Question

what makes a Center of Excellence and how you would market those services, both internally and externally.

Answer 1

A Center of Excellence (CoE) is an entity within a company which operates through business units (BUs) or product lines within an BU and has leading knowledge and expertise in this field. It is made up of highly skilled individuals and experts who share best practices and disseminate knowledge within an organization. And, according to their business needs, CoEs mean different things to different organizations. For example, an R&D organization would describe the term CoE as a dedicated team within the organization that works with the mandate and responsibility to identify and execute the "unique target" vision–the emphasis is, of course, aligned with the organization's strategic vision.

Establish visibility and focus: having a dedicated team means that the focus is known to employees and the world. CoEs also demonstrate a commitment to excellence by an organization.
Eliminate Risks: CoEs are not influenced by an organization's day-to-day operations. They do not have to deal with immediate income pressures and are free to direct their knowledge and concentrate on a single business operation, process, or skill.
Flexibility: CoEs are not limited by all the overhead processes typical product teams may face. They have the flexibility to rapidly innovate and fail.

Businesses should not conceal from the public their CoEs. In reality, at every opportunity you should be promoting the center, as this can help you reach targets faster and help you find additional funding.

Many specific entities will benefit directly from most key areas of CoEs. Just as you would hopefully form alliances with other businesses, these entities should also be promoting the center while in service.

The knowledge gained by the CoE can provide an additional source of income for an organization. This will be shown in the following section on group value, CoEs should not only be regarded as an internal department, but as an opportunity to increase the organization's external reach.