NETworked POWER. Innovation by social software

The NETPOWER objectives imply important challenges related to the development of social software solutions satisfying the emerging requirements of innovation-oriented industry and non-profit organizations (NPOs). To meet the challenges, the project inclu des state-of-the-art solution providers (Induct Software, Bengler), solution users (Devoteam daVinci, Innoco, Seniornett, The Norwegian Labour Party), and research partners on innovation (BI) and user centred development of social software (SINTEF). The NETPOWER research approach is based on two cases: (1) Industry and commerce: Solutions for industrial innovation are developed by Induct Software and the research partners; implemented and evaluated with Devoteam daVinci and Innoco. (2) NPOs and society: Solutions for innovation in non-commercial organizations are developed by Bengler and the research partners; implemented and evaluated with The Norwegian Labour Party and Seniornett. The development will be user-centred, grounded in a thorough understand ing of the context of use and including design-feedback and evaluation in an online Living Lab and real-world trials. The project includes five phases. Phase 1 details initial requirements and related challenges (e.g. IPR, privacy, security). Phases 2-4 are three iterations were solution versions will be developed followed by Living Lab feedback and real-world trials. The iterations also include development of new innovation theory and optimization of the Living Lab. In Phase 5, best practices for profes sional-purpose social software is developed, along with final exploitation and dissemination activities. The resulting software solutions, innovation theory, and Living Lab methods are all results of international significance that move the boundaries of the current state-of-the-art. The project also results in 1 PhD, 8 journal articles, 12 conference publications, master and PhD university courses, and yearly popular seminars.