National Housing Federation’s HR in Housing Conference and Exhibition
Taking place at The Lowry Hotel in Manchester on 26 May 2010, this conference was specifically designed for everyone with an interest in HR and personnel issues in the social housing sector.
Topics covered included the new Equality Bill, creating a positive business culture, using diversity as a competitive advantage, change management and talent engagement.
The Foundation's lifetime master trainer Nigel Newman ran one of the sessions, all of which will had a very practical and interactive focus.
Download the brochure and for further information please visit the events page.
Innovate with Confidence 2010
A pilot programme that provided a unique mix of tools and insights from business model engineering, neuroscience and practical thinking skills empowered 50 SME's in Greater Manchester to Innovate with Confidence. The programme, billed as "an energising, challenging and fun journey to unlock the secret of creating value for your customers to create value for your business" exceeded expections.
Liz Horwich, writes:
"Fantastic delivery of a wonderful day 1. I am amazed at how my thinking has changed and how I can use my mind for lateral thinking. I have already come up with a new idea for my business which I can't wait to get into place. I am really looking forward to day 2. Thankyou so much."
Nigel Newman, Dr. Adrian West and Sophie Brown from the Foundation contributed to the design and delivery of the programme which ran from February to May 2010.
Robert Rawlinson (CEO) commented "I am proud to be associated with such an important programme as 'Innovate with Confidence'. As we enter the next phase of the information age, knowledge and it's creative application will provide the key differentiator in business. Small and medium sized enterprises are more likely to thrive if they are unified, skilled and creative."
For more information, visit Innovate with Confidence. The programme was supported by the Manchester Innovation Investment Fund and developed and managed by Melandra Innovation Consultants.
Problem solving for improvement: Lean Management Journal
An article by Robert Rawlinson "Problem solving for Improvement : Creativity in the public and business Sectors" was published in the Lean Management Journal. The article explored the importance of problem solving and creativity in driving improvement and shared some examples and techniques for directing individual and team thinking for productivity.
University of Leicester, Teaching and Learning Day
The College of Medicine and Biological Science and Psychology at Leicester University had their first Teaching and Learning Day on 23rd April 2010, to showcase the work taking place across the college.
Dr. Adrian West, Research Director for the Foundation, delivered two sessions - "Serious Creativity" and "Constructive Thinking" - to the academic audience, alongside a number of other presentations. These included one from Professor Tony Gardner-Medwin from UCL on certainty based marking and one from Professor Stewart Petersen Head of Medical and Social Care Education. The latter described how they guided their students to overcome a fear of thinking for themselves which they found had been engendered by the assessment-driven nature of the school education system.
The event was supported by GENIE (Centre for Excellence in Teaching and Learning is part of the Department of Genetics) - with thanks to Professor Annette Cashmore - and the Department of Cell Physiology & Pharmacology.
Six Thinking Hats Research in South Wales School
Two hundred and eighty three geography pupils at Key Stage 3 have been involved in an action research project on Six Thinking Hats. The research covered two thirds of the geography Key Stage 3 curriculum, and was conducted by a teacher at a large South Wales Valley school.
The teacher who undertook the research says:
"The driving force for the research was a feeling of improvement I had when using the Six Thinking Hats - both in pupil participation and their development of complex ideas. I wanted to do a real investigation to get a clear understanding of what the effects were." Read the full article>
In the News
"Put your thinking hat on: How Edward de Bono's ideas are transforming schools" in The Independent.
"Brain & behaviour - Think on" in the Times Education Supplement. Download a PDF of this article.
"Marmite Guru spreads message" in the Manchester Evening News.
"The Currency of Innovation and Creativity" at Fresh Business Thinking.com
"Famous Thinker brings Creativity to Cheshire" at the MMU website.
"Edward de Bono centre opens" in Times Higher Education.
"Iraq? They just need to think it through", an interview with Edward de Bono in The Guardian at the launch event of the Foundation.