or involved in a TCBL associate structure such as a Lab, an Enterprise or a Service Provider. The main difference is that as an Advisor, they put their personal knowledge and experience to work.

DEFINITION Advisor in TCBL is defined as an individual that holds knowledge relevant to business model innovation in the T&C sector and exchanges that knowledge with actors in the TCBL ecosystem, in accordance with the TCBL principles. An Advisor is like a consultant, but plays a more active role in the TCBL innovation ecosystem and shares its values and principles. The more an Advisor contributes to the community and its platforms and events, the more likely an Advisor will be contacted by a TCBL Business Lab or Associate Enterprise for professional services. Today, TCBL Advisors include the following as examples: -

A business development consultant specialised in garment manufacturing A researcher certifying dyeing processes A tailor with centuries-old knowledge for cutting men’s suits An expert in organic farming techniques for cotton A consultant in ICT services for supply chain management

While initial access to this status is open and free, the role of Advisor is ‘earned’ and preserved based on activity within the TCBL ecosystem. At present there are three groups in this role: • • •

Partner Advisors are those currently part of the EU project partnership (and thus funded to carry out their work until June 2019) Associate Advisors are those external to the EU project partnership, who offer their services either for a fee or within a de-monetized value exchange Knowledge Champions are those in either of the above categories distinguished for their greater contribution to the role over a given period.

ADVISORS IN THE TCBL ECOSYSTEM The position of Advisors in the TCBL ecosystem is shown below:

TCBL Knowledge Exchange and Community Engagement TCBL Handbooks Textile & Clothing Business Labs

The main roles beyond the Advisors are as follows: • • • •

Associate Business Labs are the main innovation drivers in the ecosystem Associate Enterprises are T&C businesses who adhere to the network through the yearly Calls, and they work together to form new Business Systems Associate Service Providers are those who integrate their platforms into the Business Services on the TCBL Open Platform TCBL Project Partners manage the dynamics of business model innovation and the ecosystem overall. The coordination role will be taken over by a formally established TCBL network organisation following the conclusion of the EU project in June 2019.

Advisors can be working as part of the TCBL partnership or external to it (Associates), but they all adhere to the common TCBL principles applied to the Advisor role, as follows: TCBL Principle

Advisors

curiosity

TCBL Advisors engage in innovation research and support others in doing so

viability

Advisor activities need to support the business viability of clients as a key objective

durability

Advisors shall always highlight the environmental implications of what they propose to businesses

multiplicity

Advisors are open to multi-disciplinary interaction and the exchange of multiple viewpoints

openness

Advisors are open to collaboration with others for joint publications, research projects, etc.

respect

Advisors respect authors’ rights and always cite the source of ideas

responsibility

Advisors provide dependable services to businesses, aware of the business implications of their consultancy

TCBL Knowledge Exchange and Community Engagement TCBL Handbooks Textile & Clothing Business Labs

ADVISORS’ CONTRIBUTION TO THE TCBL ECOSYSTEM The TCBL community, facilitated by Associate Advisors, adds to the value of the knowledge that each stakeholder brings to the project and can generate even more economical value for its members through interaction, sharing and collaboration, for instance by reducing costs, optimizing processes or otherwise innovating as a consequence of knowledge exchange. The dynamic learning aspects of the TCBL Knowledge Spaces, populated with relevant content and animated by the Advisors, help T&C businesses and ecosystems to stay competitive or become more competitive in today’s global market. Advisors thus add value not only from their own expertise, but also by encouraging stakeholders to share materials, content and discussions relevant to supporting business model innovation in the T&C sector. The way Advisors contribute to the other roles in the TCBL ecosystem is shown in the following diagram:

More specifically: •

•

Advisors may support the launch or development of a new Business Lab, and often collaborate in training or animation of workshops at Lab premises. In addition, Advisors can help Labs identify research areas of relevance to T&C businesses and help Labs define attractive service concepts. Associate Enterprises will benefit from Advisors’ capacity to translate the innovation impulses coming from Labs to the specific needs of their daily operations, supporting their participation in pilot business cases and business model innovation across entire value chains. Advisors can advise Associate Service Providers on how to make their platforms and services more useful to T&C Labs and Enterprises, and promote the uptake of their services across the TCBL ecosystem. Advisors contribute significantly to the TCBL level through participation in the yearly #TCBL events as well as the production of content for the Knowledge Spaces: Zine articles, Guidebooks, videos, etc.

