1.**InnoCentive,Please tell us what kind of organization it is**.
When a company, government, nonprofit organization, or other entity has a problem requiring a technical solution, it posts the problem on the site, and members around the world who use the platform propose ways to solve it. If the person who posted the problem likes a proposal, the proposer receives a cash prize. It began in 1998 as a small company founded by two researchers and has now become a leading problem-solving space in science and technology.
2.**Problems that companies face,It is a platform for solving problems they cannot solve on their own,That would be one way to understand it.How does it solve problems?**.
When a company posts a problem it wants to solve, a challenge is held for a set period to gather ideas. Recent challenges have included a solar-powered device for eliminating malaria-carrying mosquitoes and a low-cost reservoir for collecting rainwater. After completing several agreements online, participants submit their ideas to these challenges. Only the company that posted the problem and InnoCentive personnel can view the ideas. If a good solution is submitted, it is selected and the idea provider receives the prize announced in advance.
Are the problems generally being solved successfully?****.
Yes. Despite the difficulty of the problems posted, 85 percent of approximately 1,500 problems have been solved to date. The prizes awarded through InnoCentive alone total about KRW 17 billion.
3.**I would like to hear an example of a problem that was actually solved(The Pringles case, ‘the famous potato chips in a red can’Please describe it that way**)
While developing “the famous potato chips in a red can,” global company P&G wanted to launch a product with words printed on the chips. After concluding that it would be difficult to secure the technology internally, the company decided to look outside and turned to InnoCentive. It discovered that a small bakery in Italy had the technology, licensed it, and launched the new product.
http://www.sciencetimes.co.kr/article.do?atidx=0000071859
So people you would never initially expect can emerge as problem solvers**(Please explain who solved some of the other cases besides Pringles**)
Innovation is often said to result from applying knowledge from another industry. On InnoCentive, people who propose solutions frequently work in completely unrelated industries. For example, in 1989, an ExxonMobil oil tanker ran aground and caused a major oil spill near Alaska. The spilled oil congealed in the cold water, making it difficult to handle. The problem was posted on InnoCentive in 2007 and was ultimately solved. Interestingly, the person who proposed the answer worked in the cement industry. The idea was to vibrate the oil to keep it from freezing, just as a concrete mixer keeps turning to prevent cement from hardening.
4.**Can anyone submit an idea?.What kinds of people are the main active members?**.
(**Please mention that scientists around the world are active, including the case of POSTECH researcher Narayanan Selvapalam**)
Scientists and researchers around the world are the main participants. In July of this year, Dr. Narayanan Selvapalam, an Indian researcher working at POSTECH, solved a complex chemistry problem involving the “development of a biodegradable hydrophilic polymer” and received a USD 10,000 prize. He was employed as a university researcher. In this way, a diverse group of 300,000 people are active on the platform, ranging from scientists at schools and companies around the world to independent inventors.
5.**Companies normally have their own personnel,Why do companies use a platform like this?**.
The main reasons are that companies may be unable to find a solution internally, and that using outside experts can dramatically reduce research and development costs. More experts are now using InnoCentive in their free time after work to earn money and build their professional reputation, which is increasing the platform’s value to companies as well.
Then it would also help newly founded companies**,whose talent pools are not very diverse**?
Because InnoCentive deals with science and technology, it is effective for relatively well-defined problems. If a startup has a highly difficult technical problem that cannot readily be answered through in-house research and development or simple outsourcing, using InnoCentive may be worthwhile. Prize amounts vary from KRW 6 million to sums in the billions of won. It is important to remember that people will participate only if an appropriate prize is offered for the problem’s difficulty.
6.**Companies often use outsourcing,also called subcontracting.to assign work to outside parties,How would you say this differs from conventional outsourcing?**.
If a problem is disclosed in this way**,there may be significant concerns about confidential information,and technology being leaked,Are such issues a problem?**.
Outsourcing is generally used when the work to be done has already been defined. Companies posting on InnoCentive, however, have unresolved problems, so conventional outsourcing is unlikely to have a direct effect. They can also solicit ideas from 300,000 members worldwide and pay a prize only for a solution that is genuinely helpful. Companies therefore tend to achieve clear results with only a modest investment of time.
There can indeed be concern that corporate secrets relating to product development might be exposed. Viewed another way, markets change so rapidly that the timing of securing important technology may matter more. The risk of technology leakage from the idea provider’s perspective is addressed through confidentiality agreements and by allowing only the minimum number of people to view the information.
7.**What role do you think a model like InnoCentive can play in building an innovation ecosystem in our economy?**.
From a company’s perspective, every capable scientist and engineer can help with its product development and other needs, and the reverse is also true, greatly increasing opportunities for people who need one another to meet. This ultimately means more opportunities to solve corporate and social problems innovatively. By creating another space for science, technology, and research and development, I believe it can form another pillar of the innovation ecosystem.