COBE Centre for Creativity and Innovation Department

What We Do

The Centre helps organizations out think, out innovate and out perform their competitors in several ways.

The Creative Edge Speaker and Workshop Series – Innovation on the Creative Edge

Since 2005, the Centre has held yearly workshops on creativity and innovation.  In 2010, in collaboration with the Idaho Technology Council for the first time, the Centre will begin The Creative Edge Speaker and Workshop Series.  The first speaker and workshop leader was Dan Roam, author of Back of the Napkin, which helps people learn to present complex ideas in visual form.  Roam spoke at a breakfast, open to the public, and conducted an all day workshop for sponsoring organizations.

Design Thinking Workshops – Innovation in Solving “Messy” Problems

Lead by Emeritus Professor Roy Glen, the Centre offers consulting projects for local organizations that face unstructured, “messy” problems.  Using “design thinking,” a process developed at IDEO and Stanford University’s Design School, executive teams from the firms work with Boise State professors and students to use creative approaches to solving big messy problems.  Starting spring 2011, the program includes a one-day “Introduction to Design Thinking Workshop.”   In the fall, the program will offer full projects for interested firms .

The Gang – Innovation through Collaboration

The Centre facilitates learning and creative collaboration among a group of eclectic organizations that are known nationally and internationally as high performing and highly creative.  The Gang generates creativity in unexpected places through annual meetings and bi-monthly “messy problem” lunches.  The current Gang includes leaders from eight organizations:

  • The Ada County Sheriff’s Office
  • The Boise State University football program
  • Drake Cooper
  • Healthwise
  • Idaho Shakespeare Festival
  • Microsoft Boise
  • Trey McInyre Project
  • WhiteCloud Analytics

The Posse – A spin off of The Gang concept, the Centre is facilitating learning and collaboration in newly formed Posses of young leaders from local organizations who want to improve their performance and creativity.  Posse members must be relentlessly curious and aggressive learners, focused on finding ways to out think and out innovate their competitors, and passionate about making the Treasure Valley known for creativity, innovation and high performance.

Aha Moments – Innovation through Learning

The Centre’s faculty members give talks throughout the Treasure Valley on creativity and innovation.  Some examples include:

  • Idaho Charter Schools
  • The Boise Young Professionals
  • The Boise Metro Chamber of Commerce
  • The Young Presidents’ Organization
  • Rotary Club
  • Boise State Public Radio (NPR affiliate)

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