A Look at the 2020 State of Crowdsourced Innovation Report

Disruption is a necessary component of innovation. The novel coronavirus has massively disrupted all industries, resulting in brand new questions and conversations.

Some innovative companies take a centralized approach to innovation, while others choose a decentralized method. Research shows 30% of companies utilize one unit to control and drive innovation, while 35% report research results are passed on to other business units.

The COVID-19 pandemic hit just as IdeaScale was preparing the release of its 2020 State of Crowdsourced Innovation Report. As customer questions rolled in, their communities began launching new campaigns.

IdeaScale subsequently incorporated the results of their conversations and surveys into the report. This new discovery phase allowed them to address how the coronavirus would impact innovation.

The report includes vital benchmarks and information shared by peers and is an essential read regardless of your experience facing innovation challenges. Topics include:

• Profile of an innovation program
• Distinguishing characteristics of a successful innovation program
• The impact of COVID-19 on innovation programs

What is crowdsourced innovation?

Innovation is strategically relevant to the entire organization. According to the 2020 State of Crowdsourced Innovation Report, nearly 40% of IdeaScale’s customers have a dedicated department for innovation. It makes sense for the operations department to manage this aspect of business because these employees understand the strategies that run the company as a whole.

Many organizational leaders reach out to employees for new ideas. This process is called crowdsourced innovation. IdeaScale reports 68% of their customers crowdsource from their employees while 32% collaborate with customers, partners, and the general public.

An innovation program is comprised of two main components, the ideas and the way the company views innovation. You need the ideas for positive change to occur, but everyone in the organization needs to be on-board for them to be effective.

Characteristics of a successful innovation program

Organizational leaders must support innovation for the program to succeed. They can develop and adopt new ideas if they put the right resources in place.

Leaders can allocate these resources, get rid of obstacles, and provide proper communication for better visibility. A successful innovation program will add value to an organization. Employees will benefit from the recognition and career growth these programs can offer.

Organization leaders should invest in training. Employees who increase their skills and knowledge of the industry will be more apt to share new, targeted ideas.

Take time to develop a method of filtering ideas. This will help you implement and cultivate the right ideas.

The impact of COVID-19 on innovation programs

According to the IdeaScale report, innovation is not the main factor in creating new strategies during COVID-19. As companies are forced to adapt, leadership, IT, and operations are helping to find solutions to new and unprecedented problems.

Since innovation teams are familiar with invoking change and improving processes, they should be spearheading the creation of new strategies. Instead, these teams are seeing a decrease in available resources, budget, and time set aside for innovation efforts. Still, as IdeaScale notes, many of its customers are launching campaigns to find solutions to challenges occurring as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Want more ideas for creating a successful innovation program?  Contact us today.