Editing Innovation Communities (Fall 2017) (section)

== Organization ==

The course is organized into two main components:

'''Component 1: Community Innovation Methods'''

In the first half of the class (Weeks 1-5), we will focus on learning practical methods for finding innovations using communities and users. In the first session, I will make a strong case for the importance of user innovation techniques. In each of the next four weeks, we will focus on learning four practical techniques for harnessing community innovation:

* Lead user search
* Innovation toolkits / open source innovation
* Broadcast search / crowdsourcing
* Collaborative / information sharing user communities

Because I want students to start early on their projects — and because the course project will involve applying these methods — the first sessions are organized roughly from what I believe will be the least familiar to the most intuitive. They are also organized from what I think you will be most likely to use to what you will be least likely to use. During the first half of the quarter, there will be more reading and less expectation that you will be working on your course project.

'''Component 2: Community Innovation Applications and Challenges'''

In the second half of the course, we will dig deeper into examples of community innovation and focus on applications, examples, and challenges associated with their use.

During this half of the quarter, we will rely more heavily on case studies of firms putting community innovation methods into practice and focus on in-class exercises that prompt critical consideration of how community innovation takes place in different domains as well the challenges associated with using these methods (e.g., intellectual property, balancing commercial interests with community interests).