innovating forward
The foundation will launch soon. Below are efforts we are establishing to help companies and ultimately consumers. Please come back to this space to keep up with our progress.
Helping industry workers find new ways to do business
We aim to help develop and enhance critical thought across the footwear industry – rewiring how industry leaders and workers fundamentally look at problems. Bringing in new outside minds and ideas to challenge industry leaders to look forward. Helping companies operationalize innovation so it is not seen as a one-off, leading to innovation boom and bust cycles – but rather becomes part of everyday work.
- Academic x Industry Symposium – An event where academic leaders and researchers present research findings to help industry leaders see new possibilities. Discussions on industry challenges to help academics hear and direct new research.
- Thought Paper & Briefing Series – Publish editorials and short papers that look at how the industry operates, challenging existing norms, providing new ideas for leaders to ponder, pushing minds to consider alternatives to how we conduct business. Host digital meetings with academics sharing fresh insights into new innovative business models and case studies from other industries, helping leaders rethink how they operate.
- C-Suite Innovation Seminar – A 1.5 day event for C-suite leaders to help them think about challenges in a new way. Includes networking and briefings from leaders in other industries, experts, and academics on new ways to do business, how to process information better, new innovations around consumer engagement, finances, business models, and technology. Developing and enhancing critical thought that will improve product, business operations, and deployment of new models.
Building a better skilled bench. Informing research for better outcomes.
We aim to provide footwear case studies to use in curriculums, lecture in classrooms, and build online courses for college students to build a stronger, more innovative, future footwear workforce. This is specifically across finance, operations, marketing, data science, engineering, and industrial design programs. We also aim to be a key resource to direct and inform researchers on footwear issues, ensuring they understand our unique products and processes to develop solutions that address real needs and that we can actually implement.
- FIF Footwear Fellowships for Professors – Select several academic deans and/or professors annually. One week education trip, travel and F&B expenses covered, to learn more about the footwear industry. Touring a manufacturing facility, attending meetings with brands/retailers, attending summits on sustainability and supply chains.
- Direct and Synchronize R&D – Help researchers get valuable input and direction from companies. Bring together and connect labs, academics, external groups, and experts to better synchronize R&D, ensuring work is magnified and not duplicated.
- Engaging and educating students on footwear to build new talent pools and pipelines – Briefing classes and introducing case studies to curriculums (finance, operations, IT, data science) to help students see footwear as a compelling industry to join. Providing grants to schools to help purchase footwear manufacturing equipment (3D printers, etc.) to help train students on hands-on footwear applications.
- Provide intelligence to R&D efforts to help provide real-life outcomes – Help researchers get valuable input and direction from companies. Bring together and connect labs, academics, external groups, and experts to better synchronize R&D, ensuring work is magnified and not duplicated.
Research & Development Creation + Acceleration
We aim to launch our own forward-thinking research to help industry leaders envision the future and to direct new research. We aim to support or launch new R&D projects on critical issues, in non-competitive areas, to move the dial.
- Footwear Ideas Factory – Our own internal research lab where we identify gaps in knowledge or understanding, explore future concepts 5, 10, 15 years in advance to pull minds forward. Write reports with in-depth analysis to help provide industry leaders better insights into issues or opportunities that they could not realistically explore in their day-to-day work.
- CROWD-shoe-SOURCE R&D Center – Our R&D efforts will find new projects and bring brands, retailers, suppliers, academics, and labs together to combine time, resources, and brain power in a way that can increase success while lowering risk and costs. This will be especially meaningful to resource-constrained companies who are less willing to place bets in a tight economic environment. In establishing a shoe crowd-sourcing system, every idea has a chance. Experts can vet ideas here with the capability and capacity for researchers or labs to conduct the R&D. Opportunities can be presented out in the industry, with an invitation for others join the effort. Sponsor companies can join R&D projects with access to learnings and any developed IP at no cost for 10–20 years. A system where any IP created is democratic and affordable to the industry at large.
Companies, academics, and labs – share what you are working on, get assistance or guidance on projects, and learn more about us and our work!
Funding
We are currently fundraising among companies, individuals, and other foundations who are passionate about innovation in the footwear industry. Please contact us to learn how you can join the movement.
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© 2024 Footwear Innovation Foundation. All rights reserved. The Footwear Innovation Foundation is a 501(c)(3) organization.