Radical Innovation in Design and Manufacturing

The Department of Defense and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration hosted a national leadership forum on October 27 and 28, 2009. The purpose of the forum was to evaluate best practices in putting innovation to work and to seek methods that provide a clear understanding of ways to accelerate the incorporation of the process of innovation in producing new and exciting products – quickly and affordably.

The forum was held at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida with 147 participants from industry, government, and academia. The goals of the meeting were to:

• Learn about innovation success models from industry leaders.
• Benchmark some of the leaders in applied innovation: Procter & Gamble, General Electric, Parker Hannifin, Boeing, and Disney. Provide a hands-on innovation experience.
• Apply lessons learned from the emerging best practices to design and manufacturing.
• Brainstorm ways that a culture dedicated to radical innovation can change the economic competitiveness equation in favor of U.S.-based enterprises.
• Start a movement that will plant innovation champions in our government agencies, corporate offices, engineering centers, and factories and grow the movement to drive new ideas to a waiting marketplace.

The major challenge posed by this forum addressed methods to build a cultural, business, and technological foundation that embraces human creativity and supports a wellspring of innovation.

For more information about Radical Innovation or for access to the password protected website, contact Marilyn Giles at marilyn.giles@imti21.org or visit our website at imti21.org.