TY - JOUR T1 - The SDG-Check: Guiding Open Innovation towards Sustainable Development Goals JF - Technology Innovation Management Review Y1 - 2019 A1 - Justus von Geibler A1 - Julius Piwowar A1 - Annika Greven KW - fuzzy front end of innovation KW - Living lab KW - Open innovation KW - SDG-Check KW - sustainability assessments KW - sustainability inspiration KW - sustainable development goals AB - The “fuzzy front end” of innovation is argued to be crucial for the success and sustainability impact of a final product. Indeed, it is a promising area of focus in efforts to achieve the United Nations’ 2015 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which provide a globally accepted framework for sustainability. However, the usability of the 17 goals and the large number of sub-goals represent barriers to innovation practitioners. Moreover, this early innovation stage proves to be a challenge for corporate practitioners and innovators, largely due to the concept’s intangible, qualitative nature and the lack of data. To help overcome these barriers, this article proposes a four-stage approach for structuring the innovation process using an online tool called the “SDG-Check”, which help assess an innovator’s sustainability orientation in the early phases of product and service development. It is a semi-quantitative tool to gather and combine assessments by experts involved in innovation processes with implications for the United Nations’ SDGs. Furthermore, this article presents our first experiences in applying the SDG-Check based on three living lab innovation cases. The results indicate that the tools can support and inspire a dialogue with internal and external stakeholders with regards to sustainability considerations in the early design stages of product and service development. PB - Talent First Network CY - Ottawa VL - 9 UR - https://timreview.ca/article/1222 IS - 3 U1 - University of Wuppertal Justus von Geibler co-leads the research unit Innovation Labs in the Division of Sustainable Production and Consumption at the Wuppertal Institute in Germany. Based on more than 20 years of professional experience in sustainable assessment and innovation, his research focuses on sustainability standards, sustainability innovations in value chains, open innovation in companies, and living labs. He coordinates the collaboration between the Wuppertal Institute and Climate-KIC. He holds a PhD in Economic Geography from the Ruhr University Bochum, Germany, a Master’s in Forest Sciences from the University of Göttingen, Germany, and a Master’s in Environmental Management and Policy from the University of Lund, Sweden. He has taught natural resource management, sustainability in global value chains, and sustainable supply chain management at Leuphana University Lüneburg, the University of Wuppertal, and the Said Business School at Oxford University, and he is the author of several books and over 100 scientific publications. U2 - University of Wuppertal Julius Piwowar is a Research Fellow at the Wuppertal Institute in Germany with a double degree in Sustainability Management from the University of Oldenburg, Germany, and in Strategic Leadership towards Sustainability from the University of Karlskrona, Sweden. His research focuses on user experience design and living lab services. U3 - University of Wuppertal Annika Greven studied industrial design engineering (BEng) at Fontys University of Applied Sciences in the Netherlands and strategic innovation in products and services (MA) at the University of Wuppertal, Germany. Her Master’s thesis pointed out needs, potentials, and holistic design concepts in order to provide SMEs with a framework that methodologically helps them to develop a socially and ecologically sustainable business model. As a research fellow at the Wuppertal Institute, she is working with living lab services and sustainable business model design. Furthermore, she is working in a startup for sustainable fashion and as a freelancer in the field of design. Her research focuses on strategic innovation, product design, user-centred design, design thinking, business model design, and sustainability. ER -