Crowdsourcing to solve tough Navy problems.

• Author: Versprille, Allyson
• Position: Global Defense

* The Navy is using crowdsourcing among its ranks as a way to solve some of its toughest problems.

This collaborative approach is a key component of the service's new strategy under Task Force Innovation, a group established by the secretary of the Navy in January 2015 comprising subject matter experts from across the service. They will pose an existing problem to service members, who can then recommend solutions.

"This is a very hierarchal organization and crowdsourcing has been a shown way to be able to flatten the organization for ideation," said Maura Sullivan, chief of strategy and innovation for the Navy.

Throughout the summer the sea service plans to roll out several crowdsourcing platforms that will build off each other culminating with the launch of the naval innovation network, an online portal that will serve as the backbone for information sharing, Sullivan said. The network is part of a larger push for innovation in the service, she added.

The crowdsourcing platform, referred to as the Hatch, is the first step in that series of summer programs, which the Navy will introduce in "four to six week sprints," Sullivan said in an interview with National Defense.

The Navy began a rudimentary crowdsourcing initiative with a small subset of service officials through Task Force Innovation, but the Hatch is the first platform that will be open to the larger fleet.

"For any crowdsourcing endeavor to be successful, there has to be a good feedback loop," Sullivan said. This is a mechanism that will allow the Navy to...