TOOL: Open Source, Members Only
Their mission may be to promote collaboration, but their work is done behind closed doors. The powerhouse Berkeley Innovation Forum, a members-only group of high-level executives at 32 big companies such as Coca-Cola (KO), Kraft (KFT), and Philips Electronics, gathers privately twice a year to share ideas on how to meet research and development challenges across industries. The exclusive group was founded by Henry Chesbrough (above), author of Open Business Models and executive director of the Center for Open Innovation at the University of California at Berkeley. The annual membership fee: $10,000. Executives continue talks via a private online community. Currently the group is looking at how to improve ways companies partner with universities to tap fresh ideas.
