DEWA: Responding to the call for innovation.

In 2010, DEWA recognised the importance of responding to a national call for innovation. That year, H.H Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE, and Ruler of Dubai, launched the ‘UAE Vision 2021’. This highlighted six national priorities for government action, all of which emphasise the importance of innovation, research, science and technology. These priorities are supported by a AED 2 billion fund, which has further elevated the prominence of innovation, making it central to the strategies of both government bodies and private sector organisations.

While innovation has always been an essential focus area for DEWA, the challenge was making it a central theme that would influence all future strategic decisions, supporting the UAE Vision 2021. By embedding a culture of innovation throughout the organisation, and meeting innovation management system guidelines, DEWA found that it could achieve significant benefits. This would lead to continual improvement, enhanced creative capabilities, and a work environment that stimulated excellence and developed positive ideas. As a result, DEWA developed its Innovation Strategy to steer all its efforts.

DEWA is already certified by LRQA to IT Service Management System standard ISO/IEC 20000-1:2011. Based on a successful existing relationship, DEWA asked us to find an effective solution to support its new innovation strategy, bringing innovation to the forefront.

• Following significant research, we identified the European Innovation Management System Standard CEN 16555-1:2013 as a solution that would: 
  • Provide DEWA with the guiding principles to achieve its goals
  • Provide a framework to implement a management system, tailored to promote innovation internally
    
    

• We then invested time in developing a bespoke offering, and its associated reporting and methodology elements, to make sure our client's specific needs were met. This involved identifyig a new perspective to assess and report on the innovation strategy, which adhered to the guidance with the CEN/TS 16555-1:2013 standard. We broke this work into two core activities:
  • Conducting site visits to assess the effectiveness of the established innovation management system
  • Produce a detailed report, highlighting any potential system improvements and corrective actions required to meet each clause of the CEN/TS 16555-1:2013 requirements

This approach ensured DEWA was well equipped to meet its innovation goals, ultimately increasing client value. DEWA now has the capability and support to manage and encourage open innovation, with a set of tools that enable employees to operate with a common understanding of processes and goals. A system is in place that encourages solutions to internal and external issues. The channels are there to work together to generate new ideas and develop them into tomorrow’s products, services and processes. 

DEWA successfully achieved a statement of verification to the innovation management system technical standard CEN/TS 16555-1:2013. Since then, our client has accomplished several milestones including:

• launching an Innovation Policy across the organisation

• implementing a cultural programme, with 150 employees pitching innovative ideas

• increasing cultural engagement through The Innovative Forces programme, with five leading innovators being recognised across the organisation.

International recognition

DEWA received the Best Innovation and Best Customer Focus awards at the UK’s Best Business Awards 2017. The awards recognise DEWA’s achievements in implementing the best possible standards for monitoring customer happiness to maintain continuous

improvement and exceed expectations. The judges also acknowledged DEWA’s commitment to developing the concept of innovation and spreading a culture of individual and institutional creativity.