How To Unlock The Power Of Collaboration

As the world continues to evolve at an accelerated tempo, so does our pursuit of innovation. But the rising complexity of this world makes innovation more difficult. It’s now not a one-person job (if it ever was).

Yet, the parable of the solitary genius innovator persists in organizations that also imagine that they’ll innovate alone, with no exterior assist. But no group is an island.

The most groundbreaking concepts emerge from the collective efforts of many minds. It can be egotistical to imagine that a company can single-handedly create breakthrough innovation and that it possesses all the mandatory data, expertise, and know-how to do it in the long run.

Co-creation and collaboration are extra vital than ever earlier than, and open innovation can carry collectively completely different views, data, analysis, and talent units. Open innovation platforms can facilitate this.

So, on this article, we’ll look at the important capabilities of open innovation and the methods by which varied sorts of open innovation platforms can assist drive innovation. We’ll dive deeper into how they work, their challenges and advantages, and we’ll allow you to assess whether or not you want an open innovation platform by offering concrete examples and use circumstances.

Back To Basics: Defining Open Innovation

While the idea of open innovation is widely known, its sensible and theoretical functions usually are not at all times fully understood. This is as a result of the observe of open innovation can differ from the educational definition, and there may be typically a niche between principle and observe.

So, to know in case your group can profit from open innovation, it’s vital to have a extra nuanced understanding of the subject and to completely respect its potential and acknowledge each the advantages and the challenges.

In quick, open innovation refers to how firms make sense of their huge networks and base of information and leverage them in distinctive methods by absorbing exterior concepts, applied sciences, tendencies, enterprise fashions, and new approaches into an organization’s personal enterprise.

How firms make sense of their huge networks and base of information and leverage them in distinctive methods by absorbing exterior concepts, applied sciences, tendencies, enterprise fashions, and new approaches into an organization’s personal enterprise.

In observe, open innovation includes a spread of actions from one thing so simple as asking for concepts from clients to advanced ecosystems that observe completely different fashions of co-creation and data trade.

The time period is used pretty loosely, so if we distance ourselves from the trials of its definition, open innovation can cowl basically all artistic actions the place data goes backwards and forwards by organizational borders. From this standpoint, its makes use of are limitless.

Where It Began

To perceive why that is the case, let’s return 20 years, when the time period was first launched by Henry Chesbrough in his guide Open Innovation: The New Imperative for Creating and Profiting from Technology.

Chesbrough argued that the standard closed innovation mannequin, the place firms stored their analysis and improvement in-house, was outdated and that firms ought to as an alternative look to exterior sources for brand new concepts and alternatives. By adopting open innovation, firms might enhance their competitiveness, develop their market share, and improve their processes.

Closed innovation depends solely on inner experience to develop new companies, whereas open innovation acknowledges that exterior people and organizations may also contribute to reaching strategic objectives. Sharing data and mental property can and may profit each events.

It’s vital to notice that there isn’t a proper or unsuitable between the 2 as each closed and open innovation have their place and time. So, it’s not about selecting between A or B, however reasonably having readability on when your group can profit from each A and B, and find out how to do it proper.

Open innovation just isn’t rocket science, however to make it work you want a scientific method. This means creating the setting, methods, and processes that help you reap the advantages in the long run. To successfully harness the data and creativity of a variety of people that you must begin with an open mindset and to grasp the instruments that may allow you to facilitate this sort of innovation.

We already wrote fairly extensively on open innovation and its differing kinds so if you wish to dig deeper, take a look at our different articles on the subject.

Now, let’s get to the meat of this text and see the sorts of open innovation platforms you may select from, and find out how to do it.

The Different Types Of Open Innovation

An open innovation platform is a software meant to assist the open innovation course of by facilitating collaboration and knowledge-sharing between completely different organizations or people.

An open innovation platform is a software meant to assist the open innovation course of by facilitating collaboration and knowledge-sharing between completely different organizations or people.

Just just like the several types of open innovation, there are additionally completely different platforms. The most vital factor is to know head begin what you need to obtain with open innovation, what sort of course of you need the platform to assist, and what options are most vital to you.

