Cox Review of Creativity in Business

The UK's Design Council has published the Cox Review of Creativity in Business. One highlight of the review stresses the separation of creativity (generation of ideas) from innovation (exploitation of ideas into products and services). Among the recommendations:

• A national support programme, modelled on the Design Council's work with businesses, to help SMEs use design
• A review of whether strategic design work should be eligible for R&D tax credits
• Centres of excellence in higher education for multi-disciplinary courses combining management studies, engineering and technology and creative disciplines
• A new approach to public procurement to encourage suppliers to be more innovative
• Raising the profile of the creative industries through a national network of design centres.

What should schooling look like when we try to unleash the creative spirit for economic and social change? K-12 schools certainly are not ready, art programs are the first to go in a budget. Colleges and universities value science over design. The dissertation is an exercise in the scientific method, not design method. What about design education and design thinking? This is my core philosophy of my teaching in instructional technology courses. Students should walk away from class being able to think like a designer. This is one part of the equation, but not the answer to the question I raised.

Relying on large organizations to change is no path to breakthroughs.Maybe we should be teaching students how to start creative businesses. Upon graduation, they receive $20,000 in seed money to start a business. Let's treat every college graduate like a MacArthur fellow.

Also makes me think of Richard Florida's Creative class.

Also read Core77's discussion of the Competetiveness Summit on Businessweek.com