INVITATION TO PARTICIPATE IN THE CONNECT & SOLVE
PROJECT BY EXPRESSING INTEREST IN PUBLISHING A
CHALLENGE
The purpose of this call is to give an opportunity to East London based solution
seekers to publish a challenge on The Open Innovation Connect & Solve Solution
Exchange. During the pilot project, at least four challenges will be sponsored by
the project. The publication of challenges on the Connect & Solve online platform
will allow solution seekers to meet their business needs by accessing a wider
network of solutions offered by solution providers in East London, South Africa and
even globally.
Open Innovation Connect & Solve Solution Exchange
Open Innovation has emerged to be a cutting edge business practice globally, as
companies, universities, not for profit organisations and governments look outside
‘their four walls’ to try to accelerate innovation, encourage collaboration among
multi-helix actors, reduce time to market and meet the organisations’ bottom line.
Open Innovation also creates a channel for innovative small enterprises to break
into the supply chain of large organisations. Whilst a number of organisations in the
region have embraced Open Innovation as a practice, there is a need for a neutral
catalyst to bring the various actors in the innovation system together, hence the
Open Innovation Connect & Solve Solution Exchange.
Objectives of the Pilot Project
The main objective of the project is the development and implementation of an
Open Innovation Solution Exchange platform/website for East London that will
connect solution seekers and solution providers in an open market.
The specific deliverables for the pilot project include:



Identifying and clearly defining five specific challenges raised by solution
seekers such as provincial or local government departments or private
companies based in the region.
Creating a web-based platform to advertise the challenges and attract ideas
from potential solution providers in the province to address these challenges.
Evaluating the proposed solutions and facilitating initial engagement between
solution seekers and solution providers with a view to enabling procurement of
the solutions.
East London Industrial Development Zone (Pty) Ltd, VAT No. 4900213598
Directors: Mr Z.M. Tini (Chairman), Mr S. Kondlo (Ex-officio), Mr S. Mase, Ms N. Anderson, Mr H.
Batidzirai, Ms J. Brown, Mr M. Saziwa, Mr M. Msoki, Ms P. Nazo, Ms Mteto
What is a Challenge?
A Challenge is a specific business problem defined by a solution seeker that
articulates the problem aligned to the strategic objective of the business. It
articulates the background of the problem, key specifications and the desired
results of a potential solution. It is written into a concise and compelling 2-3 page
document inviting potential problem solvers to respond with a proposal of their
solution to the Challenge.
Challenge attributes and definition process
Each challenge will be carefully crafted in partnership with the challenge owner to
address a genuine organisation need, and to attract the appropriate solution
providers.
The Open Innovation Process
The Open Innovation Regional Solution Exchange will draw on an established open
innovation process, focusing on building high-performance Open Innovation
organisations.
Challenge
Definition
Connect to
the Innovation
Ecosystem
Consider the
Proposal
Commit to
making the
deal
The RIIS C4 Open Innovation Process
Challenge Definition – The Challenge is defined by a carefully selected team of
experts familiar with the Challenge topic.
Connect to the Innovation Ecosystem – Promote the Challenge within networks of
potential solution providers.
Consider the Proposal – Evaluate, following a dashboard approach to test what
has been delivered against the defined need.
Commit to make the deal – When a potential solution provider has been identified
the normal procurement process will be followed with regard to the Challenge
owner organisation, while the Connect & Solve Resource Team continues to play
an active role in making connections to funders, markets and expertise to support
innovation development and implementation.
East London Industrial Development Zone (Pty) Ltd, VAT No. 4900213598
Directors: Mr Z.M. Tini (Chairman), Mr S. Kondlo (Ex-officio), Mr S. Mase, Ms N. Anderson, Mr H.
Batidzirai, Ms J. Brown, Mr M. Saziwa, Mr M. Msoki, Ms P. Nazo, Ms Mteto
Participation
Until the Connect & Solve platform goes live (expected April/May 2014), solution
seekers can participate by completing the Expression of Interest form on the next
page and e-mail it to marketing@riis.co.za. You will be contacted to discuss the
challenge further. Please note that only non-confidential information should be
presented. Should you have any queries, please email us at the same e-mail
address.
East London Industrial Development Zone (Pty) Ltd, VAT No. 4900213598
Directors: Mr Z.M. Tini (Chairman), Mr S. Kondlo (Ex-officio), Mr S. Mase, Ms N. Anderson, Mr H.
Batidzirai, Ms J. Brown, Mr M. Saziwa, Mr M. Msoki, Ms P. Nazo, Ms Mteto
CHALLENGES - EXPRESSION OF INTEREST
1. Please remove the highlighted text when completing this form
2. Email the completed form to morne@riis.co.za or mangena@riis.co.za.
Challenge Owner
First and Last Name
Name of Company
Challenge/Business Need
State the challenge in about at most
20 words e.g. We face a serious
challenge of girl absenteeism at our
school /or We experience power
outages due to weeds getting into
our turbines at Kafue river/Kariba
dam
Strategic Alignment
What Strategic Objective is this
challenge aligned to? State objective
Brief Description
Give a short description of the
problem, about 80 words. For
example, “For the past six years we
have experience a high absenteeism
of girls at our school when they
reach puberty. It is believe that this
problem is related to reproductive
health, the high cost of sanitary
health or generally lack of health
education.
Despite
some
interventions to this effect, this has
not changed particularly among poor
families”
Affected Areas
Who is affected? Please indicate if it
is a particular business unit or
department or the whole business.
East London Industrial Development Zone (Pty) Ltd, VAT No. 4900213598
Directors: Mr Z.M. Tini (Chairman), Mr S. Kondlo (Ex-officio), Mr S. Mase, Ms N. Anderson, Mr H.
Batidzirai, Ms J. Brown, Mr M. Saziwa, Mr M. Msoki, Ms P. Nazo, Ms Mteto
Business Case
Why must this challenge be
solved? What is its impact in
terms of finance, profitability, lead
times,
customer
satisfaction,
operational downtime, reliability,
etc.? [Max 50 words]
Budget
Is there a budget set aside for
trying to solve this problem?
YES/NO, If yes, state amount.
Timing
Is there date by which a solution
or the challenges is expected to
have been solved?
Are there other Challenges
Yes/No
High Level Overview of the
Challenges (Only 2-3 high
priority areas)
Challenge overview: Brief
sentence (about 200 word)
East London Industrial Development Zone (Pty) Ltd, VAT No. 4900213598
Directors: Mr Z.M. Tini (Chairman), Mr S. Kondlo (Ex-officio), Mr S. Mase, Ms N. Anderson, Mr H.
Batidzirai, Ms J. Brown, Mr M. Saziwa, Mr M. Msoki, Ms P. Nazo, Ms Mteto
Please submit this form with the necessary signatures as outlined below.
Signatories
Designation
Challenge
Owner
Name
Signature
Date
Designation
Supporting
Signatory
Name
Signature
Date
Designation
Approval
Name
Signature
Date
By submitting this form, you confirm you are providing only non-confidential information.
East London Industrial Development Zone (Pty) Ltd, VAT No. 4900213598
Directors: Mr Z.M. Tini (Chairman), Mr S. Kondlo (Ex-officio), Mr S. Mase, Ms N. Anderson, Mr H.
Batidzirai, Ms J. Brown, Mr M. Saziwa, Mr M. Msoki, Ms P. Nazo, Ms Mteto