“Open source" science: turning the software model inside out

Open Source

What prevents researchers from collaborating – from combining ideas required to generate innovative solutions to intractable scientific or social problems? According to Harvard Business School prof Karim Lakhani, the answer is two-fold: professional competitiveness that encourages rivalry, and intellectual property protections that discourage partnerships.

Even more intriguing is Lakhani’s suggestion for addressing these problems: bringing the philosophy and the methodology of open source software into the world of scientific inquiry. In a recent interview published on the HBS “Working Knowledge” website, Lakhani argues that “broadcasting” problems – i.e. introducing them to outsiders – not only accelerates problem-solving, but that the broader the web of outsiders engaged, the more likely the problem is to be solved.

The most important lesson: the idea of “open source” is not limited to software, nor is it an aberration. Instead, it’s a new model for problem-solving based on three key norms: transparency (sharing information), permeable access (creating mechanisms to allow for new inputs) and collaborations (working with multiple partners).

What struck me was Lakhani’s conviction that the most exciting breakthroughs happen where sectors and industries converge: “innovations happen at the intersection of disciplines,” he says. “People have talked about that a lot and I think we’re providing some systematic evidence of that now with this study.”

Open source is a more than a philosophy – it’s a metaphor for an age when the most exciting initiatives, organizations and companies are emerging from the “intersection of disciplines” Lakhani talks about – and that MaRS is working to foster and facilitate.

The article, “Open Source Science: A New Model for Innovation” can be viewed in full at:

http://hbswk.hbs.edu/item/5544.html

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