Open space, natural light, a chalkboard wall and a wall for pushpins. Crayons, a slinky, and a bean bag chair. Oh, and a projector, prototypes and large monitors featuring existing patents. That's not what you were thinking at first, was it? It's my latest idea to foster an innovative culture around me...a sort of "inspiration room".
Take a place that has a thousands of patents on record, say a research university or big technology company. I believe it is safe to say that many of these patents were never commercialized. Sure, a lot of the technology is old and no longer applicable, but what about the concept or the challenge that was being solved. Or is there a new way to apply that technology to solve a different challenge? Has a market grown for an older idea that was too advanced for its time? So much potential just sitting there. Potential needing new minds to take a fresh look.
Is is possible to create a database with a user-friendly interface where people can search through the organizations patents and look for new ideas? And then unlock the potential of this database through the use of an "inspiration room". The space should have prototypes and large monitors to search the database. Sessions held in the space can focus on a type of technology of challenge being addresses and people connected in that field can go through a facilitated brainstorming session. People needing a dose of creativity can use the space to imagine and feed off of others' ideas. Inventors can present their previous creations and ideas to panels tasked with finding a new use or solution.
Is this being done somewhere already? What else should be included? What won't work?
Credits: University of Southern Indiana's Innovation Discovery Process and a white paper by innovation strategy firm, Strategos.
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