Cotas Announces Six Case Studies for "Japan Co-Creation Awards 2013"

The Japan Co-Creation Awards 2013, which recognize advanced and exemplary co-creation cases from 2013, announced the results of its final judging on December 18. This is the second year for the awards, hosted by "cotas" ( cotas.jp ), an open innovation information site jointly operated by Dentsu Inc. and Infobahn. Six cases were selected from 50 nominations submitted by self-recommendation or third-party recommendation.

【Award-Winning Cases】

■Copernic (U.S. Nonprofit Corporation Copernic)

Overview: A co-creation project connecting three parties—companies and universities possessing technologies that can solve problems related to energy, the environment, and drinking water in developing countries; organizations in developing countries tackling local issues; and donors—via an online marketplace to address challenges in developing nations. Although a U.S. NPO, it is led by Toshihiro Nakamura, a former UN staff member.

■zenmono (enmono Inc.)

Overview: A crowdfunding platform specializing in turning listed ideas into tangible products, enabling projects to solicit not only funds but also production collaborators. Project initiators with ideas they wish to productize are termed "Players." Similar to existing crowdfunding, individuals providing financial support to these Players are called "Patrons," while those supporting Players with skills other than money are termed "Supporters," all contributing to the project.

■One Panasonic (One Panasonic)

Overview: Addressing challenges unique to large corporations—such as stagnation, disconnect between management and the field, and insufficient inter-departmental communication—approximately 1,200 volunteer members, primarily young Panasonic employees, formed an organization. Their mission is to boost motivation and revitalize the organization. They conduct the following activities outside of regular work hours: - Holding communication workshops where management and frontline staff mix - Hosting hackathons in partnership with government agencies - Organizing exchange meetings with other companies to share best practices

■Luvtelli Tokyo & New York (Luvtelli Tokyo & New York)

Overview: A project launched by experts in medicine, health, and nutrition to promote preventive healthcare in Japan. Its primary goal is to enhance Japanese health literacy and reduce infertility issues and low birth weight infants (who face higher future lifestyle disease risks) by conveying information gained through overseas study tours, joint research, and academic presentations in an accessible way to the general public. In spring 2013, it launched pre-pregnancy screening tests for the general female population in collaboration with university hospitals to mitigate the risks of advanced maternal age.

■Perfume Global Site Project (Perfume)

Overview: A large-scale project encompassing teaser sites, open-source initiatives, and live performances under the concept of "spreading wings to the world through fans and creators." It not only freely distributed motion capture data for original songs and choreography but also provided extension functions and sample code on the social coding service "GitHub" to encourage secondary creations by creators and programmers.

■Weather Report (Weathernews Inc.)

Overview: An initiative where members report weather conditions with photos and comments, sharing local sky conditions. Based on member submissions, the paid service "Weather Report"—which provides current weather information for target areas via photos and icons—was made free. Amid a sharp increase in weather phenomena difficult to predict with current science, such as sudden thunderstorms, this platform was created as a collaborative response measure.

[Overall Comments by Hiroto Kobayashi, Chief Judge]

Compared to last year, a significantly larger number of entries were submitted this year, both self-nominated and recommended by others, making the judging process exceptionally challenging. There is no "good" or "bad" in co-creation. Many of the top entries were selected based on their concept, scale, achievements, and the potential impact they could have on future participants. A notable trend is the emergence of initiatives like "One Panasonic," which visualize internal company activities, indicating that co-creation is permeating various fields. Furthermore, examples promoted by local governments have increased. And cross-border co-creation, such as "Copernik," "Luvtelli Tokyo & New York," "zenmono," and the "Perfume Global Site Project," is being driven by Japanese hands. While they unfortunately missed out on awards, activities like "Street Academy," which involve the intangible skill-sharing of "teaching" and "learning," give the sense that they will increase domestically as well.