Innotribe has released a new report examining the way innovation teams from the financial services sector are harnessing innovation within their organisations. Based on interviews with 11 innovation leaders, the Innotribe report, “Dynamism in Diversity: The essentials for successful Innovation Teams in the Financial Industry,” details current innovation frameworks and best practices for developing innovation programmes across the wholesale financial industry.

According to the research, large financial organisations are up against the formidable challenge of correctly channeling ideas in a timely fashion, whilst working within a complex, high-value and highly regulated business environment. For a successful innovation implementation, organisations need to consider methodologies that foster idea generation and help bring new products to market effectively, yet in a relatively low-risk manner. The research cites that strong collaboration, both externally with clients and internally with product, technology and operations teams, is just as essential in the development of products and services as collaboration and partnership with FinTech startups. A key part of collaboration includes embracing diversity among these internal and external collaborators.

“Based on our discussions with innovation leaders, it is apparent that large and small organisations need to realise the importance of collaboration and embracing cultural differences. This is where Innotribe comes into its own, essentially acting as a cultural translator between startups and more established institutions so that they can work together,” explains Fabian Vandenreydt, global head of securities markets, Innotribe and the SWIFT Institute at SWIFT. “The element of diversity in innovation is extremely important, and we believe that innovation happens when people from different culture, background and expertise sit together and work on a common goal.”

Vandenreydt adds, “Innovation teams were created to turn innovation theory into practice, effectively helping financial organisations stay competitive. The intention behind this report is to explore the process of innovation, outline the essential components of building an innovation team and identify what we consider to be the top ingredients for high performing innovation teams. We look forward to continuing our work with these innovation leaders as collaborative innovation in financial services becomes the new normal.”

The experts interviewed for the report are part of a wider Innotribe Anchor Group, which represents a global network of fifty senior executives responsible for core innovation at their respective financial institutions. Launched in 2015, the group exchanges ideas and inspiration on how to develop innovation across the wholesale financial industry, helps drive the selection of topics to be pursued through the Innotribe Industry Challenges, a new initiative in the Innotribe toolbox. Launched in 2016, the Industry Challenge brings together member institutions, FinTech vendors, startups and SWIFT business and IT leaders in the development of collaborative solutions around key business areas such as Securities, Compliance and Cyber-security.