“The seminar that you gave at our premises and the follow up discussions were a success: based on this activity, we are currently running preliminary experiments, which are showing promising results. This is definitely encouraging us to perform a broader study on this topic”.

This is the words of one of our clients after our first assignment for them. What we provided for them is what we are proud to call Adding Value Through Science in a seminar-discussions format, a way of providing understanding that we have seen truly improves the possibility to implement the said understanding in a realistic setting of an organization. In addition, when well performed, expectations are both set and met.

In this particular case, the assignment was given by a manufacturer of personal care consumer products and basic ingredients. There was a specific part of the chemistry of a category of ingredient molecules that needed attention. The company has abundant experience on the topic but wanted our in-depth scientific view to be able to design chemically more stable formulations. The way this was approached led to the company running new kinds of studies, with promising result. We took it in steps:

  1. Discussion on the problem statement under non-disclosure agreement. Here, we framed the scope together based on existing knowledge and the main purpose of the assignment.
  2. Scientific seminar at the company’s premises with the possibility for direct Q&A from a large group of attendees.
  3. Follow-up questions from the company was sent to us to elaborate on further, with the main purpose to clarify but also to assist in their next steps based on the client’s current goal.
  4. Final webb-discussion with the key stake holders at the company. The discussion was based on a presentation combining the first seminar with the results from Q&A and the follow-up questions. We focused on the next steps and how these suggestions were grounded in the understanding of the chemistry of their components. The final delivery was made tangible by submitting this elaborate presentation.

We experienced that the four steps were all necessary to really bring the delivery to the stage of implementation, to get beyond lecturing. We also experienced that this was a stepping-stone not only for them internally but also for our collaboration, through this interactivity we can be of high direct value as innovation and development suppliers because we understand the context, the company and the expectations much faster.