Yuma earns national award from the Alliance for Innovation

The city of Yuma has won the 2007 Innovation Award for Outstanding Achievement in Local Government Innovation from the Alliance for Innovation.

"This is a major award that we just got," said Greg Hyland, director of communications and public affairs for the city of Yuma, in a cell phone conversation from Bellevue, Wash., where this year's conference is being held.

The city was recognized for its Community of Master Thinkers Program, which teaches participants skills for looking at municipal problems in a different way.

"In a community that is growing at the rate Yuma is, it enables us to bring decisions to a closure and get projects done with a consensus done through the program," Highland said.

The master thinker level certification training program is modeled after Edward de Bono's methods. The goal of the program, Highland said, is to train 500 community members and city employees in the technique.

According to his Web site, de Bono is regarded by many as the leading authority in the field of creative thinking and the direct teaching of thinking as a skill.

According to Highland, the city has trained 177 people in the two years since the program's inception.

"It gets everyone thinking the same way at the same time," Highland said.

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James Gilbert can be reached at

jgilbert@yumasun.com or 539-6854.