Open Innovation Hits an Inflection Point Across Sectors, According to Luminary Labs Survey

Inaugural study finds private sector, government, nonprofit organizations are embracing open innovation in pursuit of a new competitive edge.

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Luminary Labs

Oct 02, 2018, 08:44 ET

NEW YORK, Oct. 2, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Leaders tasked with managing open innovation are dramatically changing how their organizations will compete — and win — in the years to come, according to the State of Open Innovation report released today by Luminary Labs.

Luminary Labs, a consulting firm based in New York, surveyed nearly 100 private sector, government, and nonprofit organizations in an inaugural cross-sector survey to discover how the practice of open innovation has evolved and what the future might hold.

While some organizations view open innovation as a set of activities — including crowdsourcing, prize competition, hackathons, data jams, and open science — others view it as a philosophy or an entirely new way of doing business. The report features insights from leaders at organizations including AstraZeneca, Bayer, City of Pittsburgh, MIT Solve, Mozilla, Nestlé USA, Pfizer, Schmidt Futures, Verizon, UCLA, and the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services.

The research shows the practice nearing an inflection point. While 26% of respondents say they have developed a mature competency, another 59% of organizations surveyed are actively developing the expertise. "Open innovation manager" has emerged as a hot new job title. Furthermore, nearly four in 10 (38%) respondents said open innovation is their sole focus — an early indicator of growth in this space, as organizations recognize the value of dedicating talent and resources to open innovation.

"We now have an understanding of the current state of open innovation in organizations today, including the investment rationale, how the competency is being built, and benchmarks for how it is being practiced," said Luminary Labs CEO Sara Holoubek. "With six in 10 respondents actively developing the competency, we anticipate that these early adopters will achieve maturity in the coming years."

Open innovation is helping organizations solve problems ranging from managing chronic disease to helping NASA design systems to support human life on Mars. "Cooperation is the new competition," said Eugene Borukhovich, global head of digital health incubation and innovation at Bayer and a participant in the survey. "We need to think differently about how do we partner, how do we create ecosystems, for the sake of the consumer."

The average survey respondent selected more than four goals for their open innovation programs, and stated that they are participating in four or more types of open innovation activities. More than three-quarters (79%) of respondents said they are using open innovation to stimulate the development of viable solutions or products, and more than two-thirds named stimulating concepts (69%) or identifying new partners, investments, or acquisitions (67%) as a goal. The most popular open innovation activities include co-creation or participatory design (78%), external prize competitions (67%), internal crowdsourcing (65%), and hackathons (63%).

Beyond benchmarks, the report includes insights on where open innovation may go in the future, including best practices and how to identify the internal conditions for success. Luminary Labs intends to conduct this survey again to monitor growth and development of the practice.

About Luminary Labs
Luminary Labs is a New York-based strategy and innovation consultancy with deep expertise in open innovation. The company, founded in 2009, helps private sector, nonprofit, and government clients thrive in the face of change.

Media Contact: Alex Tryon, [email protected], 817-228-7378

SOURCE Luminary Labs