TCBL Knowledge Exchange and Community Engagement TCBL Handbooks Textile & Clothing Business Labs

ADVISORS’ ADDED VALUE FROM ECOSYSTEM PARTICIPATION Advisors in TCBL are part of an innovation ecosystem based on the collaborative development of new business models, and are thus better placed to take the lead in tracking or making changes in their areas, or spotting ways to exploit those changes, or codifying and disseminating good practice as master performers, subject matter experts, team leaders and/or mentors. This added value comes from interaction with each of the ecosystem roles, as shown below:

More specifically: •

•

Interaction with TCBL Business Labs immerses Advisors in the latest trends and trajectories driving innovation in the T&C sector, in a range of aspects from new materials to social innovation. Associate Enterprises will generally be an important source of income for Advisors, but also provide a unique opportunity to apply state-of-the-art methodologies and insights to concrete cases of business model innovation in the T&C sector. Associate Service Providers offer services that can often be used to enhance Advisors’ activity in a back-office function. In addition, Advisors may enter into specific marketing agreements with ASPs or provide consultancy for service development. The TCBL level benefits Advisors with a value-based innovation brand, while above all providing a range of platforms giving visibility to Advisors’ work and scientific production, including the Zine, TCBL publications, and the #TCBL events.

ADVISORS’ ADDED VALUE FROM COMMUNITY P ARTICIPATION Finally, Advisors can benefit significantly from collaboration with other Advisors within the TCBL community, allowing them to refine their expertise in more areas and collaborate with more people, with a tutoring, orchestrating, guiding or animating dimension at the forefront of their areas of expertise. The main benefits here are shown below:

TCBL Knowledge Exchange and Community Engagement TCBL Handbooks Textile & Clothing Business Labs

More specifically: •

• • •

Advisors can easily form international, multi-disciplinary collaborations both to carry forward research agendas through the Business Labs and to address concrete business innovation needs with Associate Enterprises. The TCBL Open Platform enables an agile response to business needs, with the tools for flexible workgroup formation and support. The TCBL Knowledge Spaces provide different types of opportunity for collaborative publications. The point system for assignment of Advisor and Knowledge Champion roles (see section 3) dynamically provides visibility of professional expertise to a select business community.

TOOLS AND FACILITIES FOR ADVISORS IN TCBL

KNOWLEDGE SPACES One of the main areas of the TCBL Open Platform of interest to Advisors is the Knowledge Spaces, the name used to collectively refer to the different ways that TCBL publishes and shares knowledge. Currently, the TCBL Knowledge Spaces use three channels: the TCBL Zine website, issuu.com for publications and guidebooks, and a YouTube channel for results of the yearly #TCBL events. TCBL_Z INE The TCBL Zine is a special publication space managed by TCBL Advisors, with its own Editorial Board and publications of thematically relevant Special Issues, each of which includes Guest Editors and an issue-specific Editorial Board. Articles and content produced to date are accessible through the Zine’s special Tag Cloud at: https://zine.tcbl.eu/tag-cloud/

The Zine platform focuses on quality content selected from the overall production in TCBL, and highlights the work of the Knowledge Champions within the Advisor community. These latter are offered a personal profile page (example shown) and the opportunity to animate discussion groups on topics of specific interest to TCBL. GUIDEBOOKS TCBL also regularly publishes a range of guidebooks targeting different needs and audiences, of which this guide is an example. To date, these are generally produced by project partners as a part of the EU’s reporting requirements, but they also include Case Studies, learning material and other publications that may be produced as part of Advisors’ activities and shared with the TCBL community. Currently Guidebooks are published on the TCBL account at issuu.com, organised by issuu stacks: https://issuu.com/tcbl/stacks #TCBL This is the yearly event of the TCBL community, that offers a range of knowledge interaction modules (conference, TEDx-style, workshops, factory visits, etc.) covering several days. Advisors can participate in the scientific coordination as well as deliver presentations and coordinate or host events, workshops, training sessions, and so forth.

