Perspectives on Innovation

Greetings Solvers–

I’m curious about the low usage of our Solver Forum and I’m writing today to draw your attention to it and ask you to visit and give your input.

First, did you realize there is a Solver Forum on the IC website, which is there for your use? You can use it to express a view, connect with other Solvers, or to connect with IC.

Now I’ll be the first to admit, in the age of rampant social media technologies, it’s a slim offering today, but we’re looking at building it out around the Solver Community’s needs. I’d love to know if and how you use forums and other social media. Leave me a comment here or post your thoughts on the forum.

Second,  I posted a note on the forum last week about one of our current open challenges (InnoCentive Solver Community Visualization Tool, Challenge ID: 9543015). Check it out–Solvers are working on the challenge right now, and they could use your input. Maybe you even want to open a project room.

Thanks!

JD

Hello everyone.

As I’m sure you’ve noticed, InnoCentive’s new website is now live!   We’ve been working hard to update the site with both a new look and feel that we believe better represents today’s Solvers and Seekers and with a framework and functionality that is more flexible and robust.

With this new site, you will immediately feel the difference-it’s lighter, friendlier and, most importantly, it is richer in content than it was before. And it’s going to continue to get better and better rapidly over the coming months thanks to an open framework and content management system on the back end.

We also think you will start to see improvements and enhancements to key functionality that will make you more efficient and effective, as well as enable you to collaborate more easily and more often with improved Team Project Rooms (coming this fall) and more social media tools to help you connect when you want and with whom you want. The basic workings of the website will remain the same: your user information, your archives and your Challenges are exactly as you left them. We haven’t changed the processes you’re used to, such as signing Solver agreements, opening project rooms and submitting solutions, however we’ve tried to make them a bit more user-friendly, and will continue to do so.

It’s worth reflecting that InnoCentive is a marketplace that brings Solvers and Seekers to difficult Challenges. And our site reflects the complex nature of this relationship by providing sections for both sides of the equation. But we encourage you to look at the “other” side if you are a Solver or a Seeker, because there’s lots to understand and learn about how Open Innovation really works today.

With our new site, we’re working hard to make this complex area easy. Please let us know what you think. You can provide your feedback by clicking on the “feedback” link on the homepage, or by clicking on the “contact us” link on any page in the site.

We’re very proud of the new site – it represents months of work by the InnoCentive team, and valuable input that we’ve received formally and informally from Seekers, Solvers and partners alike. Thanks for your support during this process – we couldn’t have done it without you.

Best regards,

Dwayne Spradlin
President and CEO, InnoCentive

I wanted to get a quick blog out today to share some big news: we have been working tirelessly for several months on redesigning our website – I’m pleased and excited to let you know our launch date is in sight, planned for later this summer!

The new site features improved flows, better and more content, and a complete new look & feel we think you’re going to love!

Solver Input: A couple weeks ago I sent an email to a large portion of our Solvers asking for help reviewing and testing aspects of the redesigned website and its content. We received more than two hundred responses within the first twenty-four hours.

Thank you to everyone who responded to the call!

With your input, we’re more excited than ever about the launch.

We’ll provide a more detailed summary of the changes as well as the launch date in a couple weeks.

Best,
JD

Hi everyone—

Earlier this year we made some exciting incremental changes to the InnoCentive website: Most recently we added Solutions 2.0 and the Challenge Browser, which were significant feature adds/enhancements.

Looking ahead, we’re working on additional changes that will make it much easier to find information and navigate the site.

I’m writing today with an opportunity for you to get involved: I’m pleased to invite our Solver community to participate in the InnoCentive.com Preview Program. Here are the details:

Overview

The Preview Program is designed to provide a select group of Friends of InnoCentive (Seekers, Solvers, other invited guests) with early access to a pre-release version of InnoCentive.com. In the process, you will have the opportunity to preview the upcoming release and in exchange agree to provide hands-on feedback to ensure a smooth release and introduction of the new version to all users.

Details

The primary objective of the Preview Program is to validate that the software is ready to be released. The Preview program has been limited to 10 participants who represent the different users of the site. If you agree to participate, you are expected to be actively engaged in the program and to provide feedback.

There are two phases to the program.

The initial phase is focused on the new site content and information architecture, and will take place during the week of June 21^st. You will be asked to spend 60-90 minutes reviewing the new site content and providing feedback.

The second phase of the program is aimed at validating the site as a whole – content, look and feel, navigation, ease of use; this second phase will take place the week of July 6^th. You will be asked to spend 1 – 2 hours using the site and providing feedback.

You are invited to participate in one or both phases of the program.

All you need to participate is a computer, an Internet connection, a little time, and a willingness to give us your honest opinion.

The Preview Program is open only to registered Solvers.

To find out more about participating, please send an email to beta@innocentive.com as soon as possible. There are a limited number of spots available, and we’ll take them on a first-come basis, so email now!

We’re looking forward to hearing from you.

Thanks for helping!

JD

Greetings, InnoCentive Solvers! Let me introduce myself:

I’m John Dila and I joined InnoCentive two weeks ago as Vice President, Solver Community. This is a brand new role at InnoCentive, and with it we plan to focus completely on YOU—your insights, your needs, your growth, and your success!

Today, I want to do two things: first, focus on you; and second, provide you with some insights about me, as well as some early thoughts about the possibilities for this year.
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