IdeaConnection Innovation
BLOG

Avoid the Common Blunders and Make Crowdsourcing Work for your Organisation

Jun-25-12 By IdeaConnection
Ideation contests are all the rage as companies across the globe are working with the crowd to help them develop products and services and solve ideas. But all crowdsourcing initiatives are not created equal and many companies flounder because of a few common errors.

There’s nothing wrong the crowdsourcing concept; it’s poor execution and lack of understanding about this open innovation platform that causes a slew of problems including weak and shallow solutions. If you’re thinking about using crowdsourcing for the first time, these are some of the common blunders to avoid:

Cambridge University and GSK in Open Innovation Alliance

Jun-20-12 By IdeaConnection
In an attempt to speed up the discovery and development of pharmaceuticals, scientists from the University of Cambridge are teaming up with GlaxoSmithKline in an open innovation collaboration initiative.

They will work together at the Stevenage Bioscience Catalyst, the UK’s first ever open innovation bioscience campus, which is next to the drug maker’s R&D hub.

 

 

How Entrepreneurs Can Leverage Crowdfunding to Grow their Business

Jun-18-12 By IdeaConnection
Although still a new kid on the business funding block crowdfunding is getting itself some serious notice. Last year it raised $1.2 billion globally and that figure is expected to double this year.

The money is allowing great ideas to flourish that might otherwise not have seen the light of day. The eLuminate Pitch CrowdFunding™ Conference to be held on July 30-31, 2012 at the Hilton New York will show entrepreneurs how they can scale their businesses and leverage crowdfunding resources to expand services and products.

Could Open Innovation Rescue the Pharma Pipeline?

Jun-17-12 By IdeaConnection
Patent losses and R&D cutbacks are severely hitting the ability of drug companies to fill their pipelines. They are losing market value, shedding jobs and witnessing a dramatic decline in growth (as measured by sales, stock price appreciation and profit for example).

As a result, cooperation and open innovation will become more widespread in the pharma industry according to a new report by GBI Research - Re-evaluating Pharmaceutical Pipelines - Emerging Markets, Biologics and Orphan Drugs to Shape Future Decision Making.

New Thinking Required for Ocean Current Technologies

Jun-16-12 By IdeaConnection
If you have innovative ideas about generating electricity from ocean currents there's still time to enter the TIA-Eskom Open Innovation Challenge. The submission deadline has been extended until July 15th owing to higher than anticipated response levels. The Technology Innovation Agency (TIA) and South African state-owned power utility Eskom are inviting ideas from inventors, researchers, entrepreneurs and companies for "proven-concept, commercially viable, ocean-current energy-producing technologies".

What Would You Do with 1 Gigabit per Second?

Jun-15-12 By IdeaConnection
Well, here’s something of a humongous challenge to get your teeth into – help design the Internet of the future. Mozilla and the National Science Foundation have announced an open innovation competition for designers, developers and anyone with an interest, to create apps for the ‘faster, smarter Internet of the future’.

The goal is to design and build apps that will benefit the public and be able to take advantage of the next generation of broadband networks that will move things around at speeds of up to 250 times faster than today. A total of $500,000 of prize money is up for grabs.

Crowd Creativity to Make a Fashion Statement at the 2012 Olympics

Jun-12-12 By IdeaConnection
Yes, you can pay design firms or artists big bucks to come up with a concept for your branding efforts, or you can follow the example of Uruguay’s Ministry of Tourism and Sport and tap the crowd for some ideas.

We all know that fans are passionate about their favorite sports, but can they be creative as well? That’s what the Ministry is hoping as it’s asking for fan-created images for a brand-new Olympic t-shirt.

 

What You Can Learn about Open Innovation from General Mills

Jun-10-12 By IdeaConnection
Pop into any grocery store and before long you will have spied or even filled your shopping basket with some of the many food products made by General Mills. This Fortune 500 corporation markets many well-known brands such as Cheerios, Yoplait and Green Giant.

Underpinning some of the company’s spectacular success is its open innovation platform - the Worldwide Innovation Network (G-WIN).

So when the man who oversees that platform wants to offer advice to other companies about how to use open innovation, it’s well worth paying attention to. In an insightful column in IndustryWeek, Jeff Bellairs, director of General Mills Worldwide Innovation Network offers five tips to help companies start their own open innovation efforts.

How You can Help Obama Build a Better USA

Jun-08-12 By IdeaConnection
The president needs your help. With the state of the economy and unemployment figures sending shivers round government departments the White House has been looking to the crowd to innovate for a better tomorrow.  And so it launched the Startup America Policy Challenge.

Start-ups are the engines of growth in many economies, and according to US government figures were responsible for the creation of 44 million jobs over the last three decades.

In today’s volatile economic climate it is creative and innovative minds that are going to get us to safer ground. And they can get us there faster if they are unimpeded, which is why President Obama’s administration issued the call for help.

The Way Forward for Africa’s Innovators

Jun-05-12 By IdeaConnection
After a lively and intense three days of debate, discussion and insights, the second Open Innovation Africa Summit concluded with a firm commitment by Africa’s top innovators to boost innovation across the entire continent.

It followed a rallying cry from Kenya’s Permanent Secretary within the Ministry for ICT, Dr. Bitange Ndemo that challenged Africa's brightest minds to plot an actionable path forward.