Innovation Sprint

Innovative solutions for municipal utilities and contact with young talent

The energy transition and urbanization are creating new challenges for municipal utilities.

Develop your future-proof concept for the new business models of municipal utilities - together with our qualified junior staff and us. We put you in close contact with young professionals and help you with our methods to change the future successfully!

Municipal utilities as innovation drivers for an entire region

The target picture is that you can be an entire region's innovation driver. Municipal utilities must decide which path to take when exploiting their opportunities.

 

What doesn't help - How easy is it to cling to old structures, to wait and see, to delay innovations, and, should a change be sustainable, to lapse into hectic activity? As tempting as passivity is, it only delays urgently needed steps and postpones problems into the future.

 

What helps - If you think sustainable neighborhood development and new forms of mobility, energy generation, and digital communication, your city will be future-proof. Do you want to move forward with clear goals in mind and significant steps, but you still need to figure out how? No problem, we're happy to help.

Into the future with design sprints

Our experts will give you the answers you need. Within the framework of our 5-week QLab Innovation Sprints, we bring you in contact with young professionals who work on a concrete task from your organization.


We support you in developing user-oriented and sustainable ideas for your new business models based on current trends, new technologies, and changing market requirements.


The young talents are closely accompanied by us and acquire expertise in innovation, agility, and specialist knowledge. As experts, we provide them with optimal project management and organization support.

How we work

The QLab InnovationSprint

The 5-week QLab InnovationSprint is the perfect mix of efficiency, result orientation, and networking. We call it win-win situation: While we are entirely focused on creating applicable solutions for your challenges within the shortest possible time with our junior staff, you get to know your new specialists in direct cooperation with our team.

Get to know our team! Share your expertise and vision with us.
Let us know what challenge you are facing or what specific issue you would like to solve next. A good briefing ensures a successful start.
We keep the project team up to date through our weekly meetings, also called "weeklies" in Design Sprints.
At the end of the process, we present dedicated ideas to solve your challenge. The so-called roadmap is a strategic plan that arranges the milestones to be achieved along a timeline. The roadmap also includes information on how to proceed and how we can best support you.

The agile mindset

We follow these steps of the agile way of working:

In phase 1 of agile project management, it's called "explore".

Explore

Through in-depth familiarization, we provide an overview of the status quo, trends, technologies, markets, and customer needs.

In phase 2 of agile project management, the name of the game is "design

Design

We push open the door to possible solution spaces and develop tangible ideas that lay the foundation for innovations for municipal utilities and serve as a breeding ground for new business models. Diverse perspectives and efficient project management make the project successful.

In phase 3 of agile project management it is called "Evaluate

Evaluate

We check prototypically whether our solution approaches are desired and economically, sustainably, and technically feasible. Based on this, we develop a roadmap for further procedures for you.

Phase 4 of agile project management is all about the "Implementation"

Implement

Our experience shows that the organization needs decision-makers who can drive the process forward. We will be happy to support you in this as well.

Focus points

Challenges you can tackle at the QLab.

We have already gained immense experience in these areas, which are highly relevant for municipal utilities. Of course, we are also happy to take on issues that are missing here: Our agile methods can be applied to almost any topic.

Energy transition

Essential questions
  • How will the war-related shortages of gas supply affect my prices?
  • Is my municipality’s network reliable enough to ensure heating in the upcoming winter? 
  • Is it feasible for me to invest in private solar power?
  • What heating alternatives are there, and what is the best way to invest in heat pumps?
  • What are my municipal utilities doing to diversify local supplies using green energy?
  • How is my municipality tackling energy and climate-related issues?

Green architecture

Essential questions
  • When and how should I renovate my home?
  • What is a deep renovation, and how is it different from an energy renovation?
  • How can I climate-proof my home?
  • Which building materials are the most durable and climate-friendly?
  • What public financing options are available for my construction project?

Working for public utilities

Essential questions
  • What career options can the public sector offer that the private sector can’t?
  • Which position do I qualify for, and what is currently available?
  • How can I further professionalize when working for a public utility company?
  • What working conditions and payment can I expect?
  • What is the work environment like in public utilities?

New mobility

Essential questions
  • Should I invest in an electric vehicle?
  • What financing options does my community or the state offer?
  • Is the charging infrastructure well developed?
  • What progress is my utility provider or city making on infrastructure, sharing concepts, and public transportation?

