How to run a great open innovation competition? Our advice is to SCAMPER

How to run a great open innovation competition? Our advice is to SCAMPER

If you work in innovation, you probably know the acronym SCAMPER (Substitute, Combine, Adapt, Modify, Put to another use, and Reverse). SCAMPER is an ideation method that invites innovators to take a product or solution and turn it on its head. You can throw out ideas about how things are done currently and consider what…

Systems-informed solutions should be our new bar, even if we’re still chasing the white whale of systems change.

Systems-informed solutions should be our new bar, even if we’re still chasing the white whale of systems change.

On their own, the solutions generated by innovation labs, accelerators, and competitions won’t solve complex problems. Champions of the innovation ecosystem have realized that sometimes our methods and incentives encourage individual solutions when we need partnerships and collaboration instead. Adopting a systems thinking approach with long-term planning, deep collaboration, expertise, and patience is crucial. However, these qualities…