OpenForum Academy prepares to release a new book

The Fellows of the OpenForum Academy will shortly publish a book containing the latest thinking around Open Innovation in technology, information and standards. It is entitled “Thoughts on Open Innovation” and poses important questions about the role of collaboration and re-use of others' work in the context of a modern, technology-driven society. The contributors include Andy Updegrove, Shane Coughlan, Peter Murray-Rust and his colleagues at the Open Knowledge Foundation, Coleman McCormick, Jochen Friedrich, Karsten Gerloff, Amanda Brock, Simon Phipps and Peter Langley.

As Karel de Vriendt outlines in his introduction, the meaning of the term Open Innovation has evolved a great deal since it was first coined by Professor Henry Chesborough in 2003. Now it is part of the 'open' family which includes Open Knowledge, Open Data, Open Source software and Open Standards. The binding idea that applies to all these terms is that through collaboration and re-use of creative work, the community of innovators and society itself increasingly benefits.

The key questions this book aims to answer are: Is openness an end in itself? Does an open approach suit all purposes? And broadest still, how can people collaborate to solve some of the largest problems that we all face? Although the book deals with weighty ideas its authors have kept their essays at a manageable length and accessible to those of us who live outside the hallowed cloisters of academia. In short, it's a great read. I invite you to judge for yourself by previewing an electronic copy in advance of our formal printed launch at the Digital Agenda Summit in Dublin during June. 

You can preview this book from our dedicated page.

OpenForum Academy (via OpenForum Europe) will be participating in the Google Policy Fellowship in 2013 

This program is a unique way for students to get involved with our work, and to experience the business of policy discussion in Brussels. OpenForum Academy is one of only four European institutions selected to participate this year, joining Lisbon Council, BREUGEL and ECIPE to provide a cutting edge opportunity for students actively engage at the forefront of European governance. Thanks to the kind support of Google, OpenForum Academy can offer one paid position for a student, either undergraduate or graduate level, and provide mentorship via our Brussels office and our Fellowship coordinator. 

A student can be nominated by one of our existing think-tank members or any other interested party who wishes to encourage the next generation of thought-leaders in Open Innovation. The outcomes of the successful applicant's work will be given wide exposure, being published both by OpenForum Academy and under the Google programme. 

To apply for a Google Policy Fellowship with OFE/OFA register via this link at the global Google Policy Fellowship website. 

At the same time, we are also seeking nominations from our Fellows regarding particular topics they would like to see researched under the auspices of this program, and for interested parties to step forward as mentors for our success applicant in the conduct of the research itself.

Learn more about the Fellowship on the Google website.

OpenForum Academy is proud to welcome two new Fellows in December 2012 

Openforum Academy is a think tank with a broad aim to examine the paradigm shift towards openness in computing that is currently underway, and to explore how this trend is changing the role of computing in society.

We are proud to welcome Simon Wardley and Dr. Tim Hubbard to the OpenForum Academy Fellowship as the thirty fourth and thirty fifth participants in our think-thank. They are both renowned experts in their fields, and will help to ensure that our work in 2013 remains at the cutting edge of Open Innovation.

You can review their biographies, along with the biographies of all the other think tank core participants, on our dedicated Fellows page.

OFA welcomes Karel De Vriendt as our 33rd Fellow in October 2012 

Openforum Academy is a think tank with a broad aim to examine the paradigm shift towards openness in computing that is currently underway, and to explore how this trend is changing the role of computing in society.

We are proud to welcome Karel De Vriendt as the thirty-third member of our think tank. Karel was Head of Unit at  DG Informatics between January 2000 – January 2011, and and adviser throughout 2011. Now retired, he is still interested in exploring the impact of ICT on society, ICT and education, ICT and development, bridging the digital divide, open source and open standards.

You can review his biography, along with the biographies of all the other think tank core participants, on our dedicated Fellows page.

