In a recent article on CNN.com regarding COINS (Collaborative Innovation Networks, or online communities of like-minded individuals up for a good common challenge or two), noted science journalist Dr. Paul Willis asks, “Is collaboration the future of innovation?” It’s a really good article and you should read it, so I won’t go into minute detail, but the author does pose an intriguing question, with endless design applications.

For instance, if COINs could develop things like the World Wide Web and Wikipedia, plus translate Facebook into Mandarin, couldn’t one definitively solve the problem of puce (a reddish- or purplish-brown color that literally means flea in French)? Imagine it as the It interior color for Fall 2009.  I would especially want Jonathan Adler to weigh in, as red with brown is part of his Design Manifesto. Somehow, he strikes me as a purist who’d prefer not to fuse those hues, but you never know.

What I do know is that COINS can work amazingly well. Last year, I had the privilege of being a part of the media team for the Blue Planet Run, the first ever around-the world relay to raise funds and awareness for the billion people on the planet who have no daily access to safe drinking water.

The Blue Planet Run Foundation envisions a world where every human can draw from their well or turn on their tap, and safely drink the water and their goal is to provide at least 200 million of them for the rest of their lives by 2027.

Toward that end, and I’m plagiarizing myself a bit here, they have already completed 130 safe, sustainable water projects in developing nations. And created their own cyberteam, the Peer Water Exchange (PWX), where donors, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and observers work together to democratically manage and monitor rural water projects worldwide. With user-friendly technology replacing bureaucracy, learning and expertise are shared and collective success supported. Locals take ownership in building, maintaining and running their facilities and adapting the principles of safe drinking water, hygiene and sanitation. Their motto is Where There’s A Well, There’s A Way.

To learn more about the work of the Foundation and Peer Water Exchange, visit www.blueplanetrun.org