Overview
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is a United States government agency that is responsible for science and technology related to air and space. The agency has nine centers, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and seven test and research facilities located in several states around the country. More than 18,000 people work for NASA.
Call To Action
When the COVID-19 pandemic hit the US in March 2020, NASA’s workforce expressed their desire to help combat COVID-19.
Solution
NASA launched an internal, agency-wide call for ideas called NASA@WORK using IdeaScale’s crowdsourcing software. The campaign focused on three challenge areas: personal protective equipment, ventilation devices, and monitoring and forecasting of the spread and impacts of the virus.
Top leadership from NASA included it in their communications, and 3,000+ pageviews on their campaign were driven by a single email!
Results
NASA@WORK ideas added value to several projects, including one using NASA’s supercomputing capability to advance research for treatments and a vaccine, as well as offering AI expertise to develop new data mining techniques for answering high-priority questions related to COVID-19.
Other ideas informed efforts that have led to new virus tracking and forecast modeling apps, 3D printed masks and other PPE equipment, impact visualizations, NASA-modified ventilators, sensors for virus detection, and more. Several ideas have already been implemented.
Enhanced Problem-solving through Collaboration
NASA uses IdeaScale’s crowdsourcing platform to connect with their internal talent pool and get ideas to help solve the most difficult challenges. NASA@WORK fosters collaboration across the entire NASA community through interactive discussion.
Maximized the Impact of Internal Innovation
1500 of NASA’s researchers generated 250 unique ideas, proving the benefits of bringing diverse and expert voices together to help solve difficult problems.
Streamlined the Ideation Process
Instead of a cumbersome one-way process like a suggestion box, NASA is using IdeaScale’s innovative crowdsourcing platform to collect and connect ideas from their internal talent pool.
