inDemand model: sustainable demand-driven co-creation
inDemand is a new open innovation model where organizations with unmet needs and external companies jointly co-create solutions. To maximize chances of sustainable success, the companies also receive funding from regional development agencies, together with business support from market experts.
The inDemand model has 3 steps:
1.- Need identification. The challenger organization (eg. a Hospital) identifies and selects a number of challenges proposed by the professionals working close to the problems. These challenges are handed over to the Funder.
2. Call for companies. The Funder launches a call to identify the best company that can solve each challenge. It will leverage own funding (eg. regional structural funds) to economically support the development of the innovation.
3. Solution development and business support
3.1. Co-creation of the solution. The awarded company will work with those that proposed the challenge, to jointly find a solution following an open-innovation approach. The company will then have the opportunity to directly interact with the end users to develop and test the solution.
3.2. Business support. Companies will also receive help from professional business supporters. In particular to optimize the business model, access to private finance and future commercialization of the proposed innovation.
The model is sustainable in time because every year Regional Development agencies have access to structural funds. The inDemand project aims to prove that this instrument is more effective that current technology-push approaches.
3 European regions Murcia (Spain), Oulu (Finland) and Paris Region (France) are already testing the inDemand model. Initially, their 24 challenges will be geared to the Digital Health sector, but the model can be implemented in any other. These regions will openly disseminate their best practices and lessons learnt.