For this, you must resolve beforehand on the open innovation methodology that most closely fits your goal.

Briefly, there are three major approaches to open innovation, as described by Chesbrough:

• The outside-in (inbound) mannequin includes utilizing exterior data to assist progress out there. This can embrace collaborating with different organizations, innovating with the assistance of suppliers, cooperating with researchers and public entities, or understanding trade tendencies.

• In the inside-out (outbound) mannequin you leverage your group’s capabilities. In this case, the open innovation platforms allow you to repeatedly enhance on processes, merchandise, or providers by tapping into the data of your workforce. Some organizations even use it for intrapreneurship packages or incubators for a extra systematic method.

• The coupled open innovation mannequin is a mixture of the 2, combining each inside and outdoors data to create worth.  

(supply: H. Chesbrough, W. Vanhaverbeke And J. West – New Frontiers In Open Innovation, 2014)

 

Choosing From The Different Types Of Open Innovation Platforms

Now that you’ve a greater understanding of find out how to method open innovation, you may select a platform that fits your wants. To allow you to with this, we’ll subsequent present a listing of potential open innovation platforms. Although it’s not meant as an exhaustive checklist, we now have included platforms that may fulfill most wants successfully.

• Idea Administration Platforms

These are the most typical as they can be utilized in several methods, not only for open innovation. Such platforms are used to gather, consider, and develop concepts from clients or different stakeholders. 

These platforms may be extremely highly effective for the complete open innovation course of. There are several types of thought administration platforms accessible, and our two major suggestions are Viima and HYPE Ideation answer, from HYPE Innovation. These are, in fact, extra than simply thought administration platforms.

HYPE Ideation, for instance, can match the wants of an thought administration platform, however if you wish to scale and increase, HYPE Innovation additionally supplies different complete options, like pattern scouting, know-how scouting, partnering, worker engagement and rather more.

At the identical time, Viima can be utilized for steady enchancment, technique collaboration and managing the complete innovation course of.

Obviously, the selection between the 2 comes right down to the use case you have got, and the kind of group.

Viima

First, each Viima and HYPE Ideation are good choices for open innovation as they supply a structured method for gathering, evaluating, and implementing concepts from exterior sources resembling clients, suppliers, and companions. They make it simpler to handle the complete open innovation course of, from thought era to implementation, by offering instruments for collaboration, thought rating, and superior analytics.

One of the components that might affect the choice between Viima and HYPE Innovation is who you need to give attention to. Viima can match properly in small and medium organizations that do not want any assist in establishing the software and need to take it into use instantly. 

But, as you’ll quickly see in our Signify instance, it can be simply scaled for bigger organizations that use it with a whole lot of suppliers.

HYPE supplies extra assist and consulting to implement giant tasks and complicated processes that contain 1000’s of individuals. 

HYPE Ideation

When deciding between Viima and HYPE Innovation, it is vital to think about the use case of the open innovation mannequin you select, the complexity of the innovation course of, and the particular wants of the innovation crew.

Ultimately, each Viima and HYPE Innovation provide nice options for open innovation and can assist you enhance your innovation capabilities. Depending in your group, you’ll know higher what fits your wants on this case.

They are much like thought administration platforms within the sense that they can be utilized to supply concepts and data from a various group of individuals. A devoted crowdsourcing platform helps you faucet into the data, applied sciences, and analysis that exists outdoors the group. 

Crowdsourcing platforms are completely different from thought administration platforms in that they give attention to tapping into the collective intelligence of a big group of individuals, typically from outdoors a company, to unravel issues or generate new concepts. These platforms leverage the ability of the gang to collect insights, suggestions, and concepts from a various group of individuals, typically at scale.

The major distinction between crowdsourcing platforms and thought administration platforms is the give attention to exterior participation and the scope of participation.

Some examples of crowdsourcing platforms are:

It permits companies and researchers to outsource duties to a distributed workforce of people. The makes use of of the platform vary from constructing, managing, and evaluating Machine Learning workflows to enterprise course of outsourcing. The platform affords a low-cost, scalable answer for companies that want entry to giant quantities of human intelligence.

