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In a very real sense, I-Open is the architect of a new type of civic infrastructure.
This infrastructure connects civic and business entrepreneurs with more
established organizations and institutions.
Through these connections, a community finds new ways to innovate: new ways
to build prosperity by "linking and leveraging" its assets.
These weekly civic forums explored the many different opportunities for
economic and workforce development to connect in northeast Ohio, a region
spanning 22 counties and including over 4 million people.
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When the Weatherhead School of Business decided to close REI, the founders
of I-Open continued their work under their new nonprofit.
I-Open regularly sponsored civic forums in libraries and local businesses from
2005 through 2009. Simultaneously, it co-sponsored networked communities,
such as Midtown Brews and the Women's Enterprise Network, with Cleveland
businesses.
I-Open's work in Northeast Ohio has inspired groups in South Carolina, Indiana,
Illinois, Louisiana and elsewhere to launch civic forums with names such as
Evenings@The House; Third Thursday at 3; and Fridays at the Corridor.
In the years since, I-Open has continued its work in Northeast Ohio and
expanded its ties outside the region. I-Open is a "connector" network guided by
Principles anchored in trust building and knowledge sharing with attribution.
• Civic forums are the first step in rebuilding the civic disciplines we need to
"think together",
• We have largely lost this capability, and many of the challenges we face
across political and organizational boundaries.
• In short, we need to collaborate to compete in today's global economy.
• There's only one problem: We are not very good at collaborating.
• Old habits, the loss of civility, the lack of transparency - all hinder the
formation of the innovative and dynamic collaborations we need to
revitalize or education systems and our economy.
• Civic forums provide the first step to learning how to innovate in the
dynamic, open networks that characterize today's economy.
Our Services
• Forum Design.-- From I-Open's perspective, civic forums are the process
of building open networks, not a series of disconnected events. Designing
civic forums focuses on creating engaging experiences for the
participants. Standard "talking heads" meetings do not work. Instead, I-
Open designs forums that actively engage participants in focused
conversations, the type of conversations needed for the complex thinking
that our challenges demand.
• Forum Marketing.-- Civic meetings often suffer when only the "usual
suspects" participate. To expand the circle, forum organizers need to
reach out to nontraditional audiences. Marketing starts with finding
engaging topics around which networks can form.
Higher education came to use forums in a number of ways. Forums can assist a
college or university to bridge the gap with surrounding communities by finding
new initiatives and connections. Forums can strengthen internship and service
learning opportunities for students. They can also connect faculty to the needs of
surrounding business.
Libraries provide a safe space within which civic forums can take place. At the
same time, libraries represent "the People's University", and they foster a spirit of
inquiry and engagement. By offering civic forums, libraries find a new way to
connect with the public they serve.
Civic forums provide new ways to build networks for economic and workforce
development organizations. These organizations need to connect the suppliers of
brainpower -- students, colleges and universities -- with the consumers of
brainpower -- both nonprofit organizations and the business community.
Civic forums can be the first step in building cluster-based organizations that
accelerate open innovation within a regional economy.
For years, we've heard about the decline of "social capital" in our communities.
The ending of community over the past several decades -- often accelerated by
geographic sprawl -- has been silent and deceptive.
Virtually every community is facing the same challenge of creating new ways to
facilitate renewed civic engagement. Civic forums offer a practical, convenient
answer.
FAQs
What are the vital skills that people learn during civic forums?
All of these organizations are entering an era in which they can no longer
afford to go it alone. Yet, it is often very difficult to step outside
organizational boundaries. Civic forums create a discipline that can be
easily followed to build collaborations that organizations need to thrive in
the care of a network.
Strategic Doing is a civic discipline that teaches people how to think and
act strategically in open networks. We are all familiar with the disciplines
of strategic planning. These disciplines were developed in the industrial
era to deal with the complex choices facing hierarchical organizations,
like large corporations.
We do not know what enough about the Internet. What is the connection of
Web 2.0 to the civic forums?
the Internet with the same skills needed to write e-mail. In other words it's
very easy.
As I-Open conducts civic forums, we also build new communities. It's important
to leverage the Internet and to explore how new Web 2.0 tools can facilitate the
formation of these networks.
Midtown Brews
Midtown Brews explores new opportunities for the Northeast Ohio economy.
Midtown Brews continues the practice of open civic conversations in Northeast
Ohio. I-Open started this work at Case Western Reserve University in 2003. Visit
the Midtown Brews web site at http://midtownbrews.net/overview/welcome
White Papers
Strategic Doing: The Art and Practice of Strategic Action in Open Networks
http://www.scribd.com/doc/17180144/IOPEN-White-Paper-Strategi