HNC Assignment Brief
Session: September 20/21
Programme title
Unit number and title
Assignment number & title
Unit Level
Assessor(s)
Issue Date
Final assignment submission
deadline
Submission instruction
Resubmission deadline
Feedback
General Guidelines
Feedback
Internal verifier
Signature (IV of the brief)
Pearson BTEC HNC in Business (RQF)
8 Innovation and Commercialisation
Understanding and applying the concepts of Innovation &
1 of 1
Commercialisation
4 Credit Value: 15
Adeel Sarim/ Mehul Halari
25 September 2020
12 February 2021
On completion, assessments should be uploaded before the submission
deadline, through Turnit In, located through the Unit introduction page on
Canvas. You will receive a receipt to acknowledge your submission of
evidence. This ensures that there is a clear audit trail for submission of
assignments. Any extension or deferral requests must be submitted in
advance of the assessment deadline and agreed, in writing with the unit
leader. Where a submission is submitted later than the agreed deadline
without an application for an extension or deferral being approved that
submission will be capped at a ‘Pass’
TBA
In-class feedback will be available from draft submissions on a task-by-task
basis as a formative feedback and also for initial submission.
Final feedback will be available within 2 – 3 weeks of the assignment
submission date.
 The work you submit must be in your own words. If you use a quote
or an illustration from somewhere you must give the source.
 Include a list of references at the end of your document. You must
give all your sources of information.
 Make sure your work is clearly presented and that you use readily
understandable English.
 Wherever possible use a word processor and its “spell-checker”.
 The work you submit must be in your own words.
 Include a list of references at the end of your document. You must
give all your sources of information (this must be in accordance with
the Harvard referencing system).
 Make sure your work is clearly presented in chronological order and
has a logical flow.
 English presented within the body of your assignment must show
academic proficiency and comply with academic requirements. If an
individual has additional learning needs these should be
appropriately assessed and met.
In-class feedback will be available from draft submissions on a task-by-task
basis in the form of formative feedback and also for initial submission
(formative feedback will not include any indication of final grades; the process
will focus upon supporting development).
 Summative feedback will be provided within 3-4 weeks of the
assignment submission however; final grades will be released in
accordance with organisational policies and procedures. Please note
you will be required to authenticate receiving your summative
feedback.
Adeel Sarim
A Sarim Date 25.09.2020
Aim
This unit aims to equip students with a comprehensive understanding of innovation and
commercialisation. In today’s competitive landscape it is critical that organisations
continually innovate both their product offering and processes to ensure that they remain
competitive in the market. Furthermore, adopting a more commercially driven approach is
vital to maximise the Return on Investment (ROI). In this unit, we will look at a number of
tools and techniques organisations use to drive innovation and become more commercial in
their approach. The aim of the unit is to give students cutting-edge knowledge as well as
practical application of the key way organisations become more innovative while remaining
commercially driven.

Learning outcomes and criteria covered by this assignment:

 All pass criteria

 All merit descriptors
 All distinction descriptors

Edexcel Grading Criteria

This assignment/portfolio will be assessed according to the following grading criteria:
 To attain a ‘PASS‘ grade, students need to achieve all the ‘PASS‘ criteria.
 To attain a ‘MERIT‘ grade, students need to achieve all the ‘MERIT‘ criteria, along
with all the ‘PASS’ criteria.
 To attain a ‘DISTINCTION‘ grade, students need to achieve all the ‘DISTINCTION’
criteria, along with all the ‘MERIT’ and PASS criteria.
*NB: It is not accepted practice to submit assignments that present the grades, pass, merit
and distinction as separate entities. A holistic integrated approach must be used whereby
the criterion appears seamless within the body of the text.

