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I-Open Civic Forums and Building Collaborative Communities
The Institute for Open Economic Networks (I-Open) is a not-for-profiteconomic development organization based in Ohio with a national reach.I-Open connects business, academic, government and civic leadersinterested in learning more about Open Source Economic Development.I-Open offers training, coaching, and workshops on Strategic Doing, CivicForums, Social Network Mapping, and how to build on-line collaborativecommunities using Web 2.0 tools.Civic forums begin by building open economic networks to catalyzeinnovation and entrepreneurship. The civic forum process encourages newcivic collaborations built on trust, mutual respect and accountability. I-Openpromotes civic behaviors that overcome fragmentation by focusing onmutual interests, realistic business development opportunities andpragmatic "next steps".Civic forums accelerate trusted connections among a region’s extensiveresearch, information, and civic communities. I-Open removes the barriersthat stifle "open innovation systems" within regional economies. Theseinnovation systems – sometimes called "clusters" – drive regionalprosperity. Civic forums are not isolated events; they are part of continuousprocess for reshaping civic leadership and behavior.Over the last several years, I-Open has partnered with TechnologyCompany Strategy-Nets (formerly Near-Time) to figure out how Web 2.0tools accelerate sustainable business development and strengtheninnovation and entrepreneurship. By bringing together the best practices of Open Source Economic Development with cutting edge innovations incollaborative Web 2.0 technologies, we’ve found communities can amplify
 
 
Copyright 2011 Betsey Merkel and I-Open. Creative Commons 3.0 Attribution-Noncommercial-NoDerivative Works. Institute for Open Economic Networks (I-Open) 2563 Kingston Road Cleveland OH44118 Phone: 216-220-0172 Web: http://i-open.posterous.com/
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conversations, stay organized and continue to build connectivity betweenface-to-face meetings.
The Value of the Civic Forum Process to Communities and Regions
 Civic Forums offer a new model of civic collaboration for a networkedapproach to economic and community development.Ed Morrison, I-Open Co-Founder says, "We are moving from an industrialeconomy to an economy based on networks. New business models areemerging. Wealth creation is based on entrepreneurship, "openinnovation", and networks of civic relationships. Innovation is the process of translating ideas into private and public wealth and prosperity.Entrepreneurs—both inside and outside existing organizations and insideboth the private and non-profit sectors—manage the innovation process.They rely on civic networks to learn, spot opportunities and alignresources. ‘Open innovation’ means that the translation of new ideas intowealth and prosperity by entrepreneurs increasingly takes place outside thefour walls of any one organization.”“In our emerging economy, formal or informal civic networks that canefficiently support innovation are critically important to building communityand regional prosperity. Wealth creation, which is now a function of relationships and networks, arises from clusters formed frominterconnected organizations, such as businesses, educational institutions,and non-profit organizations.“To succeed in this economy, we need new ways of coming together so wecan continuously explore and find new opportunities based on our existingassets. We need to define and reinforce new patterns of civic behavior.Building prosperous communities begins in civic spaces where citizenscome together to exchange ideas, identify transformative initiatives andmove forward. This civic discipline can emerge most quickly from vibrant,flexible and focused civic forums grounded in the practice of "strategicdoing": translating ideas into action quickly. Within these forums, newconversations generate practical collaborations among civic and businessentrepreneurs and their networks of support.
 
 
Copyright 2011 Betsey Merkel and I-Open. Creative Commons 3.0 Attribution-Noncommercial-NoDerivative Works. Institute for Open Economic Networks (I-Open) 2563 Kingston Road Cleveland OH44118 Phone: 216-220-0172 Web: http://i-open.posterous.com/
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“The speed with which we move our organizations, businesses,communities and regions to the knowledge-based economy will depend onhow well we can routinely convene to create new collaborations andidentify our new opportunities. Moving any economy forward requireshundreds of new collaborations that no one individual or organization can"command and control". To support these collaborations, we need simplerules and new disciplines of authentic civic engagement. We need to buildhabits of exploring each other’s strengths, identifying opportunities,focusing on practical outcomes, aligning our resources, and measuring our results. In short, we need to move from concepts of strategic planning tostrategic doing.“To meet the challenges of the ever increasing and rapidly shifting globalmarkets that characterize today’s economy, we need new models of economic development, new approaches to shape our thinking and guideour actions. We need to design civic engagements that spin out new andinnovative collaborations quickly. With an increasingly turbulent economy,we need new stable patterns of thinking and doing. The road to thesuccessful future is marked by the new disciplines of “strategic doing.”“Strategic doing is about translating ideas into purposeful action quickly.However, translating ideas into action requires trusted conveners and"appreciative" leadership styles that support collaborations. I-Open hasdeveloped these new civic disciplines and has generated some significantresults. We now have the opportunity to prove that we can quickly replicatethese practices across the country, starting with prototype locations andmodels described in this space that have come out of I-Open activities.I-Open welcomes new partners and new collaborations." Ed Morrison, Co-Founder, I-Open.
How do I get started?
 The first steps start with one or two people who have a passion for bringingnew ideas to life and a commitment to start a Civic Forum process. Our team will help you to learn how to begin a Civic Forum process in your community and familiarize you with new practices and tools in OpenSource Economic Development. Together, we’ll identify next steps to build
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