Guest blogger Joachim von Heimburg is one of the leading practitioners of “open innovation,” with 30 years of experience in R&D and product development at Procter and Gamble. Since 2009 he has worked as an independent innovation guide.
Experts and entrepreneurs from around the world discuss what governments can do to promote high-tech entrepreneurship and what the shape of technology entrepreneurship will be in the future.
Climate change. Secure energy and water supply. Food production for the growing world population. These all pose challenges that require many innovations of a global scope. But is the world innovating globally?
Political leaders love innovation and want more of it. But do they support innovating outside their home turf?
It all starts with an entrepreneur identifying an opportunity to create value. Intellectual property rights define ownership of this value. The bigger the market, the more value is created, so more innovations will emerge in bigger markets.
Action required: Standardize and better enforce intellectual property rights across countries, creating bigger markets for innovations.
Innovations require balancing many forces. Some of them are within the control of the entrepreneur — like product performance. Some of them require trade-offs between the benefits of innovation and the risks to society. Think of cars. Although they kill thousands every year, many people drive to work every morning. But not all countries see risks in the same way. Compare the risk-benefit assessment of nuclear power in France vs. Germany.
Action required: Shape discussions assessing benefits vs. risks with the objective of bringing more innovations to the market.
In the political world, the whole world, innovation is often an orphan. Rarely can politicians show ownership for innovation on a global level in the way they can feel responsible for national research. Policies across borders often focus on risk reduction and thus favor the status quo. But innovation must venture into uncharted territory. Politicians – are you reading this? – you must accept a leadership role to help the world become more innovative. Yes, you can!