Examples

Intermediary Platforms & Services

Intermediary Platforms

• Innocentive - open innovation problem solving
• TekScout - crowdsourcing R&D solutions
• Fellowforce - innovation challenge board covering many disciplines
• IdeaConnection - idea marketplace and problem solving
• Yet2.com - IP market place
• Ninesigma - technology problem solving
• Innovation Exchange - open innovation market place
• Open Innovation Gmbh/Battle of concepts - challenge boards

Innovation Services

• Big Idea Group - organize innovation contests and idea hunts
• spigit Enterprise - stimulate innovation and intrapreneurship
• Idea Crossing - organize innovation quests
• Sense Worldwide - tap into the global creative R&D network
• Pharmalicensing - open innovation for the life sciences
• Inkling Markets - use wisdom of the crowd for forecasting
• HumanGrid - small online tasks solving

Platforms for entrepreneurs

• CambrianHouse - entrepreneurship 2.0 community
• Incuby - online community for inventors
• spigit Innovation - peer review of business ideas
• Ideawicket - open innovation portal
• WhyNot - idea exchange
• IdeaBlob - monthly contest for entrepreneurial ideas

Freelance platforms

• odesk - global marketplace for remote work
• elance - freelancers
• Guru - freelancers
• Ki Work - sourcing online work
• Amazon Mechanical Turk - low-cost crowdsourcing

Creative

• Spreadshirt - shirt community
• Threadless - create and sell your tshirts
• Naked&Angry - threadless for ties and wallcoverings
• cafepress - shop, create or sell what’s on your mind
• zazzle - create and sell mechanding products
• Sellaband – crowdfunded bands
• Artistshare – fans funding new artists
• co.labr8 - creative crowdsourcing platform
• TopCoder - programming competitions
• IStockPhoto - user-generated photos

P2P Crowdsourcing Platforms

• Yahoo Answers - crowdsourced Q&A
• BrainReactions - online, open brainstorming

Corporate Initiatives

Product Ideas

• P&G Open Innovation Challenge - external idea sourcing in Britain
• Ideas4Unilever - corporate venturing
• BMW Customer Innovation Lab - in german
• LeadUsers.nl & Live Simplicity - Philips crowdsourcing platforms
• Staples Invention Quest - idea contest
• Kraft - innovate with Kraft
• GameChanger - Shell’s corporate venturing
• Henkel Innovation Trophy - idea competition
• Creative Conversion Factory - collaboration in design and ICT
• IBM ThinkPlace - idea generation and collaboration
• InnovationJam* - IBM’s more internally focussed idea generation project
• Cool Software - Intel’s sensing platform
• Dell IdeaStorm - external idea sourcing
• Vocalpoint - P&G’s network for women

Branding

• Spreadshirt Logo Design Contest - let community design new logo
• Gmail M-Velope Video Competition - viral video competition

Product Design

• Nintendo Wiiware - nintendo embraces crowdsourcing
• LEGO Factory - LEGO co-creation tool
• Peugeot - Peugeot’s design contest
• Nespresso - design contest for coffee machines
• Muji - improving and suggesting new designs
• Electrolux Design Lab - annual design competition for students
• Fluevog - open shoe design

Open source

• LEGO Mindstorms - open source robots
• BurdaStyle - open source sewing
• GoldCorp - the famous GoldCorp Challenge

Data collection & analysis

• ESP Game/Google Image Labeler - crowdsourced image labeling

Peer Production

• CrowdSpirit - product development 2.0
• Linux - open source software
• Wikipedia - peer produced encyclopedia
• A Swarm of Angels - creating a £ 1 million film
• …

Public sector

Universities

• iBridge Network - platform for university innovation (iBridge)
• Science Commons - generic license agreements (Science Commons)

Miscellaneous

• Picnic Green Challenge - ideas to save the planet
• Eureke medical - medical open innovation platform
• German Catholic Church - catholic church adopts open innovation

Tip us about other initiatives:

contact@openinnovators.net

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