The approach, known as Open Innovation (OI), is a way of developing new products or accessing new technologies by working with external business partners.

Companies hoping to collaborate with other firms to create new innovative business opportunities will benefit from a new report by the IfM.

The approach, known as Open Innovation (OI), is a way of developing new products or accessing new technologies by working with external business partners.

Through collaboration  firms gain access to new ideas or skills they need to compete in evolving markets and meet rapidly-changing customer demand, or to find additional opportunities to exploit internal innovation.

But OI often requires a vast set of capabilities which businesses may not possess in full, so they often seek assistance from ‘innovation intermediaries’. Now the IfM has produced a new guide to help firms select the right innovation intermediary for their business.

The publication of the report “Getting help with open innovation” has seen researchers investigate how companies select the most effective source of help with open innovation.

The report, the result of a year-long study, describes a structured approach to selecting the most appropriate intermediary for a particular company’s needs.

The report, written by Dr Letizia Mortara, of the IfM’s Centre for Technology Management (CTM), drew on interviews with more than 100 organisations, both intermediaries and users of intermediary services.

The study, which builds on CTM's previous innovation research, including last year’s report “How to implement Open Innovation”, also includes a directory of more than 100 innovation intermediaries.

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