Innovation Strategy Report

Organisation / unit: [Company or business unit] Author / owner: [Name / role] Planning period: [e.g., FY26-FY28] Last reviewed: [Date] Next review: [Date + 90 days]

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1. Innovation goals and thesis

[State what innovation must achieve for the business over this period, and the core belief about the market that justifies it. One or two paragraphs, not a list of projects.]

• Business goal innovation serves: [e.g., add a new revenue line worth X by year three]
• Our thesis (why now): [The market shift, technology, or customer change you are betting on]
• What success looks like: [The observable outcome that proves the thesis was right]

2. Opportunity areas

[The arenas you have chosen to explore — and, briefly, the ones you are deliberately not.]

Opportunity area	Customer need / trend	Why it fits us (how to win)	Horizon
[Area 1]	[Need or trend]	[Our advantage]	[Core / Adjacent / Transformational]
[Area 2]	[Need or trend]	[Our advantage]	[Core / Adjacent / Transformational]
[Area 3]	[Need or trend]	[Our advantage]	[Core / Adjacent / Transformational]

Out of scope (for now): [Areas you are choosing not to pursue, and why]

3. Portfolio across horizons

Horizon	Description	Example bets	Target investment %	Time to return
Core (H1)	[Improve the existing business]	[Bet, bet]	[e.g., 70%]	[0-12 months]
Adjacent (H2)	[Extend into neighbouring territory]	[Bet, bet]	[e.g., 20%]	[1-3 years]
Transformational (H3)	[Create new businesses]	[Bet]	[e.g., 10%]	[3+ years]

[Comment on whether the current balance is right, or where you intend to shift it.]

4. Prioritised bets

[The bets that earn funding this cycle, with the logic for each. Stage funding to learning milestones.]

Bet	Horizon	Hypothesis to test	Stage	Funding ask	Kill criteria
[Bet A]	[H1/H2/H3]	[What must prove true]	[Explore / Experiment / Scale]	[Amount]	[What ends it]
[Bet B]	[H1/H2/H3]	[What must prove true]	[Explore / Experiment / Scale]	[Amount]	[What ends it]
[Bet C]	[H1/H2/H3]	[What must prove true]	[Explore / Experiment / Scale]	[Amount]	[What ends it]

5. Resourcing and governance

• Team and skills: [Who works on this; gaps to fill]
• Funding model: [Stage-gated budget; how each tranche is released]
• Decision rights: [Who can fund an experiment, approve a scale-up, kill a bet]
• Review cadence: [e.g., quarterly portfolio review; what gets decided there]
• Executive sponsor: [Name / role providing air cover and protected budget]

6. Metrics and review

Metric	Type	Target	How / when measured
[Experiments run per quarter]	Leading	[Target]	[Source]
[Idea-to-test cycle time]	Leading	[Target]	[Source]
[Portfolio balance across horizons]	Leading	[Target mix]	[Source]
[Revenue from products < 3 years old]	Lagging	[Target]	[Source]

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Maintenance

• Owner: [Name]
• Review cadence: [e.g., quarterly]
• Update triggers: [Bet graduates or is killed, market shift, new technology, budget reset]