Henry Chesbrough, Father of Open Innovation, Honored with IRI Medal

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Henry Chesbrough, Father of Open Innovation, Honored with IRI Medal

Chesbrough says that Open Innovation 2.0 is coming and will affect everyone

May 11, 2017 (Boston, MA) – Over the past decade, open innovation has gone from a newly coined term explaining how organizations look beyond their own borders, to a force of nature in the world of innovation. The practice of open innovation is growing and looks to be taking on new dimensions according to the man who coined the term, Henry Chesbrough, Faculty Director, Garwood Center for Corporate Innovation, UC Berkeley-Haas School of Business. Yesterday, in recognition of Chesbrough’s work and influence on the field of innovation management, the Industrial Research Institute (IRI) honored him with the IRI Medal at its Annual Meeting.

“IRI has been helping companies learn about better ways to manage R&D for decades,” said Chesbrough.  “My own open innovation research has benefited greatly from IRI, and from close observation of several of its member companies.”

In his award address at the IRI Annual Meeting, Chesbrough spoke about the changes he sees coming to the world of open innovation. As the pace of change quickens across industries, organizations are looking more and more at open innovation not just as a tool for solving unique technology challenges, but that it is, as a concept, growing to include a wider variety of participants, operating more collaboratively than it already does, and beginning to influence business models. Chesbrough argues that companies failing to incorporate open innovation into their practices will struggle to survive more than their counterparts who do embrace this trend.

“For many companies in attendance at this meeting, open innovation has evolved from a novelty to a vital aspect of doing business in the twenty first century,” said John B. Hillenbrand, Jr., Vice President of R&D at Armstrong Flooring and IRI Chairman. “The remarks we heard today about its importance as a driver of new business models resonates strongly with those of us seeking new ways to drive growth and competitive advantage, which certainly is the case for us at Armstrong Flooring. The openness of today’s R&D landscape provides an exciting opportunity for all of us.”

About IRI

The Industrial Research Institute (IRI) is an organization of almost 200 industrial and service companies having a common interest in the effective management of technological innovation. IRI member companies span diverse industries and represent a substantial portion of our nation’s gross domestic product. IRI is the only cross-industry organization creating innovation leadership solutions and best practices in innovation management developed through collaborative knowledge creation. For more information, call 703-647-2580 or visit www.iriweb.org.