TCBL Knowledge Exchange and Community Engagement TCBL Handbooks Textile & Clothing Business Labs

#TCBL is designed as both a must-attend event and also a generator of lasting material, primarily videos of different level and quality. These are in turn published on the TCBL YouTube channel, organised by YouTube playlists: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZcpRQi7vjIxuq50a-8KOxA/playlists

THE TCBL OPEN PLATFORM In addition to the publishing platforms specifically structured for TCBL Advisors, the TCBL Open Platform offers a range of facilities equally of interest. The main website at https://tcbl.eu/ presents the TCBL community and offers services such as the Common Space discussion forum, recent activity and events pages, and information on the yearly #TCBL events. Linked to the main website is the Labs platform at https://labs.tcbl.eu/ highlighting the network of Business Labs and their events, projects and activities. The TCBL Open Platform is also characterised by a series of ‘behind the scenes’ cloud services that can be of specific interest to Advisors, notably: • • •

The vDiscover semantic engine, which harvests links from across services on the Open Platform allowing for cross-platform searching. The bpSquare environment allows to structure shared working environments according to a Business Process approach for specific value chain innovation projects. The Skillaware service, which can automatically incorporate help and learning support into the use of any TCBL platform.

For those Advisors interested in such approaches, TCBL offers a cross-platform gamification engine built on a shared Activity Log that can be adapted to different contexts and requirements.

TCBL BUSINESS SERVICES The TCBL Open Platform is characterized by its ‘Login with TCBL’ facility (technically known as Single Sign On or SSO), which allows platform users to access a range of services with a single login. This makes it easy for Associate Service Providers to cluster their platforms together as a collective service offer for the TCBL community. Services that have joined the SSO of particular interest to Advisors include: • • •

Wave, a platform for idea exchange and development promoting TCBL Startups: http://wave.consorzioarca.it/ Sqetch, a matchmaking platform linking brands and designers with T&C manufacturers and producers: https://sqetch.co/ Thela, a supply chain management platform for monitoring compliance with social and environmental standards: https://thela.cleviria.it/

3. BECOMING (AND STAYING) A TCBL ADVISOR MERIT-BASED SELECTION With the publication of this guidebook, a new system is being launched for the identification of Advisors (including Associate Advisors) and Knowledge Champions. Previously we had selected numerous potential candidates – announcing a list of 28 at #TCBL_2016 in Huddersfield, UK – on the basis of their standing in the academic and professional communities and their coherence with the TCBL values. Now, after two years of development of the TCBL ecosystem, we are ready to shift to a process which is instead based on individual histories of participation within TCBL. The main approach is to reward individuals for their engagement and contribution, based on empirical evidence of actions related to the Advisor role as defined above: participation at a conference session, helping to set up a Lab, coordinating a Zine special issue, development of a Business Case, etc. We can agree on a system for assigning points to each of these actions – points which remain valid for a period of time – such that for a given period, the label of Advisor (or Associate Advisor) is assigned to those having earned points above a certain threshold. We further label Knowledge Champions as a group scoring above a higher threshold. In the coming months, we will experiment with the details of this system (which activities, how many points, which thresholds, etc.) with the following goals in mind: • • •

The system should be merit based: the label is assigned to those who have earned it. The system should be time-based: points assigned for an achievement will expire after a certain period of time (e.g. two years) The system should appropriately reflect the balance of activities that is representative of the Advisor’s role.

In addition, while it is natural that at first the system will favour those participating in the EU project, it should be open to recognize the work of external Associate Advisors on a par with project partners.

STARTING PROPOSAL The selection of Advisors and Knowledge Champions listed in the following section is based on a first scheme assigning points to three main areas: the TCBL ecosystem, the Knowledge Spaces, and engagement with Labs and Enterprises. Interaction with Associate Service Providers will be incorporated at a later stage. COHERENCE WITH AND PARTICIPATION IN THE TCBL ECOSYSTEM (MAX 15 POINTS ) This area assigns points to participation as a project partner, leading a project work package, membership of the Advisory Board, status as a TCBL Associate (Lab, Enterprise or Service Provider), status as a selected Associate Advisor in the 2016 Call. These are mostly facts of status rather than achievements, but all involve some sort of vetting with respect to the TCBL principles. This is in part to provide a launch set of Advisors and Knowledge Champions effectively engaged with TCBL. It also allows those selected in the 2016 Call a chance to keep the assigned title of Associate Advisor, though they will need to contribute actively to ecosystem activities in order to maintain that status, as the related points will probably expire in 2018.

