COLLABORATIVE INNOVATION: ESSENTIAL FOUNDATION OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY - Collaborative Computational Technologies for Biomedical Research - page 20

2.6 Empower Champions 34

2.6.1 Nature of Champions 34

2.6.2 Role of Champions 34

2.6.3 Qualities of Champions 35

2.7 Avoiding the Traps 35

2.8 Conclusion 36

References 37

2.1 DAWNING OF ERA OF COLLABORATIVE INNOVATION

As the twentieth century ended, the computer, followed by the explosive
growth of the internet, spawned a worldwide “Era of Information.” With this
profusion of information and data, knowledge itself, for the fi rst time in the
history of the human race, has become a commodity. As a commodity, the value
of knowledge is not in the information or data; the real value manifests when
transformed into how it is (1) applied, (2) integrated, and (3) triggers innova-
tion. Until it is transformed into one of these three areas, knowledge remains
data, trivia, or useless information.
Information that used to be proprietary, inaccessible, expensive, or limited
to a few elite scholars is now available to virtually everyone and mostly free.
Everyone with Internet access has at their fi ngertips nearly all the world's
knowledge. However, it takes more than a grasp of what is known to solve the
great problems on the planet: disease, poverty, energy, world peace, or global
warming, to name a few.
Knowledge is rooted in what has already been learned; thus it is historic in
nature—the reason Einstein said, “Creativity is more important than knowl-
edge.” Creativity, imagination, and inquisitiveness coupled with the ability to
cooperate are some of the human being's most endearing characteristics and
constitute the foundation of collaborative innovation.
Diffi cult problems cannot be solved by existing knowledge alone; they
require a collective creativity , linking the ideas and insights of dozens, scores,
hundreds, or thousands of people in collaborative networks focusing their
combined imagination, dedication, and understanding on mutual discovery
and problem solving.
Neither is what is known necessarily imbedded in the context of what is
wise ; wisdom and the ability to innovate—the focus of this chapter—are far
higher in the order of human achievements than chronicling, organizing, and
managing the profusion of data and knowledge.
Thus the Age of Information will prove to be short-lived, as it is only a brief
stepping stone to the dawning of the next era of collaborative innovation—an
era based on the creative and cooperative capacities that are natural to nearly
every human being. This creative talent is based on our natural curiosity to