Designed to recognize and share creative government initiatives around the country, Bright Ideas recently selected its first crop of notable programs. Created by The Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation at the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, the program recognized Neighborhood Progress' Strategic Investment Initiative as a Bright Idea.

This year's crop of Bright Ideas was chosen by a team of expert evaluators made up of academics, practitioners, and former public servants. Selected from a pool of nearly 600 applicants including smaller-scale pilots, 2010 Bright Ideas address a range of pressing issues including poverty reduction, environmental conservation, and emergency management.

"For over 20 years we have been honoring the country's most creative public sector initiatives through our Innovations in American Government Awards Program," said Anthony Saich, director of the Ash Center. "The creation of Bright Ideas was a natural next step to shed light on an even greater number of noteworthy programs and practices across our nation and to encourage practitioners to make these ideas work in their own backyards."

Read all about Bright Ideas here.