Strategic and Competitive Intelligence Professionals’ 2011 European Conference: Open Call for Session Proposals

Alexandria, VA, June 06, 2011 --(PR.com)-- SCIP continues to develop and provide educational programming and networking opportunities for the association's members all over the world. The European Summit traditionally has one of the most diverse attendance and speaker constituencies of all of the SCIP conferences.

All session proposals must feature case studies and/or demonstrated best practices -- year after year attendees' conference feedback has indicated a preference for successes and lessons learned in competitive intelligence practice. Proposals that provide case examples and professional tips for the audience will be given preference in the selection process.

Here are focus areas suggested by the content committee -- proposals on additional topics are also welcome.

1. Gaining Influence for the Competitive Intelligence Unit
Gaining influence is a critical part of any successful competitive intelligence program, because doing the right job and doing the job right sometimes is not enough. Practitioners also need to demonstrate the importance and relevance of the intelligence work. This is not only a matter of merit, it is also a matter of how competitive intelligence is presented and perceived.

2. Competitive Intelligence Communication
Communication is a key element in effectively accomplishing the Intelligence Cycle, especially the communicating competitive intelligence products and enhancing the relationship between the unit and the decision maker. Speakers will provide an actual experience and ways that practitioners solved competitive intelligence problems and enhanced the CI unit’s performance.

3. Innovation and the Competitive Intelligence Process
How much of innovation has to do with insights, and how much has to do with hard work? An actual competitive intelligence process based on knowledge, alongside the systematic pursuit of information and analysis can have a great impact on the innovation processes.

Unexpected occurrences, different kinds of contradictions, process needs, or changes in an industry or market can create opportunities for the company. Competitive intelligence can help innovators to look for focused and simple solutions to approach real life problems and thus create successful opportunities

4. Analysis Tools
Intelligence is only produced through an analytical process that takes the information and evidences collected and works through them to extract meaning and significance for the decision making process. Analysis is a creative process that is done inside the mind. Analysis can be accomplished with the help of frameworks and methodologies, or in an unstructured way in which intuition and previous knowledge is applied to create connections among data and drive conclusions. In this topic experienced practitioners are expected to share knowledge on how analysts have successfully delivered Intelligence to the company's decision makers.

5. Competitive Intelligence and Strategy
Intelligence is the radar of any company’s strategy. Managing a company’s strategy without a competitive intelligence process is like navigating through a fog without instruments. To develop and implement a successful strategy, companies must have a CI process that leverages information and perspectives, thus becoming able to anticipate environmental changes, threats or opportunities, and establish goals and implement better strategies to approach the environment. Likewise SCIP’s name change reasons, CI and Strategy belong to the same discussion and must not be treated separately.

6. Structuring and Modifying a CI Unit
Many doctors would agree that performing an open heart surgery is simple: one can learn the basics in 6 months. However, doing it right and learning what to do if anything goes wrong, or if there is any deviation from the original plan, can take many years. The same can be said about building up and managing a competitive intelligence unit.

Speaker Benefits

The session presentations are 45 – 60 minutes in length and will be scheduled on the 9th or the 10th of November, 2011. Selected speakers will receive one complimentary registration to the main conference (November 9-10, 2011). For additional questions, please contact Sandy Skipper at sskipper at scip.org

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