ABOUT THE CLIENT
Bancolombia is Colombia’s largest commercial bank, serving over 6.35 million users. With operations spanning four countries in Latin America, it plays a pivotal role in the region’s financial ecosystem.
Bancolombia is Colombia’s largest commercial bank, serving over 6.35 million users. With operations spanning four countries in Latin America, it plays a pivotal role in the region’s financial ecosystem.
ABOUT THE PROJECT
In April 2023, Bancolombia’s Vice-Presidency of Innovation engaged us to tackle a strategic challenge: while they had several ongoing initiatives, they lacked a system to measure the tangible value these projects added to the company. Over four months, we developed a strategic framework to assess and enhance the impact of innovation within the bank.
In April 2023, Bancolombia’s Vice-Presidency of Innovation engaged us to tackle a strategic challenge: while they had several ongoing initiatives, they lacked a system to measure the tangible value these projects added to the company. Over four months, we developed a strategic framework to assess and enhance the impact of innovation within the bank.
ABOUT MY ROLE AS A STRATEGIC DESIGNER
• I brought expertise in research, analysis, and ideation to the project, collaborating closely with a multidisciplinary team of business strategists and designers. My key contributions included:
• Research & Analysis: Conducted qualitative and quantitative research to understand the scope and challenges of existing initiatives.
• Strategic Ideation: Co-led workshops to ideate and define metrics and frameworks for evaluating innovation value.
• Collaborative Design: Partnered with team members to translate findings into actionable strategies, ensuring alignment with business objectives and user needs.
• I brought expertise in research, analysis, and ideation to the project, collaborating closely with a multidisciplinary team of business strategists and designers. My key contributions included:
• Research & Analysis: Conducted qualitative and quantitative research to understand the scope and challenges of existing initiatives.
• Strategic Ideation: Co-led workshops to ideate and define metrics and frameworks for evaluating innovation value.
• Collaborative Design: Partnered with team members to translate findings into actionable strategies, ensuring alignment with business objectives and user needs.
ABOUT THE PROJECT'S IMPACT
Our work resulted in a comprehensive evaluation framework that enabled Bancolombia to:
• Fully understand the concept of innovation within the company.
• Align ongoing innovation projects with broader organizational goals.
• Prioritize high-impact initiatives, fostering a culture of measurable innovation.
• Fully understand the concept of innovation within the company.
• Align ongoing innovation projects with broader organizational goals.
• Prioritize high-impact initiatives, fostering a culture of measurable innovation.
This project reinforced Bancolombia’s leadership in innovation within Latin America’s banking sector, empowering them to make data-driven decisions that deliver value to both the company and its customers.
THE PROPOSED SOLUTION
THE PROCESS
01.
DEFINING INNOVATION METRICS
We began by establishing a clear framework to measure the value of innovation. This involved defining eight measurement axes, derived from industry-leading methodologies, to serve as the foundation for analyzing, categorizing, and understanding the bank’s innovation initiatives. These axes provided a structured approach to evaluate the strategic and operational impact of ongoing projects, ensuring alignment with Bancolombia’s goals.
02.
EXTERNAL BENCHMARKING
To understand how innovation is perceived and valued across industries, we analyzed 12 companies identified as benchmarks. Our analysis focused on the previously defined eight axes of innovation, enabling us to identifiy common trends and best practices.
Key findings revealed that most organizations prioritize business growth, user or customer experience and sustainability. These insights offered valuable guidance to start understanding where Bancolombia’s innovation efforts could and should be headed to remain competitive within the industry.
03.
INTERNAL EXPLORATION
We conducted an in-depth examination of Bancolombia’s Vice-Presidency of Innovation by:
• Interviewing stakeholders to gather perspectives on the value and challenges of innovation.
• Organizing workshops to uncover internal priorities and perceptions.
• Reviewing documentation to analyze existing measurement methods.
• Interviewing stakeholders to gather perspectives on the value and challenges of innovation.
• Organizing workshops to uncover internal priorities and perceptions.
• Reviewing documentation to analyze existing measurement methods.
This process revealed critical insights into the internal and external perceptions of innovation within the company and highlighted opportunities for improvement. We synthesized this information into a comprehensive Vision Wheel (below), which unified findings and served as a strategic tool for identifying actionable opportunities.
04.
DEFINING THE FUTURE
Building on our research, we identified the most impactful innovation axes for the Vice-Presidency, creating a cohesive vision for aligning current and future initiatives. Our deliverables included:
• Value Definitions and Metrics: Clear definitions of innovation value with measurable indicators to evaluate success.
• Strategic Pathway: A roadmap for developing a centralized platform to oversee and assess innovation initiatives.
• Unified Vision: A framework to ensure alignment and consistency across the Vice-Presidency’s diverse projects.
• Value Definitions and Metrics: Clear definitions of innovation value with measurable indicators to evaluate success.
• Strategic Pathway: A roadmap for developing a centralized platform to oversee and assess innovation initiatives.
• Unified Vision: A framework to ensure alignment and consistency across the Vice-Presidency’s diverse projects.
This proposal provided Bancolombia with the tools to measure, communicate, and amplify the value of innovation, empowering the Vice-Presidency to drive impactful change across the organization.