I have some exciting news to share with you today.  As a result of all your feedback last year, we have multiple website updates planned this year.  The first update is now live and appears in the “My InnoCentive” area of the website.  For Solvers, this is the section of the website you see once you’ve logged in.  We focused on 5 key changes that we hope will make the website easier to use and more informative:

1. Upon login, you’ll notice that the two recommended Challenges have been removed and replaced with a tab called “Recommended” where we will display 10 Challenges that reflect your interests and expertise.  You can easily view the details of a recommended Challenge by clicking the icon in the Functions column.  To create the recommended Challenge list, we follow the search order below:
    
   • Challenges matching your profile interests and expertise
   • Challenges matching categories associated with Awarded/Submitted Challenges
   • Challenges matching categories associated with your Open/Closed Challenges
   • Challenges recently posted
      
2. On the Open/Closed tabs, we have added a Challenge count in the tab area.
     
3. On the Open Challenges page, the “Created” column has been removed and two new columns have been added, “Status” and “Functions.”
     
   The “Status” column will provide you with the Challenge’s current status.  The “Status” will either be 1) Open: meaning that the Seeker is still accepting submissions to this Challenge or 2) Under Eval – which means the Seeker is no longer accepting submissions and they are currently evaluating the submissions that were received
    
   The “Function” column displays functions that are available.  There are 3 possible function icons available: 1) Envelope icon: Displays all messages related to the challenge (A red envelope indicates that you have a new message.)  2)  Agreement icon: Displays the agreement associated with the Challenge and 3) Red X:  Allows you to remove a Challenge from your open Challenge list.  You will not see this option if you have submitted a solution for the Challenge.  Just like before, the date you uploaded your submission will display in the “Submission” column.
    
4. On the Closed Challenges page, the “Created” column was removed and replaced by the “Submitted” column.  The date you uploaded your submission will appear in the Submitted column for all Challenges where you participated.  A “Function” column was also added so that you can easily 1) view all the messages related to a Challenge which includes the evaluation and challenge results, 2) review the specific agreement for the Challenge or 3) remove the Challenge from your list if you did not send in a Submission for the Challenge.
    
5. For those Solvers who have winning Submissions, you will see an Awarded tab that lists your winning Challenges and Award Amounts.
    

Click the screen below for a more detailed view: 

Let us know what you think. Is the site easier to use?  What additional functionality can we add to the site to improve your experience?  Your voice is important to us so let’s keep the communication lines open.

Lisa

Tip #1: You can download the Solution Submission Form and Solver Submission Guideline documents for your use. To access these documents, click on the “Submit a Solution” button located within the Project Room of a Challenge.

Tip #2: Carefully re-read the Challenge description and make sure that you completely understand both the goal of the Challenge, the Technical Requirements, and the required deliverables as stated under the heading “Project Criteria” in the Challenge statement.

Tip #3: As a rule of thumb, the most successful submissions are organized as small articles, like you might see in a newspaper. We recommend starting with a Summary or Introduction that describes the essence of your idea in one short paragraph stating precisely what your submission is all about.

Tip #4: Following your Introduction, the Main Body of your proposal is typically composed of the detailed description of the Solution and an experimental section if required. If appropriate, briefly introduce the area of science, technology or business your solution refers to.

Tip #5: The majority of InnoCentive Challenges include specific Solution Requirements. It is very important to address these requirements – ideally, point by point – at the end of the Main Body of your proposal. Don’t neglect this part even if your solution doesn’t meet some of the Technical Requirements. Although optional, you may want to add a Conclusion to your submission and use this section to reiterate your major achievements and to emphasize the novelty of your approach.

Tip #6: Explain everything; don’t assume that “everyone knows that!” For example, do not send an article or brochure and say “the answer is attached, just read it.” The Seeker is looking for you to do the work and point specifically to the answer. It is acceptable to attach an article as reference material, but you should explain exactly what and where the answer is and why it is important to the Seeker.

Tip #7: Try not to pad your proposal with “frills” or “attachments.” Too much extraneous material may overwhelm the Seeker and make it difficult to find your solution in your proposal. You want to make it easy for the Seeker to find your solution, understand it, and award it.

Tip #8: Before uploading your solution proposal to the Project Room, make sure that your submission is complete. Only complete submissions are eligible for full cash award. If the Challenge requires submission of a material sample, please include a statement that the material is in your possession and is ready to be shipped.

Tip #9: Describe your proposed idea as completely (but succinctly!) as you can. Refer to literature, patent or business precedents to make your case stronger. It’s almost always necessary – and always advantageous – to include a list of references you have used to write the proposal. Be specific, and use only the references that are immediately relevant to your approach.

Tip #10: From time to time, similar ideas/solutions are submitted for the same Challenge. When this occurs, the Seeker will give preference to the submission with the earlier submission date. So don’t risk an award opportunity by waiting until the last minute.

I hope you find these helpful. If you have any other suggestions or comments, please share!

