Innocentive

Innocentive is an open innovation community, a concept founded in 2001 in order to associate various companies with an only aim is to join together different "brains" to create new challenge and find innovative ideas and solutions.It's an online open marketplace and it is the  leader in prize-based open innovation sourcing.

The fields of search as based in the sectors of : 

Business and entrepreneurship

Chemistry

Engineering & design

Life sciences

The seekers who are people belonging to a company in the field posted above post their challenge and problem via the website and solvers which could be every kind of people just like you and me (they just have to register before) must find a solution in an assigned time before the dead line.Then for the best solution researcher, a cash reward will be given.

This strategy is very promising because it gives the opportunity to everybody to become a genius and show their talent and moroever that contributes to help research and development.Everybody who have a great idea and need someone to develop it and in order to market it can apply on the site.

In my opinion this model is unique to the web and is sustainable because research and development constantly need new brains and ideas  to develop their companies and create new concept.Moreover there are more than 125 000 members in more than 175 countries therefore the expansion is growing very fast.It's an easy way to recolt informations and new datas.

By the same occasion, companies are recognized through this web site and it's a kind of publicity for them to be more known.

Nowadays you can collect many informations via the web and it's a very good mean to increase revenues for firms and associates ideas.

Customers could be ordinary people like you and me, it could be everybody (commercial, government, non-profit organization, students...) who is just looking for challenge and money.

Anyone can sign up to be a solver.It's an interesting way to earn money as a "freelance"scientist or virtual business.Innovative solvers are people with skills and expertise in their area and want to participate in the elaboration of changing the world for better, people who feel concerned about the development of our planet.

The problem solve for customer is that they can express their idea whithout having the need to belong to a specific  company of R&D.They have the possibility to feel recognized and developed even if they don't work.That give them a certain value and professionnal recognition.

They can also belong to a company and find an agreement with their boss and signed a confidentiality contract.

Partners and owners of the business can find solutions to their problem unsolved so it's a great deal because they can be more innovative and lauch new search.They want people to be aware of the numerous efforts they make in searching progress to make our lives more confortable.There are already many people registered and there will be more and more in the future.That generates more revenue to the company and new companies can access to this kind of process and participate in order to increase the search and development.

Competitors are : 

NineSigma

Yet2.com

YourEncore

If I owned the business I would increase users of customers by rewarding directly companies who are registered it could make more companies applying to this business and with all the great ideas listed generate more revenue.

According to me industries which could benefit from open innovation R & D could be all kind of companies which are not able to resolve a problem on their own and need external help but as an example I would say laboratories research or pharmaceutical environment.