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The Netherlands Embraces Open Innovation with National OI Festival

Nov-28-12 By IdeaConnection
This week open innovation fever is spreading throughout the Netherlands as the Dutch hold their Open Innovation Festival. It is a fantastic opportunity for public sector organizations to learn about the fundamentals and possibilities of this key business strategy.

Five Open Innovation Initiatives that are Getting Us Moving

Nov-27-12 By IdeaConnection
Crowdsourcing and open innovation are catalysts for innovative thinking that can be applied to anything from pharmaceuticals to packaging, and engineering to the environment. Keen to maximize the opportunities afforded by engaging diverse experts, the transport industry has launched numerous competitions and initiatives to uncover new thinking about how we should be moving on land, sea and in the air.

Here are five approaches that have caught our eye over the years:

Sports Illustrated to Crowdsource its Front Cover

Nov-26-12 By IdeaConnection
Readers and fans of Sports Illustrated are being invited to choose the cover photo of the magazine’s year-end cover. Voting takes places on the its Facebook fan page and three categories are presented: moment of the year which will appear in the December 31st edition, and picture and performer of the year which will feature in the previous two issues.

UK Government Turns to the Crowd for Input into its Freedom of Information Legislation

Nov-25-12 By IdeaConnection
The UK’s Freedom of Information legislation creates a right of ‘public access’ to information held by public bodies.

Currently the government wants to hear views on how a draft code of practice to be used by local authorities can be enhanced and improved.

 

Inspirational Quotes About Imagination

Nov-23-12 By IdeaConnection
At the heart of every creative endeavor, every challenge surmounted and problem solved is imagination.

Here is a healthy dose of Friday inspiration with some choice quotes about the power and importance of imagination.

“Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited to all we now know and understand, while imagination embraces the entire world, and all there ever will be to know and understand.”
Albert Einstein

Crowdfunding Campaign Raises an Incredible $6.5 Million

Nov-21-12 By IdeaConnection
Games developer Chris Roberts, the brains behind the Wing Commander and Starlancer franchises raised the colossal multi-million dollar sum from fans to help finance the upcoming Star Citizen video game title. And it’s taken little more than a month to do it.

To date, the title is the most successfully crowdfunded video game ever. And financial pledges are still being made.

Crowdsourcing Cures for Cancer

Nov-20-12 By IdeaConnection
Millions of computer users all round the world are being invited to help speed up cures for cancer via an interactive website.

Cancer Research UK has created a mini website - ClicktoCure - so that people can help analyze data from its studies of the disease.

How the Crowd Can Help End Modern Slavery

Nov-19-12 By IdeaConnection
According to the International Labor Organization there are between 10-30 million slaves worldwide. Modern slavery is a cruel blight on humanity and it takes a number of forms including human trafficking, child soldiers, forced marriage, and forced labor. Crowdsourcing intelligence company Chaordix will soon launch a new initiative to engage human rights activists, students, and scholars on college and university campuses in every country in the global ChallengeSlavery.org contest.

Coca-Cola Embraces Open Innovation for Sweeter Future

Nov-17-12 By IdeaConnection
To achieve its well-publicized aim of doubling the size of its business by 2020 (Vs. 2009) Coca-Cola has to “think and act like a lean start-up company” and foster disruptive innovation.  That is innovation that’s not just new to the multinational drinks company, but new to the world.

Those were the messages that Coca-Cola chief procurement officer Ron Lewis delivered at a recent trade show in Las Vegas, and picked up by Food Navigator USA in this article.

Crowdsourcing Sanitation Solutions in Ghana

Nov-14-12 By IdeaConnection
In Ghana’s second largest city Kumasi, lack of access to adequate toilet facilities either in the household or in public spaces is a common problem.

Though makeshift solutions can provide some help they can also create serious health risks through the spread of cholera, dysentery and other diseases. This scenario is not uncommon in many other places in the developing world.

To help improve life for Kumasi residents, Unilever turned to open innovation for ideas to improve toilets and waste management.