Case Study

Clearing the Path to Open Innovation

 

A leading global developer of scientific instruments and medical devices engaged Borman & Company to lead a multi-day open innovation conference for stakeholders across the organization. The company did not have a strong tradition of innovation as much of its intellectual property portfolio had been acquired. Ongoing research was siloed and therefore the need was identified to grow a strong IP portfolio that leveraged internal and external opportunities to build IP that the company could stand behind.

 

The goal of the conference was to bring forward-looking sentinels from around the world and indoctrinate them in the methodology of open innovation. The participants, many of them PhDs, scientists and project leads, earned a greater appreciation for how to embrace all new ideas and they began to internalize the values of open innovation. A strong emphasis was placed on how to further research initiatives across the organization with outside partners.

 

As a result of the conference developed and delivered by Borman & Company consultants, the client pushed ahead to formalize open innovation as a functional area and an international initiative was launched to propel open innovation forward. An additional assignment for Borman & Company was to seek out the best research partner to fill a specific gap in the company’s IP portfolio. The appropriate candidate was found in Canada resulting in a productive research relationship that is well on the path to commercialized product.