I-Open Civic Forums Strengthen Entrepreneurship & Accelerate Business Development in Network Economies

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Civic Forums Strengthen Entrepreneurship

And Accelerate Business Development in Network Economies
I-Open is a networked educational resource

For individuals, communities, and their regions
2010
Compiled and written by Betsey Merkel, Co-Founder and Director,

The Institute for Open Economic Networks (I-Open)
Copyright 2010 Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License

4415 Euclid Ave Suite 306, Cleveland, Ohio 44103 Phone: 216-220-0172 Web:
https://sites.google.com/site/instituteopeneconomicnetworks/
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Contents
o I-Open is an Educational Resource -- Page 3
o Civic Forums for Civic Engagement -- Page 3
o Civic Forums Focus Industry Investments -- Page 4
o Civic Forums Build Civic Networks -- Page 4
o I-Open Shares Civic Insights and Innovations – Page 4
o I-Open Communications Advance Knowledge – Page 5
o I-Open Loosens Up Innovation -- Page 6
o Examples of I-Open Civic Forums – Page 6
o About I-Open -- Page 7

• Business Model – Page 8
• Principles -- Page 8
• Vision – Page 8
• Mission – Page 9
• Organizational Model – Page 9
• Strategic Activities – Page 9
• Evaluation -- Page 9
• Thought Leader and Practitioner Networks – Page 10
• Network Feedback -- Page 10
• Support for I-Open – Page 11
APPENDIX A
o The Legacy of the Center for Regional Economic Issues (REI) -- Page 12
o REI Successes -- Page 13
o Community Support for REI – Page 14
APPENDIX B
o Lexicon -- Page 15
APPENDIX C
o References -- Page 18
o Biographical and Contact Information – Page 22

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I-Open is an Educational Resource
The Institute for Open Economic Networks (I-Open) is a 501 (c)(3) not-for-profit
educational economic development organization based in Northeast Ohio with a
national and global reach. I-Open coaches, mentors, and trains individuals and
organizations how to advance innovation and enterprise in Open Source
Economic Development (OSED) focused on their area of expertise.
I-Open process is a pragmatic system of convening, communicating, and

collaborating to build civic networks for enterprise development, which includes,
• I-Open Civic Forums to connect industry leaders in new conversations

focused on information sharing and collaboration;
• I-Open communications that feature the insights and innovations of civic
leaders through the lens of the Innovation Framework - a heuristic model
for investment in OSED; and
• Coaching civic leaders in developing habits of “Strategic Doing” – a
simple, disciplined process to move ideas to action quickly.
I-Open process improves the collective brainpower of entrepreneurs and the

quantity and quality of transformative contributions to regional business
development.
Civic Forums for Civic Engagement
Since August 2005, I-Open has led civic forums in partnership with Northeast
Ohio organizations, universities and colleges, businesses, and government to
accelerate information sharing and collaboration for business development.
From September 2006 through July 2009, I-Open Co-Founders and Directors,
Susan Altshuler, Dennis Coughlin, and Betsey Merkel, hosted forty-six face-to-
face conversations in collaboration with leaders in education, government,
business and civic organizations to address timely global issues affecting Ohio
communities. George Nemeth and Gloria Ferris of Meet The Blogger’s, a
Northeast Ohio based network of leaders experienced in guiding conversations
focusing on civic journalism, advocacy, democracy, and government process, led
many of the conversations in collaboration with I-Open.
Civic Forums teach “Strategic Doing”, designed by Ed Morrison and developed in

partnership with I-Open. Ed is Co-Founder and past Director of I-Open.

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Regions that convene civic forums and employ Strategic Doing will cultivate an
entrepreneurial culture defined by thick networks of connectivity, high levels of
social capital, and regular habits of resource sharing necessary to support the
resulting exponential growth of transformative initiatives for business
development.
Civic Forums Focus Industry Investments
Civic Forums communicate innovation opportunities in industry. Since 2006, 40%

of I-Open conversations exchanged information and updates in water, advocacy,
health care, creativity, land, energy, transportation, and technology; another 40%
of the conversations targeted innovation in education, economic, and workforce
development; the remaining 20% shared insights into lifestyle, civic service, and
regional culture.
Conversations help people make the cognitive connection between civic priorities
and entrepreneurial opportunity by looking through the lens of the Innovation
Framework – a heuristic model for investment in Open Source Economic
Development. The five areas of investment are: (1) Brainpower -- the importance
of strengthening education; (2) Innovation and Entrepreneurial Networks – social
infrastructure to translate information and knowledge into innovation; (3) Quality,
Connected Places -- how to grow resilient, attractive communities; (4) Dialogue
and Inclusion – everyone is has something to contribute; and (5) Branding
Stories – communicating the intrinsic value of a region’s culture.
Civic Forums Build Civic Networks
Betsey Merkel designed the civic forum process in 2003 to bring civic thought
leaders and practitioners together to build trust, civic networks, and collaborative
communities for Open Source Economic Development. Forums build the social
capital civic leaders need to advance transformative entrepreneurial solutions in
response to regional economic imperatives.
The I-Open civic forum process strengthens purposeful habits of collaboration,

