Call for BEST Practice : 12th Annual World Open Innovation Conference 2025

The Best Practice Sessions at WOIC 2025 aim to bring together researchers and practitioners to share their successful tools, processes, or approaches related to open innovation. Participants can receive feedback from a diverse audience, including open innovation scientists and practitioners, to further develop and improve their best practices.

Participating in the Best Practice Sessions offers several benefits, including the opportunity to share your state-of-the-art practices, receive feedback to enhance them further, and raise awareness about your topic of interest. Additionally, there is a possibility of establishing collaborations or co-creation opportunities with other practitioners and academics, leading to potential joint research projects or partnerships.

Please read the instructions carefully and be mindful of the selection process! To determine which Best Practice presentation ultimately makes it into the final program, we use a scorecard assessment method based on 5 criteria: 3 fixed, 2 extra. Once your presentation proposal is received, we evaluate these 5 criteria on a scale from 1 to 5 (1 is least satisfactory, 5 is most satisfactory). Subsequently, we sum up each individual score for a total of 15 (fixed) + 10 (bonus) = 25 points (total). More points mean a higher total score and hence a higher chance of being invited to present at WOIC 2025.

We encourage you to submit your Best Practice in line with the following themes:

– Open Innovation Strategy

– Policy & Governance

– Open Innovation Platforms and/or Ecosystems

– Open Innovation Processes

– The Human Side of Open Innovation

– Conference theme: “Open Innovation in Times of Uncertainty”

Note: Do you have a Best Practice that does not fit any of these themes? Amazing! We are very curious to receive your submission as well.

The assessment criteria include the following baseline criteria:

Originality and Uniqueness: We assess the level of innovation and novelty demonstrated by the open innovation best practice. We look for practices that introduce new ideas, approaches, or strategies that haven’t been widely explored before.

Collaboration and Engagement: We consider the level of collaboration and engagement fostered by the open innovation best practices. We look for practices that encourage external partnerships, knowledge sharing, and the active involvement of stakeholders.

Relevance to Open Innovation Community: We consider the relevance and applicability of the open innovation best practice to the wider Open Innovation community (including, but also beyond academia). We look for practices that address common challenges, resonate with the community’s needs, and provide valuable insights and lessons for others.

Additionally, we triage best practices based on their results and scalability. We encourage each practitioner to include them if they have any. While this is not mandatory, doing so may positively impact your evaluation, so it is highly encouraged.

Demonstrated Results and Evidence (bonus points awarded): We look for submissions that provide strong evidence of the effectiveness of the open innovation practices. We consider case studies, metrics, success stories, or tangible outcomes that showcase the practical implementation and positive results achieved. 

Scalability and Replicability (bonus points awarded): Finally, we evaluate whether the open innovation best practices can be easily scaled and replicated across different organizations or industries. We consider whether they have the potential to generate value in various contexts.

Note: These criteria are used to assess the fit of your Best Practice with the WOIC 2025 program, and if accepted, you are invited to present it during the conference. Different criteria are used to decide the winners of the Best Open innovation Practice award (as explained below).

Yes, you can! However, bear in mind that we require at least one different presenter (a co-author) for each of the Best Practices accepted to the conference.

Yes, evidence of results and scalability are encouraged in your submission. Providing case studies, metrics, success stories, or tangible outcomes that demonstrate the effectiveness of your open innovation practice can positively impact the evaluation. Similarly, showcasing evidence of scaling the practice to different contexts (e.g., industries) with tangible results will enhance your submission.

While the ‘extra’ evaluation criteria are encouraged, they are not mandatory. You can include them if your best practice aligns with them, but they are not a requirement for submission.

When applying to present a Best Practice, please submit your application as a 10-Slide PowerPoint Presentation or a 2-page Word document. Applications that do not meet these criteria will be desk rejected. If accepted (acceptance is confirmed in writing, through email), your presentation during the conference should be delivered as a 10-minute presentation (talk), accompanied by slides (max. 10).

Yes, there will be an award for the Best Open Innovation Practice. The presentation(s) with the highest evaluation score will be recognized with a prestigious award during the conference. The audience in the conference will vote after every Best Practice session based on the following criteria:

Content

25% Fresh approach

25% Inspired to take action when I get back to the office

Delivery

25% Message was clear

25% The speaker was engaging and held my interest

A notification of acceptance is communicated over email on July 20th by the Industry Team at WOIC.

If you have been invited to present your Best Practice at the conference (by July 20th , 2025), we ask you to confirm your participation in the conference (either in person or digitally) no later than August 15th, 2025.

Yes, you may, provided that you can fit your talk within the allocated time frame (10-minute presentation). We generally advise that you choose a main speaker and rely on the support of co-authors or co-contributors during the Q&A/discussion moment. 

If you have registered to attend the conference in person, all presenting co-authors are expected to be there in person as well. However, if you are registered for the online track of WOIC 2025, you may present your Best Practice remotely. We encourage in-person participation, as it offers a more engaging and fulfilling conference experience.

WOIC conferences are run on a very tight budget, so unfortunately, we cannot help presenters financially with travel or hotel expenses. It is important you take this into account as you decide whether to attend in person, present virtually, or not attend at all. Discount on the conference ticket prices is also not possible to offer, but we encourage you to buy the ticket using the Early Bird price available on the website.  

If selected to present a Best Practice, we will be able to confirm (in writing) your inclusion in the conference program. Additionally, we can provide a standardized letter of invitation to support your VISA application process. 

Not necessarily, but we recommend you keep similar content since that’s what has been approved by the Industry Team. However, we encourage you to update the presentation in terms of storytelling, metrics shown, design and format, etc. We will ask you to share with us your final version in either PDF or PPT formats at least two weeks prior to the start of the conference (by October 22th, 2025).

In case you would like us to review and give feedback on your presentation deck before the conference takes place, we request you to share it with us one month before the conference (by October 5-6, 2025). One of the members of the Industry Team will help you with this. 

No, there is no specific structure or format other than limiting to 10 slides (max.) in PDF or PowerPoint format. Please make sure your decks are professional, clear, without too much clutter, and easy for listeners for whom English is not the first language to understand. More visuals are preferred over lots of text.

The program of the WOIC 2025 is still under development, so we advise you to check our website and socials for the latest updates. Nonetheless, each Best Practice session will last 60 to 75 minutes and will feature 3 Best Practice presentations of 10 minutes (max.) each. There will be a Q&A and discussion at the end.

Only if you consent to it. We will share a form about it if your Best Practice gets accepted to the conference. However, we recommend you avoid any confidential information in your slides so that we can easily distribute your Best Practice presentation to conference attendees; especially those who have shown interest in your work.