Use the Map to build an infrastructure, a process and methodology for making open innovation happen at your cluster level. Let your members post their challenges. Self-assess on Industry Challenge vs. Company issue, and Urgent Issue vs. Long-Term Challenge.

Have your corporate members (often defined as the Problem Owners) input their “Problems” into the platform. Open the platform to startups, scale ups, partners, academia and researchers. Let the crowd help define the solutions.

Some innovation clusters struggle to create value for their members. Develop a future-fit open innovation strategy, and let members see how powerful open innovation can be at the cluster level.

For many clusters, the first use case is likely to be the local innovation groups. This is a great testing ground for the ideas and design principles in the Open Innovation Map.

Introduce it, present it, explain why this is relevant, then have groups work directly on the tool (use paper or PVC tools from Stattys). Extract and evaluate the key inputs from the first few such sessions.

If successful, and the early outcome meets your expectations, build a larger open innovation process around this tool.

The Supercluster Open Innovation Map is well suited for large scale, open innovation platforms. Go to app.strategytools.io to set up your account and start using the Map today.
(available May 2019).

On the digital platform, you can have all cluster members log in and register their challenges and problems. Use this to connect problem solvers to create solutions faster.  Have the companies themselves provide the challenges they face and let them rank them 1-10 on the digital platform.

This will provide a clear visual overview on the most pressing challenges the cluster members are facing; and provide ample innovation opportunities for startups, scale ups and outside experts.

Whether you work on paper of digital, the key to open innovation success is the same.
Develop a professional communication strategy. Communicate well. Communicate often.
Instead of focusing on the open innovation theories, focus on the impact, the outcome and the success of the early open innovation projects in practice.