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Connecting Innovators

by Brendan Hughes on November 12th, 2009
5 Comments



InnovationChef posted a blog here a few weeks back describing the importance of innovation for Irish businesses today. He left us with the question of how we can connect with the myriad of innovation resources and individuals that already exist in Ireland.

innovatorsWell in the intervening period there have been a few conversations about this – on my own blog, on Twitter and on the IDA’s Innovation Ireland group on LinkedIn. We’ve talked about the idea of an online network for innovators that would be a forum for start-ups and individuals with ideas to meet, share and potentially develop partnerships.

There are some networks already, but it seems that most are not fulfilling the needs of many. Some people feel that we do not need yet another network (YAN), but that we should spend time improving what’s there or picking the best of each of them and aggregating them into a central resource.

However, among the inviduals who are bursting with idea’s there is overwhelming support for a new network that would help them bring their innovations to market. It seems that those who are already in start-up mode, who are already engaged with the various agencies, Enterprise Ireland or the County Enterprise Boards are well catered for.

Is this the case? Have you all the supports that you need already? Would you value a new online platform that would allow you to tap into innovation resources that could help you grow your business?

Two of the Enterprise Ireland activities that do appear to be meeting some part of the need are Ideagen which is an innovation roadshow touring Ireland at the moment, providing physical networking opportunities, and the Big Ideas Network which invites you to post some information about your big idea  in order to find the people with the commercial services you need. Have you availed of any of these? If so what are your thoughts?



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  • nialldevitt

    Hi Brendan, I was really hoping that people would start to pose these types of questions on here so thank you….. I think the simple answer to your question is yes but let me make a more general observation.The problem as I see it for many initiatives on-line or otherwise is the talk v action challenge, people will engage once they can see that their is a defined and speedy outcome. People are crying out for new ways to engage provided that their is a result at the end but unfortunately we continue to suffer from the lots of talk with very little action syndrome. I think if the network could speed up bringing ideas to market in a comprehensible way, it would be needed, valuable and a winner. It not a case of what's out there, it's more a case of how can we do faster, better and more effectively. We need as much “get ahead” stuff now as is possible.Great post!Niall

  • http://creativedynamic.blogspot.com/ Roisin Markham

    Great to see a discussion of this nature.If the choice is to go the YAN route I'd encourage a broader term of enagement so seekers and solvers can connect. This is a rapidly moving area. Which is as much about creative lateral thinking as anything else. As a facilitator, solver and catalst of inward innovation neither of these two networks work for me.Collaboration is easy but the framework to facilitate it has to be right.I think http://www.hypos.com and http://www.addictlab.com are good examples.

  • brendanhughes

    Thanks for the comments guys. Niall, I agree that there is a need for measurable outcomes from such an initiative. Bringing ideas to market would be one, but I guess that for every idea there are very very few that actually do make it to market. It might be a bit like a dating site – plenty of encounters, but few marriages. We'll have to think about the kinds of measure that are put in place – these will be driven by the objectives of course.Roisin, thanks for the examples. Are you sure that the first one is correct?

  • http://brendanhughes.ie Brendan Hughes

    Thanks for the comments guys. Niall, I agree that there is a need for measurable outcomes from such an initiative. Bringing ideas to market would be one, but I guess that for every idea there are very very few that actually do make it to market. It might be a bit like a dating site – plenty of encounters, but few marriages. We'll have to think about the kinds of measure that are put in place – these will be driven by the objectives of course.Roisin, thanks for the examples. Are you sure that the first one is correct?

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