challenges, is that you have access to an international collection of expert problem solvers. The downside can be that substantial rewards will be expected. Another approach, which can be effective for technical and scientific innovation, is to partner with a local university and invite students to submit solutions.

This would have the benefit of tapping into the creative expertise of young people as well as the possibility of identifying potential future employees. At the same time, you give university students the opportunity to work on real-world problems and get real- world feedback on their suggestions.

Private Brainstorms The alternative to inviting the public to suggest ideas is to invite a very select group of people to suggest ideas as well as begin developing them. This is something my company has done to great success on a number of occasions. As an example, a company which makes heavy duty construction equipment was looking for a way to simplify the design of a complex component. Doing so would reduce their manufacturing costs as well as increase the reliability of the

component – and hence their equipment. They invited employees from one of their suppliers as well as their own employees to submit and collaborate on-line using an innovation process management software (Jenni). Within a couple of weeks, they had a handful of great ideas, several of which were combined in order to substantially reduce the complexity of the component. They will save a lot of money thanks to the ideas.

On another occasion, a European non-profit, working with cultural heritage sites, wanted to explore how such sites could generate additional value to visitors by using new technologies. Representatives of museums, tourist attractions and historical sites went to Brussels for a day of brainstorming. People were put into smaller, diverse groups and given exercises based around specific creative challenges. A number of intriguing ideas were generated and have since been implemented across Europe.

In scenarios such as these, the external participants have a stake in finding and developing innovative solutions, so no additional reward is necessary. However, you may also wish to bring together

peoplewho have no stake in the solution, but who have expertise you would like to tap into. In such instances, you may have to provide a fee for their time. Although this adds to the cost, it does permit you to bring greater diversity to the problem solving table – and that can lead to a high level of creativity in the idea generation.

Quick and Dirty Open Innovation In addition to the structured approaches we’ve looked at already, there are a number of quick and dirty solutions you can use in order to tap into the creativity of others.

For example, I use Facebook primarily as a means of keeping in touch with friends, sharing jokes and seeing which on-time classmates look older and fatter than me! Aside from occasionally promoting my book, Facebook is a non- business space as far as I am concerned. As a result, it can be a great place to post questions to a diverse range of people who are often willing to give feedback.

LinkedIn, the professional networking site, has special interest groups and forums for asking questions – which can provide places for requesting ideas and