There is no One-Takes-It-All Open Innovation Method. Select the right method depending on your goal.

1. Unrestricted © Siemens AG 2016 Siemens Corporate Technology | Michael Heiss
Method Complexity Experience
University
collaborations
$ A regular university collaboration is not called „Open Innovation“.
Establish a ecosysten of long-term trust partnerships
Open Idea
Contests
$$ More effective for B2C than for B2B.
External (open) idea contests are at least 3 times more effort than internal idea contests
Hackathons,
innov. marathons
$ Low barriers. Method works internally and externally.
Experience needed to define a proper topic/challenge
Scouting,
Innovation Portal
$ Scouting works also for confidential topics.
Experience needed to build up the right data-base collection; and to define the search topic
E-Broker $$ Works best if you have a concrete (and important) problem to be solved.
Do not underestimate the internal effort, even if you pay externals for full service
Lead-customer
workshops
$$ A high-end innovation method.
High effort if professionally done
Innov. ventures,
startup collab.
$$ Focus on some search fields,
otherwise it is impossible to react professionally on startup requests
Crowd funding
(intern)
$ Internal crowd funding (we call it internally „Quickstarter“)
is a new way to select bottom-up innovation projects and to motivate employees
HW/SW platform
ecosystems
$$$$ App-Stores are Open Innovation ecosystems and enable Startups and SMEs to participate.
Not only for smart-phone apps: Open Industry Platforms like the Siemens Mindsphere platform
next47 $$$ Starts in December 2016: Siemens announced to invest 1 Billion € in startups within the next 5 years. Search fields:
AI, Autonomous Machines, Connected (E-) Mobility, Distributed Electrification, Blockchain Applications (see next47.com)
There is no One-Takes-It-All method
Tool/Task-Fit
Recruiting: find the right people in that field and hire them
Marketing: make your company visible in that field
Networking: knowledge networking, community bulding
Technology: identify a new technology
Innovation: generate new business
Solution: find a solution for a given problem
Business Model: ideas for new business model concepts
Source: estimation based on personal experience