The platform permits organizations to put up innovation challenges and reward people or groups that may provide you with the perfect answer. The platform is utilized by a variety of industries, together with healthcare, power, and know-how, and supplies a means for organizations to faucet into a world community of specialists to unravel advanced issues.

Other platforms, present extremely particular options, like Cad Crowd and Utest.

• With Cad Crowd you’ll find skilled CAD designers and 3D modelers with confirmed experience and data, or to put up a design contest and evaluate submissions from a number of contributors.

• Utest, however, brings collectively freelance software program testers who assist among the most iconic manufacturers to make sure high-quality software program for his or her clients. 

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  Scouting Platforms

Scouting platforms act like innovation marketplaces that can assist you join with different organizations and third events that may present the know-how, providers, or experience that you’re lacking.

These platforms allow company partnerships with start-ups or different entities in a means that’s useful for each events. They can be used to scout for brand new expertise or applied sciences in addition to patents or analysis papers, that can assist you overcome particular challenges or present extra in-depth entry to data or scientific analysis.

In the context of open innovation, patent submitting can be utilized to guard and monetize mental property, in addition to to share it with others by licensing agreements or different types of collaboration.

By utilizing devoted platforms, innovators can establish potential areas of overlap or alternatives for collaboration and might higher navigate the advanced panorama of mental property rights.

There are completely different scouting platforms that may assist with patent filling, starting from free assets like Google Patents and the USPTO database, to paid providers like PatSeer and Derwent Innovation and their Derwent World Patent Index.

Derwent Data Analyzer is a great tool for patent and IP professionals who must rapidly and successfully analyze giant units of patent information to achieve insights into the aggressive panorama and establish alternatives for innovation.

When it involves scouting for brand new expertise, applied sciences or start-ups, HYPE Innovation supplies an awesome answer by HYPE Partnering.

HYPE Partnering 

It affords a complete answer for know-how scouting, analysis, and collaboration. You can use it to establish new know-how alternatives, consider potential companions, and handle partnerships extra successfully, finally driving innovation and progress.

Open information platforms present entry to giant units of information that allow you to establish tendencies that happen within the trade, market, financial system, or society at giant.

This is important in getting a way of future alternatives or dangers so you may higher adapt to the upcoming change.

An open information platform can act as an information science setting which helps you establish related information and analyze it to achieve helpful insights.

There are many open information platforms accessible that may facilitate open innovation and pattern scouting. To title only a few:

• Google Trends: permits customers to trace the recognition of search phrases over time. This is usually a great tool for figuring out rising tendencies and understanding client conduct.

• Open Data Institute: a non-profit group that promotes using open information to drive innovation and financial progress. The institute supplies a spread of instruments and assets for working with open information, together with coaching programs and entry to datasets.

• World Bank Data: supplies a variety of information on international improvement, together with financial indicators, demographic information, and environmental information. The information is out there in a wide range of codecs and may be downloaded free of charge.

• European Data Portal: supplies entry to open information from throughout the European Union. The portal accommodates information on a variety of matters, together with well being, transport, and the setting.

• GitHub: although it is meant for collaborative software program improvement, it additionally hosts a lot of open information repositories. These repositories include information on a variety of matters, from local weather change to social media tendencies.

• Kaggle: a platform for information scientists and machine studying engineers to collaborate on information evaluation and modeling competitions. The platform supplies a variety of datasets, in addition to instruments and assets for exploring and visualizing information.

There is an enormous quantity of information on the market and as time goes by, increasingly will probably be accessible. You can discover right here a extra intensive checklist of extra open information sources grouped by areas.

As you may see, entry to information just isn’t a problem, however reasonably find out how to course of all of the accessible data and make sense of it. That’s why, except you have got your devoted crew of information scientists, you would possibly need to use a platform that may analyze and sift by all this data, based mostly in your trade and pursuits.