Lisa

As most of our clients and members of our community already know, InnoCentive plays an important role in brokering Open Innovation interactions between Seeker organizations and you, our network of talented Solvers. Brokering such transactions is difficult since InnoCentive serves as a two-way firewall between the Seeker organization and Solver by keeping all parties anonymous throughout the process while simultaneously ensuring the integrity of the interaction. It occurred to me, however, that since most individuals interact with InnoCentive as either a Seeker or a Solver (and rarely both), they are unfamiliar with the actions undertaken by InnoCentive’s Client Services Team on behalf of both parties. To improve the understanding of both our Seekers and Solvers, I’ve dedicated this blog entry to a brief discussion on how InnoCentive’s Client Services Team supports these innovation interactions.

The primary responsibility of InnoCentive in its role as a trusted transaction broker is to provide clear expectations of both parties and to facilitate an efficient and equitable outcome for all parties. In that spirit, the InnoCentive Client Services Team’s first task is to draft a Challenge statement that provides sufficiently descriptive technical details while not disclosing any of the Seeker’s confidential information. We are extremely respectful of the Seeker’s need for anonymity and that their R&D activities remain confidential. However, we attempt to maximize the probability of successfully solving every InnoCentive Challenge by providing you with as many of the problem’s details and context as possible. We therefore work hard with Seekers to ensure that we’re describing the problem as completely as possible while not disclosing proprietary information. Similarly, all Challenges include a clear “Specific Requirements”section which clearly states the attributes of a successful solution and ensures that the Seeker has explicit and unambiguous expectations of the Solvers.

Once the Challenge is posted to the InnoCentive Marketplace, as a community, you are quick to open up virtual Project Rooms, and get working. Frequently however ,you have questions about the Challenge and post a confidential message inside the Project Rooms. The Client Services Team works tirelessly to address the messages posted by Solvers – last year alone, we responded to nearly 7000 messages. Since the Client Services Team members who field these questions are PhD-level scientists and they are intimately familiar with the content of the Challenges, they are usually able to answer the questions without gathering addition information from the Seeker. However, when necessary, we do pass questions along to the Seeker to get clarification on outstanding issues. Throughout this whole process, we continue to maintain the anonymity of the Seeker and avoid discussing superfluous or proprietary details on the Challenge’s larger R&D context.

It is important to appreciate the balance struck by our Client Services Team. We, of course, want to see the ultimate success of every Challenge posted. Therefore, we try to provide the maximum amount of background information to the Solvers while still respecting our Seeker’s need for anonymity and confidentiality of some Challenge details. For first-time Solvers unfamiliar with InnoCentive’s Open Innovation process, it may feel unnatural to innovate within the context of missing (and proprietary) background information. We fully recognize and appreciate the difficulty of operating within that environment, so we do our best provide as much information as possible.

In our seven years of experience in brokering Open Innovation Challenge/Solution transactions, we believe that we have developed a system that balances the Seeker’s needs to maintain confidentiality and anonymity while providing the Solver with the highest possible chance of developing a winning solution.

I’d love to hear your thoughts on our interaction with you, as a Solver. If you’ve worked on Challenges, what has your experience been with the Client Services Team?

Lisa

Last week, we officially launched the Clean Tech and Renewable Energy Pavilion, featuring eco-friendly Challenges. As we mentioned in the press release, in 2007, more than $3B was committed to clean technology companies by venture capitalists, a 100% increase from 2006. The Pavilion addresses this growth and the critical need for innovative products and services that will have a positive impact on the Earth’s environment. A sponsor, the Barr Foundation, has posted the Boston Innovation Challenge on the Pavilion. This is a Barr Foundation initiative in collaboration with the Cambridge Energy Alliance, a public-private collaborative formed to reduce energy usage in the City of Cambridge, Massachusetts, within five years. The Challenge offers a prize of $30,000 for the design of a radically energy-efficient method of cooling and dehumidifying residential and small commercial spaces.

Today, we are officially launching the Global Health Pavilion featuring a Challenge requesting Solutions to fix the flawed US healthcare system. I encourage you all to submit your ideas!

Until next time,
Lisa

Announcing these awards is particularly bittersweet for me as in my role as Vice President of Client Services I have the opportunity to interact with most of our Solvers and these 11 individuals (yes, it was too difficult to round it down to 10) really stood out on top. These Solvers go to the heart of our mission statement they represent the human creativity and intelligence that makes our model work. Watching our Solvers in action and seeing these bright minds at work is truly gratifying.

Out of over 100 winning solvers last year, 11 Solvers top the leader board by either grossing at least $50,000 or by solving multiple Challenges in 2007. Of course we did have a couple of over-achievers in the group who met both criteria. Nikolay Barashkov, Ed Melcarek, Wenhui Zhang, Ming Zhou, Anatoly Chernyshev, Hegui Hu He, Sekhar Konjeti, James Mitchell, Dr. Ammanamanchi Radhakrishna, Eugeny Savin and Giorgia Sgargetta.

Each Top Solver will receive a crystal award and be recognized on the new “Top Solver” section of our website. From engineers and scientists to creative entrepreneurs, our Top Solvers are as diverse in their vocation as they are geographically – representing 7 countries. For more background on the winners, click here.

Lisa