Technology Roadmapping: Future Search and Rescue Communications and calling for help

During the summer of 2016 the RNLI embarked on a Technology Roadmapping exercise with the support of the Institute for Manufacturing’s Education and Consultancy Services (IfM ECS) and the assistance of third parties to help explore the future of search and rescue communications and ‘calling for help’ on, in or near the sea.

To address these needs, the project team collated insights from industry, academia and research institutions through on-line sessions and face to face workshops. These insights were then synthesised into a series of top level roadmaps depicting the vision for the topic area, the trends and drivers affecting the change, the barriers and enablers to the realisation of that vision and the technological stepping stones required to get there.

This work effectively demonstrated the utility of the roadmapping process to the RNLI and its trusted partners. It proved to be a powerful tool for collating insights and technical intelligence and allowed the development of a single, coherent vision of each of the topic landscapes. Now, the team has a valuable and engaging way to communicate technical information with business leaders inside and outside of the RNLI and influence the direction of innovation resource and investment.