KEMs
Value Creation & Scaling
GOAL
Valuable change
Creating new forms of economic, social, cultural and/or ecological value and enabling rapid scaling up of interventions.
PHASE IN DEVELOPMENT PROCESS
- Discover
- Define
- Develop
APPLICATION
- Determine with which proposition a (network of) organization(s) can create which type(s) of value.
- To provide the opportunity to determine whether this form(s) of value creation is (are) applicable on a larger scale, and what that would look like.
What does it entail?
What does this category entail?
KEMs within the Value Creation & Scaling category are intended to provide insight into issues related to the creation of new value for society, and to offer starting points for innovative propositions and their scaling up..
Value (creation) is understood more broadly than just generating direct economic value. The value that contributes to solving societal challenges as part of mission-driven innovation also falls within the domain of this KEM category.
This is a broad concept of value, encompassing social, cultural, and ecological value. This value often arises in the interplay of multiple actors within an ecosystem and is context-dependent.
Why is that important?
Current and urgent societal challenges, such as the energy transition, affordable and high-quality healthcare, and an inclusive labor market, require the development of effective interventions and the appropriate scaling up of innovations. The speed at which transitions can be realized goes hand in hand with the ability and speed to create new (economic, cultural, social, and ecological) value for society. Scaling up is not just about growing, but also about deepening, broadening and adapting to different contexts.
KEMs in this category help to shape new value propositions and structure the development process of interventions, with an eye for sustainable revenue models, institutional embedding and the continued existence of the ecosystem in which value is created.
When do you apply these KEMs?
For questions such as:
- How can economic, cultural, societal (such as sustainability) and social values be combined and integrated?
- How can decision-making be supported?
- How can thinking in terms of transactions and products be expanded to include thinking in terms of sharing, services, access and collectivism?
- How can value be protected and monetized?
- How do you ensure scaling up and accelerating value creation, and how is new knowledge optimally applied and deployed in this regard?
- How do you contribute to ensuring that the ecosystem in which value is created can continue to exist sustainably?
What methods are there?
The current state of methodological knowledge for Value Creation & Scaling largely builds on concepts and models from science, technology and innovation policy on the one hand and on methods for business model innovation in the business world on the other. Models and methodologies aimed at creating economic value by companies, sectors and economic clusters still predominate.
Recently, broader mission-driven innovation themes have been put on the agenda and alternative models have been developed from broader goals than purely economic value creation. Examples of this are circular business models and community based business models.
Some examples of methods that have found their way into practice are:
1. Business value
This includes methods aimed at (re)developing business models and propositions for individual companies. Customer-oriented research and design methods (see customer value) can also play an important role in this.
- Business Model Canvas (Osterwald and Pigneur, 2010) is a tool for companies to value proposition and gain insight into the alignment of their business activities with customer needs. In addition, it can bring renewed insight into the core values that drive the organization itself.
- Brand Driven Innovation (Roscam Abbing, 2010) connects brand, innovation and design to help companies build people-oriented thinking and doing, in line with their vision and values.
2. Customer value
- Customer Journey or User Journey (Følstad & Kvale, 2018) is a method that goes through the steps of a (potential) user – from considering purchase to final use to discover how a (wider) group of users can be served.
- (Service) Design Thinking (Cross, 2013) is a method that – in an iterative process – provides more insight into and understanding of end-user problems and situations. This provides insight into how design results can create and add value in different contexts.
3. Stakeholder/ecosystem value
Research and development of methods to innovate and scale up in the context of networks is quite advanced. There are several conceptual frameworks, methods and tools available. Within these, the concept of ecosystem plays an important role (see for example Adner, 2012). Methods are mainly used to understand the complexity of multi-stakeholder settings and to create a basis for shared values, goals and actions.
- Stakeholder Analysis provides insight into actors that can exert an important stimulating or counteracting force on innovation and scaling. Another known methodology in such situations is Agent Based Modeling.
- Value Case Methodology (Dittrich, 2015; Dittrich et al., 2015) is a method to map the value network within a consortium and to ensure alignment.
- Frame Analysis provides tools for a better understanding of underlying values among different actors.
- Business Model Radar is in line with Frame Analysis. Business Model Radar is a multi-stakeholder business model approach based on the so-called service dominant logic.
4.Value-in-use
It is also important to make the best possible use of existing sources of value, in the service of the desired missions and innovation goals. In these types of approaches, it is crucial to determine a common focus.
- Orchestrating Innovation (Valkokari et al., 2017) helps to design, set up and run an innovation hub, often a strategic public-private partnership. The approach includes a general reference business model for all variants of an innovation centre (including a Experimental environment) and training for the leader of such an initiative.
5. (Value of) transformative processes
Value Creation & Scaling Approaches and Methods that Fit Within the Framework of transformative innovation are often used to serve themes such as sustainability and circularity.
- One of the contributions that laid an important foundation was that of Tukker (2004), in which he presented eight product-service systems tests on their environmental value.
- Bocken et al. (2019) provide an extensive literature review with an overview of circular business innovation tools (see also: Lüdeke-Freund et al., 2016; Lüdeke-Freund et al., 2019).
Other developments relevant to the development of value through transformative innovation are:
- Collaborative business models for transition (CBM4T), that can be developed and realised within the scope of a transition.
- Commoning models, where different independent actors (individuals and organisations) jointly manage and further develop a resource with the aim of creating an optimal joint benefit. This approach is related to community-based business modeling.
Value Creation & Scaling in practice
Methods
The first digital KEM monitor was published at the end of 2025. This concise, English-language trend report offers a current and concise overview of the most important developments in Key Enabling Methodologies (KEMs) over the past year. New methodological developments, insights, and research questions are mapped out for each KEM category.
Methods
The Innovation Toolkit is a practical bundle of templates, working methods and canvases - based on Lean, Agile and Design Thinking - specially designed to strengthen innovation within the central government.
