Unleashing Creativity: The OPEN Secret to Innovation

From the development of Linux software to Wikipedia to the open-access journal PLoS ONE, they represent the open philosophy that leads to new ideas, discovered and shared in open networks at a scale and speed that would have seemed impossible just a few years back. And yet, if you are reading this, it’s likely that you’re also developing technologies, art or science on your own underground project – how can you apply some of the tricks of what I’d like to call the open strategy to what you do? Let us first have a closer look at what makes open methodologies so successful, and how you can apply at least some of their tricks.

The Power of OPEN Innovation

There’s a kernel of an idea at the centre of every breakthrough. It might be triggered by the tiniest, almost imperceptible experience. The biggest, most daring idea is the result of a set of many smaller ideas. The external is often the most important element. The principle of open innovation underpins innovations like Poppins, points west and the pop-up shop. Open innovation depends on external ideas and collaboration to make it work. When companies and creators recognise and embrace contributions from outside their walls, amazing things happen.

OPEN Resources for Unbridled Creativity

Open resources – from open-source software to open-access scholarly journals – are flourishing in the digital age, reflecting the ethos of collaboration and knowledge sharing inherent in sharing. Organisations and their affiliates can now tap into tools and information that might otherwise have fallen beyond their reach. In their hands, creators can play with open resources without fear of breaking the locks set in place by key owners or other privileged parties.

The Role of OPEN Platforms in Fostering Community

Social media and other forms of open platforms are the new vehicles we use to connect and collaborate. They have not only become popular spaces for content dissemination, but are also the new frontier for innovation. Within these borders we share, engage, learn, offer feedback and, if there’s a community and like-minded individuals who share our passions, offer support. This is the new world of collaboration, powered by the open, the decentralised and the widely distributed. The best part is that anyone with an internet connection can join in the fun and contribute to the collective wisdom on an even footing.

OPEN Education: Knowledge Without Borders

Take the example of open education resources (OERs), the creation and free availability of learning and teaching materials such as textbooks. The democratising effects are enormous. By enabling free and open access to information, there can be no barriers to lifelong learning. Lecturers and educators can share and learn from each other, and valuable resources can be re-used and adapted. In this way, openness can challenge the confines of the ‘ivory tower’ and open up education to the world by increasing available resources, while also being an enabling force for knowledge creation.

The Benefits and Challenges of an OPEN Mindset

Just because: adopting an open disposition is not an unproblematic proposition. Intellectual property rights, privacy, quality control, and other issues get in the way. But the benefits – accelerating innovation, making it more transparent and community-centred – also seem to balance the shortcomings, and require smart compromises between openness and protection, sharing and preserving the rights of the creators/owners, and so on.

How to Implement an OPEN Strategy

Cultivating an open ethos in your projects or organisation means more than taking advantage of some free tools or resources; it entails creating an atmosphere in which collective creativity can flourish. Try this. 1. Devise and circulate a community covenant. Begin with basic rules of netiquette, and then think through everything from conflict resolution to a fair distribution of the profits from your initiatives. 2. Create forums for ideas to flow. Set up a wiki, open e-mail list, or a chat channel where participants can find a way to communicate. 3. Harvest the best ideas, and give credit to the contributors. 4. Make sure that when your project is released or launched, your terms are clear and understood.

• Engage with Open Resource – access and utilise open-source software and open access content in your work.
• Crowdsource Collaboration: Use open platforms to spread out your projects and share and seek feedback with a broader audience.
• Support Open Access: Advocate for and contribute to open educational resources and initiatives.
• Cultivate an Open Mindset: Create an environment that fosters transparency, sharing and collaboration among your team or organisation.

Wrapping Up: Understanding 'OPEN'

‘Open’ is more than free access; it’s a philosophy that favours the free exchange of ideas, collaboration and community. It is a movement to make creation and knowledge more open, diverse, and accessible. What would an open approach to the treacherous crossroads of the digital transition look like? What if, through an open approach, we could rediscover a sustainable and equitable pathway to innovation and learning?

A meaningful open strategy calls for a fundamental re-examination of our notions of ownership, collaboration and competition, because when we break down boundaries and build open cultures of sharing and co-creation, we’re not only unleashing more innovative futures: we’re also fashioning more borderless, more connected, and more just futures as well. The real open secret to creativity is simply this: if we can figure out how to make open the default setting for more of our own lives and work, this would be a change for the better.