Knowledge to Support Creation: Integrating Academic Databases with Open Innovation Platforms

Open innovation makes an open, collaborative process of creating new or improved ideas, methods, or products, based on the exchange of information and knowledge between different agents. Several Web-based platforms have been developed to support this collaborative process. These platforms act as "innovation markets," virtual meeting places that connect organizations and innovators based on Web 2.0 technologies, which enable online sharing of information or material users have created. Organizations can publish a challenge—that is, a call to participate in finding an improved process or product—and participants can propose innovative solutions. The platform acts as a mediator between the agents involved. Such platforms, which aim to support the collaborative effort behind ideas and innovations, have exploded in popularity during the 2000s. Similar growth can be observed in platforms that give access to scientific and technical content. Some are based on the open access philosophy, the movement to make scholarly research and publications freely available to the public online, without restrictions. This paper analyzes the opportunities offered by the integration of open innovation platforms with scientific databases and repositories, and how these knowledge tools can support the development of collaboration networks to promote capabilities for innovation.