By Conor Lobb

When Alex Moyes, director of innovation for Dominion Energy, wanted a new program to foster innovation at Dominion Energy he reached out to the VCU da Vinci Center because of its reputation for innovation and track record of success.

“VCU and the da Vinci Center are so well respected,” Moyes said. “It seemed like a no-brainer to work with them.”

Dominion Energy and the da Vinci Center have worked together before. Moyes sits on the da Vinci Center’s advisory board and Dominion Energy has funded student projects in the past. In fall 2021, Garret Westlake, Ph.D. and associate vice provost in innovation at VCU and executive director of the VCU da Vinci Center for Innovation, ran a course for Dominion employees teaching Introduction to Design Thinking, an innovative, human-centered approach to problem-solving. 

“Richmond's innovation ecosystem continues to mature thanks to partnerships and new programs like Dominion Energy's Lyra Innovation Lab,“ said Westlake. “VCU students applying their knowledge and working alongside industry partners like Dominion is the future of higher education and why VCU is one of the country's most innovative universities. This inaugural year is just the start of what will be a national model in the years to come.”

Dominion Energy employees who participated in the modules and other earning criteria received digital badges in ideation, prototyping, and pitching. 92 Dominion Energy employees have received micro-credentials through the da Vinci Center over the past year. A digital badge visually represents earning a micro-credential and can be shared on various online platforms to showcase the earner's achievement.

“The da Vinci Center has been very critical to the success of the program,” Moyes said.

Moyes said that employees were excited to receive digital badges upon completing the custom training modules.

“The da Vinci Center for Innovation training modules helped me in the areas of ideation and pitching,” said Natalie Russel, innovation culture and capabilities consultant. “These modules were a great resource for guiding me through the stages of inception and creation of a good idea.”

Moyes said that Dominion has always had an atmosphere that encourages innovation, but that he wanted to advance that attitude and make it more tangible for employees. He thought da Vinci was the perfect source of training for employees to learn how to make their business ideas into a reality.

The da Vinci Center is also involved in the ongoing internal business incubation competition at Dominion Energy. The da Vinci Center staff perform a consulting role for Dominion Energy employees as they develop their business ideas.

Moyes said that when he began formulating the Lyra Innovation Lab, Dominion Energy’s in-house business incubator, he thought of Westlake and the Da Vinci Center.

Moyes and his team sought out the da Vinci Center because of their experience with incubating and implementing business ideas. Moyes approached the da Vinci Center to create custom training on problem-solving, ideating and implementing ideas for Dominion Energy employees. 

Through the Lyra Innovation Lab, Dominion Employees team up and work on business ideas. Employee teams compete against each other, and Dominion Energy will implement the winning team’s business idea. They will continue to receive consulting from the da Vinci Center over the course of the competition.

“Working with the da Vinci Center and VCU has been a great experience,” said Moyes. “It’s a fantastic partnership that we can't wait to see evolve and grow.”

For questions about earning or offering digital badges, visit VCU Continuing and Professional Education's website at ocpe.vcu.edu/badges.