InnoCentive: open innovation marketplace

Founded in 2001, InnoCentive acts as an open innovation marketplace that uses “crowdsourcing” to solve water and sanitation challenges in exchange for the opportunity to earn cash awards.

Corporations and non-profits referred to as "Seekers" come to InnoCentive.com to post "Challenges" - unique professional, academic and research problems for which they are seeking a solution. Each Challenge contest offers a cash award for solutions chosen from all those submitted. Anyone can create a free account to become a "Solver" and offer his or her unique solution to a challenge.

Cash awards offered range from US$ 5,000 to US$ 1 million. Up to November 2009, nearly US$ 5 million in prize money had been awarded to 539 Challenges.

One group of Challenges – the GlobalGive Back Innovation Challenge - focuses on solving problems in developing countries. Within this group, the Rockefeller Foundation is sponsoring a series of water and sanitation challenges. Examples of challenges are a design for dry-based biolatrines for rural schools in Africa, a low-cost rainwater harvesting storage tank in India, and safe drinking water from Lake Victoria.

Web sites:

• InnoCentive.com - GlobalGive Back Innovation Challenge
• InnoCentive.com - Developing Countries Pavilion

Contact: InnoCentive, Inc., Waltham, MA, USA, contact page