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Description

Managing Innovation: Structuring the Portfolio, Deciding and Measuring

Bring order to innovation projects and decide at each stage against shared criteria

  • 0.75 days — 5.25 h
  • In-person or virtual
  • All levels
  • Up to 6 participants

Innovation projects pile up without any clear hierarchy: some keep moving simply because nobody stopped them, others wait for a decision that never comes. Resources are spread thin and leadership lacks the overall view needed to choose where to invest first.

Three half-day virtual sessions to put the fundamentals of portfolio governance in place: map the portfolio, balance exploration against improvement of what already exists, install explicit decision gates and track a small number of useful indicators. The programme addresses the project portfolio level, not the day-to-day leadership of a team.

Learning objectives

  • Map current innovation projects and their level of maturity
  • Balance the portfolio between exploration and improvement of existing offerings
  • Define decision gates and their associated criteria
  • Select tracking indicators suited to the stage of each project
  • Stop a project without demotivating the team involved

What makes this programme different

Each participant's actual portfolio is mapped during the session
A stage-gate criteria grid is adapted to each participant's context
Stop decisions are worked on with the same rigour as launch decisions

Programme

1Mapping the Portfolio

Seeing everything that is committed

  • List projects and their stage of progress
  • Distinguish exploration from improvement of what exists
  • Assess committed resources against available resources
  • Identify projects left without a decision for too long

2Deciding at the Right Moments

Decision gates rather than continuous monitoring

  • Define the key stages of an innovation project
  • Set the criteria for moving to the next stage
  • Prepare the case file expected at each decision gate
  • Hold the stop decision and explain it

3Tracking and Reporting

A few indicators that actually support decisions

  • Select indicators suited to the project stage
  • Discard measures that encourage over-investment
  • Build a short portfolio review
  • Report to executive leadership

Who is it for

Executives innovation leads technical directors and project managers responsible for arbitrating between several initiatives.

Prerequisites

No prerequisites

Dates & locations

12 scheduled dates between November 2026 and December 2027. Seats are confirmed in the order enquiries are received.

November 2026

December 2026

January 2027

February 2027

March 2027

April 2027

May 2027

June 2027

September 2027

October 2027

November 2027

December 2027

None of these dates suit you? We open additional sessions on request, and any programme can be run privately for your team.

Practical details

Before the programme
Online positioning questionnaire. Your development objectives are shared with the trainer, who tailors the practical case studies to your context.
Teaching methods
Theoretical input, workshops and practical case studies. Digital course materials and method sheets provided.
Assessment
Multiple-choice tests and role-play exercises. Assessment of learning at the start and end of the programme, with immediate and 60-day follow-up evaluations.
After the programme
One year of access to the e-learning platform. Self-assessment of the skills acquired and a 30-day follow-up session with your trainer.
How to register
Registration online or on the basis of a quotation.
Lead time
11 working days after confirmation of registration.
Accessibility
Accessible to people of determination. Contact our accessibility coordinator to design a suitable solution: contact@mpf-academy.ae
Start dates
Rolling intake: in addition to the scheduled sessions, this programme can start on request.