The role of COINS in the Civic Space: building a pathway to prosperityBetsey Merkel, Co-Founder, DirectorThe Institute for Open Economic Networks (I-Open)

Betsey Merkel presented this material to the COINS 2009 conference at the Savannah College of Art & Design (SCAD) October 10, 2009. This material is copyright under a Creative Commons 3.0 attribution license. You are free to modify, copy and use this material for non-commercial and commercial purposes, provided that you attribute it as follows:

Source: Betsey Merkel and I-Open, Distributed under a Creative Commons 3.0 attribution license.

You can learn more about the Creative Commons license at:

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The Institute for Open Economic Networks (I-Open), 4415 Euclid Ave Suite 301, Cleveland, Ohio 44103

I-Open is a 501(c)3 educational economic development organization based in Cleveland, Ohio with a national reach. We develop and deploy new practices and tools for Open Source Economic Development and provide coaching, mentoring, and training services.

You can learn more about I-Open at:

www.i-open.orghttp://i-open-2.near-time.net

“Economic development is in everything today”

- Tom McCarthy, teacher, lawyer, CEOhttp://economicdevelopment.ning.com/

This presentation explores a

Pathway to Shared Prosperity

an accelerated model of Civic Forums to connect innovation to place based assets to strengthen education, economic, and workforce development

Profitable last century industry created legacy assets in colleges, universities, libraries

The Civic Space was simpler then and more organized

Today there’s an emergence of a new Civic Space

Where no one can tell anyone else what to do

Where levels of civility may be low

But everyone has an idea

We’re in a time of unprecedented change, disconnection, and opportunity

“We have seen over a 400% increase in demand for services from our One Stop serving five counties across two states in the last six months.”

- One Stop Manager, Ohio and Pennsylvania

Unemployment rate climbs to 9.8 Percent, Wage Growth Weakens

The economy shed 263,000 jobs in September, led by losses in the government, retail, and educational services sectors. BLS preliminary benchmark revisions show that 824,000 more jobs were lost in March of 2009 than initially reported.

- Dean Baker, Center for Economic and Policy Research, October 2, 2009

The speed of change has ruptured institution networks and they don’t work any more

This is the disconnection of people and their ideas to hope and prosperity

Institutions with COINS do work

They’re resilient, sustainable, rich in social capital, and collaborative

They generate high levels of effective innovation at a low cost

And serve many people for good

Today we need higher levels of organization, process, and tools

The Civic Space is exploding and it offers unprecedented research opportunities

A Pathway to Collaboration is a collaborative strategy to connect people and their ideas to

- knowledge assets in colleges, universities, and libraries

- rewire institution, organization, and government infrastructure

- re-invent education, economic, and workforce development

The Innovation Framework is a starting point for people to think about how to invest for sustainable communities and regions

COINS and the Innovation Framework focus our time and attention in the Civic Space

We’re building an insight and innovation network to share:

100 interviews46 conversations1000 voices150 hours content

I-Open interviews inform the design of Civic Forums

I-Open conversations improve on & generate new knowledge

Result: we all get smarter

Interview questions spotlight 12D perspectives in problem solving

Our approach is informed by Question Science, addressing both social and economic systems

It’s an inexpensive, fast way to harvest knowledge creation for collective intelligence in innovation and design

How can our research benefit the emerging Science of Collaboration?

It takes many people to see the whole coffee cupimage: http://commons.wikimedia.org

So, what do Civic Forums do?

Build open, neutral spaces for civic experiences

Introduce mental models for cognitive shifts

Model behaviors in collaborative leadership and civility

Generate purposeful discussions focused on talent, emergent systems, and strategic thinking

We’re moving from closed hierarchical strategic planning...

to people centered strategy for innovation design

This is the Civic Forum process, a designed approach to knowledge creation

Process helps us to know what happens when and where, and for what in the Civic Space

Peter B. Lewis Building, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio

image: http://commons.wikimedia.org

A success story

Tuesdays@REI - a free, weekly Civic Forum - anyone w/ initiative welcome- civic, business, gov, academic- 2003-2005: 17 mo period, 79 forums- attracted 3000 people- 80,000 media impressions- before Twitter & Facebook- cost of $.60 per person- 1 FT manager- on a campus w/ no parking- working groups, initiatives, publications, new businesses- admin closed the 25 year old center June 2005 as “redundant” - people picketed, “Where’s my REI?”- I-Open is the spin out

Peter B. Lewis Building, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio

image: http://commons.wikimedia.org

What we learned:

- Place is important

- Networks in the Civic Space are volatile and fragile

- Activity always moves forward

- Proximity is powerful

The science of experience is grounded in organization, process, and tools

The art is in what people say and do

In May 2009 we asked, “What would you write on I-Open’s tombstone?”

