Open Innovation Exchange

After all the virtual working of the past few weeks it seemed essential that we did more than just wing a pdf to John Craig and colleagues at the Cabinet Office. Time for hard copy - so Simon took the train and bike down from Warwickshire, Dan brought the camera, and we all met up outside the Office of the Third Sector for a proper delivery of the package. I asked Simon if he felt the effort had been worthwhile, and whether the open process had brought something extra to the proposal. Of course, he had to say yes ... but I know from conversations we've had, as well as his reply here, that it is a heartfelt yeeeah!!! As you'll hear in the interview, we got lots of new ideas and relationships, and it isn't over yet. By the way, if others who put in a bid want to go naked at this late stage, we would be happy to host their proposals on the site. Maybe open a poll ..... You can get carried away with this openness. Meanwhile, you can find what's in the package here, with encouragement to continue to contribute.

Technology for innovation - but in its place I've known Simon Berry and his team at Ruralnet for some years, and I'm always amazed that they manage to keep coming up with innovative ideas while continuing to get the nuts and bolts of project delivery right. We share an enthusiasm for new technology. Simon reminded me technology is a means to end - and has to be integrated with other ways in which people can work together. He also emphasised that we can't expect people always to share knowledge without reward: trading will be part of the mix in our vision of the Innovation Exchange.

Innovation Exchange benefits from net:gain The initial model for taking innovation to service providers and users draws on the net:gain programme that is being delivered by ruralnet|uk. Jane Berry is managing the programme, and when we met I asked her about the connection. I heard that one of the key ideas is social franchising.

There has been a call for futher explanation of the model we have presented for the Innovation Exchange and so we have produced an animated movie presentation with audio narrative.