Collaborative innovation is an approach that brings together diverse individuals or communities to co-create innovative solutions. This involves sharing ideas, knowledge, resources and skills. All the while fostering a culture of cooperation and mutual trust.

Here's a look at how the power ofcollective intelligence can transform organizations!

Defining collaborative innovation

What is collaborative innovation?

In an EACAT video, innovation is defined as having an idea, executing that idea and addressing a real customer need. This generates value for the organization, for customers, and for society.

To sum up the essence of this definition, innovation is about creating something new that generates value. Or at least, more value than what currently exists on the market.

By following this definition, we can quickly come to the conclusion that everyone can innovate!

Collaborative innovation is a method of bringing new ideas out of the collective, and putting them to work to create value or solve problems.

The people involved in the collaborative innovation process may be internal to the company (employees), or external (customers, partners, candidates, etc.). In this case, we often speak ofopen innovation.

A multi-profile approach

When people from different backgrounds, cultures and areas of expertise work together, they create a variety of viewpoints and experiences. The collective intelligence thus created makes it possible to find new approaches to solving problems.

That's why it's essential to consider all ideas and contributions to the collaborative innovation process.

Some will bring technical know-how, others practical experience, others practical skills, and so on. Encouraging collaborative innovation means bringing these diverse profiles together.

In short, the diversity of perspectives enables us to consider different points of view and to rethink traditional ways of working in order to propose new, innovative solutions.

A few examples to illustrate collaborative innovation

1- In-house collaborative innovation

A company wants to improve the efficiency of its production line. It is going to organize an innovation challenge to invite all its employees to come up with ideas for improving overall efficiency. Employees will be able to give their opinions and feedback, based on their knowledge, expertise and professional or personal experience.

Once the ideas have been submitted, a jury will select the most relevant ones, and set up working groups to organize their implementation.

In this way, the company will have enabled all its employees, from all walks of life, to participate in innovation beyond their usual sphere of activity.

2- External collaborative innovation

Take a company looking to develop a new product. There's nothing more logical than asking the first people involved: your own customers!

It's also worth noting that consumers have a real desire to participate in the development of products and services. In fact, 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 can solicit its best customers, or launch a call for ideas on its website, so as to collect a multitude of feedbacks. This is the best way to respond to real needs.

The challenges of collaborative innovation

Designing your corporate culture

Collaborative innovation can encounter all kinds of cultural obstacles within an organization. These obstacles can take different forms. For example, there may be an 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.

Find out more: The 4 pillars of a corporate innovation culture

Clear and transparent communication

Clear communication is essential for successful collaborative innovation. Stakeholders need to understand the collaborative innovation framework. This framework includes :

• Themes on which ideas are proposed
• The objectives of the approach
• The "rules of the game
• Highlights and timetable
• Etc.

Because, as in any process, participants need to be clear about what is expected of them if they are to give their best.

Structuring proposal and idea management processes

A collaborative innovation approach cannot do without a good idea management system. In short, you need a good innovation platform. This platform will enable you to :

• Framing the emergence of ideas: what themes are users expected to address? What does the idea submission form look like?
• Provide a communication space where the objectives, rules and monitoring of the process are made explicit.
• Managing the moderation of ideas: is there a jury? Should ideas be evaluated? Rank them?
• Monitor the development of ideas in terms of project management (forming teams, creating to-do lists, setting deadlines, etc.).
• Communicating on project deployment: this involves enabling everyone to follow the progress of projects, the successes and challenges encountered, but also highlighting the people behind the ideas.

In short, a dedicated space gives all stakeholders access to relevant information, discussions and results from current projects.

It also enables the creation of innovation communities. Everyone can collaborate, exchange knowledge and find development opportunities. This structuring makes it much easier to bring together complementary skills and stimulate mutual learning. 

In short, arming yourself with a tool dedicated to collaborative innovation helps the company to harness the creative potential of its stakeholders, foster an open innovation culture and generate sustainable, measurable results. 

Engaging stakeholders over the long term

Ensuring the active and lasting commitment of stakeholders is certainly the most critical element of a collaborative innovation approach.

To achieve this, it is first essential, as we saw earlier, to create an environment that fosters trust, collaboration and open communication.

In addition, you need to pay particular attention to valuing everyone's ideas and contributions . Indeed, by recognizing and rewarding stakeholders' efforts, you'll make them want to continue participating. Conversely, if you don't recognize participation, those who do take part may feel that "there's no point", and you'll lose users who are ready to get involved.

A pleasant, intuitive tool is also essential for long-term commitment. Indeed, if they like the tool, users will find it easier to go there to propose ideas or enrich those of others.

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's important to define appropriate Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) based on your objectives. These KPIs can include measures 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 adds the most value.

Finally, during this analysis, don't forget to monitor the impact of the approach on employees, their satisfaction and well-being at work. Listen to their feedback, and show them that their opinion counts. Indeed, active listening and taking their feedback into account show that their contributions are valuable and help shape the future of the organization.

Guaranteeing the confidentiality and protection of information

It is essential to guarantee the security of sensitive data while fostering an environment of trust for stakeholders. To achieve this, it is essential to implement robust data management protocols and raise awareness of the importance of confidentiality among all stakeholders.

You can start by identifying what information needs to be kept confidential, and putting clear confidentiality policies in place. You need to define rules and procedures for storing, sharing and protecting sensitive data.

In addition, adequate training and awareness-raising for employees and stakeholders is essential. It is important to inform them of potential risks, best practices in data security and the importance of complying with privacy policies. Transparency in data management and proactive communication in the event of a breach of confidentiality also contribute to building stakeholder confidence.

By providing a framework for collaborative innovation in terms of information protection, you can ensure that your approach is both ethical and secure. Your stakeholders can act with confidence, which is essential to the success of the process.