Plante & Moran, NewNorth Center Launch Ongoing Study Designed to Benchmark, Drive Innovation in the Midwest

DETROIT, May 16, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Plante & Moran, PLLC and NewNorth Center are calling on Midwest businesses to test the strength of their innovation and see how they fare against peers in a proprietary survey that will measure their Innovation Quotient.

The public accounting, tax, and business advisory firm along with the executive education and innovation training institute will release the survey today, May 16. The 35-question survey, targeted to C-level business executives, will take less than 15 minutes to complete and is designed to measure:

• Attitudes toward innovation
• Business value of innovation
• Drivers and catalysts for innovation
• Variables of process, budget and culture and how they impact the innovation quotient for an organization

All survey participants will receive a customized report benchmarking their organization's Innovation Quotient against innovation's best-in-class practices. Plante & Moran and NewNorth will also publish their findings in a white paper, which will be released later this summer. The Innovation Quotient is designed as an ongoing, annual study that will help determine innovative practices and benchmark the importance of, and capabilities in, innovation in the Midwest.

NewNorth Center and Plante & Moran have partnered with key industry organizations, trade groups and business organizations in Illinois, Michigan and Ohio who are seeking to help their members drive innovation by participating in the study, which will wrap up in mid-June. The importance of this survey is underscored by the broad-based array of organizations that have signed on as co-sponsors, including the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce, Cornerstone Chamber of Commerce, Detroit Regional Chamber, European American Chamber of Commerce, Grand Rapids Area Chamber of Commerce, Holland Area Chamber of Commerce, Lansing Regional Chamber, Lakeshore Advantage, Ohio Manufacturers' Association, The Right Place, PolymerOhio, Inc., Southwest Michigan First, TechSolve and the Traverse City Area Chamber of Commerce.

"When we talk with our clients, listen to business leaders, or tune into the media, it is increasingly clear that innovation is key to the long-term growth and success of businesses," said Gordon Krater, Plante & Moran managing partner.  "But what do we mean when we talk about innovation?  And how can an organization develop a framework and processes that will support innovation?

"These are two of the key questions that we plan to explore in the Innovation Quotient survey.  We are pleased to partner with NewNorth Center to reach organizations throughout the Midwest and better understand how to make innovation more meaningful, intentional and profitable."

"We appreciate the support from all of our sponsors that will allow us to conduct the first large-scale analysis of innovation in the Midwest," said Nate Young, president of NewNorth Center in Holland, Mich.  "Our region is home to many creative, successful companies that really know how to harness the power of innovation to benefit their brands and their bottom lines.

"We want to demystify the process of innovation and show organizations how to reach their full innovation potential.  This survey will begin a true dialogue, allowing us to provide quantifiable results that will let organizations benchmark their innovation quotient against their peers."

For more information, visit http://innovationquotientsurvey.com.

About NewNorth Center

NewNorth Center is a nonprofit, hybrid education and business institution.  The Center specializes in immersive skills training, research, executive education, workshops, seminars and an annual Design in Business Summit.  The Center's portfolio features design-centric, post-graduate business programs formulated expressly to bring increased value to local, regional and national companies and organizations.  For more information, visit www.newnorthcenter.org.

About Plante & Moran, PLLC

Plante & Moran (www.plantemoran.com) is among the nation's largest certified public accounting and business advisory firms, providing clients with tax, audit, risk management, financial, technology, business consulting, and wealth management services.  Plante & Moran has a staff of more than 1,600 professionals in 21 offices throughout Michigan, Ohio, and Illinois with international offices in Shanghai, China; Monterrey, Mexico; and Mumbai, India.  Plante & Moran has been recognized by a number of organizations, including FORTUNE magazine, as one of the country's best places to work.

SOURCE Plante & Moran