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A Challenge to Big Pharma

Jun-28-11 By Aminda
As discussed in a recent post, medical industry innovation is a hot topic. From making the patient experience better through communication to moving the drug development process into the future, like companies like Sanofi are doing. Sanofi is using technology licensed from the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary along with a development pact with Audion Therapeutics to combat hearing loss. The goal is to discover small molecules to treat hearing loss through regenerative medicine. There are currently no disease-modifying prescription drugs for hearing loss, which affects nearly a third of people aged 65 to 74 and half of those over 75

Advances in Patient Care

Jun-27-11 By Aminda
The field of medicine development and medical care seems to have no end to the potential for innovative solutions for making it better: more effective, more efficient, more accessible. This year, several U.S. based initiatives have focused on improving health care through advancements in information management.

The Future of Vehicle Design

Jun-24-11 By Aminda
A few weeks ago, a post discussed a crowdsourcing project by the U.S. military to source a new vehicle design.

Creative Governments – Part 2

Jun-22-11 By Aminda
Yesterday’s post highlighted some political organizations around the globe that are creatively adapting practices to today’s technologies. However, a recent report indicates that despite these efforts, most governments still have room to grow. The World Economic Forum’s Global Agenda Council this year published a report titled The Future of Government: Lessons Learned from Around the World. The report makes recommendations for governments striving to adapt to today’s complex, fast-changing environment.

Governments Get Creative

Jun-21-11 By Aminda
The news that Iceland is crowdsourcing its constitution has made headlines around the globe this month, from the gossip blogs to the biggest global newspapers. A previous post on this site shared a video from a panel of young Icelandic leaders who have been working on the project since 2009.
Along with this news, many writers are digging up or republishing other stories on how governments are creatively using technology to evolve traditional ways of government communication and decision making.

Study Supports Crowdsourcing-based Research

Jun-20-11 By Aminda
A new research system developed by global, nonprofit, research institution RAND Corporation provides scientific support to the effectiveness of crowdsourding-based research.
According to a press release, the system, called ExpertLens, incorporates elements of three well-known research approaches. The Delphi method, which organizes panel of experts who share opinions remotely the Nominal Group Technique, where experts meet face-to-face and crowdsourcing. All methods have pros and cons, so the ExpertLens system combines the best of each for use in collecting opinions about problems and creating forecasts.

Where are the Innovators?

Jun-17-11 By Aminda
A few weeks ago, innovation consultant Stefan Lindegaard sparked a very active conversation on his blog. The topic: identifying the most open innovative countries in the world. He posted his vote for the top four and then left the 5th spot open for discussion. Perhaps the biggest challenge in identifying an innovative country is first identifying the criteria used to measure open innovation, particularly when separating it from other innovation strategies. Is it measured by patents? Technology acquisition from outside sources? Government initiatives?

Lend a Hand to Patent Review

Jun-16-11 By Aminda
Patent review has been making headlines recently, and there is considerable demand for participants to assist with the process. The first notable occurrence was the patent infringement claims filed against 7 mobile phone application developers.

The Influence of Statistics on Social Influence

Jun-15-11 By Aminda
A recent post looked at a study out of Switzerland that found an exception to the belief that the wisdom of the crowd is, on average, more accurate than the wisdom of an individual. The study identified the “social influence effect”, in which individuals had access to the answers of others. The effect of questioning one’s own results as compared to others led to a decline in accuracy.

A commentary on this study posted in a Wall Street Journal article received some heated debate and discussion arguing that WSJ writer Jonah Leher, misread the results of the study.

Simplifying Volunteering

Jun-13-11 By Aminda
The world has certainly had enough news of economic crisis and natural disasters, so it’s always good to hear some good news. Fortunately, creative new crowdsourcing projects continue to provide opportunities to contribute in positive ways. Here are a few ways anyone can make the world a better place.