MIT Sloan ION: Innovation Observatory Network

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MIT Sloan ION Innovation Observatory Network
Envisioning Enabling Systematic Empirical
Observation of Effective Leaders,
Transformative Innovations, Global Development
Draft Proposal v.0.92 2 September 2002Joost
Bonsen jpbonsen_at_alum.mit.edu 617.930.0415
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MIT Sloan Faculty Interests at Various Levels of
Systems Analysis
Economy Sector Firm Group Individual
Geography Market/Tech Organization Theme Idea
Global Development
Business Dynamics
Technology Roadmapping
Technology Entrepreneurial Strategy
Venture Capital
Emerging Technology Ventures
Creative Communities, Social Networks
Virtual Customer Initiative
Decision Psychology
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Weaving together Interest Clusters at Various
Levels of Analysis
Economy Sector Firm Group Individual
Geography Market/Tech Organization Theme Idea
Technology Roadmap
Technology Venture Observatory
OpenSource Initiative
Virtual Customer Initiative
Emerging Tech-Biz Live Cases
ION
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ION MIT Sloan Innovation Observatory Network

• Weaving together clusters of currently existing
  and potential empirical, quantitative MIT Sloan
  research
• Observing Innovation in all its forms
• Aligned with unifying overarching MIT Sloan
  themes

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Innovation Observatories Viewing the Business
Implications of Emerging Technologies

• Technology Roadmaps
• Prototyped by Fine
• Kimerling at Microphotonics
• Generalizing Moore
• OpenSource Initiative
• Tech Venture Observatory
• Virtual Customer Initiative
• Emerging Tech-Business Live Cases

Original Plot of Moores Law
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1. Technology Roadmapping (TRM)http//mph-roadmap
.mit.edu/

• Including Professors Charlie Fine Rajeev Ram
  (in MicroPhotonics)
• Prototyped by Sematech in Semiconductors, now in
  MIT MicroPhotonics Center
• Big-picture perspective on development targets
  overview the business implications of technology
  trendlines
• Emerging Themes MEMS, Neuroengineering,
  Nanotech, Genomics

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2. OpenSource Initiative (OSI)http//opensource.m
it.edu/

• Including Professor Eric von Hippel, RA Karim
  Lakhani
• Inquiring about Innovation Ecologies, Individual
  Incentives, Informal Organizations
• New domains OpenSource Hardware, OpenSource
  Biology, and more

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3. Technology Venture Observatory (TVO)

• Including Professor Diane Burton
• Inquiring about Business Strategy, Employment
  Models, Founder Experiences, Emerging Technology
  Businesses, Entrepreneurial Financing

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4. Virtual Customer Initiative
(VCI)http//mitsloan.mit.edu/vc/

• Including Professors John Hauser, Ely Dahan,
  Drazen Prelec, Nader Tavassoli, et al
• Methods for Accelerating the Customer Feedback ??
  Product Development connection.
• Live Demos
• http//wow.mit.edu
• http//conjoint.mit.edu

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5. Emerging Technology- Business Live Case
Studies (LCS)

• For example, Professors Fiona Murray in Biotech,
  Joe Jacobson in Nanotech
• Inquiring about New Technology arenas, Radical
  Research
• Seeking Business Implications
• Commercialization Challenges
• Class Connections

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Innovation ObservatoriesFurther Possible
Research Clusters
Economy Sector Firm Group Individual
Geography Market/Tech Organization Theme Idea
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Innovation ObservatoriesCore Qualities

• Empirical, Quantitative Systematically research
  most compelling questions
• Leverage Make most of scarce faculty time
• Build Reputation MIT Sloan should lead in
  practical and rigorous scholarship on Innovation,
  Leadership, and Global action
• Scaling Supporting Build up ION research
  Operations Infrastructural Leverage (OIL)