Plagiarism and collusion

Any act of plagiarism and collusion will be seriously dealt with according to the City College
Limited regulations. In this context the definition and scope of plagiarism are presented
below:

 Using the work of others without acknowledging the source of information or

inspiration. Even if the words are changed or sentences are put in a different order,
the result is still plagiarism (Cortell 2003).
 Collusion is described as the submission of work produced as a result of the
collaboration between two or more parties. Additionally, collaboration entails the
sharing of one person‘s work with others who submit either all or part of their
coursework ―as their own.
 Contract Cheating – the Use of Third-Party Services and Essay Mills The purchasing
of essays from a third party and passing them off as a student’s original work is taken
very seriously by both the College, by De Montfort University, and by Pearson
Edexcel. The teaching practices, delivery methods and generally smaller class sizes
within the College allow our staff to become more familiar with a student’s academic
style and capabilities making them more able to detect fraudulent submissions that
may nor otherwise be detected through Turnitin software. 
Grading Criteria: Innovation and Commercialisation

Learning outcomes Assessment Assessment Assessment

criteria for Pass criteria for Merit criteria for
On successful Distinction
completion of this
unit a student will:

P1 Explain M1 Analyse different D1 Critically

LO1 Explain the innovation and sources of analyse how
context for innovation determine its innovation, and how innovation is
and determine the importance to organisations can developed,
difference between organisations in foster and develop embedded and
invention and comparison with an environment and measured in an
innovation. invention. culture of innovation. organisational
context.
P2 Explain how
organisational
vision, leadership,
culture and
teamwork can shape
innovation and
commercialisation.
P3 Explain the 4Ps M2 Analyse and
of innovation and apply the innovation
LO2 Explain the explain the use of funnel in an
different types of the innovation funnel organisational
innovation. to examine and context.
shape innovative
ideas. M3 Evaluate the role
of frugal innovation
P4 Explain in an organisational
developments in context.
frugal innovation and
provide examples of
how it is used in an
organisational
context.
P5 Explain the M4 Build a detailed LO3 & 4
LO3 Discuss the importance of the innovation business D2 Critically
process required to commercial funnel case which includes evaluate the nature
commercialise and the application how to measure its of innovation and
innovation. of new product overall effectiveness the context in which
development (NPD) using appropriate it is developed,
processing for techniques available providing evidence-
commercialisation of to test, iterate and based judgements
innovation. improve. on how
organisations can
P6 Build an overcome
innovation business challenges to
case for an develop successful
organisation, innovations.
including ways to
access funding.
LO4 Evaluate the P7 Evaluate the M5 Present
range of methods for different tools that supported evidence-
protecting ideas and organisations can based evaluation of
understand their use to develop, these different tools
advantages and retain and protect in the context of the
disadvantages. knowledge and wider business
intellectual property. environment.

In order to achieve all learning outcomes within this unit, you will be required to complete all
the given tasks. Your work can be presented in a range of formats, either a type written
report, a handwritten report or a recorded, formal verbal report. Whichever option you
choose, you should remain within the designated word count and give all due consideration
to form and structure. The format chosen will not impact on your final grade.
Unit 8 Assignment
Scenario:
You are working as an “R&D Assistant” (Research and Development Assistant) for an SME
which you may refer to as your place of work or a business you are familiar with. Being part
of the creative team of the company, you are required to either design an entirely new
product or recommend modifications to an existing product. These changes or new
introductions may be targeting a newly defined customer requirement or a niche category in
the market. Furthermore, adopting a more commercially driven approach is vital to maximise
the Return on Investment (ROI). You are required to write a detailed, critically analysed and
evaluated report which identifies why innovation is required and how it will be beneficial for
the company. Your report must cover the legal and practical aspects of developing and
launching the new product. It is pertinent to investigate all the key issues that may influence
the product innovation and commercialisation and may influence the product design
specifications including intellectual property, patent issues and funding to prevent later
infringement issues. Your report must cover the followings:

Task 1
LO1: Explain the context for innovation and determine the difference between
invention and innovation.
LO 2: Explain the different types of innovation to employees of your chosen
organisation.

1.1 Provide an introduction of your selected organisation, the type of products it

offers and compare the importance of innovation and invention for your
organisation.