The above-mentioned Clarviate, by its Derwent Dana Analyzer service, can assist you make sense of all the data on the market. Also PatSeer is a superb answer that can assist you join the dots by bringing collectively and analyzing information from scientific literature, IP, authorized and extra.

Obviously, there are completely different platforms that may serve a wide range of functions. These are only a few that we imagine can assist you get began with any kind of open innovation. In the top, it’s nearly your targets and what you want to obtain.

Next, we are going to see why and the way open innovation platforms have the ability to rework the best way you innovate and compete in your market.

The Benefits And Importance Of Open Innovation Platforms 

The advantages of open innovation platforms and their function are carefully linked to how open innovation is put in observe.

Engage Bigger Audiences.

Open innovation platforms enhance the viewers dimension potential. To get a most enter, and higher perceive client conduct, you may increase the viewers with none obvious limits. The proper platforms provide the flexibility to increase and scale as you develop your open innovation actions, so it’s simple to get enter from 1000 folks, but in addition from 100 000 folks when the time comes.

Lego’s Ideas Site is an instance of how firms can have interaction with shoppers and followers everywhere in the world to share their concepts for brand new merchandise, gaining a greater understanding of buyer wants and new thrilling concepts.

Engage Related Audiences.

In a closed innovation system, the data and expertise accessible to handle a specific downside or problem are restricted to the inner assets of the corporate, i.e., its workers.

On the opposite hand, open innovation allows you to attain out to exterior stakeholders, resembling clients, suppliers, companions, and even most of the people.

Open innovation platforms may be designed to draw particular sorts of contributors, resembling specialists in a specific area or people with a selected talent set. This focused method ensures that essentially the most related audiences are engaged within the innovation course of.

For instance, Signify has a collaborative program known as SEED designed to generate concepts for his or her present merchandise by leveraging the data of their suppliers. The SEED program is unique and collaborative, and solely the perfect suppliers are invited to take part. They use varied Viima boards to gather 1000’s of concepts from a whole lot of suppliers, resulting in the implementation of extra revolutionary merchandise. We will dive a bit deeper into this instance later on this article.

Increased Tempo Of Innovation.

Open innovation platforms present entry to a large pool of concepts and numerous data for extra educated choices. With the appropriate software, one can construct innovation processes with an agile and iterative method that enables for quick thought testing and validation.

In the closed innovation mannequin, every thing is finished in-house, and this tends to result in an absence of openness to debate concepts and experiment. When organizations open to “the outside world” they get uncovered to new views and approaches, resulting in options they may not have thought-about in any other case.

For instance, Procter & Gamble (P&G) established the Connect + Develop program, an open innovation initiative that seeks to search out and purchase exterior applied sciences, merchandise, and concepts to complement their inner R&D efforts. One of their many success tales is how their collaboration with EPAM Continuum resulted within the creation of the Swiffer cleansing product, which generated billions of {dollars} in income for the corporate.

P&G has managed over time to efficiently talk their must a world community of innovators who can assist them speed up their tempo of innovation.

Cost Effectivity

Innovation prices are better than ever earlier than and in line with research, whereas R&D investments are a lot greater than they was once 90 years in the past, the output just isn’t considerably higher.

On the opposite hand, the general prices of open innovation are often smaller in relation to the variety of concepts and enter. Open innovation platforms can cut back R&D prices and supply entry to cost-effective options. Instead of relying solely on acquisitions of startups and their applied sciences, organizations can drive their very own innovation and empower their groups.

For instance, Eli Lily, a pharmaceutical firm used open innovation to scale back prices by collaborating with exterior researchers and scientists to search out new drug candidates. By tapping into the experience of exterior collaborators, Eli Lilly was in a position to cut back R&D inner prices, whereas additionally increasing the potential pool of concepts and improvements.

Through exterior collaboration, they obtained novel views and revolutionary options that the corporate might not have thought-about in any other case.

Win Buy-in And Cut Back Threat.

During tough instances, firms sometimes cut back their R&D budgets and cancel innovation tasks. It turns into difficult to justify greater threat and investments that will or might not yield long-term advantages when the instant future seems unsure.

