Using a participatory observation approach, this paper aims at exploring how public and private organizations have collaborated in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. We examine the case of Mechanical Ventilator Milano (MVM), an international project with over 250 contributors and partners; this project aimed to achieve the challenging goal of designing and realizing a mechanical ventilator for mass production in about 6 weeks. The project received the Emergency Use Authorization granted by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The MVM ventilator is a reliable, fail-safe, and easy-to-operate mechanical ventilator that can be produced quickly at a large-scale, based on the readily available parts. The success of the MVM case is unique as it adopts open innovation practices to generate technology innovation, in addition to a lean perspective. Through the MVM project description, this study offers a framework that explains the interplay between open innovation and lean approach, highlighting the different internal and external forces and types of collaborations, and offering fine-grained insights into the role of universities as platforms of multidisciplinary knowledge. This framework might serve as a basis for future theoretical and empirical research, providing practitioners with new best practices that are essential when facing a severe crisis like COVID-19.

中文翻译：

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当一切都不确定时，一切皆有可能：MVM 的开放式创新和精益方法

本文采用参与式观察方法，旨在探索公共和私人组织如何合作应对 COVID-19 大流行。我们研究了米兰机械呼吸机 (MVM) 的案例，这是一个拥有 250 多个贡献者和合作伙伴的国际项目；该项目旨在实现在大约 6 周内设计和实现用于大规模生产的机械呼吸机的挑战性目标。该项目获得了美国食品和药物管理局授予的紧急使用授权。MVM 呼吸机是一种可靠、故障安全且易于操作的机械呼吸机，可基于现成的零件快速大规模生产。MVM 案例的成功是独一无二的，因为它采用开放式创新实践来产生技术创新，此外还有精益视角。通过 MVM 项目描述，本研究提供了一个框架，解释了开放式创新和精益方法之间的相互作用，突出了不同的内部和外部力量和合作类型，并提供了对大学作为多学科知识平台的作用的深入见解. 该框架可以作为未来理论和实证研究的基础，为从业人员提供新的最佳实践，这些实践在面临像 COVID-19 这样的严重危机时至关重要。