The Seeking Solutions Approach: Solving Challenging Business Problems with Local Open Innovation

Abstract

How can small and medium-sized enterprises try open innovation and increase their level of collaboration with local partners? This article describes a possible solution: the Seeking Solutions approach. The Seeking Solutions process consists of four steps: a call for prob- lems, problem selection, problem broadcast, and a collaborative event. This approach has been successfully used for the Quebec Seeks Solutions events in 2010 and 2012 with con- crete results and real impacts. By mixing open innovation and collaboration, the Seeking Solutions approach has introduced a new concept: local open innovation