Some organizations use open innovation platforms to scout for information and entry a world community of downside solvers that may assist mitigate threat and discover options that may show their potential worth.

Open innovation platforms can remodel the best way firms innovate and keep aggressive by accessing new concepts, assets, and experience. However, additionally they include a set of challenges that have to be addressed. So, let’s discover these challenges and potential options.

Implementing Open Innovation Platforms: Challenges And Success Factors

The logic and enterprise causes for open innovation are well-understood, but executing it’s nonetheless a wrestle for a lot of organizations going through a spread of challenges that may impede success. To absolutely profit from open innovation, it’s important to grasp and handle these challenges. 

The major challenges and obstacles in implementing open innovation platforms may be grouped into 4 classes: strategic, operational, authorized, and cultural.

Strategic challenges are largely associated to the objectives and targets of the open innovation platform. People would possibly typically ask themselves: “do we actually want it and is it complementing the group’s general technique in any means?

That’s why it’s important to obviously outline the objectives and talk them. What do you need to obtain by using the open innovation platform, what issues do you anticipate to unravel, and the way do you align with the strategic objectives of the organizations?

It’s vital to understand that there could also be trial and error concerned, regardless of any analysis or planning. Piloting open innovation platforms can assist take a look at the platform’s compatibility, in addition to establish any points with present processes or objectives. Some distributors, like Viima, provide free variations or demos, which may be useful when deciding on a platform.

Operational challenges span from issues about integration with present processes and methods, day-to-day administration, and execution of the platform to sustaining the standard and dedication of collaborations.

To overcome this, that you must construct an efficient course of round your open innovation platform. It’s additionally vital to have a versatile software that may suit your particular use circumstances and desires and may be simply built-in into your present methods. However, take note of distributors that oversell as a result of there isn’t a one-size-fits-all answer to cowl every thing on the subject.

To preserve dedication, but in addition the standard and relevance of contribution, improve and reward engagement. The rewards which are only in maintaining folks engaged are often intrinsic, like a way of acknowledgment, accountability, and duty for one’s actions and contributions.

By recognizing the worth and influence of 1’s work and taking possession of it, people usually tend to keep motivated and engaged of their duties.

A very good open innovation platform supplies a clear setting for this. Extrinsic motivators like bonuses or different materials rewards might additionally work, however solely within the quick time period for that further push. in the long run, materials rewards received’t ship the perfect outcomes as folks might be collaborating only for the sake of rewards and provide you with suboptimal concepts.

Legal challenges are among the most introduced up by organizations. These can confer with mental property (IP) points, confidentiality issues, and compliance with rules.

These are all legitimate issues as it’s regular for organizations to be protecting of their confidential data and mental property, and in some open innovation conditions, issues can get advanced. But understand that typically these fears do get blown fully out of proportion, even in very simple and simple conditions.

With open innovation initiatives, it is suggested to hunt recommendation from a good authorized skilled. We can’t advise you on authorized issues, however to mitigate IP-related dangers within the open innovation course of, the best technique is to get the rights to all IP generated by contributors through the collaboration course of.

This can lower the chance of disputes and supplies a transparent framework for the use and dissemination of concepts generated by the collaborative effort. In some circumstances, it could be finest to make use of a non-disclosure settlement (NDA) to additional shield delicate data and commerce secrets and techniques.

Ultimately, a well-executed IP technique is important to profitable open innovation. By rigorously managing IP, and dealing with authorized professionals when wanted, you may maximize the advantages of open innovation whereas minimizing authorized dangers and potential pitfalls.

Some thought administration platforms, like Viima, have built-in phrases and circumstances that may be personalized to permit no matter authorized necessities you will have, resembling transferring the rights of submitted concepts if not agreed in any other case.

Cultural challenges come right down to psychological boundaries. The completely different mindsets and attitudes, when confronted with change and uncertainty, can result in an absence of belief and tough collaboration between stakeholders. These attitudes can come from private insecurities or from miscommunication.

This is, in fact, an unlimited subject that goes again to the tradition of your group and whether or not it has been cultivated to encourage innovation and steady enchancment.

