The portal (www.innovationcommons.org), an initiative by the Centre for Excellence in Egovernance, Department of Management Studies, IIT Delhi, Sun Microsystems, Jawahar Lal Nehru University and Knowledge Commons, seeks to foster the development of participative innovation in society and to help transition the economy into an innovation economy.

Krishnakant Mane, a visually challenged computer scientist entered the first idea into the portal today. The idea revolved around creation of a new device that would help the visually challenged to have better access to print media. Mane used the ORCA screen reader to enter his innovation. ORCA is a cutting edge open source accessibility solution that was initiated by Sun Microsystems to help the differently abled people to access computers. Dr Jaijit Bhattacharya, Country Director, Government Strategy, Sun Microsystems also noted that ORCA could be easily used in India to help the illiterates access computers and e-Governance solutions, especially since ORCA is a Free and Open Source software.

Speaking at the inauguration, Joe Hartley, VP of Global Education, Government, and Healthcare, Sun Microsystems said, “The Innovation Portal allows for collaboration between members of a society to foster innovation. This is in line with Sun’s vision of the Participation Age where Sun believes the world has entered a new era where dramatically lowered barriers to entry, plummeting device prices, and near-universal connectivity are driving a new round of network participation.” Sun believes that sharing and collaboration in the Participation Age will stimulate innovation to help all participants from across the world grow and prosper.

The Open Innovation Portal will allow innovators from the scientific community, student community and from all walks of life to publish their innovations with no IPR encumbrances. Said Dr. Jaijit Bhattacharya, Director, Government Strategy, Sun Microsystems India, “The Open Innovation Portal will be complimentary to the existing IPR framework and will cater to those innovators who cannot afford the patenting process. This is especially true in the Emerging Economies scenario where standalone innovators may or may not have the financial wherewithal to file the patent.”

The Centre for Excellence in E-governance is an outcome of the MoU signed by Sun Microsystems and IIT Delhi in September 2006. One of the primary objectives behind setting up this Centre of E-Governance is to promote technology usage in the society.