Redefining the Group's Innovation Philosophy
Virtual Events
Électricité de France S.A., commonly known as EDF, is a French multinational electric utility company, largely owned by the French state. EDF operates a diverse portfolio of at least 120 gigawatts of generation capacity in Europe, South America, North America, Asia, the Middle East, and Africa. In 2009, EDF was the world's largest producer of electricity.
Problem/Starting Point:
The EDF Group (Électricité de France) takes pride in its capacity for innovation. But today, faced with climate change, the Group has stated itself that innovation has become more necessary than ever, as their objective of carbon neutrality by 2050 will be achieved through innovations that either don't yet exist or that are only emerging. EDF Pulse, the Group's innovation arm, was created to meet this challenge; however, after several years of operation, the Group felt it necessary to take the time to reflect on past success and failures and re-align the team on a common guiding philosophy for decision-making moving forward...
Process & Solutions:
In order to meet these challenges during the Covid-19 pandemic when physical contact was restricted, a group of 25 members of the leadership team from EDF Pulse were given the opportunity to convene and engage in a reflection together around the group's "raison d'être" during 3 separate 2-hour long virtual workshops. My responsibility on the project was to manage all technological aspects of the virtual event alongside a Senior Consultant from Saguez & Partners, an internationally acclaimed design and branding agency based in Paris. She prepared the content and general flow of the workshops, which I then used to design the virtual whiteboards (Miro) that participants would contribute to during the workshops. I also created a tutorial video and a practice virtual whiteboard for all participants to get acquainted and comfortable with the tool before the workshops to avoid down-time during our sessions together. During the workshops, I basically had the responsibility of right-hand man, providing assistance in communicating instructions during the workshops, leading the warm-ups and icebreakers, managing the transitions to breakout rooms, running interactive surveys, monitoring the sound when needed, and operating screen-sharing functions.
