Here’s a question: Where did the mountain bike come front? Traditional thinking might suggest that it emerged either from the R&D department of a large bike manufacturer, or from the shed of a lone, slightly eccentric, entrepreneur… but neither of these is correct. It was put together, literally, by a community of Californian bikers that were frustrated with the available bike range. Apparently, it was 10-15 years before the big companies really caught on.

Watch Charles Leadbeater explaining here, very simply, how important users are in the process of innovation. He argues that this has ALWAYS been the case, and that the most radical innovations are most likely to come from the most passionate users. He’s been working with the think tank DEMOS to establish the case for taking seriously professional amateurs, or ‘Pro-Ams’ that are getting every more connected and able to compete through open-source collaborations.

Businesses are having to learn how to leverage this, to co-create in new ways, for example with open-design competitions. I wonder if this same approach can be applied to generate better solutions for problems related to poverty? While it doesn’t seem to have really taken off, there are promising trends… for example, Nokia Research is boasting several user-led innovations in Africa, including a rural battery charging service (how do you charge your mobile phone if you live in a village with limited and unpredictable access to power?), documented on this blog.