How does inLab's micro-production model (MPM) work?

The micro-production model (MPM) is a signature approach of inLab that reimagines the R&D process, decentralizing it and making it more dynamic, collaborative, and outcome-driven. By breaking down larger goals into quests, bounties, and builds, MPM ensures focused, tangible outputs while maintaining the flexibility to innovate and iterate.

Mechanism:

1. Quests:
   • Definition: Quests are essentially challenges or problems posed by organizations, researchers, or any stakeholder within the inLab ecosystem that require innovative solutions. They act as a starting point, identifying a specific need or goal to be achieved.
   • Example: An NGO concerned with declining bee populations might post a quest seeking methods to monitor bee health or behaviors in urban environments.
2. Bounties:
   • Definition: Bounties are rewards or incentives offered to participants for proposing solutions to the quests. Innovators, developers, or any participant can submit their ideas or prototypes in response to these quests, with the best solutions being rewarded.
   • Example: In response to the aforementioned quest on bee health, a tech enthusiast might suggest a low-cost, AI-driven device to monitor bee movements and collect data on their health. If this idea meets the quest’s criteria and shows potential, the innovator could earn a bounty for their contribution.
3. Builds:
   • Definition: Builds represent the actual development or creation phase, where the top solutions from the bounties are selected for production or implementation. This might involve prototyping, refining methodologies, or scaling up a solution.
   • Example: Upon validation of the AI-driven device idea for monitoring bee health, a team of engineers, researchers, and environmentalists might collaborate to bring this concept to fruition. This process of creating a working prototype or a deployable solution is the build phase.

Benefits of MPM:

• Flexibility and Iteration: The phased approach allows for feedback and iterations at every stage, ensuring that only the most viable solutions move to the build phase.
• Collaboration: By breaking down challenges into quests and inviting solutions through bounties, MPM fosters a collaborative atmosphere. Diverse participants can bring their expertise and insights, leading to richer, more holistic solutions.
• Efficiency: With clear delineation of problem identification (quests), ideation (bounties), and execution (builds), MPM ensures that resources are utilized efficiently and purposefully.
• Motivation: The bounty system acts as an incentive, motivating a wide array of participants to bring their best ideas forward, thereby increasing the probability of finding truly innovative solutions.

In essence, inLab’s micro-production model democratizes the R&D process. It not only invites solutions from a broad spectrum of participants but also ensures that these solutions are feasible, impactful, and aligned with the larger goals of sustainable and responsible innovation. Whether you’re an organization facing a challenge or an innovator brimming with ideas, MPM provides a structured yet flexible framework to transform vision into reality.