In the News

How Outsiders Solve Problems that Stump Experts

DATE: 05/02/2012

An article on how "expertise in other fields [allows individuals] to think differently and more creatively than others." This article references the groundbreaking work by Dr. Karim Lakhani at Harvard Business School and also dives into how InnoCentive's customers such as Eli Lilly have achieved success via crowdsourcing problems to diverse problem Solvers.

Does Cloud Computing Matter?

DATE: 05/01/2012

TAGS: Best Practice

A guest post by Joe Weinman, Senior VP at Telx and the author of Cloudonomics: The Business Value of Cloud Computing. In this Forbes article, Joe applies a cloud-computing lens to Treacy and Wiersema's classic, The Discipline of Market Leaders.

What Can Tempt Researchers to Tackle a Tough Job? Try Offering a Prize.

DATE: 04/24/2012

TAGS: Not for Profit

This article by the Wall Street Journal's medical blogger Amy Marcus highlights an InnoCentive Challenge to find cell lines for Chordoma, a rare type of bone cancer. The Challenge was solved by Beate Rinner at the Medical University of Graz in Austria. This Challenge demonstrates the value that small organizations can gain from accessing the crowd for ground-breaking solutions.

3 Critical Insights Into Creativity From Jonah Lehrer’s “Imagine”

DATE: 04/03/2012

This review of Jonah Lehrer's book "Imagine: How Creativity Works" from a designer's perspective, describes InnoCentive as a model of creative problem solving that attracts "motivated outsiders."

How to Cultivate Eureka Moments

DATE: 04/02/2012

In this review of the book "Imagine: How Creativity Works" by Jonah Lehrer, the author discusses the idea that creative ideas often come from outside the field in which problems originate. He cites InnoCentive as a model that works because it attracts Solvers on the margins of the problem discipline, allowing them to contribute out of the box thinking.

Tips For Launching An Open Innovation Strategy

DATE: 03/27/2012

TAGS: Best Practice, Making the Business Case

In this article by Amy Alexander, InnoCentive CEO Dwayne Spradlin offers his wisdom to companies launching an open innovation strategy.

Jonah Lehrer and the New Science of Creativity

DATE: 03/19/2012

TAGS: Crowdsourcing, Open Innovation

In this review of Jonah Lehrer's new book "Imagine" subtitled "How Creativity Works," the author highlights InnoCentive, and uses examples to show how outside thinking often leads to brilliant solutions.

How to Be Creative

DATE: 03/09/2012

TAGS: Crowdsourcing, Open Innovation

In this article about being creative, writer Jonah Lehrer suggests that "big breakthroughs often depend on the naive daring of outsiders" and highlights InnoCentive as an organization which is highly successful in solving difficult problems precisely because Challenges attract "outsider thinking."

Idea Turns Old TV Tubes into X-Ray Shielding Tiles

DATE: 03/01/2012

TAGS: Crowdsourcing, Innovation, Not for Profit, Open Innovation

In this article about the CEA Challenge to find new uses for recycled CRT glass, the authors discuss several of the solutions, including an idea to mix the crushed glass tubes with cement, to make tiles for X-ray rooms. There, the lead in the tiles would protect people from X-ray radiation, just as they did inside old TVs

Prizes With an Eye Toward the Future

DATE: 02/29/2012

TAGS: Crowdsourcing, Open Innovation

In this article about prize-driven innovation, writer Tina Rosenberg says "What eBay does for buyers and sellers, companies like InnoCentive do for problem solvers." The article explores the idea of open innovation bringing solutions forward that never would have been found otherwise, and the high likelihood that solvers from outside the Challenge domain will solve a problem that has eluded the experts in that field.