We began this afternoon at the Front End of Innovation EMEA event in the Involve Everyone: Overcome the Not Invented Here Syndrome Track with Siemens Smart Grid Innovation Contest presented by Michael Heiss, Principal, Globally Responsible for Open Innovation Networks, Siemens AG.
Phase I: Public idea contest: Open to all, leveraged Social Media for max. exposure
Phase II: Call for Academic Research Proposals: Universities only, utilized SCOPUS database to attract a select scholarly audience.
The stock market price of the project shows the challenges of applying a new method.
Key Lessons learned from the contest:
Phase I:
- Crowd Ideation in complex technology fields is more challenging than others - light design can be understood and evaluated better.
- Attracting participants via Social Media is "free of charge" but hard work.
- Customers and Government were attracted by the contest but as lurkers rather than engaged participants submitting ideas.
- It is beneficial to ask your most valuable contributors for their recommendations on winners selection (reward participation = invite them to the ceremony).
Phase II:
- If research topic is confidential have a clause about privacy.
- Abstract need to be limited by 250-word count.
Participants participated not for the award but for visibility at Siemens and possibly get hired by the company.
Valerie M. Russo is a Senior Social Media Strategist at IIR USA with a technology, anthropology, marketing and publishing business acumen. She will be attending the 6th annual Front End of Innovation EMEA in Zurich, Switzerland on February 27-29, 2012, and covering the event live via Twitter and the FEI Blog. She is a published poet and also maintains a literary blog. She may be reached at vrusso@iirusa.com. Follow her @Literanista.