Collaborative innovation is an approach that consists of to bring together diverse individuals or communities with the aim of co-creating innovative solutions. This involves sharing ideas, knowledge, resources and skills. While fostering a culture of cooperation and mutual trust.
A look back at this lever that transforms organizations thanks to the power ofcollective intelligence !
Definition of collaborative innovation
What is collaborative innovation?
In EACAT video, innovation is defined as having an idea, executing that idea by addressing a real need among customers. This allows you to generate value for the organization, for customers, and for society.
If we are to summarize the essence of this definition, innovation therefore consists of create novelty that generates value. Or at least, more value than what currently exists on the market.
Following this definition, we can quickly come to the conclusion that everyone can innovate!
Collaborative innovation is therefore a method which consists of bringing out new ideas from the collective, and implementing them to create value or resolve problems.
The people involved in the collaborative innovation process can be internal to the company (collaborators), or external (customers, partners, candidates, etc.). In this case, we will often speak ofopen innovation.
An approach based on the plurality of profiles
When people from different backgrounds, cultures and areas of expertise work together, they build a variety of perspectives and experiences. The collective intelligence that is created helps to find new new approaches to solving problems.
This is why it is essential to consider all the ideas proposed, and all contributions made in the collaborative innovation process.
Some will bring their technical know-how, others concrete experience, or even practical skills, etc. Encouraging collaborative innovation, it is therefore encouraging the meeting of these diverse profiles.
In short, the diversity of perspectives allows us to consider different points of view and rethink traditional operations to propose new and innovative solutions.
Some examples to illustrate collaborative innovation
1- Internal collaborative innovation
A company wants to improve the efficiency of its production line. She is going to organize a innovation challenge to invite all its employees to propose ideas with the aim of improving overall efficiencyEmployees will be able to provide their opinions and feedback, based on their knowledge, expertise, and professional or personal experiences.
Once the ideas have been proposed, a jury will be able to select the most relevant ones and set up working groups to organize their implementation.
The company will thus have enabled all of its employees, from all backgrounds, to participate in innovation beyond their usual scope of intervention.
2- External collaborative innovation
Let's take a company wishing to develop a new product. There is nothing more logical than to solicit the first concerned parties: its own customers!
Moreover, note that consumers have a real desire to participate in the development of products or services. Indeed, according to this article, 62% of French people say they would like to help their favorite brand create products and services.
In this way, the company will be able to solicit its best customers, or launch a call for ideas on its website, in order to collect a multitude of feedbacks. This is how it will be able to best respond to real needs.
The challenges and challenges of collaborative innovation
Breaking down silos in your corporate culture
Collaborative innovation can encounter all sorts of cultural barriers within an organization. These barriers can take different forms. For example, it can be a opaque culture, rigid hierarchies or strong resistance to change.
To overcome these obstacles, it is therefore important to work on your corporate culture, encouraging diversity of ideas and perspectives and gradually eliminating organizational silos.
3 tips for transforming your corporate culture:
✅ Organize workshops reflection mixing varied profiles, to discuss existing irritants.
✅ Establish an experience sharing programFor example, dedicate 30 minutes in the morning or during the lunch break to an employee who will explain to the entire company his or her vision of a recent project.
✅ Offer training around creativity to change traditional training. They will allow your employees to learn to think out of frame.
More: The 4 pillars of a culture of innovation in business
Adopt clear and transparent communication
To Achieving collaborative innovation, Clear communication is essential. This is about making stakeholders understand the framework of collaborative innovationThis framework includes in particular:
- The themes on which the proposal of ideas is focused
- The objectives of the approach
- The “rules of the game”
- Highlights and schedule of the system
- Etc
Because as in any process, participants must know clearly what is expected of them in order to give their best.
3 tips for adopting clear and transparent communication:
✅ Display (digitally) the “rules of the game” of your participatory innovation approach. Everyone will thus have easy access to it.
✅ Organize regular meetings to share information about ongoing projects.
✅ Create dashboards to track the progress and results of the process. You can then share the results in your internal newsletter.
Structure the processes for proposing and managing ideas
A collaborative innovation approach cannot do without a good idea management system. In short, you need a good innovation platform. This platform will allow you to:
- Framing the emergence of ideas : What topics are users expected to cover? How is the idea submission form composed?
- Offer a communication space, where the objectives, rules, and monitoring of the process will be explained
- Managing the moderation of ideas : is there a jury? Should ideas be evaluated? Ranked?