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Innovation ObservatoriesBolstering A Key
Quadrant of the MIT Sloan Research Endeavor
Empirical
Theoretical
Qualitative
ION
Quantitative
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Specific Possible Research Thrusts
MIT Sloan Matrix
Developmental Entrepreneurship
MicroFinance
Technology Venture O.
Comparative Market Research
Unifying Strategic Themes
Visualizing Complexity
Technology Roadmaps
Classic MIT Sloan Disciplinary Strengths
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Innovation ObservatoriesMIT Sloan School-wide
Initiative
ION
Unifying Strategic Themes
Covering Quantitative, Empirical Aspects
Classic MIT Sloan Disciplinary Strengths
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Innovation ObservatoriesSloan School-wide
Benefits

• Research High quality, comparable, longitudinal
  data on hundreds of technologies, products,
  companies, industries, regions across several
  emerging technology sectors
• Education Students learn through close
  observation as practitioners in the research,
  benefit from new types of quantitative,
  cross-comparable case-studies.
• Practice Answering questions relevant to
  operating execs, allowing comparative
  benchmarking, delivered through SMR, ExecEd,
  custom MBA programs.

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Innovation ObservatoriesA Way to Engage the
Rest of MIT

• Research on Business Implications of Emerging
  Technologies ? The MIT Matrix
• Lessons woven thru Joint Technology Business
  Programs
• BioEnterprise, NanoEnterprise
• Benefit Draw Upon undergrads technologist
  grad students
• Cross-Disciplinary, Formal Informal Social
  Professional Links

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MIT Sloan Technology Biz Matrix
MIT Matrix
http//web.media.mit.edu/davet/notes/emerging-tec
h-mit.html
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MIT Strategic Technology Thrusts

• Information Technologies Ever more
  sophisticated computation communication,
  leveraging mind media.
• Biomedical Technologies Medical engineering,
  perfecting the health life sciences.
• Tiny Technologies Investigating and fabricating
  ever smaller systems, at scales from micro thru
  nano
• Complex Systems Large scale, socio-political
  econo-technological systems.
• Developmental Innovations Appropriate and
  leapfrog technologies for tackling challenges in
  developing emerging regions

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OILFueling the ION Research Machine Operations
Infrastructural Leverage

• Maximally Leveraging Faculty Time
• Scaling Training in Research Methods, Integrated
  Interview Guides, Unifying Databases
• Staff Support, for formal informal activities
• Structural Mechanisms

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Staff Support Personnel

• Research Support Staff
• Central statistics, websurveys
• E.g. Stats software support
• Distributed thematic
• E.g. Microphotonics Roadmapping Project Mgr
• Training Support
• Extracurricular Support
• Clubs
• Branded Events

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Infra-Structural Mechanisms

• Masters Research Seminars
• Coordinated Special Projects
• Team UROPs
• Deans Research Fellows
• Course Connection
• Structured Theses

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1. Masters Research Seminars (MRS)

• Aligning Masters student professional interest
  with Faculty Research Agenda through specific
  themed-seminars
• E.g. TRM 15.795 Technology Roadmapping, Fall
  2002, Professor Charlie Fine, TA Joost Bonsen
• Others?
• TVO Tech Venture Observatory
• OSI OpenSource Initiative
• VCI Virtual Customer Initiative

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2. Coordinated Special Projects (CSP)

• Independent effort by individuals or teams of
  students around a sponsor or research theme of
  interest.
• E.g. Professors Gabriel Bitran, Rebecca Henderson

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3. Team UROPs

• Undergraduate researchers working in teams on
  unifying projects under the supervision of
  faculty, graduate students, and select alums
• E.g Diane Burton, Jay Forrester

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4. Deans Research Fellows (DRF)

• Well-paid, full part-time Summer IAP graduate
  researchers
• Prestigious position, coveted and very selective
• Rich collateral benefits for student and MIT

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5. Sloan Course-Research Connections

• Weaving faculty research questions deeply into
  their academic courses, for example, with
  structured assignments and/or final projects.
• Typically requiring further work beyond
  classroom, after semester
• E.g. Professor Ed Roberts, Ely Dahan

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6. Structured Theses

• Masters theses aligned around over-arching
  faculty research themes
• Ultimately aggregated into publication
• E.g. Professors Ed Roberts, Arnoldo Hax, Charlie
  Fine, Michael Cusumano, Henry Weil