Crowdsourcing for a Better Future
Driven by innovation and the urge to do something productive most organizations today have become proactive with crowdsourcing. Entrepreneurs and start up ventures have realized when it comes to ideas and creative inputs, it's best to remain open minded and involve the global crowd. The ideas and feedbacks gathered in the form of open innovation contests and discussions help not only in generating new products but implementing certain projects that can change our lives for the better.
The Minnesota Idea Open is something that works on the same line. Established by the Minnesota Community Foundation, United States, this platform is for the Minnesotans to learn about the issues that are affecting their lives and coming up with ideas to resolve them. Each year this foundation focuses on one challenge, where individuals are encouraged to submit ideas that are later assessed by a panel of judges. The best three ideas receive $15,000 and any two other ideas receive a grant of $5,000 each. In 2012, the Minnesota Idea Open encouraged people to come up with fresh ideas to boost cross-cultural understanding. Approximately 600 ideas were submitted, of which the best three were implemented. The ideas included initiatives such as; a multi-cultural exhibit to solve public issues of racism and to bring together people of diverse faith and backgrounds to work together for a common goal, such as building schools or playgrounds.
Recently, huge corporations and forward thinking companies have been making profits with this technique of mass idea capture. Apart from gathering new ideas and inputs, this technique helps companies to establish a deeper connect with the consumer and later to help in the funding of public work projects.
This is what Spacehive, from the United Kingdom has been doing with its crowd funding initiative to help communities rejuvenate and transform their local spaces. The company encourages people to suggest projects and then solicit funds and support for executing them. Whether it is on a plot of wasteland or a community center that needs to be spruced up, an individual needs to submit the idea to Spacehive and then take initiatives to execute the project. The website allows you to post the idea, a promotional video and even the fund raising objective. Post that one can promote the same and gather funds to carry it forward.
Therefore, idea management today has acquired a whole new dimension. It is no more a pen and paper approach being followed within the confines of a meeting or boardroom. The idea is to go all out in public and share with the crowd, the agenda, encouraging their views and opinions. This makes an individual feel worthy and boosts up an ambiance of knowledge sharing.
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