PDMA Connections - February 2022

The Product Development & Management Association (PDMA), a global association of innovation management professionals, is proud to announce the creation of the Allan Malcolm Anderson Ambassador Award. This award honors Dr. Allan Anderson, Professor Emeritus of Massey University in New Zealand, Chief Executive of NZ Dairy Research Institute, successful entrepreneur, and lifelong advocate of sustainable product innovation practices. The announcement of this award coincides with its first presentation to the award’s namesake, Allan Anderson.

Over many years, Allan has served in various capacities within PDMA, including 3 years as the organization’s president. He also served as editor for the first two editions of the PDMA Body of Knowledge, but according to PDMA Immediate President Ernie Harris, “it was Allan’s dogged determination and his skills at identifying, building, and growing international relationships that inspired the creation of this award.” Between 2016 and 2020, Allan was responsible for the creation of an international partnership between China and PDMA that fostered the exchange of product innovation best practices. Sponsored by the Chinese International Talent Exchange Foundation (CITEF), an effort supported by the Ministry of Science and Technology of the People’s Republic of China, this partnership continues to this day and is responsible for more than 10,000 newly certified New Product Development Professionals (NPDP) across China.

Nominees for the Allan Anderson Ambassador (“Triple-A”) award will be accepted from any member of the PDMA community and reviewed first by the PDMA Executive Committee and then later voted on by the PDMA Board of Directors. To receive the award, the nominee must be shown to have contributed to the furthering of the global expansion of the discipline of Product Innovation in a foundational way. Given the significant level of contribution required, the award will only be presented when a nominee is identified and vetted by PDMA leadership and therefore, is not planned as an annual event.

The award comes with the following benefits:

A physical award engraved with the recipient’s name.
Lifetime free membership in PDMA.
If the recipient is NPDP certified, lifetime renewals without cost.
Lifetime free access to all PDMA events and content.
Inclusion on the recognition page on pdma.org.

Visit pdma.org to view full details.

Following officer elections in January, PDMA is proud to announce the PDMA Board of Directors for 2022. Mark Adkins will lead PDMA as Chair for 2022 and 2023. Mark is the CEO of Lean Med, a medical device company dedicated to bringing essential treatment to underserved regions through innovative technologies. He is also the founder & president of Smart Hammer Innovation, a management consulting business that helps companies apply best practices to Innovation Management. Mark has served PDMA in a variety of capacities over time, most recently as Vice-Chair and Chapters VP.

The Executive Committee will consist of:
Board Chair: Mark Adkins - LeanMed LLC
Vice-Chair: Susan Penta - MIDIOR Consulting
Secretary-Treasurer: Marlon Hernandez – Molson Coors

2022 Directors include:
Gloria Barczak - Northeastern University
Ludwig Bstieler - University of New Hampshire
Greg Coticcia - Sopheon
Rolando Cruzado - Conservation X Labs
Nariman Lotfi - The German University in Cairo
Luigi M. De Luca - Cardiff University Business School
Michael O’Connor - Medtronic Corporate Science and Technology
Wayne Fisher - Rockdale Innovation
Charlie Noble - University of Tennessee at Knoxville (ex-officio/JPIM)

View photos and bios for the whole board HERE.

Our very special thanks to outgoing Board members, Sudhi Gulur and Ernie Harris. Thank you for the time, talent, and leadership you gave to this exciting and vital organization while on the Board of Directors!

PDMA is pleased to announce that effective March 1, Arzu Alimohd will begin serving as PDMA’s Executive Director. Arzu has been working with PDMA for four years, primarily in the role of chapters manager, successfully growing the number of chapters globally and supporting the growth of current chapters. In 2021, Arzu earned the Certified Association Executive (CAE) designation from the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE), a certification requiring years of work in the profession, significant study, and demonstration of knowledge via a rigorous exam.

Arzu will be taking over from Eric Ewald, who is taking on some new responsibilities. The change has been in the works since November 2021. The PDMA Board of Directors voiced their support of this change with their recognition of her outstanding work to date and offering their congratulations to Arzu on her promotion. Arzu can be reached at aalimohd@pdma.org.

Call for Submissions for the PDMA SPARK (Stimulate Projects and Research Know-How) Program

Goal of Spark

Are you interested in sharing your research in the area of innovation with peers and experienced scholars through a dedicated community? Are you interested in networking and learning with early-career scholars from around the world, and creating a community of innovation scholars? We invite you to join our PDMA SPARK program, which is designed and administered by early-career scholars for early-career scholars. Through the SPARK initiative, we are committed to creating continuous opportunities by organizing various events and forums to promote research, networking, and peer support for researchers worldwide.

Who Is Eligible to Submit and Benefit
Early-career scholars who completed their Ph.D. in the last 3-5 years.