What we need from you

Step 1: Problem analysis for the digitization of municipal utilities

A challenge

Working with you, we will find the right issue to solve in the QLab.

Step 2: Expertise in the digitization of municipal utilities

Your expertise

During the process, we need you as an expert to act as a driving force, feedback provider, and decision-maker. You enjoy speaking English, and you speak it well.

What does the digitization of municipal utilities cost?

Your financial commitment

A team of six will entirely focus on your challenge for five weeks, 40h/week - all this and more for merely €40,000!

What you get from us

Our experienced multi-disciplinary team works on developing solutions to your concern in-depth.

Contact to talented young professionals and experts in architecture, urban planning and development, new mobility, climate management, renewable energies, etc.

An array of research results on trends, technologies, and market requirements.
Evaluated ideas for new business models.
A strategy map to help you implement your ideas.
Support the further development and implementation of your new business model following your work in the QLab.

Book your QLab Innovation Sprint 2023!

Five weeks...
  • Full focus: Our team of five works 40 hours a week on your solution
  • Multidisciplinary process: Our team brings in versatile expertise
  • Sustain your business: Contact with qualified junior staff included
  • Highest efficiency: Guaranteed faster & cheaper than all other consultancies
  • Absolute transparency: Arrange a non-binding and free initial consultation!

Testimonials

Happy Clients

Find out what our customers think about us. Click here for our project results.

Cooperations

Collaboration: A key factor for innovation.

Benefit from our network. These companies and educational institutions are also available to you on request.

May we introduce ourselves?
The QLab Team:

We are the QLab Team! We are supported by numerous external cooperation partners who assist us with their expertise.

Boris Gloger, QLab: We build the foundation of your one-stop-shop within a week. We make remote teams happy and successful.

Boris Gloger

CEO, Co-Founder

Boris Gloger is the maestro of agile working. He puts his heart and soul into establishing forms of learning that empower students to learn proactively, organize themselves, and ask the right questions.

Boris is an organizational developer and management consultant who is not afraid to implement visionary ideas. As a passionate cyclist and train traveler, he is convinced that we can create a sustainable future through appropriate mobility solutions.
Andrea Kuhfuss, QLab: We build the foundation of your one-stop-shop within a week. We make remote teams happy and successful.

Andrea Kuhfuss

CEO, Co-Founder
+49 (0) 179 149 6880

Andrea Kuhfuss is a traveler between different professional worlds. Her path led her from a background in art history to innovation consulting. She creates networks and connects the perspectives of a wide variety of people. Andrea is an inquisitive generalist who loves sharing her knowledge and supporting individuals, teams, and organizations to reach their full potential. Andrea is an expert in innovation, design thinking and agile working. She travels as a facilitator, speaker, coach and trainer in Germany and abroad. She is convinced that only by working together in multidisciplinary teams can we find creative solutions to personal, societal and global problems.

Patrick Runge

Project Management, Business Development

Patrick Runge graduated in International Entrepreneurship, Management & Marketing. Already in mid-2021, he brought his interest in disruption, innovation, and sustainability to our first QLab Sprint.

As a project manager, Patrick prepares our various projects and accompanies the processes. In addition, he shares responsibility for business development at QLab itself. His goal is to advance holistic and sustainable solutions in communities and cities.

Finn Faust, QLab: We build the foundation of your one-stop-shop within a week. We make remote teams happy and successful.

Finn Faust

Research, Blog, Web design

Finn Faust studies psychology at Leiden University and social science at LU Honours College. He is passionate about traveling and following his vision to develop sustainable solutions for local and global human connectivity.

Finn has completed the advanced training Content Strategy for Professionals at Northwestern University, is a design thinker and storyteller. With his notorious curiosity and methodological knowledge, he is responsible for our scientific research, web design, and the QLab blog.

Contact

We know your challenges and help you solve your problems. Get in touch with us.

Check out our latest sprint results!

We have conducted a QLab InnovationSprint with Stadtwerke Verden. The manual is freely available for download. 

Design Thinking Method Training

Online Workshop | QLab Think Tank GmbH

Language: German

Price: €450,- (€150,- for students)

November 22, 2023
09:30 - 17:30

Casino Futur, Bremen

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