UK design professionals and aspiring entrepreneurs will have the chance to work with multinational giant, P&G, and come up with ground-breaking new product ideas, thanks to a new programme from the National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts (NESTA) and British Design Innovation.
At events in London (18th September) and Glasgow (25th September), designers and entrepreneurs will attend a presentation from P&G , briefing them on two market sectors in which the corporation is looking for disruptive innovation.
The presentation is the first stage of an “Open Innovation Challenge”, which is being piloted by NESTA with P&G and run in partnership with British Design Innovation (BDI) and Oakland Innovation. The Challenge is designed to stimulate innovation by helping P&G harness ideas from outside its own research labs.
After the initial presentation, participants will be invited to submit propositions for products which fit P&G’s criteria and have the potential to build businesses worth over $100m. To protect their intellectual property (IP), at this stage the ideas won’t be seen by P&G but will be reviewed by NESTA, BDI and Oakland Innovation. Up to ten of the most promising propositions will be selected and entrants given access to feedback, advice and up to £25,000 so their ideas can be developed to a stage at which they can demonstrate commercial viability.
After a final short-listing, up to five of the strongest applicants will have the chance to present their finalised ideas to P&G. P&G will then have 90 days in which to decide whether to invest in the idea and sign appropriate contracts, otherwise the creator will be free to take their proposition to other brands and or investors. As is customary in Corporate Open Innovation the innovator will retain their IP in either instance.
Commenting on the event with P&G, NESTA CEO, Jonathan Kestenbaum said:
“NESTA is thrilled to be piloting this initiative with an industry heavyweight like P&G. The role of mediator is critical in ensuring that large corporates, independent designers and entrepreneurs each get the most out of any collaboration. We are in no doubt that some exceptional ideas will emerge from this process and look forward to testing the format with other organisations.”
Commenting on their involvement, Mike Addison, Section Head at P&G said:
“The partnership with NESTA is just another outreach of P&G’s open innovation strategy, called “Connect + Develop.” P&G realises that it doesn’t have a monopoly on good ideas, and is always looking to connect with innovators and companies around the world to help create products that improve the lives of the world’s consumers.
Interested attendees should go to www.nesta.org.uk/connect for more information or email connect@nesta.org.uk.
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Submitted: 05 Sep 2007
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