IdeaScale is a

cloud-based Cloud computing is the on-demand availability of computer system resources, especially data storage (cloud storage) and computing power, without direct active management by the user. Large clouds often have functions distributed over multip ...

software company that licenses an

innovation management Innovation management is a combination of the management of innovation processes, and change management. It refers to product, business process, marketing and organizational innovation. Innovation management is the subject of ISO 56000 (formerly ...

platform employing the principles and practices of

crowdsourcing Crowdsourcing involves a large group of dispersed participants contributing or producing goods or services—including ideas, votes, micro-tasks, and finances—for payment or as volunteers. Contemporary crowdsourcing often involves digita ...

. The company was founded by Vivek Bhaskaran and Rob Hoeh in Seattle. As of 2018, IdeaScale is headquartered in Berkeley, CA.

History

In 2008, the IdeaScale service was first offered. In 2009, Rob Hoehn enhanced the service to further address opportunities he cited in both government and the private sector to solicit ideas, feedback, and priorities. It launched in tandem with President Barack Obama’s

Open Government Initiative The Open Government Initiative is an effort by the administration of President of the United States Barack Obama to "reatean unprecedented level of openness in Government.". The directive starting this initiative was issued on January 20, 2009, Ob ...

. In its first year, IdeaScale was adopted by 23 federal agencies. It served many organizations, including the Executive Office of the President of the United States. The following year, the platform’s adoption rate expanded to include more than 36 agencies as well as numerous private Enterprise-level companies. Government clients cited IdeaScale’s “level of engagement as well as the platform’s affordability” as one of the reasons that it was adopted early on in the open government initiative. Since then, the platform has been used by numerous government organizations from the federal to the local level and was even used by the New York City Police Department to gather feedback and quality of life priorities from citizens. As of 2014, IdeaScale had close to 4 million members and over 25,000 communities. The company is privately held. It was bootstrapped without

venture capital Venture capital (often abbreviated as VC) is a form of private equity financing that is provided by venture capital firms or funds to startups, early-stage, and emerging companies that have been deemed to have high growth potential or which ha ...

funding and has become profitable. IdeaScale was also ranked #513 on the Inc. 5000 List of Fastest Growing Companies. and acquired Ideavibes as part of its continued growth. In 2016, IdeaScale acquired Innovationmanagement.se

Features

Users create a profile on IdeaScale and once they are members of a community, they can submit ideas, comment and vote on other ideas, and the most popular ideas are prioritized at the top based on the number of votes the idea receives. Once a promising idea has been identified, the software allows teams to form around the idea. The team can add more information to the idea, refine it, propose it to leadership and the best ones are selected using sophisticated decision matrix capabilities. The company uses the

freemium Freemium, a portmanteau of the words "free" and "premium," is a pricing strategy by which a basic product or service is provided free of charge, but money (a premium) is charged for additional features, services, or virtual (online) or physical (o ...

model of engagement, offering free communities on an open basis and additional, customized functionality to paying clients.

Notes

{{reflist Crowdsourcing Software companies based in the San Francisco Bay Area Software companies established in 2009 2009 establishments in Washington (state)