Together we can be GeniUS!

Archimedes had his Eureka moment in the bath. But wherever the ideas strike, City of York Council wants to hear about them and work with people to develop them into potential works of GeniUS!

The GeniUS! project wants to inspire everyone in York, including residents, visitors and businesses to get involved in meeting today’s and tomorrow’s challenges using ingenuity, fresh thinking – and maybe a touch of GeniUS! One of the world’s leading companies, Proctor & Gamble, is on record suggesting that over 50 per cent of its new innovations come from sources outside the company. The council wants to emulate this way of working – known as open innovation – and use its expertise, contacts and resources to help bring people’s ideas to life – and together make York GeniUS!

The project was launched by Archimedes himself, along with City of York Council's Chief Executive Kersten England, Council Leader James Alexander and Susan McColl from SCY. This thinking is part of the Council’s joint partnership with NESTA – an organisation that promotes innovation in the UK – to bring those ideas to life and so create better, long-lasting and relevant services for the city.

A new website at www.geniusyork.com has been launched where people can post their ideas and suggestions that could help solve some of the key challenges faced by the council and the city. The four challenges will be posted one a week for four weeks at www.geniusyork.com and will stay open for a three week period. Each will contain background to the challenge faced to aid and inform potentially innovative ideas.