Open Innovation Sites

Real-world examples of actionable innovation are flourishing, but sometimes these great resources can get lost in the sea of information out there on the Web. In my day job as head of an innovation software company, people often turn to me for advice on how to create their own open innovation initiatives. These models of innovation are everywhere, and we have decided to gather them in one place as a resource for all those budding innovation practitioners.

So, in the true spirit of innovation at work, here at Brightidea we have created a list that includes of some of the top open innovation sites, to help inspire some of your own.

 

Please leave a comment below if you have anything on the list you would like to add, modify, or edit.

 

Adobe Acrobat Ideas

Adobe customers can submit, vote on, and provide feedback on ideas about how to improve Acrobat.com
 

BMW Motorrad Innovation Contest 2009

Motorcycle, scooter, moped riders and enthusiasts: use Atizo’s platform to submit your ideas on the perfect motor bike of the future

Innovation Essentials: 10 Basic Principles of Innovation - Everyone Should Know

After 10 years of working in the trenches of innovation, I have attempted to distill down the ten MOST important concepts that I believe anyone working in this field should be aware of:

1. Product vs Process Innovation - In my opinion, this is the highest level break-out of the painfully broad term "Innovation". Product innovation is developing a new product (iPhone). Process innovation is improving the processes employed to produce or deliver the product, and to make it more efficient or productive (eg. Robot welders on the factory floor at GM). Process innovation often falls under names like (Six Sigma or Operational Excellence). Generally product innovation is concerned with increasing revenue and process innovation with reducing costs. It's very difficult to do both at the same time, for a given product, and the emergence of a "dominant design" is what triggers the shift of effort from product to process innovation. (see Utterbeck)

2. Scale of Innovation - While it may seem obvious, innovation happens at different scales. Broad-based adoption of Personal Computers in the 80s represented a "big" innovation and by contrast the mute button on your remote control is small. Scale is determined by: size of investment, time to ROI, change in user behavior, risk of success, risk of adoption, etc. and is a relative measure. While many terms are used, I prefer: Incremental, Sustaining & Disruptive (for small, medium and large). The non-obvious part is that it is important to always keep #1 & #2 in mind when thinking about innovation, because the rules are totally different if you are working on a incremental process improvement vs a disruptive new product.

3. Technology Adoption Curve - Adoption is the risk for any innovation. New tools and practices are not adopted overnight. Like a bottle of perfume opened in the corner that slowly spreads throughout the room, innovations slowly diffuse through society. Understanding this process is critical, as new ideas are embraced first by "early adopters" all the way through to "skeptics". This is articulated in Marketing High Technology (Davidow) and more recently Crossing the Chasm (Moore).