The OpenEnergise Open Innovation Collaborative Knowledge Network $($CKN$)$ is a digital platform dedicated to solving some of the biggest problems in sustainable energy production and storage through the power of the crowd and digital collaboration. Each month, the members of the platform vote on a specific challenge in the field of sustainable energy. The highest$-$voted problem will become the focus of the platform for the whole month, where participants worldwide are invited to discuss, collaborate, share knowledge, exchange ideas, and build on solutions together to prototype a solution.

After initial discussion and group brainstorming in a platform$-$facilitated channel $($similar to Slack$),$ participants form teams to further develop their concepts. They are provided with collaborative workspaces, which include shared whiteboards, document editors and project tracking tools. The team workspaces are designed for simplicity, enabling teams to efficiently organise their work, from drafting proposals to refining project details. For projects that include software development, the platform offers links to Git, facilitating code collaboration, version control, and the iterative development of technological solutions.

The platform also includes a searchable knowledge base, compiling a comprehensive collection of resources relevant to the challenge such as articles, research papers, and documentation from previous projects. This resource is critical for informing new solutions, providing a solid foundation of existing knowledge and past experiences in sustainable energy projects. This knowledge base is populated by the members of the platform and is constantly updated.

Participants can discuss within and between teams using an in$-$built communication tool, facilitating $$shout out$$s$$ and $$huddles$.$ Shout outs are announcements that are sent to all participants working on a challenge, and huddles are within$-$team discussion channels, allowing collaboration and commenting on documents, real$-$time online meetings and asynchronous messaging.

A distinctive feature of the CKN is its ability to track the development of ideas over time. This feature records the progress of projects from their initial concept through to their final stages, highlighting key contributions and developments. It serves as a factual record of the project's evolution and encourages ongoing participation and engagement from the community. This is visually represented by a live timeline for each team that is visible to everyone. This transparency encourages engagement and healthy competition between teams.

Feedback from the community is facilitated through a structured system where ideas can be rated and reviewed. This can be done by visitors to the platform who are not members, but are given opportunities to provide feedback and advice. This ensures that the most viable and innovative solutions are recognised and developed further, with an emphasis on practicality and applicability in the real world.

By focusing on sustainable energy challenges, the OpenEnergise CKN provides a structured yet flexible framework for collective problem$-$solving. It leverages the collective expertise of a global community to develop practical and innovative solutions, with a clear focus on the actionable outcomes that contribute to the advancement of sustainable energy. draw FMC diagram and write description also.