Innovation By What Standards?

We continue the hunt for good ideas on fostering innovation in economic development. A logical question is how do we decide whether something is innovative.

Here are the yardsticks that the Council of State Governments (CSG) uses to select innovative state policies, organizations and programs in various areas, including economic development:

- Newness: Will the program be between 9 months and 5 years old?
- Creativity: Does the program represent a new and creative approach to problems or issues?
- Effectiveness: Has the program or policy been effective in achieving its goals and purposes to this point?
- Applicability: Is the program applicable to other states?
- Transferability: Could the program or policy be easily transferred to other states?
- Significance: Does the program or policy address significant regional issues or problems that are regional in scope?

This is a pretty good list in my judgement. Are there others we should look at? We will share what we learn in this regard.