Skild is in the news again this week. This time, we're featured in InformationWeek.
What Civic Innovation Contests Teach Tech Companies - by Anil Rathi, CEO & Founder of Skild
Creative, new ideas can come from unexpected places. Tech companies should look outside the usual places for inspired, important products.
Silicon Valley prides itself on being creative above all else, but as the top tech companies get entrenched around their most successful products, it becomes difficult for them to meaningfully innovate beyond their current business. Consider how interest in wearable technology was originally fueled not by Apple, but through crowdfunding. Just as frustrating, major corporations flush with cash sometimes find themselves gratuitously innovating without a clear market in mind. (Consider all the head scratching over Google Glass.)
Struggling to refuel their creative fires, companies often look to competitors or consultants for new ideas. However, there is another, unexpected direction they should also be looking: civic innovation competitions. Sponsored by nonprofit organizations, universities, even whole cities and states, these contests are usually open to the entire public and invite anyone to submit proposals online to address pressing social challenges. Having worked with dozens of such organizations to launch contests like these, I often see ways these competitions can easily be retooled for use by for-profit companies that want new strategies for fostering creativity.