- Follow the development of ideas in terms of project management (team training, creation of to-do lists, setting deadlines, etc.)
- Communicate on project deployment : it is about allowing everyone to follow the progress of projects, the successes and challenges encountered, but also to highlight the humans behind the ideas.
In short, a dedicated space allows all stakeholders to access relevant information, discussions and results of ongoing projects.
It also provides the opportunity to create innovation communities. Everyone can collaborate, exchange knowledge and find development opportunities. This structuring greatly facilitates the connection of complementary skills and the stimulation of mutual learning.
In short, equipping itself with a tool dedicated to collaborative innovation helps the company to take advantage of the creative potential of stakeholders, to foster a culture of open innovation and to generate sustainable and measurable results.
3 tips for structuring the idea proposal and management processes:
✅ Download the Guide Book to structure your collective intelligence approach. It will help you formalize your goals, the roles of each person, your allies, your sources of inspiration, etc.
✅ Define the experts who will evaluate and prioritize ideas and projects.
✅ Identify the right people to set up a global steering and project monitoring committee.
Engaging stakeholders over the long term
Ensuring the active and lasting engagement of stakeholders is certainly the most critical element of a collaborative innovation approach.
To do this, it is first essential, as we have seen previously, to create an environment that fosters trust, collaboration and open communication.
Additionally, you should pay special attention to valuing ideas and contributions. of each. Indeed, by recognizing and rewarding the efforts of stakeholders, you will make them want to continue participating. Conversely, if you do not recognize participation, people who participate may think that "it is useless", and you will then lose users who are ready to engage.
The implementation of a pleasant and intuitive tool is also essential to ensure lasting engagement. Indeed, if they like the tool, users will find it easier to go there to propose ideas or enrich those of others.
3 tips for engaging stakeholders over the long term:
✅ Promoting innovation ambassadors. You can publish regularly articles to present the team behind an idea, portraits of innovators, or news of an idea implemented
✅ Rewarding the most active people in innovation. Whether it's those who propose ideas or those who enrich those of others. You can thus offer them training, distinctions, or even money.
✅ To be exemplary. If you are not actors in the collaborative innovation system, why should others be?
Read also: Should there be rewards in participatory innovation?
Tracking the results of collaborative innovation
Tracking the results of collaborative innovation is essential to assess its impact and value for the organization. To do this, It is important to define appropriate key performance indicators (KPIs) based on your objectives. These KPIs may include metrics such as the number of ideas generated, the rate of idea implementation, improved operational efficiency, customer satisfaction, or even revenue growth.
By tracking results in this way, you can more easily justify investments in collaborative innovation and direct efforts towards what brings the most added value.
Finally, when doing this analysis, don't forget to monitor the impact of the process on employees, their satisfaction and well-being at work. Listen to their feedback, and show them that their opinion matters. Indeed, active listening and taking their feedback into account shows that their contributions are valuable and contribute to shaping the future of the organization.
3 tips for monitoring the results of collaborative innovation:
✅ Equip yourself with a tool with a good dashboard.
✅ Set up a monthly COPIL to monitor previously defined performance indicators.
💡 Did you know? When you work with Beeshake, a consultant can participate with you in these steering committees to support and advise you
✅ Organize a quarterly survey to collect stakeholder feedback on the system. You can then promote the results of this survey in a newsletter.
Ensure confidentiality and protection of information
It is essential to ensure the security of sensitive data while fostering an environment of trust for stakeholders. To achieve this, it is essential to put in place robust data management protocols and to raise awareness among all stakeholders of the importance of confidentiality.
You can start with identify what information should remain confidential and establish clear privacy policies. It is necessary to define rules and procedures for storing, sharing and protecting sensitive data.
Urban artist training and awareness Adequate information for employees and stakeholders is essential. It is important to inform them of potential risks, data security best practices and the importance of complying with privacy policies. Transparency in data management and proactive communication in the event of a privacy breach also help build stakeholder trust.
By providing a framework for collaborative innovation with respect to information protection, you ensure that your approach is carried out in an ethical and secure manner. Your stakeholders can act with confidence, which is essential for the success of the process.
3 tips to ensure confidentiality and protection of information:
✅ Adopt a GDPR compliant tool. Ensure that data is stored securely.
✅ Write a charter which governs the management of sensitive information.
✅ Organize training data privacy awareness.
