Over the past three years, the World Economic Forum has made innovation a key part of its annual meetings. This year’s theme, The Power of Collaborative Innovation, comes at a crucial time as news of a declining US economy becomes increasingly vivid. As BusinessWeek’s Bruce Nussbaum wrote in his article What’s Really on the Davos Agenda, “There will be two topics at this year’s main event… One is innovation. The other is recession.”

Participating in a handful of sessions as a panelist and moderator was IDEO’s Tim Brown, who, in 2006, said at the closing plenary, “it’s going to take really strong leadership from the leaders of companies and the leaders of institutions—because institutions need to innovate, too—in order to directly support a growth in innovation.”

Addressing the spirit of collaborative innovation at the 2008 meeting’s welcome session was Klaus Schwab, Founder and Executive Chairman, World Economic Forum:

Irrational pessimism is as damaging for us all as irrational exuberance. But if we are prepared to collaborate on a global level and incorporating all stakeholders of society, and if we truly look for innovative solutions – answers taking into account the new power equations which are reshaping global society – only then do we have the capability to bring the risks under control and to restore sound global growth conditions.

To emphasize the collective, global aspiration of the meeting, the public at large was asked to contribute answers to the Davos Question—“What one thing do you think that countries, companies or individuals must do to make the world a better place in 2008?”—via YouTube videos. Highest-ranked video submissions played a major role at the meeting, screening before plenary sessions and helping to guide conversations. Schwab reflected back many of the strongest sentiments expressed by the public in his mandate for the meeting, which included five challenges for participants to address while at Davos: environmentally and socially responsible economic growth; the reduction of poverty; global vulnerability and security; reconciliation of cultural differences; and the improvement of global governance. Other initiatives included climate change; widespread IT access; corporate citizenship; global health; humanitarian relief; water; wellness; and West-Islamic dialogue, among others.

For the third consecutive year, Tim Brown was invited to participate in a number of sessions on innovation and sustainability. He was quoted in the BBC news on January 27, 2008:

For Tim Brown, chief executive of design firm Ideo (which helped develop the first mouse for Apple computers and invented the laptop), it was the morning when he stood in a room full of oil company executives and oil ministers to talk about innovation.

“I was later told that I spoke to the people in charge of about 80% of the world oil production,” he said.

Tim Brown’s Davos 2008 line-up:
Wednesday, January 23, “Defining Innovation”, panel member
Thursday, January 24, “Information Technology Innovation Heat-Map,” participant
Thursday, January 24, “The Energy Industry: A Sunset Industry?,” panelist
Thursday, January 24, “Sustainability in the Consumer Sector,” participant
Friday, January 25, “Leveraging ICT for Development,” session leader
Friday, January 25, “Local Innovation for Global Impact,” moderator

“It seems so logical on the face of it. A company wishing to go green should focus on the green consumer, right? Not so. Marketing to the green consumer has proved difficult, even downright dangerous, for companies large and small. Here’s why.”

Read the article here.

IDEO’s Smart Space practice talks to The Boston Globe about optimizing service experiences.

Read the article here.

A Kyoto Treaty for design: Valerie Casey and The Designers Accord are featured in this BusinessWeek piece.

Read the article here.

A group of five talented engineers and designers (who also work at IDEO) have won the Innovate or Die pedal-powered vehicle contest, hosted by Google and Specialized.

Watch the video here.
Read about Aquaduct here.

By Allison Arieff

Allison Arieff kicks off the first in a series of monthly opinion pieces in The New York Times with “Function Dysfunction,” with a nod to The Designers Accord.

Read the article here.

“Companies that innovate well often share in common a culture of optimism. This type of culture exemplifies a company’s belief that its employees are extremely capable and serves as fertile breeding ground for extraordinary innovation and entrepreneurial spirit.”

Read the article here.

These bibliophiles are leading the way. Learn about how design thinking can be used to improve the library experience.

Read the article here.

Bruce Nussbaum includes Everyday Engineering by IDEO’s Andrew Burroughs in his “10 Best Books on Innovation to Get You through the Recession” list.

Read the article here.

Tim Brown weighs in on how innovation can be encouraged at the national level in U.S. News & World Report.

Read the article here.