Open innovation operating system
From challenge to impact.
Seven stages that turn a scattered problem into a solution that operates. Each stage produces a concrete output: if it does not, there is no moving on to the next.
Open innovation must end in a concrete economic, operational, institutional or social relationship. Not in an event, a photograph or a letter of intent.
Observe
Map what exists and what hurts
Before solving anything, you have to know which problems exist, who has them and which capabilities are available to address them. This stage avoids the ecosystem's most expensive mistake: solving the wrong problem.
Inputs
- Data
- Interviews
- Diagnostics
- Trends
- Business problems
- Citizen needs
- Academic capabilities
- Public priorities
Output: map of challenges and capabilities
Prioritize
Decide what deserves the resources
Not all challenges can be addressed at once, and treating them as if they could is the most common way of addressing none. Each challenge is evaluated against explicit criteria.
Criteria
- Impact
- Urgency
- Feasibility
- Scalability
- Resources required
- Data availability
Also weighed
- Strategic alignment
- Social benefit
- Environmental benefit
- Economic potential
Output: prioritized portfolio of challenges
Connect
Form the team that can actually solve it
A challenge is rarely solved by a single actor. This is the stage where CANIETI adds the most value: it knows who has the missing capability and can convene them with credibility.
Who is convened
- Companies
- Startups
- Universities
- Researchers
- Experts
- Funds
- Government agencies
- Users
- Partners
Output: innovation team or consortium
Pilot
Test on a small scale, with clear rules
A pilot without a decision date tends never to end. Before starting, it is defined exactly what will be measured and when the decision will be made.
Every pilot defines
- Person responsible
- Scope
- Budget
- Data
- Timeline
- Indicators
- Risks
- Intellectual property
- Decision criteria
- Evaluation date
Reference duration
- Fast pilots: 90 days
- Extended pilots: up to 180 days
A suggested methodological parameter, not an institutional rule in force.
Output: technical, operational and user evidence
Validate
Answer whether it really works
A pilot that shows something does not work also produces evidence, and saves a larger investment. Validation is not a formality: it is the stage that gives meaning to all the previous ones.
It is verified that
- It works technically
- It generates value
- It is accepted by users
- It complies with regulation
- It is sustainable
- It can operate
- It can be scaled
- It is financially viable
Output: evidence-based decision
Scale
Turn the result into something permanent
This is where most ecosystems stop. A successful pilot that turns into nothing is a lost investment with a good presentation.
It can take the form of
- Implementations
- Contracts
- New products
- New companies
- Public policies
- Sector-wide adoption
- Regional replication
- Internationalization
Output: expanded impact
Share
So the learning does not stay in a single organization
The knowledge generated in a pilot is valuable for the entire ecosystem. Documenting the mistakes as well is what keeps them from being repeated five times in five different companies.
What is documented
- Lessons learned
- Results
- Mistakes
- Methodologies
- Indicators
- Cases
- Technologies
- Recommendations
Output: reusable knowledge for the ecosystem
Next step
The next big project can begin with a well-framed challenge.
Share the problem you need to solve or register the capability you can contribute.