1.2 Considering the current business situation and to foster and develop an
environment and culture of innovation, critically analyse different sources of
innovation, with an identification of different concepts such as the role of
organisational vision, leadership, culture and teamwork in shaping innovation
and commercialisation in the context of your selected organisation.

1.3 To examine and shape innovative ideas for your organisation, critically
analyse the 4Ps of innovation, apply the innovation funnel and evaluate the
role of frugal innovation in bringing about innovation.

1.4 Identify an innovative idea by critically analysing how innovation can be

developed, embedded and measured for your organisation? Support your
critique by providing relevant examples.
Task 2:
LO3: Discuss the process required to commercialise innovation
LO4: Evaluate the range of methods for protecting ideas and understand their
advantages and disadvantages

2.1 To Support your innovative idea, considering the nature of innovation and the context in
which it is developed, you are required to build a detailed Innovation Business Case, which
provides judgements on how to overcome challenges to develop successful innovative
product for your organisation, therefore, you are required to present supported evidence-
based critical evaluation on:
 The importance of the commercial funnel and the application of New Product
Development (NPD) processing for in commercialising.
 Different ways of accessing funding and provide justified recommendations on the
most suitable funding option your organisation must use.
 Measures which can be used to determine the overall effectiveness of your
innovative business case. Consider using appropriate techniques available to test,
iterate and improve your Innovative Business Case.
 The different tools that your organisation can use to develop, retain and protect its
knowledge and intellectual property in the context of the wider business environment.

Important Information
You should include a bibliography using the Harvard referencing system. Each unit will be
graded as a Pass, Merit or Distinction. A Pass is awarded for the achievement of all
outcomes against the specified assessment criteria based mostly on DESCRIPTIVE content.
Merit and Distinction grades are awarded for higher-level achievement which includes
degrees of CRITICAL THINKING, ANALYSIS & EVALUATION – these are higher level skills
that you should work on over the period of your programme.
If your submission fails to meet all Pass criteria, it will be referred. The second attempt
will then be capped at a Pass, as per the Pearson Edexcel regulations.
Please access HN Global for additional resources support and reading for this unit.
For further guidance and support on report writing please refer to the Study Skills
Unit on HN Global.
For support with this assignment please contact your tutor on 0121 4557964 or via email
info@city-college.co.uk
Submission Instructions
Please submit your work soft copy digitally on Box and send a copy via email to your course
tutor on the set dates and notify via email to info@city-college.co.uk. Request a receiving
receipt in the form of a reply email which you should keep safe.
All marked work is expected to be returned to students within 4 weeks of submission.
Glossary:
Analyse: Break an issue or topic into smaller parts by looking in depth at each part. Support
each part with arguments and evidence for and against (Pros and cons).
Critically Evaluate/Analyse: When you critically evaluate you look at the arguments for
and against an issue. You look at the strengths and weaknesses of the arguments. This
could be from an article you read in a journal or from a text book.
Discuss: When you discuss you look at both sides of a discussion. You look at both sides of
the arguments. Then you look at the reason why it is important (for) then you look at the
reason why it is important (against).
Explain: When you explain you must say why it is important or not important.
Evaluate: When you evaluate you look at the arguments for and against an issue.
Identify: When you identify you look at the most important points.

Suggested Reading:
BESSANT, J, and TIDD, J. (2015) Innovation and Entrepreneurship. 3rd Ed. Oxford: Wiley.
DRUCKER, P. (2006) Innovation and Entrepreneurship. London: Harper Business.
MATTHEWS, C and BRUEGGEMANN, R. (2015) Innovation and Entrepreneurship: A
Competency Framework. London: Routledge.
TROTT, P. (2012) Innovation Management and New Product Development. Harlow:
Pearson.
VALIKANGAS, L. and GIBBERT, M. (2015) Strategic Innovation: The Definitive Guide to
Outlier Strategies. London: Pearson FT Press.