Crowdfunding

5. They operate in internal honesty and
transparency: they create a system
based on reciprocal trust and
mutually established principles.
Examples of CoIN
CoINs have been developing many
disruptive innovations such as the Internet,
Linux, the Web and Wikipedia. These
inventions were created in universities or
labs by a group of enthusiastic students with
little or no budget. They were not focused
on the money but on the sense of
accomplishment.
The Web is the early version of Internet. It
was driven by a CoIN of intrinsically
motivated people that wanted to improve
technical development and launch a
disruptive solution. Their goal was to link
mainframes and allow multiple users
simultaneously.
Another important contribution of CoIN
was Linux, an operating system for
personal computing that directly
competes with Microsoft. It was
initially developed by a
student called Linus
Torvalds and later
became an open source
software. Today, the code
is publicly available and
anyone can contribute or
enhance it. The success
of Linux is the constant
and continuous updating
which is done at a much lower
cost than closed source software.
Last but not least, Wikipedia gathers
thousands of volunteers that constantly
write and update content. Although it does
not have a hierarchy nor a central authority,
the entries are mostly accurate and
complete. Volunteers share a strong feeling
of community and willingness to contribute
towards knowledge without being paid for it.
Faced with these creations, large
companies such as IBM and Intel have
learnt to use the principles of open
innovation to enhance their research
learning curve.
They increased or established
collaborations with universities, agencies
and small companies to accelerate their
processes and launch new services faster.
Current Challenges
Although it exists for long time,
Collaborative Innovation still needs to be
empowered. A more collaborative approach
involving stakeholders such as
governments, corporations, entrepreneurs
and scholars is key to tackle the main
challenges facing today.
First of all, it is still important to raise the
awareness of CoIN and its benefits among
companies and major economic fields.
Policy makers and corporate
leaders could support the
development of
programs, strategies
and educational plans to
stimulate CoINs in
specific sectors,
benefiting the whole
economy.
Second, the overall
legal and regulatory
framework still needs to
evolve to foster crossfirm
collaboration. Fiscal
and intellectual property regimes
should be reviewed to provide the
necessary infrastructure to nourish CoINs. A
further stimulus is important to encourage
the creation of start-ups and the
development of a network of partners
across companies.
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