Innovation Programme

Innovation management process graphic.jpgThe Innovate18 programme was a partnership between Crossrail and the Tier 1 contractors, co-ordinated and managed by a small team within Crossrail Ltd.

The establishment and implementation of Innovate18 is set out in a micro-report which contains many of the documents, processes and resources that were used. A report done in conjunction with Imperial College Business School evaluated the benefits of the innovation programme.

We have also shared the source code for the Innovation Management system.

There is also an article setting out our experiences, which was first published in the Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers.

Innovation Programme Documents:

Summary Publication date Document Type
Crossrail Project: The Evolution of an Innovation Ecosystem

Crossrail Project: The Evolution of an Innovation Ecosystem

Topic area: Innovation Programme

The £14·8 billion Crossrail project to deliver the Elizabeth line east–west railway across London has pioneered the development of a systematic programme approach to innovation. Previous papers have focused on the early stages of setting up Crossrail’s innovation programme – known as Innovate18 – and implem...

27/04/2017 Journal Publication
Front cover of Crossrail Innovation Programme Innovation Evaluation Report

Crossrail Innovation Programme Benefits Evaluation Report

Topic area: Innovation Programme

The Crossrail innovation programme, at the time of its inception in 2012, focussed on generating innovation through sharing rather than providing a return on investment.  To enable this a small pot of funding was created to trial ideas and to develop an innovators network that raised the bar for the industry. Once the...

22/03/2016 Research Paper
Example Innovation Remit template

Example Innovation Remit template

Topic area: Innovation Programme

The Innovation Remit template is used to define the scope of innovation projects to be invested in, including go/no go criteria, timescales, resources, budgets and measures of success.  Included here are a blank version and a completed example.

26/02/2016 Good Practice Document
Innovation Management System empty database code

Innovation Management System empty database code

Topic area: Innovation Programme

The Innovation Management System database was used to create a repository of all ideas submitted during the Innovate18 programme including actions taken with respect to each idea. The source code for an empty copy of the database is included in the document links section below, alongside the installation guide....

26/02/2016 Dataset
Implementing the Crossrail Innovate18 Programme

Implementing the Crossrail Innovate18 Programme

Topic area: Innovation Programme

This micro-report explains why the Crossrail Innovation Programme, Innovate18, was established, and how it was implemented. It includes the plan, procedure and document used to manage the process.  It will be of interest to sponsors, clients and suppliers working on projects of any size.

26/02/2016 Micro-report
Innovation Management Procedure

Innovation Management Procedure

Topic area: Innovation Programme

The Innovation Management Procedure describes the processes and procedures used in managing investment in and delivery of innovations.

26/02/2016 Good Practice Document
Example Innovation Period Report

Example Innovation Period Report

Topic area: Innovation Programme

Example of a report from the Innovation Programme which fed into the Crossrail period report, describing activities and challenges.

26/02/2016 Good Practice Document
Innovation Management Plan

Innovation Management Plan

Topic area: Innovation Programme

The Innovation Management Plan describes how the Crossrail Innovation programme will be resourced and governed.

26/02/2016 Good Practice Document
Mantra to Method: lessons from managing innovation on Crossrail, UK

Mantra to Method: lessons from managing innovation on Crossrail, UK

Topic area: Innovation Programme

This paper describes how the £14·8 billion Crossrail project in London, UK developed and implemented an innovation strategy to support the delivery of the project. The strategy was designed to encourage the supply chain to develop and apply genuinely beneficial new products, processes and services − then to ensure ...

20/10/2015 Journal Publication
Innovation Programme Overview

Innovation Programme Overview

Topic area: Innovation Programme

The Crossrail innovation programme, Innovate18, provides an opportunity to capture and explore pioneering ideas from all of those involved in the project. The techniques, products and methods used on Crossrail provide a benchmark for other construction projects. As an award-winning innovation programme, Crossr...

13/07/2015 Good Practice Document
Making Innovation Happen in a Megaproject: London’s Crossrail Suburban Railway System

Making Innovation Happen in a Megaproject: London’s Crossrail Suburban Railway System

Topic area: Innovation Programme

Isolated pockets of innovation can be found in projects—such as the novel solution used to re- design the Velodrome roof during the London 2012 Olympics—but there have been few, if any, systematic efforts to manage innovation in a megaproject. This paper presents the initial findings of an ongoing three-year (2012?...

18/11/2014 Journal Publication
Innovation Strategy

Innovation Strategy

Topic area: Innovation Programme

Crossrail has developed an innovation strategy to improve the delivery of the project and create a legacy to improve the performance of the UK construction industry. Much has been done over the past two decades to promote innovation in construction. Raising the performance bar to the next level requires strat...

20/02/2013 Good Practice Document