Stories from the Field: The Canvas as a National Innovation Tool

Flourishing Business Community
Speakers Series: Stories from the Field #08

The Canvas as a National Innovation Tool with Irene Siljan and Claus Gladyszak

Date: Tuesday December 12

Time: 16h00 UTC – 08h00 PST, 11h00 EST, 16h00 GMT, 17h00 CET, 01h00 JST (+1 day).  To convert UTC to your timezone click here

Duration: 1 hour

Registration: Required via Eventbrite at

For our eighth monthly flourishing business community speaker series: stories from the field, the community is delighted to welcome Irene Siljan and Claus Gladyszak from Innovation Norway, Norway’s national innovation agency.

Innovation Norway is the Norwegian Government’s most important instrument for innovation and development of Norwegian enterprises and industry. They support companies in developing their competitive advantage and enhancing innovation.

Innovation Norway provides competence, advisory services, promotional services, and network services and offers Norwegian enterprises access to a broad business support system as well as financial means.

Innovation Norway is a leader in sustainability and responsible business conduct.  They also have a long history of using business modelling when working with clients, using tools such as the profit-focused Business Model Canvas.  Recently they are  “choosing to standardize on using the Flourishing Business Canvas in their business modelling activities with their clients across the country – both startups and established enterprises”, Arnfinn Lundberg Bakke, Acting Head of Sustainability, Innovation Norway, 

Irene is a Senior Innovation Advisor and regional sustainability contact at Innovation Norway. She helps businesses, clusters and consortias kickstart processes around sustainability, business modelling, innovation, market positioning, branding and strategic use of design.

Claus was a senior innovation advisor until 2022.  He was responsible for best practices within the field of innovation and sustainability through the network of innovation advisors in Innovation Norway. Claus was the driving force behind the introduction of the Flourishing Business Canvas in Innovation Norway in 2019, registering as a First Explorer.  Today, Claus serves as a senior innovation advisor at the Knowledge Transfer Office VIS in Bergen, Norway. He is still evangelizing for sustainable and regenerative business development in his new position, often accompanied by the Flourishing Business Canvas.

In their respective work using the Flourishing Business Canvas…

Irene, working with her colleagues, uses the FBC in workshops with both single enterprises or consortias as a framework for structuring thoughts and ideas around how to work to increase their level of sustainability, to tell their story, and to de-risk further development – by spotting opportunities and risks when looking at a triple bottom line. 

Claus uses the FBC for framing the concept of the triple bottom line, and to inspire people to action. Claus has found the FBC is very useful for highlighting the risks of not thinking and operating in sustainable ways – and more important – to inspire enterprises to grab all the opportunities that occur when digging into the space of regenerative business models. He has also used the canvas when framing the EU Taxonomy of Sustainable activities.

Through their practice Irene and Claus have come to understand the strengths and weaknesses of the FBC in their innovation roles.  During their talk they will share some of the learnings, including:

• How is Innovation Norway using the FBC in workshops with enterprises and consortias?
• What is the feedback from enterprises on using the FBC as an innovation tool?
• What challenges have we experienced in using the FBC in workshops?
• How are we planning to use the FBC in further competence building for and with the enterprises?
• How does the experience of using the FBC compare to the earlier Business Model Canvas?
• What do Irene and Claus hope to gain from participating in the Flourishing Business Community and what can they offer to the community?

At the end of their talk Irene and Claus will take questions from members of the community.

After the event a video of the talk plus any slides will be shared in the “Speaker Series” space of the Flourishing Business Community. Please join other flourishing business leaders and become a full member to access.