ABSTRACT
Prize competitions like Data Design Diabetes belong to a field known as open innovation. In response, we developed the inaugural Sanofi US Data Design Diabetes Open Innovation Challenge, which called on designers, developers, data scientists, and the world at large to submit solutions to improve the outcome or experience of people living with diabetes. In the eighteenth century, Britain offered a significant prize purse for advancements in seafaring navigation, and Napoleon’s investment in a competition led to innovation in food preservation. Organizations practice open innovation in many ways, and–thanks to big tech–hackathons, sprint-like events that last a day or a weekend, have become standard fare across a number of industries. The market is flooded with platforms that aim to democratize open innovation, and better access to tools and crowds is a good thing. As competitions, open innovation challenges inherently seek a winner.
