--- description: Fighting gridlock w/ 3rd-party candidates, feedback software for surgeons, concussion management, businesses leading on citizenship, & more. title: These Are Today's Best Ideas image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- * [Ideas](/section/ideas/) ## Ideas Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Innovation](/tag/innovation/) ## Innovation Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Five Best Ideas of the Day: December 17 by [The Aspen Institute](/author/the-aspen-institute/) ## The Aspen Institute Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Dec 17, 2014 5:01 PM CUT by [The Aspen Institute](/author/the-aspen-institute/) ## The Aspen Institute Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Dec 17, 2014 5:01 PM CUT **1\.** [**Independent and third party candidates could break D.C. gridlock — if they can get to Washington.**](http://thehill.com/blogs/pundits-blog/campaign/227230-independent-and-third-party-politicians-could-ease-gridlock "undefined") By Tom Squitieri in the Hill **2\.** [**A new software project has surgeons keeping score as a way to improve performance and save lives.**](https://medium.com/backchannel/should-surgeons-keep-score-8b3f890a7d4c "undefined") By James Somers in Medium **3\.** [**The New American Workforce: In Miami, local business are helping legal immigrants take the final steps to citizenship.**](http://www.miamiherald.com/opinion/op-ed/article4263774.html "undefined") By Wendy Kallergis in Miami Herald **4\.** [**Policies exist to avoid the worst results of head injuries in sports. We must follow them to save athletes’ lives.**](http://chronicle.com/article/A-Wake-Up-Call-on-Concussions/150831/ "undefined") By Christine Baugh in the Chronicle of Higher Education **5\.** [**Sal Khan: Use portfolios instead of transcripts to reflect student achievement.**](http://venturebeat.com/2014/12/14/khan-academy-founder-has-a-couple-of-big-ideas-for-overhauling-higher-education-in-the-sciences/ "undefined") By Gregory Ferenstein at VentureBeat  [_The Aspen Institute_](http://www.aspeninstitute.org/ "undefined") _is an educational and policy studies organization based in Washington, D.C._ ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"OpinionNewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3637715/five-best-ideas-of-the-day-december-17/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3637715/five-best-ideas-of-the-day-december-17/"},"headline":"Five Best Ideas of the Day: December 17","datePublished":"2014-12-17T17:01:50.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T05:06:37.524Z","description":"Fighting gridlock w/ 3rd-party candidates, feedback software for surgeons, concussion management, businesses leading on citizenship, & more.","url":"https://time.com/3637715/five-best-ideas-of-the-day-december-17/","keywords":["Innovation","medicine","Mental Health","Sports topic","Google","hospitals","Government","Miami","Immigration","Politicians","Washington","Science topic","gridlock","NCAA","doctors","colleges","Concussion"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"The Aspen Institute","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/the-aspen-institute/"}],"articleSection":"Ideas","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/ideas/","name":"Ideas"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/innovation/","name":"Innovation"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3637715/five-best-ideas-of-the-day-december-17/","name":"Five Best Ideas of the Day: December 17"}}]}] ```