We wanted to understand our value to community

This map visualizes the meaning of people’s experience

Explore!

I-Open Civic Forums build

- industry networks- new markets- branded communities- enterprise cultures

Best of all: people build clusters of next generation projects quickly

? What is the role of colleges, universities, and libraries in the Civic Space?

Conveners of Civic Forums, platforms for open innovation

Stewards of powerful civic networks

Co-creators of people centered strategy for innovation design

Servant leaders of meaningful experiences for good

SomeAnswers

Swarm creativity builds value in participation by enriching experience and meaning

CONDOR can help us understand how the Civic Space works today

The Art:

“In the digital world, User Experience is the key definer of value.” - Jeff Dachis, Dachis Group, 2009

The Science:

This is a map of social participation process and knowledge creation

People begin at the periphery, progress to the hub, and to the core

People share knowledge based on the value they bring, where they see themselves on the Innovation Framework, and their level of comfort

Trusted conveners, connectors, and access to quality resources is critical to sustain activity

More about what we’ve learned:

Civic Forums generate collaborative communities

Examples of collaborative communities & branded cultures

Examples of community generated enterprise collaboration

Betsey Merkel <betseymerkel@gmail.com>

I-Open Civic Forum Tues April 21, 2009 "Building

Brainpower: Green Jobs Initiative"1 message

I-Open <info@i-open.org> Thu, Apr 16, 2009 at 10:14 AM

Reply-To: info@i-open.org

To: info@i-open.org

"Building Brainpower: The Green Jobs Initiative"

Join us for an important conversation about re-tooling America's skills training for

efficiency in green trades to drive economic prosperity.

Next steps in Chagrin Falls, Ohio...

With Bill MacDermott, Owner, Cleveland Solar & Wind

Date: Tues April 21, 2009

Time: 4:00PM - 5:45PM

Live Broadcast/Chat 4:00PM - 5:45PM (EST)

Location: Chagrin Falls Public Library 100 E Orange St Chagrin Falls, OH 44022

Map

Phone: (440) 247-3556

Coffee and cookies provided by Friends of the Library

Free parking. No charge.

Everyone is welcome!

Broadcasts

Backgrounder interview

Most recent Live Show Broadcast on green jobs training

Articles

The American Solar Energy Society (ASES): ASES Green Collar Jobs Report

Gmail - I-Open Civic Forum Tues April 21, 2009 "Building Bra... http://mail.google.com/mail/?ui=2&ik=87138139bc&view=pt...

1 of 2 10/8/09 7:54 AM

Communication design is informed by meaningful content

“I-Open is a sophisticated center of civic dialogue that furthers the community's understanding and engagement of issues.”

- Gary Murphy, Faculty Director, Undergraduate Economics Program,Case Western Reserve University

Strategic sharing integrates organization, process, and Web 2.0 tools

I-Open communities broadcast interviews and conversations to amplify people and their ideas

So, what’s next?

Build an accelerated model of Civic Forums that is

- networked - adopts COINS- adopts Question Science- serves research in the emerging Science of Collaboration

We invite you to contribute

http://i-open-2.near-time.net

We’d like to know what you think! Send your ideas to:

betseymerkel@gmail

Thank you!

Thanks to all conference organizers!

With grateful thanks to all of the people who generously contributed their ideas and time to teach us what we’ve learned here today

Special thanks to,

Susan AltshulerDennis CoughlinScott R Crawford Gloria & Tim FerrisPeter Gloor Valdis KrebsBruce LaDukeEd Morrison

And all interviewees, family, and friends