Knowledge for Free? Distributed Innovation as a Source of Learning
| Published date | 01 July 2005 |
| Author | Alistair Bowden |
| DOI | 10.1177/095207670502000306 |
| Date | 01 July 2005 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
Knowledge
for
Free?
Distributed
Innovation
as
a
Source
of
Learning
Alistair
Bowden
Durham
County
Council
and
Durham
Business
School
Abstract
Distributed
Innovation
is
an
emerging
framework
for
a
novel
method
of
new
product/service
development,
where
knowledge
from
within
and
outside
the
organisation
is
shared
in
an
evolutionary
dialogue,
which
consistently
produces
high
quality
results.
Literature
on
open
source
software
development
and
new
product
development
involving
'lead
users',
are
the
main
contributors
to
the
discussion
about
the
creative
potential
locked
within service
users.
There
is
a
growing
thread
of
literature
which
seems
to
apply
the
underlying
principles
of
Distributed
Innovation
in
the
public
sector;
this
article
looks
at
the
process
of
learning
from
users
in
this
paradigm.
It
aims
to
critically
evaluate
the
advantages
and
disadvantages
of
Distributed
Innovation
within
the
public
sector
generally
and
local
government
specifically.
When
considering
the
great
innovative
potential
held
by
service
users,
the
ultimate
goal
of
thisarticle
is
to
answer
two
questions:
can
Distributed
Innovation
provide
a
source
of
learning:
if
so,
is
this
knowledge
for
free?
Introduction
In
a
world
of
increased
pluralism,
individualism
and
diversity
of
needs,
it
is
increasingly
difficult
to
know
what
users
of
services
want.
What
is
required
above
all
is
the
active
involvement
of
individuals
in
the
determination
of
their
own
needs.
...
When
users
are
empowered,
services
become
more
responsive
to
rising
expectations
and
demands.
(National
Consumer
Council,
2004b,
p.7)
Distributed
Innovation
(DI)
is
used
here
as
a
generic
term
for
a
suite
of
related
innovation
processes.
These
different
models
of
innovation
share
one
key
characteristic:
knowledge
from
within
and
outside
the
organisation
is
shared
in
an
evolutionary
dialogue
(i.e.
people
inside
and
outside
the
organisation
are
both
involved
in
an
iterative
process
of
creating
possible
novel
ideas
(mutation)
and
filtering
out
poor
options
(selection),
until
a
high
quality
solution
emerges).
Public
Policy
and
Administration
Volume
20
No.
3
Autumn
2005
56
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