Innovation Filter is a service and process designed to assist Originators from all walks of life assess the commercial viability of their ideas.
Under the British Design Innovation banner, 30 principle directors from some of the UK’s leading product & service design firms and other innovation disciplines have been selected and accredited to act as Evaluators and run an Innovation Filter.
In general, Originators of new ideas be they Entrepreneurs, inventors, graduates, individual PhD’s, start-up firms or even a consumer with an idea drawn from user-experience have a fragmented and ‘pot luck’ journey to discover whether their idea has any commercial application or IP value.
Most routes to assessment tend to involve business professions but rarely involve a product or service development expert – one of the most crucial knowledge and skill sets in the innovation process.
A recent meeting with the former Innovation Minister Ian Pearson gained his interest towards the Innovation Filter and the valuable role strategic designers can play in the process of assessing the viable from non-viable propositions.
Not surprisingly the Minister was interested in ensuring that public sector funds were not used to back improbable propositions.
The Minister was keen that the thinking behind both the BDI Open Innovation Challenge and the Innovation Filter be factored into the framework being developed by DIUS for a national proof of concept fund.
Jonathan Butters, Principal innovation & design consultant, Butters Innovation concurs,
“Innovation filter formalizes a process that most product designers have attempted in the past. However the robust framework and well considered structure will greatly assist the preparation of good quality commercial propositions”
Innovation Filter also raises a key opportunity for the Intellectual Property Office (IPO) where currently it is estimated that 25% of patents (over 7,000) are filed per annum by individuals. Whilst not all patents filed guarantee viability of proposition, currently that rich source of innovation has no service funnel to assess the viable from non-viable.
Says, Maxine Horn, CEO, British Design Innovation, “Whilst we are in a culture of Open Innovation, the majority of Corporates cannot view a proposition that is not patent protected due to the threat that doing so might cause to their own IP position. Thereby Originators commit to the cost of patent applications with little knowledge of whether their proposition is viable, and thereby their Patent valuable”.
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BDI work with the IPO and will be making the Innovation Filter available to them to assess it as a potential service to support patent applicants.
The evaluated and IP protected propositions with assessed market applications can then be offered up to industry for potential routes to market – supporting a culture of Open Innovation.
Observes, Joss Newberry, Innovation Director, Opius “there is a significant drop-out rate of patent applications prior to the granting of a full patent, whether UK, European or global. Financial issues may cause some applicants to drop out but the fundamental issue for patent applicants is translating the idea into a commercially interesting proposition in an often time sensitive environment.
The challenges facing patent applicants could be risk reduced with the existence of an organization that can join the dots –BDI is unique in its capability to do this with the support of the UK’s leading product and service design development Directors”.
The Innovation Filter was borne out of the success of the BDI Open Innovation Challenge for Procter & Gamble in partnership with NESTA. During the OIC it was recognized that new ideas and propositions come from people from all walks of life.
Whilst the P & G challenge was aimed at the top end of the professional design and innovation market one of the issues to emerge from it was the value of the filtering and assessment and feedback process. Even the top professional firms benefited from being in the clients’ shoes and gained a better understanding of holistic proposition development and corporate decision making.
How the process works
Originators who approach BDI are provided with 3 Minute and Proposition Pitch templates to complete to the best of their ability.
BDI make the first assessment before selecting one or more of the Innovation Filter Evaluators, according to their discipline and sector experience, to provide a commercial view on the viability of the idea.
All Evaluators have more than 10 years experience in their innovation discipline and industry sectors.
Evaluators work to a best practice framework, process and set of terms and conditions, designed by British Design Innovation, that enable them to assess viable from non viable propositions whilst protecting their and the entrepreneurs & Originators Intellectual Property.
Evaluators may elect to co-join the Originator in a value-added partnership and support them in funding applications if appropriate. They can also act as value-added broker to industry.
The importance of commercial viability
A core objective of the Innovation Filter is to ensure that any government backed funding initiatives deliver funds to the right people.
From propositions submitted to BDI it has already noted that some Originators have already received RDA funding but where the proposition they received funding for is commercial unlikely.
Some initiatives run by personnel employed by public sector or operating public sector funding initiatives are generally only qualified to determine whether they personally think the idea sounds like a good one or not, most often from a one-dimensional view point. Most are not in a position to assess potential market applications or commercial viability of the idea.
The professional product and service development community are best placed to assess market applications and commercial viability from a holistic viewpoint.
These experts are qualified to bring market and sector knowledge, technical & Intellectual Property feasibility, design & user-centered experience and cost implications to the assessment process.
Additionally, they have access to routes to market through their industry contact base that forms their current and prospective client list.
For a full list of evaluators, please download the attachment.
Editors Notes
About BDI
BDI is a non government funded, not for profit yet commercially focused organisation. It brings together the ‘thinkers and linkers in the innovation space.
Members include strategic designers, brand and business owners, academics and dealmakers.
These experts exchange knowledge and ethically and safely create, develop and trade Intellectual Property.
 Download the attached PDF
Submitted: 01 Dec 2008
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