I-Open teaches communities how to build open, neutral civic spaces to encourage new conversations and collaboration. Collaborative communities form around shared interests and opportunities and can operate both in-person and online using tools like social media. I-Open has launched several collaborative communities in Northeast Ohio addressing issues like technology, energy, and transparency, with the goal of building trust and networks globally. Next steps include learning more about civic spaces and communities and exploring examples like RealNEO and the Lakewood Observer.

1. Building Collaborative Communities in the Civic Space
Accelerating innovation
in Open Source Economic Development
Updated May 2011
Created by Betsey Merkel, Co-Founder & Director
The Institute for Open Economic Networks (I-Open)
4415 Euclid Avenue Suite 301, Cleveland, Ohio USA 44103
http://i-open.posterous.com/

2. This material is copyright I-Open and distributed
under a Creative Commons 3.0 attribution license. That means you
are free to modify, copy and use this material for commercial
purposes provided that you attribute it as follows:
Source: Betsey Merkel and I-Open, Copyright 2010
Distributed under Creative Commons 3.0 license.
You can learn more about Creative Commons license at
www.creativecommons.org

3. • Civic Spaces
• Collaborative Communities
• Social Media
• Your Next Steps

4. I-Open teaches communities how to build
open, neutral spaces for new conversations.
Where new habits of thinking and acting
together are encouraged.
We call this the Civic Space. It includes
Everyone.
This is the first step toward building prosperity.

5. We practice new behaviors driven by
principles to facilitate collaboration.
Text

6. Collaborative communities are formed by
people who share common interests, looking for
new opportunities, lost hope, or who may just be
curious.

7. This is what Collaborative Communities
look like...

8. Collaborative Communities are
face to face...
February 7, 2008 Midtown Brews with Meet The Bloggers: Ohio’s
Energy Portfolio: Economic Development in Your Backyard
June 10, 2008 Midtown Brews with Meet The Bloggers: The
Youngstown Business Incubator: A Global Model of Quality,
Connected Business Innovation

9. ...and Collaborative Communities are
online.
Build collaborative communities online using integrated Web 2.0 tool sets.

10. Collaborative Communities can be regional...
Examples of I-Open Collaborative Communities
based in Northeast Ohio.

11. Northeast Ohio is home to several national models of
online Collaborative Communities
REALNEO (above) and the Lakewood Observer (right)

12. ...and Collaborative Communities can be national
I-Open Collaborative Communities launched at national gatherings connect participants
once they return home to stay connected and enable follow up to new opportunities.

13. Examples of
I-Open Education
skills training
Learning Links
I-Open’s
citizen stories
Midtown Brews
technology, creative and
energy
Collaborative Map the Mess
political transparency
Communities
based in Linked Communities
Open Conversations
Northeast Ohio community priorities
with a global Defrag
reach.
creative digital media
WENetwork
women and leadership
enterprise
Democracy in Action
citizen-government
networks
World of Work
workforce development

14. What do collaborative communities
offer you?
• Trust building
• Networks to break down barriers
• A new generation of cross disciplinary learning
skills
• Opportunities for project building, or
enterprise collaboration
• Opportunities for Strategic Doing
• Fun and convivial relationships

15. Some questions to think about:
• Where do you gather with others where
you live?
• What does collaborating mean to you?
• Where do you go to experience
‘community’?
• What face to face and online communities
do you participate in or know about?
• How could a community help you and what
you are passionate about?

16. • Civic Spaces
• Collaborative Communities
• Social Media
• Your Next Steps

17. Social Media tools expand online Collaborative Communities
quickly to build global networks and share and receive information
instantly...

18. Web based conversations
• Create accountability to an unseen global audience
• Iterate fast moving comparisons
• Sustain purposeful conversations
• Engage co-created community interests designed to
focus on strategic issues

19. I-Open Education Internet Television channel
Creative
Brand
Live Show
Live Chat
Archived
sessions
Share

20. Social Media tools allow anyone to
• Participate regardless of location
• Engage in multi-task learning by
1. chatting live with the class and others online
2. review archived sessions at your convenience
3. share information with colleagues

21. Next Steps
• Convene a conversation.
• Learn about the Civic Space, social media,
and collaborative communities

22. Collaborative Communities to explore
http://realneo.us/
http://lakewoodobserver.com/

23. Words of interest
• civic space
• civic forum process
• partnerships
• collaborative communities
• social media & broadcast

24. Open Source Software Industry
lessons
• The overall evolutionary dynamic is
reinvention
• Reinvention enables continuous
improvement
• Communities co-evolve
• The success of one depends on the success
of the other
• From “Community Development and Interaction in Open Source Software Development Projects and
Beyond,” Walt Scacchi, Institute for Software Research and Laboratory for Computer Game Culture
and Technology, School of Information and Computer Science, University of California Irvine.

25. Thank you!
Learn more about I-Open at
http://i-open.posterous.com/
Send your questions to
betseymerkel@gmail.com