TCBL Knowledge Exchange and Community Engagement TCBL Handbooks Textile & Clothing Business Labs

CONTRIBUTION TO THE TCBL KNOWLEDGE SPACES (MAX 30 POINTS ) This is core to the activity of Advisors in TCBL, and is divided into three areas, each with a total of maximum 10 points: •

• •

Participation in #TCBL, including the scientific committee or hosting organisation or participation as a speaker or coordinator in one of the main sessions, i.e. Talk, Live, Jam, etc. Contribution to the production of TCBL Guidebooks, authoring or co-authoring one or more guides, case studies, etc. Contribution to the TCBL Zine, with the editorial board, contributing to a special edition Call for Papers or as a published issue as a Guest Editor, active Editorial Board member, or author of one or more articles.

CONTRIBUTION TO TCBL ECOSYSTEM ACTIVITIES (MAX 30 POINTS ) This is the also central to the activity of Advisors, applying their expertise to the benefit of innovation processes. In this first instance, this is divided into two areas, each with a total of maximum 15 points. • •

Contribution to TCBL Labs, by coordinating or creating a Lab or through active participation in Lab workshops and activities. Support to the participation of Associate Enterprises in the Business Cases, with points assigned for participation in innovation pilots and a higher level for coordination of a business case.

LISTING OF ASSOCIATE ADVISORS AND KNOWLEDGE CHAMPIONS Applying the point system using the above criteria to all of those involved in one or more of the above activities, we have generated a list of 75 Advisors (scoring 10 points or above) among whom there are 25 Knowledge Champions (scoring 25 points or above), as shown below. Associate Advisors, i.e. those external to the TCBL project partnership, are indicated with an asterisk. KNOWLEDGE CHAMPIONS • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Athanase Contargyris, MIRTEC, EL Besnik Mehmeti, Prato, IT Bill Macbeth, TCoE, UK Cecilia Raspanti, Waag, NL Corrado de Castro, Cleviria, IT Daniele Clutier, IFM, FR Darko Fercej, eZavod, SI *Francesca Rulli, Process Factory, IT Francesco Molinari, CCA/MIRTEC, IT Frédérique Thureau, IFM, FR Fridolin Wild, OBU, UK Gabriela/Katty, Katty Fashion, RO Ista Boszhard, Waag, NL

• • • • • • • • • • • •

Jesse Marsh, Prato, IT Luca Leonardi, ARCA, IT Dieter Stellmach, DITF, DE Maria Adele Cipolla, eZavod, SI Michele Osella, ISMB, IT Paolo Guarnieri, Prato, IT Richard Axe, TCoE, UK Rita Britton, Nomad Atelier, UK Ruth Farrell, TCoE, UK Silvia Pavlidou, MIRTEC, EL Takis Lybereas, HCIA, EL Wouter de Roy van Zuidewijn, Sqetch, NL

ADVISORS

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

*Anastasia Vouyouka, SITAM, EL *Andrew Filarowski, Society of Dyers and Colourists (SDC), UK *Antoniou Sotiris, Athens Traders' Association, EL *Carlos Almeida, Fibrenamics University of Minho, PT *Cecilia Vallorini, 4 Sustainability, IT *Cinzia Rubattino, GFT, IT *Daniela Zavec Pavlinic, Titera technically innovative technologies ltd., SI *David Morrish, UK *Donatella Fibbi, GIDA SPA, IT *Enrico Venturini, Next Technology Tecnotessile, IT Eric Barchechath, IFM, FR *Eugenie Naber, Pattern Made 4 You, NL *Evridiki Papachristou, Technical University of Crete, EL *Filippo Guarini , Textile Museum Prato, IT *Fiori Zafeiropoulòou, SOFFA, EL *Francesco Bolli, Textile Museum Prato, IT *George Tsiakiris, Art of Silk Museum, EL *Georgios Priniotakis, Piraeus University of Applied Science, EL *Giacomo Tazzini, Erre Quadro, IT *Jade Wilting, Circle Economy, NL *Jenny Halloway, Fashion Enter, UK Kerstin Junge, Tavistock, UK *Lenka Puh, Etri, SI Letizia Benigni, Prato, IT Lorena Vidas, Prato, IT

