The Ohio Third Frontier will sponsor an Open Innovation forum on Jan. 30 at the Holiday Inn in Fairborn.

The Dayton-area event is one of six education forums to be held across the state starting Dec. 4, in partnership with YourEncore.

The Open Innovation Ohio forums will educate companies, with annual revenue of $10 million to $1 billion, about open innovation and financial incentives available through the Third Frontier.

Open innovation has been successfully used by companies worldwide to generate ideas, bring products to market and advance technologies by tapping into external ideas and expertise, officials said.

In a statement, Third Fronter officials said they want to encourage middle-market companies to engage in open innovation practice to speed product development, reduce costs and create jobs more quickly to benefit Ohio’s economy.

Each forum will be led by Gene Slowinski, creator of the “Want, Find, Get, Manage” model for open innovation. He will provide attendees with market-proven solutions for implementing open innovation.

Third Frontier representatives will discuss how companies can access open innovation state incentives.

The Third Frontier is a $2.3 billion initiative designed to boost Ohio’s economy through investments in targeted innovation and technology. Ohio voters passed a four-year, $700 million extension of the Third Frontier in May 2010.

The Holiday Inn is located at 2800 Presidential Drive in Fairborn. The registration cost os $119 per person. To learn more or register, visit openinnovationohio.com.