Open Innovation Typology

All materials © NetCentrics 2008 unless otherwise noted

Key Points

• Open Innovation is gaining popularity in the innovation space

• However, Open Innovation is a generic term for a number of tools and techniques– The only common thread is working with

customers or partners to gain ideas

• It’s important to understand the differences between the different techniques

“Open Innovation”

• Open Innovation is a termcoined by Henry Chesbroughto refer to a number of methods for gaining ideasfrom customers andbusiness partners.

Representation

• Open Innovation is usually represented by this funnel graphic

Open Innovation

• In it’s simplest form, open innovation is a suggestion box that your customers can use to submit ideas

• More sophisticated versions rely on vetted partners

• Other open innovation programs use contests to solve problems – like the X-Prize

Our Framework

• OVO has a framework to help our clients think about “open” innovation using two characteristics:– Who can participate?– How are they directed to submit ideas?

• Let’s look at this in a framework.

Open Innovation and Crowdsourcing

The typology we’ll review wasincluded in a chapter in therecently published bookOpen Innovation and Crowdsourcing

Open Innovation Framework

Instructions

None

Directed

Invitations

Relatively Few “Everyone”

Directed, Invitational Directed, Participative

Suggestive, Invitational Suggestive, Participative

Directed, Invitational

• Example: P&G Connect + Develop• Vetted partnerships that form “proprietary networks”• Only invited firms can participate, terms and

conditions are established previously• Excellent for exchanging ideas with a small team of

trusted partners

Directed, Participative

• Example: Gulf Oil Spill idea contest• A contest to submit ideas to solve a specific

problem or opportunity• Anyone can submit ideas to solve a stated problem• Good for broad participation and seeking novel or

unusual solutions

Suggestive, Invitational

• Example: IBM’s Idea Jams• People with specific insights or knowledge are invited

to submit ideas that they believe are important• Jams and other campaigns allow invited participants

to submit ideas about anything they believe is important

• Good as a “birds of a feather” idea generation session.

Suggestive, Participative

• Example: Dell’s IdeaStorm, StarbucksMyStarbucks Idea

• Anyone can submit an idea about any topic• Freely accessible to anyone on the planet with access

to the internet. Any possible idea can be submitted• Excellent as a listening post to spot customer ideas

and trends. Number of ideas can be overwhelming

Other “Open Innovation” types

• There are other types of open innovation that fit within the framework:– Using Innocentive or Nine Sigma to present a

problem to the community at large– Technology transfer – “spin in” or “spin out”

Key Takeaways

• Open innovation is a generic term that aggregates a number of tools and techniques that:– Require vastly different investments– Engage different customer segments– Result in very different types and quantities of

ideas

• Decide the goal, then choose the technique

For More Information

• Contact OVO– Phone: 919-844-5644– Email: info@ovoinnovation.com– Web: www.ovoinnovation.com