We've been doing this for several years now in our IT shop. We call it the "Champions Program" and it gives people the opportunity to dive in to something they've been curious about and see if it's worth looking at. The presenters (we require at least two on the team) have to fill out a qualification form that gets approved by IT management (managers, directors, CIO). The ideas are usually technology-related, but a couple have been process-refinement focused. They usually go off site and are essentially considered on vacation or the like (no cell phones and no nagging from the folk left behind). They have to come back and do a show-and-tell (usually a two-to-three hour session) to not only explain the technology or concept, but how it might be implemented in the company. The folk coming to the session could be IT-only, but sometimes we invite the business to view it if it affects/impacts them. The attendees then have the opportunity to either use the ideas/technology or suggest other ways it could be used, refining the ideas as they go along. We usually have one Program per quarter (although we've been busy enought this year that we've only had one!) and a couple of the ideas have been released. It's highly encouraged and supported by upper management.