---
id: "govlab:project/project-network-of-innovators"
type: "GovLab project"
title: "Network of Innovators"
url: "https://thegovlab.org/project/project-network-of-innovators"
authors: ["Beth Simone Noveck","Ena Bek","Anna Bialas","Mark Adkins-Hastings","David Naffis","Atul Varma","Christopher Wong","Claudio Mendonca","John Krauss","Andrew Young","Anupama Sharma","Batu Sayici"]
summary: "Can we accelerate innovation in government by making expertise of individuals searchable?"
source: "The GovLab (thegovlab.org)"
licence: "Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)"
---

# Network of Innovators

Can we accelerate innovation in government by making expertise of individuals searchable?

Project website: [http://noi.thegovlab.org](http://noi.thegovlab.org)

## Background

There is possibly no more important public issue today than how to enable our governing organizations to recognize and implement innovative and effective solutions to problems. Administrations that are supposed to solve critical problems on their own are inadequate for a complex, networked world. Governments need to learn to make use of the expertise of others — formal scientific knowledge and credentials, skills and experiences inside and outside of government — to tackle the challenges society will face in the coming years.

## Description

NoI is premised on the belief that traditional titles and academic credentials do not adequately convey the skills and experiences people have and would willingly share. By promoting the exchange of knowledge about more agile, data-driven, open and collaborative approaches to working, NoI aims to enhance how we govern and solve public problems.

## Results and impact

This project is still in its infancy with deployments of the platform in eight countries anticipated during 2015. The anticipated impact, however, is greater understanding and demonstration of how targeting people -- in this case government employees -- on the basis of their skills can accelerate innovation.

## Location

- Australia
- Argentina
- Canada
- Chile
- Mexico
- United States
- United Kingdom

## Partners

- Argentina, Office of the Chief Technology Officer of Buenos Aires
- South Australia, Office of Participation and Partnerships
- External Relations, Strategic Engagement and Communications, Department of the Premier and Cabinet, Government of South Australia
- Canada, Policy Innovation, Central Innovation HUB and Executive Director, Citizen Engagement, Government Communications and Public Engagement, British Columbia
- Chile, Ministerio de la Secretaria General de la Presidencia Mexico, Directora General de Datos Abiertos, Coordinación de strategia Digital Nacional Presidencia de la República and Director General de Innovación y Participación Ciudadana, Estrategia Digital Nacional, Presidencia de la Republica
- United Kingdom, Director of Open Data and Government Innovation at the Cabinet Office, Open Government Lead

## Team

- [Beth Simone Noveck](https://thegovlab.org/team.html#beth-simone-noveck)
- [Ena Bek](https://thegovlab.org/team.html#ena-bek)
- [Anna Bialas](https://thegovlab.org/team.html#anna-bialas)
- [Mark Adkins-Hastings](https://thegovlab.org/team.html#mark-adkins-hastings)
- [David Naffis](https://thegovlab.org/team.html#david-naffis)
- [Atul Varma](https://thegovlab.org/team.html#atul-varma)
- [Christopher Wong](https://thegovlab.org/team.html#christopher-wong)
- [Claudio Mendonca](https://thegovlab.org/team.html#claudio-mendonca)
- [John Krauss](https://thegovlab.org/team.html#john-krauss)
- [Andrew Young](https://thegovlab.org/team.html#andrew-young)
- [Anupama Sharma](https://thegovlab.org/team.html#anupama-sharma)
- [Batu Sayici](https://thegovlab.org/team.html#batu-sayici)

## Additional resources

- [Network of Innovators One Pager](http://www.thegovlab.org/static/files/noi-one-pager-cropped.pdf)
- [Matching Demand to the Supply of Open Data Know How: The Network of Innovators Experiment](https://medium.com/@bethnoveck/matching-demand-to-the-supply-of-open-data-know-how-the-network-of-innovators-experiment-e410df91556a)
- [Network of Innovators: Expert Networking for Open Data](http://thegovlab.org/network-of-innovators-expert-networking-for-open-data/)
- [The Network of Innovators Experiment: What We Are Learning about Expertise Matching](https://medium.com/@bethnoveck/the-network-of-innovators-experiment-what-we-are-learning-about-expertise-matching-6470ebe5fbe0)
- [FACT SHEET: Administration Celebrates Five-Year Anniversary of Challenge.gov with Launch of More than 20 New Public- and Private-Sector Prizes](https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2015/10/07/fact-sheet-administration-celebrates-five-year-anniversary-challengegov)