incentive2innovate Conference Wrapup

I just returned from a great experience at the incentive2innovate conference at the United Nations in New York City. Hosting the conference at the United Nations seemed appropriate given that it was a gathering of people who are trying to change the world. The percentage of people representing non-profits and social capitalist organizations was much higher than I expected, and it made for fascinating discussions. The conference was hosted in a gigantic conference room at the United Nations where UN delegates recently discussed the current economic crisis and debated potential solutions.

The conference was a combination of keynotes, panel discussions, and group breakouts where the groups debated one particular topic and brought their collective reactions back to the bigger group. There was a high level of interaction between participants during the various breaks and meals – with the public, the private, and the charitable all coming together for some interesting conversations and debates.

I had the opportunity to record the following video interviews to share with you:

• Dean Kamen – Founder of DEKA Research and FIRST
• Alpheus Bingham and Dwayne Spradlin – Innocentive Founder and CEO
• Charlie Brown – Executive Director of Ashoka’s Changemakers
• Neil Blakesley – VP, Strategy Marketing and Propositions for BT Americas

I have also published a collection of blog articles that highlight the top insights from the various sessions:

• Peter Diamandis and Matt Bross
• Keith Ferrazzi and Don Tapscott
• Tool #1: Open Collaboration
• Tool #2: Incentivized Competition
• Healthcare Industry Applications
• Reid Hoffman of LinkedIn
• Creating an Innovation Culture in Your Company
• Global Development and Partnerships

Here is a video from the Xprize Foundation from the conference to give you a quick inside look into what the conference was like:

I thought that incentive2innovate was a great conference and that the Xprize Foundation organizers put on a fantastic event in a historic location. But, I’m not sure how they can put on another compelling event next year without expanding the focus of the conference. Given the large number of social enterprises, charities, and NGO’s at the conference this year, that might be one direction to go – “Innovation for the Greater Good.” For people interested in this topic, I encourage you to download and read my white paper “Charitable Innovation – Disrupting for Good.”

What do you think?

Braden Kelley (@innovate on Twitter)