CIMIT CoLab™ Overview

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Introduction

CIMIT CoLab™ is a secure, cloud-based platform that enables a team, group, institution or network to encourage, manage and measure innovation. It provides a vehicle to connect the needs of healthcare institutions, universities, medical foundations, and other non-profits with the vast experience, insight and innovative talents of their staff, faculty, industry partners, advisors, and patients. It connects people and resources beyond traditional physical borders and firewalls to help accelerate and maximize the impact of innovations on patient care.

Configurable Solutions, Modules and Networks

CoLab Solutions include configurable Modules that each provide functionality needed to support collaborative teams in operating efficiently and effectively in navigating some portion of the innovation cycle. CoLab’s architecture allows the “process owners” who manage the various processes to refine or create new Modules to support specific needs and/or situations. This allows fast implementation and eliminates the need to hire expensive outside consultants and be subject to high set-up or recurring costs.

Solutions are designed to augment and work with an organization’s existing systems and can be connected together in networks. An enterprise (e.g. a hospital, university, etc.) can establish a base set of defined process and sharing rules for Solutions. Or, Solutions can be connected based on voluntary sharing rules to create dynamic, thematic networks with invited participants and tiered access.

Background

CoLab is built on a secure, cloud-based platform developed by Induct Software, The Open Innovation Company™. CoLab employs Induct’s configurable workflows, dynamic teaming and smart search technology. It also leverages Induct’s innovation experiences across a range of industries together with that of UC Berkeley Prof. Henry Chesbrough, the Open Innovation Community visionary and thought leader.

CoLab combines Induct’s technology with the experience of lead users like CIMIT, with fourteen plus years of experience in successfully supporting the healthcare innovation cycle. CIMIT has been a laboratory for innovation in healthcare since its inception in 1998, operating with leading healthcare and research institutions across Boston and now world-wide.

CoLab Solutions

A CoLab Solution is focused on addressing the needs of a group chartered with managing or facilitating some aspect of collaboration and innovation. Solutions can house any number of pre-configured modules to facilitate/manage specific parts of the innovation cycle. In addition, “process owners” can re-configure and/or create their own modules. Solutions can be networked together under the direction of an “Enterprise Director” Module. The network can include required processes and reporting standards for an organization, or be voluntary for a thematic network.

Pre-Configured Modules

A number of pre-configured Modules have been established by CIMIT and its network of lead users based on experiences navigating the healthcare innovation cycle. They can be used within Solutions to address specific challenges. They can also work in combination with an institution’s existing infrastructure, augmenting available social media, knowledge and innovation management tools. To start, a Base Solution includes the Solicitation Manager and select functionality from other pre-configured Modules (indicated by check mark below). The pre-configured Modules available or in development include:

1. Solicitation Manager

The Solicitation Manger enables an organization to solicit ideas and proposals from people and groups as broadly as it wishes in response to challenges and campaigns, as well as manage the processes used to evaluate reviews/votes, prioritize and select portfolios.

✔  Needs & Ideas Capture
✔  Proposal Process Manager
✔  Impact Planner
✔  Campaign Manager

2. Knowledge Curator

The Knowledge Curator applies smart search technology to the content accessible to or within a CoLab suite as well as the Web to enable the efficient development of content and creating linkages to maximize its value:

✔  Workgroups
 •  Content Curator
 •  Connector
 •  Funding Finder

3. Portfolio & Impact Tracker

The Portfolio & Impact Tracker allows portfolio managers to track projects and milestones while funded, as well as progress post funding to maximize and capture a “return” on investment:

✔  Portfolio Manager
 •  Regulatory Master Filer
 •  Impact Register

4. Intellectual Property Facilitator

The Intellectual Property Facilitator enables an organization to efficiently capture, nurture, promote and monetize the value of its intangible intellectual property assets such as patents. It is based on the best practices developed at Boston University.

 •  Intellectual Property Curator
 •  IP Business Development Manager
 •  IP Licensing & Ops Manager

5. Innovation Disseminator

The Innovation Disseminator helps spread the best practices developed by teams by capturing information in a way that makes it easy and valuable for others to utilize. It also helps institutions utilize the extended experiences of its network in procuring the products and services that are shown to have the best impact in any given set of conditions:

 •  Best Practices Curator
 •  Procurement Facilitator

6. Enterprise Director

The Enterprise Director establishes the rules by which Solutions in an organization utilize common processes and share data, as well as the voluntary rules and access it provides to select data for outside organizations and networks.

✔  Report Creator
 •  Sharing Rules Manager

Using CoLab

CoLab is being offered as a “Software-as-a-Service” through CIMIT for healthcare institutions and non-profit organizations that wish to manage their own instances. Please contact John Collins, PhD, Chief Operating Officer and Director of Technology Implementation for CIMIT, at jcollins11@partners.org if you would like to learn more about using CoLab to support a team, project, lab, organization or network.