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

*Lorenzo Guarducci, Associazione Insieme per il Fondo Santo Stefano, IT *Lutz Walter, Euratex, BE *Maurizio Catalano, Maurizio Catalano SAS, IT *Michele Talo, Centro Consorzi, IT *Olinga Ta'eed, CCEG, UK *Paolo Paoletti, Lanificio Paoletti, IT *Patrick Brenac, Green Ingredients, FR Paul Lefrere, CCA, UK *Pavlos Maniatakis, MIRTEC, EL *Prisca Visbol, Manufacture Copenhagen, DK *Robert Dewhurst, Robert Dewhurst, UK *Roberto Bagliocca, Programma ambiente, IT *Rosalba Romano, Al Revés Società Cooperativa Sociale, IT *S. Kouroudis, Trakkika, EL *Sakina M'sa, FR *Sean Hillman, Lucideon Limited, UK *Stefano Panconesi, Stefano Panconesi, IT *Tessa and Arianna Moroder, Lottozero, IT *Ubaldo Concilio, Opera Fabri Italy srl, IT *Veerle Luiting, Next Fashion, NL *Victor Mulas, World Bank, *, Anyway, IT *, ARIT Associazione Reti d'Impresa Italiane, IT *, Hellenic Fashion Industry Association (SEPEE), EL *, Seta Etica, IT

NEXT STEPS

The further refinement of the system for identification of Associate Advisors will take place between the publication of this Guidebook and #TCBL_2018 in May/June 2018. In that period, the aim is to: • •

•

Gain feedback from the current set of Associate Advisors, together with those appearing in the point system list, as to the appropriateness of the system. Carry out a first iterative loop of the system until end December, updating the status to reflect contributions to the Knowledge Spaces in that period. This will provide further feedback on the appropriateness of the point system and its effectiveness in motivating Associate Advisors to contribute. Investigate the possibilities of automation of the point system (important for scalability) through event tracking on different services of the #TCBL Open Platform

The goal is to refine the system for a full launch at #TCBL_2018, bringing the role of Associate Advisors and their on-going contributions to the Knowledge Spaces towards long-term sustainability.

TCBL Knowledge Exchange and Community Engagement TCBL Handbooks Textile & Clothing Business Labs

DOCUMENT INFORMATION REVISION HISTORY This document is Annex I to TCBL Deliverable 2.2, “Achievements and Perspectives in Knowledge Exchange (with special focus on Scouting and Issue Tracking) – Version 1”. Authors: Jesse Marsh (Prato), and Paul Lefrere, Giorgio Da Bormida, and Marina Cugurra (CCA). This Annex in particular is written by Jesse Marsh. REVISION

DATE

AUTHOR

ORGANISATION

DESCRIPTION Powerpoint version discussed at Oxford workshop Draft for review Final version incorporating reviewers’ comments

Version 1

17.10.2017

Jesse Marsh

Prato

Version 2 Version 3

08.11.2017 12.11.2017

Jesse Marsh Jesse Marsh

Prato Prato

STATEMENT OF ORIGINALITY This deliverable contains original unpublished work except where clearly indicated otherwise. Acknowledgement of previously published material and of the work of others has been made through appropriate citation, quotation or both.

COPYRIGHT This work is licensed by the TCBL Consortium under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License, 2015-2016. For details, see http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/ The TCBL Consortium, consisting of: Municipality of Prato (PRATO) Italy; German Institutes for Textile and Fiber Research - Center for Management Research (DITF) Germany; Istituto Superiore Mario Boella (ISMB) Italy; Skillaware (SKILL) Italy; The Oxford Brookes University (OBU) UK; imec (IMEC) Belgium; Tavistock Institute (TAVI) UK; Materials Industrial Research & Technology Center S.A. (MIRTEC) Greece; Waag Society (WAAG) Netherlands; Huddersfield & District Textile Training Company Ltd (TCOE) UK; eZavod (eZAVOD) Slovenia; Consorzio Arca (ARCA) Italy; Unioncamere del Veneto (UCV) Italy; Hellenic Clothing Industry Association (HCIA) Greece; Sanjotec - Centro Empresarial e Tecnológico (SANJO) Portugal; Clear Communication Associates Ltd (CCA) UK.

DISCLAIMER All information included in this document is subject to change without notice. The Members of the TCBL Consortium make no warranty of any kind with regard to this document, including, but not limited to, the implied warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose. The Members of the TCBL Consortium shall not be held liable for errors contained herein or direct, indirect, special, incidental or consequential damages in connection with the furnishing, performance, or use of this material.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The TCBL project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 Programme for research, technology development, and innovation under Grant Agreement n.646133.