AYMEN-MBA 2

INNOCENTIVE

Innocentive is an open innovation marketplace which connects innovation and solution seekers with creative thinkers and solution providers. This service overlaps many fields such as chemistry (analytical chemistry was the first innocentive field), genetics, biochemistry, life science, math, engineering…

Innocentive was launched by Eli Lilly & Co'sventure capital group . the main idea behind this business was to use the power of the Interne to enhance scientific and technological collaboration

The seekers could be companies, academic institutions and non profit organisations.
The solvers could be current or retired people, inventors, scientist or business people for example.
The seekers such as important companies like Boeing pay annual fees for access to Innocentive’s network of scientists. The solvers who provide the solutions that companies are looking for are awarded financially.

This business model is a very useful way to make things easier. The solutions seekers could save time and people who could help have the mean to provide the solution. Through this platform helps are reaching poor and vulnerable population thanks to the Rockefeller foundation.

According to an internet site specialized in chemical and engineering news, registered solvers on InnoCentive represent more than 60 different scientific disciplines. About 35% are located in the Asia-Pacific region, 26% in North America, 15% in Western Europe, and 9% in Eastern Europe and Russia. About 60% of all solutions are coming from the U.S. and about 25% from academia.

Through this concept we are assisting to the predominance of internet and the growing attempt to use it. Since it’s based on internet as a marketplace and a communication mean, the Innocentive concept could face difficulties and its growth could be hindered if it’s owners would think to expand it offline!!

This model was created to match different needs and facilitate things to people using a revolutionary phenomenon named internet. Nobody can deny the effect of internet on our professional and personal lives. It had changed many things in our behaviour and way of life. Internet itself becomes a need that we can not neglect.
Since internet is widely used, we saw the birth of many other business models based on it.

The innocentive concept seems very simple but it’s very useful, it allows to a retired engineer living in Australia to go on practising his work at home and providing a solution for an a French company. We can find many examples inside this business because it’s growing quickly and covering new areas. It’s evolution is linked to how successful is it and if the expectations of the solution seekers are matched.
In this way, I personally see that it would be interesting to expand the business to cover human sciences and languages industries. It could be of a great help, since it connects people from all the continents, to include such subjects. The cultural and social problems could be solved through this concept. For example a human resources director of a big multinational company could need a complete expertise and analysis of the typical behavioural aspects of a group of its employees in order to establish efficient communication strategy.The cultural differences constitute, in many cases, a real handicap for the growth of a business and a waste of time for the boss. Things could be managed easier if we have the support of experts in the field or the concerned industry.
So innocentive could provide solution to this kind of problems which the solution is can not easily found.
In addition, Innocentive could expand its revenue sources by publishing first works for beginners in several fields.
The number of industries that could benefit from open R+D is increasing. The science (life, engineering, computer…) and business industries.

Below links providing more information about Innocentive :

http://zero.newassignment.net/filed/innocentive_crowdsourcing_diversity

http://www.rockfound.org/initiatives/innovation/innocentive.shtml

http://pubs.acs.org/cen/business/84/8426bus1.html

http://www.fastcompany.com/online/57/lilly.html

http://www.wired.com/techbiz/media/news/2007/07/crowdsourcing_diversity?currentPage=all

posted by Aymen @ 6:47 PM