In summary:
- The event emphasised Open Innovation as a powerful approach for solving complex challenges by engaging diverse stakeholders—corporates, startups, academia, and government
- AI collaboration emerged as a key area of focus, with discussions on its transformative potential across industries, the value of corporate-startup partnerships in overcoming adoption hurdles, and the importance of systemic approaches to innovation.
- Expert panelists spanning Public, Private and Defence sectors shared their experiences with successful collaborative models, emphasising mutual value and the ability to address shared goals.
- Roundtable discussions explored how to implement Open Innovation, highlighting the need for clear frameworks, startup-friendly environments, strong internal capabilities, and senior sponsorship to drive scalable and sustainable innovation.
Earlier this month, we were thrilled to host an exclusive Open Innovation Roundtable, bringing together brilliant minds from across sectors to exchange ideas, spark fresh thinking, and break through barriers. A dynamic panel discussion and a first look at insights from our 2025 Open Innovation Report set the stage for lively, thought-provoking roundtable conversations that inspired fresh perspectives and bold ideas.
The morning began by sharing a common definition of Open Innovation. Unlike traditional models, Open Innovation advocates engaging with a diverse network of stakeholders, including hyperscale’s, industry, academia and startups. This approach enables a broader range of perspectives, accelerates problem-solving, and capitalises on the collective intelligence of the ecosystem.
The concept of open innovation has taken on a pivotal role in determining an organisation's success due to evolving business landscapes, with Open Innovation on the Slope of Enlightenment in the latest Gartner Hype Cycle for Innovation Practices.
In recent years, it has emerged as a powerful strategy to drive creativity, enhance competitiveness, and foster growth through collaboration and partnerships; with organisations recognising that in accordance with Joy’s law, ‘no matter who you are, most of the smartest people work for someone else’.
How Open Innovation is transforming industries
Tobias Studer Andersson, Innovation Director and Group Head of Sopra Steria Scale up took the stage next, delivering an exclusive first look at the Open Innovation Report. Through his sharp analysis, he highlighted:
- AI’s transformative impact across industries, while also acknowledging the challenges many large organisations face, including talent shortages and high development costs.
- The power of corporate-startup collaboration in accelerating AI adoption and breaking down traditional barriers.
- The key ingredients for innovation success. From setting clear goals to establishing dedicated innovation teams, which consistently drive better outcomes.
Tobias wrapped up by looking ahead at what the future of innovation holds, perfectly setting the tone for an inspiring panel discussion.
We had the privilege of gaining cross-sector perspectives from Stephen Ingledew OBE, Founder and Chair of FinTech Scotland, Stuart Laws, Assistant Head at UK Ministry of Defence, Juliet Edmondson, Head of Innovation and Advisory, Transport for London, and Emily Ford, Head of Startups at Google Cloud.
It was fascinating to listen to a diverse group of experts’ angles on open innovation, and to learn about successful ‘win, win’ collaborations, where both parties can leverage their individual strengths to achieve common objectives.
The morning concluded with a dynamic and stimulating roundtable discussion, where we explored three key questions:
- Why is Open Innovation so important?
- How can you best deliver Open Innovation?
- What actions will you take to improve success?
It was a powerful exchange of ideas and experiences that truly captured the spirit of Open Innovation in action.
Key themes and takeaways from our roundtable discussions
- Open Innovation enables organisations to solve more challenges with fewer internal resources by leveraging external ideas and solutions.
- Start-ups are essential to this process as they:
- Bridge the gap between end users and procurement teams,
- Enable faster feedback loops,
- Support rapid prototyping, and
- Help attract investment.
This approach fosters cultural transformation and can disrupt even the most established players.
- When aligned with corporate goals and supported by collaboration with academia and innovation facilitators, Open Innovation leads to:
- Enhanced learning,
- Organisational growth, and
- Meaningful, measurable impact.
- To implement Open Innovation effectively, organisations should:
- Foster a collaborative environment by promoting open data sharing and safe experimentation, such as through sandboxes.
- Work with trusted intermediaries, including universities and consultancies.
- Ensure senior sponsorship to advocate for and protect innovation initiatives.
- Embrace a portfolio mindset to encourage continuous learning and reduce fear of failure.
- Build strong internal capabilities to manage and scale innovation.
- Establish clear payment milestones to support structured progress.
- Cultivate trust-based relationships with external partners.
- Importantly, for Open Innovation to be successful and scalable, it’s crucial to:
- Understand and support start-ups' financial constraints and scalability requirements.
- Develop and implement clear frameworks, aligned success metrics, and a shared innovation vision.
- Involve those closest to the problem early in the process.
- Clearly define what success looks like for all stakeholders.
- Create supportive conditions for collaboration, such as start-up-friendly procurement policies, and the use of third-party facilitation to smooth collaboration.
- When these conditions are met, Open Innovation becomes embedded in the organisation, scalable, and genuinely transformative.
Mark Cummins, Professor of Financial Technology at University of Strathclyde found the event to be:
“a truly energising morning exploring how cross-sector collaboration can accelerate innovation and drive meaningful outcomes. The event brought together a powerful mix of voices from the private and public sectors, defence, and academia, all united by a shared ambition to tackle complex challenges through open innovation.”
If you’re interested in getting your own copy of the 2025 Open Innovation Report that is due to be released on 29th April 2025, please get in touch with me: thomas.staley@soprasteria.com