Organizers and participants of the first IdeaRaiser, part of Speaker Lance Cargill’s 100 Ideas Initiative, are calling the event a success. IdeaRaisers are public meetings designed to encourage input and discussion about ideas and suggestions on how the state’s next 100 years can be improved. The IdeaRaiser, held Tuesday night at the Presbyterian Health Foundation, had more than 100 participants and included discussion on how to foster the biotech industry, medical researchers, local entrepreneurs and other health professionals in Oklahoma and making life better for Oklahomans in general. "I am very proud to have been a part of the first IdeaRaiser. Speaker Cargill is taking a bold step toward making Oklahoma's next century a great one. Hopefully these IdeaRaisers will produce the kinds of innovative ideas that will make Oklahoma a leader in the biotech fields and many others,“ said Hershel Lamirand, Executive Director of the Oklahoma Health Center Foundation. Others had similar praise for the event, including Dr. David Parke II, president and CEO of the Dean McGee Eye Institute, who said, “I think Speaker Cargill is doing precisely what this state needs: a focus on its future and engaging its entire populace in the process.” James Tomasek and A.J. Kirkpatrick listen as Dr. Steve Young makes a point at the first IdeaRaiser, held Jan. 30 in Oklahoma City. Dr. Robert Mannel, director of the University of Oklahoma’s Cancer Institute, said the IdeaRaiser gave an opportunity for Oklahomans to “build the Oklahoma of the future and not rely on what we’ve done in the past.” One group’s ideas were bundled into a collection they called the “Tear Down That Wall Initiatives.” The group’s first idea would “put Oklahoma on the map with the most student instructional days in the nation and pay for this by streamlining administrative functions. Second, the state should promote legislation to allow Tulsa and Oklahoma City to explore consolidation of services, specifically transport and mass transit. The group’s third recommendation was for the state to begin “breaking down ‘silos’ in healthcare.” They suggested connecting medicine to data by creating individualized medicine while still protecting privacy. Other suggestions included attracting a federal research laboratory to Oklahoma through a major unified state effort, focusing oil and gas revenue on alternative energy research and increasing the retention of college graduates through loan forgiveness and tax credits. Organizers said they were looking forward to hosting upcoming events. The next IdeaRaiser will be held in Tulsa next month. Posted at 1/31/2007 06:16:00 PM