OFA welcomes ten new Fellows in July 2012 

The OFA Fellow expert group has continued to expand both in numbers and in the breadth of knowledge available to analyze developments around Open Innovation. OFA is delighted to welcome: 

• Alea Fairchild, Vice President & Principal Analyst for Technology Infrastructure Strategy, Legacy Optimization, and EMEA policy at Constellation Research Inc. 
• Cameron Neylon, Advocacy Director for the Public Library of Science.
• Chris Taggart, CEO and co-founder of OpenCorporates: The Open Database Of the Corporate World.
• Dr. Efthymios Altsitsiadis, researcher at the Research Group Marketing of the KU Leuven and member of the e-Accessibility 2020 research team.  
• Emma Mulqueeny, founder of Rewired State and Young Rewired State: Coding a better country.
• Dr. Jun Iio, Research Director of Mitsubishi Research Institute, Inc. and also a Visiting Professor at Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology.
• Dr. Paul Adams, Researcher at ZEA Partners and Chief Operating Officer at Kolab Systems AG.
• Prof. Peter Murray-Rust, Group Head, Murray-Rust Research Group, University of Cambridge.
• Simonetta Vezzoso, Researcher,  Department of Economics and Management at the Università degli Studi di Trento.
• Peter Suber, Director of the Harvard Open Access Project, Faculty Fellow at the Berkman Center for Internet & Society, Senior Researcher at SPARC, Open Access Project Director at Public Knowledge, and Research Professor of Philosophy at Earlham College.
• Prof. Tetsuo Noda, Professor of Economics at Shimane University and head of the collaborative research with Ruby City Matsue regarding Ruby and regional economic development.

OFA proudly announces new five Fellows in June 2012 

The OFA Fellow expert group has continued to expand both in numbers and in the breadth of knowledge available to analyze developments around Open Innovation. OFA is delighted to welcome: 

• Carlo Daffara, an expert whose research work for the Open Source consultancy Conecta is focused on open source-based business models, collaborative development of digital artifacts, and understanding how companies and administrations can leverage open source software; during the last 15 years, he has helped hundreds of companies and administrations to take up and adopt OSS systems. 
• Carlo Piana, a lawyer by training and a Free Software advocate. A qualified attorney in Italy, Piana has been practicing IT law since 1995, focusing his practice on software, technology, standardization, data protection and digital liberties in general,and serves as external General Counsel to the Free Software Foundation Europe("FSFE"). 
• Glyn Moody, a technology writer best known for his book Rebel Code: Linux and the Open Source Revolution(2001). It describes the evolution and significance of the free software and open source movements with many interviews of all the notable hackers. 
• Helen Darbishire, an expert in the public's right of access to information (freedom of information), and the development of open and democratic societies with participatory and accountable governments. 
• Rufus Pollock, an economist and co-founder of the Open Knowledge Foundation. He is currently a Shuttleworth Foundation Fellow, an Associate of the Centre for Intellectual Property and Information Law at the University of Cambridge and a Director of the Open Knowledge Foundation which he co-founded in 2004. He formerly held the Mead Research Fellowship in economics at Emmanuel College, Cambridge. 

OFA welcomed three new OFA Fellows in March 2012 

It is with great pleasure that we announce three new Fellows have joined OFA's existing expert group, and will pro-actively contribute towards enhancing and improving discourse around Open Innovation: 

• Andrew Katz, recognised as a leader in the field of open source licensing in the UK. He was involved in the drafting of the UK Creative Commons Licence, and has contributed to the GPL Version 3 project. He has spoken at events including BCS conferences, and LinuxWorld Expo, and has sat on panel discussions involving open source software with other experts such as Alan Cox, John "maddog" Hall, Mark Shuttleworth and Glyn Moody. 
• Brian Kahin, a Fellow at the Center for Digital Business at MIT's Sloan School of Management and Senior Fellow at the Computer & Communications Industry Association. He was founding director of the Harvard Information Infrastructure Project (1989-1997) and subsequently served as Senior Policy Analyst at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (1997-2000).
• Daniel M German, an academic who has pushed forward some interesting metrics regarding license monitoring in FOSS code, along with a vast amount of other academic work.