Successfully transforming an international scientific organization - WEEM x ILSI Europe

Over the past few months, WEEM has had the opportunity to support the transformation of ILSI Europe (International Life Sciences Institute), a scientific organization particularly active in the fields of nutrition and food safety. Here's a look back at the keys to the project's success and its key lessons.

Key project data :

Client

ILSI Europe is a non-profit organization dedicated to improving public health and well-being by advancing science and research in the field of nutrition and food safety. Based in Brussels, it brings together scientists from industry, academia and the international public sector.

Sector

Food, Nutrition, Health.

Size

A staff of twenty or so, federating a community of 500 scientists/experts.

WEEM project

Diagnose your organization and support its transformation.

Understand an organization's context, culture and challenges, so as to best support it in its transformation.

Laurent Le Bellego, Chairman of ILSI Europe's Board of Directors, reviews the background to the mission:

"I wanted to launch an organizational diagnosis of the structure in order to have a clearer vision of the roles and responsibilities at the organizational level, and of ILSI Europe's strengths and weaknesses in terms of its ambitions and levers for optimization".

Laurent Le BellegoChairman of the Board ILSI Europe

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The project had to be carried out in co-construction with the teams, to ensure alignment with the organization's challenges and successful appropriation of the transformations.

By identifying the needs of client, we were able to identify the independent, experienced consultant capable of carrying out this analysis. Laurent was looking for a profile capable of understanding ILSI Europe's organizational and cultural specificities, structured, empathetic and capable of mobilizing employees at all hierarchical levels.

Our profiles were relevant, and it was with the support of Valérie Lasserre, who fulfilled all these criteria, that they successfully carried out the project.

The keys to a successful diagnosis: sharing the issues, building consensus and mobilizing teams

In response to a request from client, Valérie carries out a diagnosis and makes recommendations on three dimensions: organizational issues, management and culture, and work processes, tools and methods.

The project's key success factors were as follows:

Get to grips with working methods and operations

Starting with an analysis of the organization, processes and ways of working. "The first challenge was to understand how ILSI Europe worked. This is an institution with tripartite governance, interacting with industrial players, academia and public authorities. The teams are made up of high-level scientists and support staff. It was important for me to understand their work culture, their ways of working and their aspirations. - Valérie Lasserre.

Build a diagnosis and draw up recommendations

A relevant 360° diagnosis thanks to a dozen individual interviews at all levels of ILSI Europe. Our independent consultant's empathy and ability to listen enabled a constructive exchange on the substance and the identification of real levers for improvement.

Working closely with client to create a shared vision

The project was supported by the Board of Directors from the outset. Building the diagnosis from discussions with the teams, followed by debriefing sessions , created a shared understanding and a solid foundation on which to build the transformation.

At the end of the diagnostic phase, twenty strategic and organizational recommendations were validated by the Board of Directors and translated into a transformation plan.

The primary aim of ILSI Europe's transformation: to align the organization and grow the teams

Valérie proceeded in stages:

The creation of a steering committee sponsored by four members of the Board of Directors and the launch of 20 team-driven projects.

Empowering teams to take responsibility for the subjects assigned to them.

Project coordination and support for the 15 project leaders in their role and in preparing to present their progress reports to the Steering Committee.

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The WEEM model: agility and customized service for successful projects

A flexible, agile solution

Often, in transformation projects, teams cannot be mobilized on a full-time basis. They also have to manage their daily lives. WEEM enabled us to adapt to the availability of the people involved. "I worked with ILSI for two or three days a week. I modulated my intervention according to needs client both on site with the teams and remotely. The total duration of the assignment could also be adjusted." - Valérie Lasserre, WEEM consultant.

Laurent Le Bellego's assessment of the collaboration is positive:

"WEEM helped us find the talent we needed in a short timeframe and with the right terms and conditions. Their consultants not only had the skills to carry out the assignment, a remarkable understanding as well as an ability to integrate and lead the human dimension of such a project. We are very satisfied and will continue to call on WEEM to meet our various strategic and organizational challenges."

If you'd like to talk about your transformation projects, don't hesitate to contact us !