1.
The role of COINS in the Civic Space:
building a pathway to prosperity
Betsey Merkel, Co-Founder, Director
The Institute for Open Economic Networks (I-Open)

2.
The Institute for Open Economic
Betsey Merkel presented this material to the
Networks (I-Open), 4415 Euclid Ave Suite
COINS 2009 conference at the Savannah
301, Cleveland, Ohio 44103
College of Art & Design (SCAD) October 10,
2009. This material is copyright under a
I-Open is a 501(c)3 educational
Creative Commons 3.0 attribution license. You
economic development organization
are free to modify, copy and use this material
based in Cleveland, Ohio with a national
for non-commercial and commercial purposes,
reach. We develop and deploy new
provided that you attribute it as follows:
practices and tools for Open Source
Economic Development and provide
Source: Betsey Merkel and I-Open, Distributed
coaching, mentoring, and training
under a Creative Commons 3.0 attribution
services.
license.
You can learn more about I-Open at:
You can learn more about the Creative
Commons license at:
www.i-open.org
http://i-open-2.near-time.net
www.creativecommons.org

3.
“Economic development is in everything
today”
- Tom McCarthy, teacher, lawyer, CEO
http://economicdevelopment.ning.com/

4.
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

5.
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

6.
“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
We’re in a time of unprecedented
change, disconnection, and
opportunity
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

7.
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

8.
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

9.
Today we need higher levels of
organization, process, and tools
The Civic Space is exploding and it
offers unprecedented research
opportunities

10.
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

11.
The Innovation Framework is a
starting point for people to think
about how to invest for sustainable
communities and regions

12.
COINS and the Innovation
Framework focus our time and
attention in the Civic Space

13.
We’re building an insight and
innovation network to share:
100 interviews
46 conversations
1000 voices
150 hours content

14.
I-Open interviews inform the
design of Civic Forums
I-Open conversations improve on &
generate new knowledge
Result: we all get smarter

15.
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
It takes many people to see the whole coffee cup the emerging Science of
image: http://commons.wikimedia.org Collaboration?

16.
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

17.
We’re moving from closed
hierarchical strategic planning...
to people centered strategy for
innovation design

18.
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

19.
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
Peter B. Lewis Building, Case Western Reserve - admin closed the 25 year old
University, Cleveland, Ohio center June 2005 as “redundant”
image: http://commons.wikimedia.org
- people picketed, “Where’s my
REI?”
- I-Open is the spin out

20.
What we learned:
- Place is important
- Networks in the Civic Space are
volatile and fragile
- Activity always moves forward
- Proximity is powerful
Peter B. Lewis Building, Case Western Reserve
University, Cleveland, Ohio
image: http://commons.wikimedia.org

21.
The science of experience is
grounded in organization,
process, and tools
The art is in what people say and
do

22.
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!

23.
I-Open Civic Forums build
- industry networks
- new markets
- branded communities
- enterprise cultures
Best of all: people build clusters
of next generation projects
quickly

24.
? What is the role of colleges,
universities, and libraries in the
Civic Space?

25.
Conveners of Civic Forums,
platforms for open innovation
Some Stewards of powerful civic networks
Co-creators of people centered
Answers strategy for innovation design
Servant leaders of meaningful
experiences for good

26.
Swarm creativity builds value in
participation by enriching
experience and meaning

27.
CONDOR can help us
understand how the Civic
Space works today

28.
The Art:
“In the digital world, User Experience is
the key definer of value.” - Jeff Dachis,
Dachis Group, 2009

29.
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

30.
More about what we’ve
learned:
Civic Forums generate
collaborative communities

31.
Examples of collaborative
communities & branded cultures

32.
Examples of community generated
enterprise collaboration

33.
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>
Reply-To: info@i-open.org
Thu, Apr 16, 2009 at 10:14 AM Communication design is
To: info@i-open.org
informed by meaningful
content
“I-Open is a sophisticated
center of civic dialogue that
furthers the community's
"Building Brainpower: The Green Jobs Initiative"
Join us for an important conversation about re-tooling America's skills training for
understanding and
efficiency in green trades to drive economic prosperity.
engagement of issues.”
Next steps in Chagrin Falls, Ohio...
With Bill MacDermott, Owner, Cleveland Solar & Wind
Date: Tues April 21, 2009 - Gary Murphy, Faculty
Time: 4:00PM - 5:45PM
Live Broadcast/Chat 4:00PM - 5:45PM (EST) Director, Undergraduate
Location: Chagrin Falls Public Library 100 E Orange St Chagrin Falls, OH 44022
Map Economics Program,
Phone: (440) 247-3556
Coffee and cookies provided by Friends of the Library Case Western Reserve
Free parking. No charge.
Everyone is welcome! University
Broadcasts
Backgrounder interview
Most recent Live Show Broadcast on green jobs training
Articles
The American Solar Energy Society (ASES): ASES Green Collar Jobs Report

34.
Strategic sharing integrates
organization, process, and
Web 2.0 tools
I-Open communities
broadcast interviews and
conversations to amplify
people and their ideas

35.
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

36.
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!

37.
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 Altshuler
Dennis Coughlin
Scott R Crawford
Gloria & Tim Ferris
Peter Gloor
Valdis Krebs
Bruce LaDuke
Ed Morrison
And all interviewees,
family, and friends