Take an Internal IP Inventory before You Jump on the Open Innovation Bandwagon

Nannette Stangle-Castor

I am a firm believer in Open Innovation (OI) and all the benefits it can bring to an organization. (Check on these posts on OI topics.) For those of you who have not yet embarked down the road to OI (and even for some you who have) there is key first step that my experience working with several Fuentek clients has shown is key to moving forward with OI. And it is… (drum roll, please)

Looking internally to organize and analyze your intellectual property (IP) portfolio. This means:

• Engaging with internal innovators through training and other communications
  
  
• Capturing your IP into a database (see our Insights on IP management databases and other information management)
  
  
• Evaluating and organizing your IP based on its potential applications and market value (for more on portfolio screening, download this podcast by Fuentek’s Laura Schoppe)
  

So why does this matter for OI? According to Prof. Henry Chesbrough, the author of the 2003 seminal book Open Innovation, analysis and organization of your IP portfolio should be part of the process of employing OI. (See our blog summarizing a recent Twitter chat with Henry Chesbrough)

It stands to reason that before you look externally for solutions to internal needs or new technologies to incorporate into your product development, you need to know what you have. By understanding what you have, you avoid:

• Reinventing the wheel: Inventorying your IP means you won’t spend time and money in-licensing (or doing your own R&D, for that matter) something that is close to what you already have.
  
  
• Unfocused OI efforts: Having a sense of your capabilities and gaps gives direction to your OI efforts, thus increasing the likelihood of success.
  
  
• Frustrating your innovators: By knowing what you have, you won’t try to engage your innovators in an OI effort to innovate something they already came up with, which would be a real setback for future engagement of those innovators in OI. (Read more about understanding your innovators and product/program managers within the context of OI.)
  

This internal approach as a key in OI was confirmed in a Twitter chat with Jeff Bellairs, the senior director of Connected Innovation at General Mills (GM), who created the General Mills Worldwide Innovation Network (G-WIN). According to Bellairs, one of the unsung benefits of OI is that it provides an opportunity for making better internal connections and building those internal relationships across the silos that tend to exist in R&D. Building those relationships helps the organization be honest about its capabilities, goals, and needs—an essential step for successful OI.

This internal engagement and analysis as a fundamental part of externally focused OI efforts is precisely the focus on our Symbiotic Innovation approach. We believe that the internal and external flow must be tightly coupled, with information and insight permeating both spin-in and spin-out efforts. (For more, see our Insights on Symbiotic Innovation.)

We’d love to hear more about your experiences (good or bad) when you did (or didn’t do) an internal IP analysis before embarking on OI. In particular, if you did not and have some lessons learned, please add a comment below or (if you’re feeling shy) contact us and we’ll get back to you!

–By Nannette Stangle-Castor