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NPR Compiles its Innovation Wish List

Dec-19-13 By IdeaConnection
Have you got an idea for a great innovation, a superlative product that meets an unmet need and makes life easier for all of us? Throughout 2013 people have been sending their ideas to NPR’s All Tech Considered.

The blog has recently compiled a list of some of its favorite submissions and they include reversible tattoos, expandable Tupperware and steering wheel fans.

Crowdsourcing Blood Donations

Dec-17-13 By IdeaConnection
We’ve seen several examples of how crowdsourcing can be deployed to save lives such as using the crowd to create a database of automated external defibrillators (AEDs) in the Philadelphia area and social media-based projects to improve disaster relief.

Now the Singapore Red Cross (SRC) is launching what it describes as the world’s first crowdsourcing app for blood donations – the Red Cross Connection.

Defense Agency Turns to Open Innovation for Technology Needs

Dec-11-13 By IdeaConnection
The US Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) has launched an open innovation portal called Needipedia to find solutions to some of its pressing needs.

The aim of the platform is to circumvent the often slow procurement process for emerging technologies and harness a more diverse base of solution providers.

Crowdsourcing Uncovers New Cancer Cell-Killing Compound

Dec-08-13 By IdeaConnection
Citizen science has chalked up another successful achievement after playing a significant role in the discovery of an anti-cancer compound. A soil sample sent to University of Oklahoma scientists by a woman from Alaska was found to contain a compound that’s toxic to certain types of cancer cells.

The work is part of a crowdsourcing project set up by the University of Oklahoma to analyse soil samples from across the United States.

Instant Answers to Open Innovation Questions

Dec-05-13 By IdeaConnection
Help is at hand for science researchers who want to engage with open innovation but are unsure about where to go and how to go about it. A free guide has just been released called ”Open Innovation – A Handbook for Researchers”.

The book includes advice on how researchers can apply open innovation in their work, and it helps them to navigate this way of innovating.

Open Innovation Contest to Address Key Challenges in Pakistan

Nov-30-13 By IdeaConnection
Every company and organisation wants to get its hands on the next big thing, a product, service or innovation that will solve unmet needs and boost the bottom line or cure social and environmental problems.

One of the best ways to source these innovations is through open innovation competitions, either because they catalyse creative minds or they encourage innovators to come out of their corners

The Pakistan Innovation Foundation (PIF) and Indus Motor Company (IMC) has recently announced the launch of the National Innovation Grand Challenge (NICG) 2013-14 to solve some of the country’s key challenges.

Thanksgiving Turkeys Inspire Innovators

Nov-28-13 By IdeaConnection
As millions of Americans tuck into turkey on today’s Thanksgiving Day, The Wall Street Journal’s Market Watch has provided some very digestible reading material on how America has become a hotbed of turkey innovation.

Dozens of the country’s inventors hold patents for different ways of cooking the plump-breasted bird.

Crowdsourcing App to Log Your Dreams

Nov-27-13 By IdeaConnection
Like most people you’ve probably had an entertaining dream and then forgotten it almost as soon as the alarm clock has woken you up. Researchers believe that we forget about 95% of our dreams before we’ve even thrown off the duvet. Well, that could be all about to change with the invention of a new dream-catching app.

The BBC has featured an interview with Hunter Soik, a Korean-American living in New York who has developed a smartphone app that will allow people to record and share their dreams.

Advice on How to Crowdsource Successfully

Nov-24-13 By IdeaConnection
Done well, crowdsourcing can produce good innovation results in quicker time frames and at lower costs. It is not an innovation panacea, more a useful tool to further equip a company’s innovation arsenal.

Mindful that many companies fail with some of their crowdsourcing projects Business News Daily has provided its readers with some useful tips on how to do crowdsourcing successfully.

Developing a New Open Innovation Model

Nov-21-13 By IdeaConnection
Open innovation thought leader and author of Making Open Innovation Work Stefan Lindegaard is busy developing a new OI model on how companies can embrace open innovation – and he would like your input.

In a recent blog post on his 15inno site, Stefan raises the point that there are too few processes and models to help companies wanting to engage with open innovation. This is something he wants to change.