Collaborative innovation network

A Collaborative Innovation Network, or CoIN, is a social construct used to describe innovative teams^{[clarification needed]}. It has been defined by the originator of the term, Peter Gloor (a Research Scientist at MIT Sloan's Center for Collective Intelligence) as "a cyberteam of self-motivated people with a collective vision, enabled by the Web to collaborate in achieving a common goal by sharing ideas, information, and work."

COINs feature internal transparency and direct communication. Members of a COIN collaborate and share knowledge directly with each other, rather than through hierarchies. They come together with a shared vision because they are intrinsically motivated to do so and seek to collaborate in some way to advance an idea.

The five essential elements of collaborative innovation networks (what Gloor calls their "genetic code") are as follows:

1. Evolve from learning networks^{[clarification needed]}
2. Feature sound ethical principles
3. Based on trust and self-organization
4. Make knowledge accessible to everyone
5. Operate in internal honesty and transparency

COINs rely on modern technology such as the Internet, e-mail, and other communications vehicles for information sharing. Creativity, collaboration, and communication are their hallmarks.^{[citation needed]}

COINs existed well before modern communication technology enabled their creation and development. Peter Gloor and Scott Cooper, in their book, describe Benjamin Franklin's "Junto" organization in Philadelphia as a COIN paradigm. Franklin brought together people with diverse backgrounds, from varying occupations, but of like mind to share knowledge and promulgate innovation.

Similar is the concept of the "Self-Organizing Innovation Network" which have been described by one author, Robert Rycroft of the Elliott School of International Affairs of George Washington University as follows:

"The most valuable and complex technologies are increasingly innovated by networks that self-organize. Networks are those linked organizations (e.g., firms, universities, government agencies) that create, acquire, and integrate diverse knowledge and skills required to innovate complex technologies (e.g., aircraft, telecommunications equipment). In other words, innovation networks are organized around constant learning. Self-organization refers to the capacity these networks have for combining and recombining these learned capabilities without centralized, detailed managerial guidance. The proliferation of self-organizing innovation networks may be linked to many factors, but a key one seems to be increasing globalization. Indeed, globalization and self-organizing networks may be coevolving. Changes in the organization of the innovation process appear to have facilitated the broadening geographical linkages of products, processes, and markets. At the same time, globalization seems to induce cooperation among innovative organizations."

—Robert Rycroft^{[citation needed]}

Examples

An example of the COIN idea at work may be SpineConnect, a community of spine surgeons interacting in a variety of ways, ultimately with the goal of producing innovation. It cannot be stated with certainty that the group had its genesis as a COIN, but it does illustrate some of the concepts. Starting out as a knowledge sharing community, enabling surgeons from around the world to share difficult and unusual cases, it quickly emerged as a community to produce innovation collaboratively. Since its launch in October 2005, the surgeons have used SpineConnect to produce original research and take their ideas and create patents. As the community matures, more ambitious goals are being pursued, such as creating a better classification system of disease for spine.

Challenges

As COINs become increasingly popular among governments and corporations, the ethical, financial, economic, and cognitive issues which drive incentives will inevitably face challenges. Over time potential innovators may be unwilling to participate in projects merely on the basis of implied financial gain. As globalization begins to impact traditional models of planned social progress, the broader political context in which participants cooperate has become more relevant lately. This suggests an increased need for independent parties to collaborate on the basis of agreed upon principles and objectives, ultimately this could encompass the interests of humanity and the emergence of a global culture.

See also

• Innovation - Knowledge engineering - Knowledge management - Semantic web
• Game theory - Systems theory - Group theory - Chaos theory - Network theory
• Complex systems - Human ecosystem - Teleonomy - Nonlinear systems - Self-organization
• Libertarianism - Mutualism - Praxeology - Panarchy
• Cybernetics - Augmented Group Cognition - Intelligence amplification
• General theory of collaboration - Collective intelligence - Polytely - Koinontely
• Global Information Grid
• Information Routing Group
• Open politics - Symbolic interactionism

References

• Peter Gloor (2005) Swarm Creativity: Competitive Advantage Through Collaborative Innovation Networks. ISBN 0195304128
• Peter Gloor and Scott Cooper (2007) Coolhunting: Chasing Down the Next Big Thing. ISBN 0814473865
• Silvestre, B. S., Dalcol, P. R. T. (2009) Geographical proximity and innovation: Evidences from the Campos Basin oil & gas industrial agglomeration — Brazil. Technovation, Vol. 29 (8), pp. 546–561.

External links

• fido ('fearless innovation designed online') - collaborative innovation system
• Ethical Issues in Collaborative Innovation Networks by Peter A. Gloor, Carey Heckman, & Fillia Makedon.
• "Self-Organizing Innovation Network"
• "Advances in Interdisciplinary Studies of Work Teams"
• "Transforming Government Through Collaborative Innovation"
• "The Future of Work"
• "Global University System with Globally Collaborative Innovation Network"
• "Network Plasticity and Collaborative Innovation"