Open innovation in health - A guide to transforming healthcare through collaboration - May 2017

Aug 21, 2026

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This guide examines open innovation in health through global examples of how companies, governments, researchers and citizens collaborate to strengthen the innovation process. It traces collaboration from identifying problems to creating new products and services and supporting adoption by healthcare providers. Open innovation is presented as a cost-effective, knowledge-broadening approach that can democratise innovation and help organisations actively convert ideas into usable solutions. Lessons are tailored for policy and decision-makers but applicable across sectors.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages72

Reading Time3 h 1 min

AccessFree to download

Executive summary

Introduction

Open innovation in health: an overview

Open innovation and the innovation cycle

Problem identification

Invention

Adoption and diffusion

Cross-cycle initiatives

Opening up health innovation: Putting lessons into practice

Applying open innovation thinking in the State of São Paulo

Success factors for open innovation initiatives

Annex 1. Open innovation in health initiative planning sheet

Annex 2. Project partners

Annex 3. Interviewees

Annex 4. Endnotes

Open innovation in health A guide to transforming healthcare through collaboration Madeleine Gabriel, Isaac Stanley, Tom Saunders May 2017 Acknowledgments We would like to thank our Brazilian project partners who contributed to the writing of this guide: Arnaldo da Silva Junior, Cely Ades, Claudia Pavani, Fábio Augusto Daher Montes, Fernando Martins Rocha, Guilherme Ary Plonski, Guiomar Bueno de Moraes Milan, Helio Hehl Caiaffa Filho, Luis Marcio Barbosa, Paula Helena Ortiz Lima, Roberto Meizi Agune, Sergio Pinto Bolliger, Sérgio Swain Müller and Sueli Gonsalez Saes. We are very grateful also to the interviewees and roundtable participants who generously gave their time, expertise and insights. They are all named in the Annex. For research support we would like to thank Oscar Nowlan and Nihad Ahmed. Thanks to David Simoes-Brown, Murray Sim and Yanitsa Vladimirova at 100%Open for helping to shape the thinking on which the guide is based, and to Matthew Harris at Imperial College London for his comments on a draft version of this guide. Thanks also to Annie Finnis, Jacqueline Del Castillo, Echo Collins-Egan, John Loder, Dan Farag, Chris Haley, Halima Khan and Geoff Mulgan at Nesta for their comments and ideas throughout the project. Funding for this project was provided by the UK Government’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office, through the Prosperity Fund, and by the São Paulo State Government. We would like to thank Esther Rosalen and Ana Cecilia Sousa at the FCO for their input and support throughout the project. The views expressed in this report are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of all project partners. About Nesta Nesta is a global innovation foundation. We back new ideas to tackle the big challenges of our time. We use our knowledge, networks, funding and skills-working in partnership with others, including governments, businesses and charities. We are a UK charity but work all over the world, supported by a financial endowment. To find [out more visit](out more visit www.nesta.org.uk)[ www.nesta.org.uk](out more visit www.nesta.org.uk) Open innovation in health A guide to transforming healthcare through collaboration May 2017 Executive summary 4 1. Introduction 9 2. Open innovation in health: an overview 10 3. Open innovation and the innovation cycle 18 a. Problem identification 20 b. Invention 29 c. Adoption and diffusion 42 d. Cross-cycle initiatives 52 4. Opening up health innovation: Putting lessons 55 into practice Applying open innovation thinking in the State of São Paulo 58 Success factors for open innovation initiatives 64 Annex 1. Open innovation in health initiative planning sheet 65 Annex 2. Project partners 66 Annex 3. Interviewees 67 Annex 4. Endnotes 68 Open innovation in health: A guide to transforming healthcare through collaboration Executive summary This guide explores examples of open innovation in the field of health from around the world. It analyses the ways that companies, governments, researchers and citizens are collaborating to improve the innovation process, from the way that problems are identified to how new products and services are created and then adopted by providers of healthcare. Open innovation is a simple idea: the best ideas and knowledge aren’t necessarily found within big companies, top universities or established networks. Methods that tap a wider range of people can generate better ideas, at lower cost. They can also democratise innovation, giving a wider range of people a say in setting priorities. However, that is easier said than done, and there often needs to be an active process to develop these ideas into a useful form. This is why we think this guide will be useful: it provides many practical examples of organisations that have embraced open innovation methods and highlights the lessons that we think will be useful for other organisations that want to try to improve their innovation

FAQs

What does the guide mean by open innovation in health?

It refers to new collaboration forms among organisations and people involved in health innovation, including public and private sectors, health organisations with their staff, and health organisations with citizens or patients.

How does the guide structure the innovation cycle in health?

It outlines collaboration across stages such as problem identification, invention, adoption and diffusion, and cross-cycle initiatives.

Who is the primary audience and how can the lessons be used elsewhere?

The guide targets policy and decision-makers seeking ways to improve health innovation, and also notes that many lessons and principles can be applied in other sectors.

Aug 21, 2026

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