Keywords: incubation, knowledge sharing

The main feature of the Open IX solution is to adapt open innovation based services to a local business community anchored by the science park. This includes: - Focusing on the unique needs of local industry/government clients - Building strong relationships with a growing base of African innovators and entrepreneurs as potential solution providers - Hosting challenge workshops at the science park to understand the clients needs and building trust in the process - Supporting the delivery of early stage solutions - Enabling the adaption of solutions

To improve the connectivity between R&D and innovation agents with industry as well as with specific social needs, adapting open innovation schemes to a science park.

Open IX is replicable in other regions and science parks, and can potentially form part of a larger, global network of locally anchored virtual open innovation platforms, as well as being linked to larger platforms such as IASP POINT.

Open IX is measured on the number of solutions of interest presented to a given challenge. So far we have the following results: - Number of challenges run: 10 - Number of solutions sourced: 115 - Number of solutions shortlisted for initial engagement/meeting with challenge owners: 45 - Number of solutions in follow-up phase: 9

Industry government medium-sized companies - Researchers technology entrepreneurs large corporations innovation agencies investors