Co-Chairs
(ALPHABETICAL ORDER)

Tojin Eapen (University of Missouri)
Priscilla Kraft (WHU - Otto Beisheim School of Management)
Unnati Narang (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign)

Dates and Venue
First SPARK seminar: May 13, 2022 at 11 a.m. EDT (UTC-4)

Location: Online delivery (on PDMA YouTube Channel and Via Zoom)

Submission deadline: March 31, 2022

Submission Format and Process
We are inviting submissions in two categories for our inaugural SPARK seminar: (a) a 30-minute research presentation category and (b) a 2-minute research idea pitch. Our topic for this year is digital technologies that enhance current human capacities (e.g. mobile technologies, internet of things, big data & AI, robotics & automation, blockchain technology, gene editing & gene therapy and other products involving digital technologies, entrepreneurship). In category 1, we welcome you to submit your complete working papers on any of these topics. This will allow you to get in-depth feedback on various elements of your paper. In category 2, we welcome you to submit a single PowerPoint slide that concisely describes your key research motivation, objectives, and how you plan to answer your research questions. This will allow you to gauge reactions on an early-stage idea, and potentially attract co-authors with complementary skills for future development of the project.

Please send your submissions to spark@pdma.org by March 31, 2022 to be considered for the SPARK seminar on May 13, 2022.

Nominations Are Open for Outstanding Corporate Innovator Award

Join an elite group of global corporations that are past recipients of PDMA's Outstanding Corporate Innovator (OCI) Award. For 35 years, PDMA's OCI Award has been the premier honor recognizing sustained and quantifiable innovation success. Winners reflect diversity in industry and size.

The award selection process provides an excellent mechanism for identifying companies that create and capture long-term value through product and service innovation. As a global award, companies around the world are eligible. Nominate your own company or one you admire. If you nominate another company, please be sure to let them know they are being nominated and provide a contact for the company.

OCI Award Criteria and Qualifications:

5 years of sustained success launching new products or services.
Significant company growth from new products or services.
Well-defined new product development practices and processes.
Distinctive innovative characteristics and intangibles.

SUBMIT A NOMINATION

Outstanding Corporate Innovator Award is Merit-based.
There is NO application fee.

kHUB Curator Scott Burleson shares his latest Market Research insight in a new post, VOC Research Should Be Continuous (Not a Project)

He makes the case for moving from a single “project” mindset for VOC Research to learning to “infuse discovery continually throughout your development process.” Learn more on this topic by accessing the following kHUB related content:

kHUB Chapter 4 Curator Carlos Rodriguez shares several ideation methods and techniques and tools in his recent kHUB blog post, New Product Ideation: Technology Platforms, AI, and Data Driven Methods. He shows how ideation is critical in the early stages of product development. A related article you may find interesting: Ideation Techniques: Conceptualizing New Products and Services

KHUB on a Global Scale
It’s been a busy few months for PDMA’s local chapters. We post the recordings and presentations from the local events on kHUB’s Local Chapter Content - on Demand for you to access and view at your convenience. Recent additions include recordings from the Pittsburgh and Carolinas chapters events and a 2-part UX Design series from the St Louis Chapter, The Psychology of UX Design - Practical Applications for Inclusive Design.

PAKISTAN
Design Innovation
February 22, 2022
4:30–6 p.m. (Pakistan Time/GMT +5)
Learn more and register

PITTSBURGH
2022 Spring Body of Knowledge Training
February 22–April 12, 2022 (Every Tuesday)
February 22: 5:30–8 p.m. EST (GMT -5)
March 1–April 12: 6–8 p.m. EST (GMT -5)
Learn more and register

Product Development Fundamentals Back-to-Basics Workshop Series
February 24, 2022
5:30–8 p.m. EST (GMT -5)
Learn more and register

TURKEY
Software Product Management in Capital Markets
February 23, 2022
19:00 (GMT +3)
Learn more and register

DACH
Gutes Gatekeeping macht den Unterschied oder - As Goes the GATE, Goes the PROCESS
24 February 2022
16:00–17:00 CET (GMT +1)
Learn more and register

CAROLINAS
Sustainability — The First Steps
March 8, 2022
12–1 p.m. EST (GMT -5)
Learn more and register

PDMA is growing! Meet and connect with our new members by signing into the PDMA community on our website.

PDMA welcomed these new members in January 2022. We look forward to working with you!

Professional Members

Jessica Mayme Peterson
Kat Kays
Regan Checcio
Chris Teodoro
Ken Stern
Faryl Katz
Teagan Hills
Anna Miskovsky
Katherine Cole
Paul Williams
Edward Crowley
Guillermo Bernal
Bill Crawford
Levita Scull
Rob Kosman
Steven Flett
Tia Embke
Colin Hasburgh
Robin Pulverenti
Karen Lewis
Michal Mroz

Academic Members
Vivek Rao
Nhien Nguyen
Marta Morais-Storz
Ken Chen
Hadi Eslami

Corporate Team Member
Ken Ehrhart

Student Members
Yi Liu
Christina Eagle
Khashayar Afshar
Lukas Falcke
Marius Huber
Lukas Moschko

PDMA’s Global Student Innovation Challenge

And the winner is: Team Uvisa Health from Danish Technical University in Denmark! Second place goes to Team Second Wind from Duke University in the US. Third place is awarded to Team Go Pump from Technical University of Berlin in Germany. You can view the videos of their submissions here under the history tab.

Congratulations to all 79 students representing 13 universities and 19 teams from 9 countries that submitted their understanding of product development to compete for prize monies by submitting a product/service/software ideas and detailing the unique value proposition, evidence of demand, and mock-up or embodiment of product. Competition details can be found here.

Now accepting submissions for GSIC2022 through June 30, 2022.