User Innovation Indicators

Description

'Researchers have not started quantifying user innovation until recently. It is important that researchers are able to measure innovation and gather statistics so that policymakers can see the impact of user innovation on modern day technologies. Research has shown that many of the innovative products produced by manufacturers were ideas stemmed off from “lead users.” Eric Von Hippel has written several papers regarding “Measurements of Innovation” and “Innovation Indicators.” In one of his papers, he discusses his work with Fred Gault to survey 1,219 Canadian manufacturing plants to determine the prevalence of user innovation. They were able to determine that “About 20% of the user-innovators surveyed reported transferring their innovations to other users and/or equipment suppliers – and the majority of these at least sometimes did so at no charge to recipients.” These types of innovation indicators will help the government and other researchers to see the impact of users on innovation." (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_von_Hippel)