To overcome this, be sure to talk very properly the method, objectives, and function of all these concerned and set examples of how an open innovation platform can profit them. Offer coaching and present proof of the advantages of co-creation and collaboration inside that platform. Be positive you’re on the identical web page and that you’ve a standard understanding of the expectations, phrases, and ideas.

Examples Of Successful Use Open Innovation Platforms 

Now, let’s examine some examples of firms which have successfully leveraged open innovation platforms to attain their enterprise targets.

As talked about, co-creation is a type of open innovation and corporations can work with completely different stakeholders to develop new merchandise, providers, or options. Signify leveraged the data of its suppliers by its SEED program to drive innovation and create worth for its clients.

For this, they used Viima as their go-to open innovation and collaboration platform. It enabled them to entry a wider vary of concepts and experience by bringing collectively chosen suppliers. Using a devoted platform allowed them to have management over the event course of by solely inviting the perfect suppliers that meet their excessive requirements for high quality and efficiency.

Signify’s SEED program

Through this course of Signify can carry new, revolutionary options to the market extra rapidly and effectively, whereas additionally creating worth for its clients.

In quick, by utilizing an open innovation platform, Signify managed to:

• Access a wider vary of concepts and experience: Viima enabled Signify to faucet right into a wider vary of concepts and experience than would have been potential by its inner R&D efforts alone.

• Accelerate innovation: By collaborating with exterior companions, Signify was in a position to speed up its innovation efforts and convey new merchandise and options to market.

• Enhance buyer worth: Using an open innovation platform enabled Signify to raised perceive and meet the wants of its clients by bringing in new views and concepts from exterior companions.

• Improve collaboration and tradition: Viima fostered a tradition of innovation and collaboration for Signify as suppliers had been happy with the brand new methodology by which they had been in a position to collaborate.

Liebherr is among the world’s largest producers of building equipment with 11 completely different divisions, considered one of which is the home home equipment one. Liebherr was no stranger to innovation marketing campaign, and this time, with assist from HYPE Innovation, they wished to show to their clients for revolutionary options.

The undertaking, known as “Wine Experience” targeted on figuring out important ache factors related to wine consumption and storage whereas utilizing wine cupboards.

The undertaking had 4 major phases:

1. Creating and fascinating an internet market analysis neighborhood,
2. Developing inner thought campaigns,
3. Launching a crowdsourcing marketing campaign with clients, and
4. Evaluating the outcomes.

The Innovation Team oversaw interactions on the open innovation platform and ensured they concerned the appropriate folks on the proper time.

The marketing campaign resulted in 139 product and digital service concepts, in addition to 639 feedback. The undertaking acquired practically 10,000 page-views, leading to 2,300 person classes.

Using an open innovation software was essential on this course of, offering the mandatory platform to launch the crowdsourcing marketing campaign, in addition to tight coordination amongst completely different capabilities, guaranteeing the success of the undertaking. 

For extra examples of profitable makes use of of open innovation platforms, you may go to HYPE and Viima’s devoted pages. 

Conclusions

Open innovation platforms are highly effective instruments that may assist organizations faucet into the collective data and experience of a wider community of stakeholders to drive innovation. By enabling collaboration, communication, and ideation throughout completely different departments, industries, and geographies, these platforms can assist organizations unlock new alternatives and keep forward of the competitors.

If you contemplate open innovation otherwise you’re already doing it however discover it tough to resolve on the appropriate platform, bear in mind to at the beginning rigorously consider your innovation wants and objectives.

You must also be ready to spend money on the mandatory assets and capabilities to make sure that when you select a platform it’s used successfully, and that the insights and concepts generated are acted upon in a well timed and environment friendly method.

Last, however not least, open innovation just isn’t a one-time factor. Just prefer it’s the case with different sorts of innovation, you want a steady means of engagement, and collaboration.

We suggest beginning small and testing your open innovation course of by experimentation.

If you need to study extra in regards to the makes use of of an open innovation platform and the way it can profit the way forward for your group, guide a demo with considered one of our crew members!