Steve Rader returns to share how open innovation has transformed from an experiment to a mission-critical tool inside NASA and beyond. As a newly minted retiree from NASA’s Center of Excellence for Collaborative Innovation, Steve unpacks how crowdsourcing and challenge-based problem-solving went from fringe ideas to proven ways of tackling complex technical barriers.
He explains what NASA looked like before open innovation took hold, the cultural resistance it faced, and how a small group of believers turned crowdsourced expertise into life-saving solutions, including doubling the warning time for dangerous solar flares and improving landing systems for Mars missions.
Real-world stories bring this conversation to life. A retired cell phone engineer offered an algorithm that outperformed NASA’s best predictions. A marine biologist from a tiny Texas town found a more innovative way to study Mars’ atmosphere. A violinist’s hobby cracked a stubborn food industry problem. These examples show that sometimes, the answers come from the least expected places.
Steve also tackles what this means for the future of work. As gig platforms, remote teams, and flexible careers reshape how experts contribute, companies that ignore open talent risk falling behind. He makes the case that innovation is no longer limited to those on your payroll. In a world of constant technological change, staying connected to the right expertise has become a vital survival skill.
This episode is a clear reminder that better ideas are out there waiting. All it takes is the courage to open the door and invite them in.
About Eric Keels
Name: Steve
Title: NASA Retiree and Leader/Speaker on Open Innovation, Open Talent, and the Future of Work
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Steve started Crowd Resources Consulting LLC in 2019 as a side gig (to his full-time job at NASA) to provide organizations with resources for leveraging the crowd-based expertise and solutions required to stay competitive in the rapidly evolving global economy.
Steve recently retired from NASA where he served as the Program Manager of NASA’s Center of Excellence for Collaborative Innovation (CoECI), which is working to infuse challenge and crowdsourcing innovation approaches at NASA and across the federal government. CoECI focuses on the study and use of curated, crowdsourcing communities that utilize prize and challenge-based methods to deliver innovative solutions for NASA and the US government.
Steve has worked personally with various projects and organizations to develop and execute over 100 different open innovation and open talent projects. He speaks regularly about crowd-based challenges and the future of work based on his 12 years of experience leading open innovation/talent efforts at NASA.
Steve has a Mechanical Engineering degree from Rice University and worked at NASA’s Johnson Space Center for 36 years. Prior to joining NASA’s CoECI, Steve worked in mission control, flight software development for the Space Shuttle and International Space Station, command and control systems development for the X-38, and led the Command, Control, Communications, & Information (C3I) architecture definition for the Constellation Program.
