The National Chemical Laboratory (NCL) has signed a partnership agreement with InnoCentive, an on-line forum that connects scientists around the world, to research problems from leading companies. InnoCentive is an e-business company of Eli Lilly, that uses the Internet to match challenging research problems in biology, chemistry and biochemistry posted on its website by “seeker” companies to “solver” scientists.

Speaking on the partnership Dr. M.K.Gurjar, deputy director, NCL said, “Co-operating with InnoCentive will provide NCL scientists and researchers with an ideal platform to work on complex scientific problems posted by leading global corporations”. He further added that the agreement will help scientists at the NCL gain financial rewards and international recognition, he added.

In this virtual market place, scientists, who manage to solve R&D problems, receive financial rewards ranging between $5,000 and $ 1,00,000. While the solvers are not charged for registration, seekers are required to pay an annual fee for accessing InnoCentive’s research base.

“Our aim is to democratise scientific research and to make it portable,” Darren J. Carroll, CEO and president, InnoCentive, said. InnoCentive presently has 30 seekers from across 150 countries and 50,000 solver scientists. India is at the third position, after the US and China, in the number of registered solvers, said Carroll. India is also the first country where InnoCentive has set up an advisory board, he added.

Speaking about Indians, who had already won financial rewards for their research contributions, Caroll said, three solutions from Indian scientists has already been rewarded with one of them receiving $ 75,000.One of them being Glenmark Pharmaceuticals of Mumbai.

InnoCentive has already been working with the CSIR. It has built up a list of 30 companies including Eli Lilly, BASF, Dow Chemical, Proctor and Gamble seeking new ideas on consumer products, pharmaceuticals and other life sciences. The list is slated to double by year end.