I-Open Civic Forums and Building Collaborative Communities

The Institute for Open Economic Networks (I-Open) is a not-for-profit

economic development organization based in Ohio with a national reach.
I-Open connects business, academic, government and civic leaders
interested in learning more about Open Source Economic Development.
I-Open offers training, coaching, and workshops on Strategic Doing, Civic
Forums, Social Network Mapping, and how to build on-line collaborative
communities using Web 2.0 tools.

Civic forums begin by building open economic networks to catalyze

innovation and entrepreneurship. The civic forum process encourages new
civic collaborations built on trust, mutual respect and accountability. I-Open
promotes civic behaviors that overcome fragmentation by focusing on
mutual interests, realistic business development opportunities and
pragmatic "next steps".

Civic forums accelerate trusted connections among a region’s extensive

research, information, and civic communities. I-Open removes the barriers
that stifle "open innovation systems" within regional economies. These
innovation systems – sometimes called "clusters" – drive regional
prosperity. Civic forums are not isolated events; they are part of continuous
process for reshaping civic leadership and behavior.

Over the last several years, I-Open has partnered with Technology
Company Strategy-Nets (formerly Near-Time) to figure out how Web 2.0
tools accelerate sustainable business development and strengthen
innovation and entrepreneurship. By bringing together the best practices of
Open Source Economic Development with cutting edge innovations in
collaborative Web 2.0 technologies, we’ve found communities can amplify
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conversations, stay organized and continue to build connectivity between

face-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 networked

approach to economic and community development.

Ed Morrison, I-Open Co-Founder says, "We are moving from an industrial

economy to an economy based on networks. New business models are
emerging. Wealth creation is based on entrepreneurship, "open
innovation", 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 inside
both the private and non-profit sectors—manage the innovation process.
They rely on civic networks to learn, spot opportunities and align
resources. ‘Open innovation’ means that the translation of new ideas into
wealth and prosperity by entrepreneurs increasingly takes place outside the
four walls of any one organization.”

“In our emerging economy, formal or informal civic networks that can
efficiently support innovation are critically important to building community
and regional prosperity. Wealth creation, which is now a function of
relationships and networks, arises from clusters formed from
interconnected organizations, such as businesses, educational institutions,
and non-profit organizations.

“To succeed in this economy, we need new ways of coming together so we

can continuously explore and find new opportunities based on our existing
assets. We need to define and reinforce new patterns of civic behavior.
Building prosperous communities begins in civic spaces where citizens
come together to exchange ideas, identify transformative initiatives and
move forward. This civic discipline can emerge most quickly from vibrant,
flexible and focused civic forums grounded in the practice of "strategic
doing": translating ideas into action quickly. Within these forums, new
conversations generate practical collaborations among civic and business
entrepreneurs and their networks of support.

Copyright 2011 Betsey Merkel and I-Open. Creative Commons 3.0 Attribution-Noncommercial-No
Derivative Works. Institute for Open Economic Networks (I-Open) 2563 Kingston Road Cleveland OH
44118 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 on
how well we can routinely convene to create new collaborations and
identify our new opportunities. Moving any economy forward requires
hundreds of new collaborations that no one individual or organization can
"command and control". To support these collaborations, we need simple
rules and new disciplines of authentic civic engagement. We need to build
habits 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 to
strategic doing.

“To meet the challenges of the ever increasing and rapidly shifting global
markets that characterize today’s economy, we need new models of
economic development, new approaches to shape our thinking and guide
our actions. We need to design civic engagements that spin out new and
innovative collaborations quickly. With an increasingly turbulent economy,
we need new stable patterns of thinking and doing. The road to the
successful 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 has
developed these new civic disciplines and has generated some significant
results. We now have the opportunity to prove that we can quickly replicate
these practices across the country, starting with prototype locations and
models 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 bringing
new 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 Open
Source Economic Development. Together, we’ll identify next steps to build

Copyright 2011 Betsey Merkel and I-Open. Creative Commons 3.0 Attribution-Noncommercial-No
Derivative Works. Institute for Open Economic Networks (I-Open) 2563 Kingston Road Cleveland OH
44118 Phone: 216-220-0172 Web: http://i-open.posterous.com/
 4

on-line collaborative community using Web 2.0 tools to advance local

innovation.

Start a Civic Forum process in your community.

Contact our team. Begin by sending us an email to info AT I-open DOT org
or by calling our office at 216-220-017. We’d be happy to answer your
questions and suggest some next steps to build a Civic Forum process in
your community or region.

Our History: The Civic Forum Pilot

Civic Forums represent a new kind of civic engagement, developed by Ed

Morrison, Betsey Merkel, Susan Altshuler and Dennis Coughlin at the
Center for Regional Economic Issues (REI) at Case Western Reserve
University 2003-2005. Civic entrepreneurs throughout the region gathered
for weekly forums called REI.Tuesdays, where they explored a particular
dimension of the region’s economic transformation.

REI Civic Forums piloted a low cost and effective process to penetrate
academic hierarchies, gather customer feedback, and connect theoretical
research with practitioner knowledge. Free and open to the public, Civic
Forums created the open, neutral spaces for knowledge sharing between
Northeast Ohio’s academic, civic, government, and business communities.

Civic Forums launched a wide number of self-organized working groups,

round tables, and communities of commitment. For example, REI.Tuesdays
gave rise to a new biodiesel distribution company in East Cleveland, a new
collaboration among small component manufacturers, and a new company
to promote collaborative computing in Cleveland’s neighborhoods. Their
work produced specific action plans with "next steps". Using well designed
civic forums "strategic planning" is replaced with "strategic doing."

Copyright 2011 Betsey Merkel and I-Open. Creative Commons 3.0 Attribution-Noncommercial-No
Derivative Works. Institute for Open Economic Networks (I-Open) 2563 Kingston Road Cleveland OH
44118 Phone: 216-220-0172 Web: http://i-open.posterous.com/
 5

I-Open

The Institute for Open Economic Networks (I-Open) is a not-for-profit

economic development organization based in Ohio with a national reach.
The Institute connects business, academic, government and civic leaders
who want to learn more about Open Source Economic Development.
I-Open offers training, coaching and workshops on Strategic Doing, the
I-Open Civic Forum process, Social Network Mapping, and how to build on-
line collaborative communities using Web 2.0 tools for transformative
enterprise building.

- Betsey Merkel, I-Open

Copyright 2011 Betsey Merkel and I-Open. Creative Commons 3.0 Attribution-Noncommercial-No
Derivative Works. Institute for Open Economic Networks (I-Open) 2563 Kingston Road Cleveland OH
44118 Phone: 216-220-0172 Web: http://i-open.posterous.com/