Create Competitive Advantage with Innovation (Collection)

Chapter 2. Understanding Network-Centric Innovation

The Human Genome project (HGP) is a classic example of the awesome innovative power of networked communities. The HGP was an international research initiative that aimed to identify and sequence the approximately 20,000 to 25,000 genes that make up the human DNA. The project was unique in that it brought together a large number of research and scientific organizations across the globe in a collaborative initiative. The HGP, begun in 1990, was completed in 2003, at least three years ahead of schedule.¹

The HGP is remarkable not only from a scientific point of view, in that it produced a map of the human DNA, it is also remarkable in terms of how the innovation effort was organized. HGP showcased ...