What is a Catalyst project?

Catalyst projects are traditionally rapid fire proof-of-concept projects, lasting six to eight months, bringing together companies large and small to create innovate solutions to common challenges demonstrating how this can be achieved leveraging key TM Forum Best practises and standards ensuring scalability, reuse and reduced costs and risk. 

A small number of these proof-of-concept catalyst projects investigate new exploratory areas and their output is usually a white paper or other report to capture their key findings. 

Over the past year significant progress has been made to align these catalyst projects with the strategic ambitions of TM Forum, thereby, producing a portfolio of catalysts which bring best practises and standards of strategic programs to life in real world scenarios ensuring the value of these assets is proven in complex partnership scenarios. 

How does a Catalyst project operate?

There is a consistent process for the selection of Catalyst projects that is designed to make sure that members of TM Forum who are interested in creating a catalyst project team have the opportunity to propose their ideas.

Twice a year, a call for proposals is sent out to the entire membership. A Catalyst Submission Form is included and interested parties who submit their completed form to Jean-Pierre Dufresne, Catalyst Program Project Manager by the published deadline are included in the review process.

How are the Catalyst projects selected?

The Catalyst Selection Committee, which is comprised of TM Forum management and technical staff, review and rank the submissions. Recommendations made by the Catalyst Selection Committee are presented to the Strategy and Adoption Subcommittee for final approval. 

The next call for proposals for new catalyst project teams has been issued. Projects selected will be demonstrated at TM Forum Live! 2015 in Nice, France on June 1-3, 2015 and will get together at Action Week in Lisbon, Portugal Feb 9-13, 2015 to kick off the Catalyst projects. 

Please contact Jean-Pierre Dufresne, Catalyst Program Project Manager, with any additional questions.