Developing people and keeping pace with the rapidly changing world of healthcare innovation is at the heart of a new “Staff Accelerator” (SA) pilot program just launched at Partners HealthCare Innovation. Combining mentoring programs, developmental opportunities and career and skills development workshops, the SA program is just one part of an overall employee development strategy underway at Partners HealthCare Innovation.

Named to the first SA class are Andrea Belanger, PhD; Emilie Braun, PhD; Michaela Levin, PhD; and Julian Peat, PhD. The 10-month SA pilot includes an assessment of individual development interests and opportunities, mentoring by Innovation Advisory Board (IAB) members, workshops, and individual and group coaching.

“We’re all very excited and honored to have this opportunity to learn from some of the best,” says Belanger. “The knowledge and skills that we acquire during the course of this program will undoubtedly be a tremendous benefit to not only each of us as individuals but also to the rest of our Innovation team and our researchers.”

Objectives for SA include supporting Innovation talent with experiences and learning that enrich careers and further expand commercialization skill sets. The Staff Accelerator program deepens relationships between IAB members and the SA participants, bringing additional depth of experience and knowledge to the team as they advance as Innovation leaders.

The SA pilot is being managed by Camden Consulting, a leadership consulting firm focusing on developing talent, along with program leads and sponsors Phil Licari, Operations Director, and Diana Schwartzstein, Director of Administration. Following the SA kick-off, Bob Hewes, Camden program coach and SA facilitator, said “It’s exciting to get SA underway. We have a good foundation to enable successful mentoring and this should be a valuable experience for all.”

Partners HealthCare Innovation is also planning an Innovation Academy with off-site university-level educational programs for the core functions within Partners HealthCare Innovation. The Innovation Academy will feature custom-designed curriculum for commercialization skills development taught by innovation experts, college faculty, Partners’ senior leaders and IAB members.