engagement, and civility in communities and their regions. Forums model
collaborative behaviors drawing from such disciplines as Appreciative Inquiry and
servant leadership – important ‘soft’ skills every entrepreneur needs to thrive in
locally based, globally connected business environments.
I-Open Shares Civic Insights and Innovations

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I-Open research focuses on the insights, innovations, and priorities of civic

leaders in Open Source Economic Development. I-Open publishes information
under its Creative Common License with Attribution; this means anyone can use
the information with attribution back to the original source.
Sharing information is key to quickly catalyzing innovation in Open Source

Economic Development. Some of the benefits are: (1) sharing powerful, subtle
insights of a community to guide civic entrepreneurs in their small, smart moves
critical to building enterprise in open innovation; (2) publications to advise public
and private leadership; and (3) building local to global awareness of regional
talent and legacy assets.
In addition, I-Open’s Civic Wisdom video, document and image library informs
the strategy and design of civic forum conversations. Civic leaders have
contributed over 100 interviews, nearly fifty conversations with over 1000 voices
participating, and over 150 hours of content to I-Open research. Organized
according to the categories of the Innovation Framework, interviews identify
enterprise investment opportunities for entrepreneurs and their organizations
pertaining to issues affecting economic development.
I-Open Communications Advance Knowledge
I-Open’s communication process publishes searchable content across connected

community driven, social media platforms on the Web. Each platform links to
community members where they are online and in a format that they like - be it
video, photography, or documents. Contributors and readers remain informed
about topics and civic innovators whom they may not ordinarily have the
wherewithal, or time to connect to.
Civic forum conversations are broadcast live with chat and archived to the web in
an on-demand library for public access. Since 2008, the Midtown Brews channel,
for example, has quickly grown in value, accruing over 265,000 viewer minutes
sharing citizen priorities focused on global issues.
Since 2006, I-Open educational communications reached over 195,000 (opt-in)

subscribers mailed who read over 48,000 email communications, exploring
14,000 information web links to people, research, and innovation in energy,
health care, land, food, and water.
The ROI of civic forums is high not only because costs are low, but because
forums are strategically designed to build civic networks for enterprise
development. From the perspective of generating connectivity, the forty-six

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Midtown Brews public conversations cost an average of $50.00 per month (for
technology related fees) for a total of $1550.00 building over 4,000 contacts at
about $.01 cost per contact – proving that building open civic networks for
communication and collaboration to strengthen businesses and emergent cluster
industries can be strategic, efficient, and financially prudent.
I-Open process integrates the face-to-face and online aspects of civic

engagement with information sharing through the lens of the Innovation
Framework to advance knowledge across civic networks for entrepreneurship
and small business development.
I-Open Loosens Up Innovation
Civic forums soften social barriers by including the perspectives of everyone and
promote an attitude of social acceptance that all ideas are possible at some time.
A philosophy of non-partisan conversation helps civic leaders to identify and
connect to innovation opportunities across organization and industry silos based
on relevance and initiative.
Examples of I-Open Civic Forums
I-Open Civic Forums create the open, neutral spaces for new conversations to
take place focused on powerful issues affecting communities and their regions.
Conversations help people share information and connect to accelerate the
growth of transformative, entrepreneurial enterprise.
A regular schedule of I-Open Civic Forums attracts people, strengthens

collaborative behaviors, builds open networks and community, generates local
asset inventory, and accelerates enterprise. Successful civic forum processes
are cyclical, evolutionary, and catalyze other emergent thematic conversations.
Consider this evolution of I-Open Civic Forums in Northeast Ohio:
In early 2006, I-Open, in collaboration with Myers University, a Cleveland, Ohio

university now called “Chancellor University” hosted “Midtown Wednesdays,” a
weekly I-Open Civic Forum funded with the support of a small City of Cleveland
grant to strengthen economic development activity in Midtown Cleveland, a two
mile wide urban core of the city.
Link: http://realneo.us/content/midtown-wednesdays-marketing-and-branding-
innovation-zones-telling-midtown-story

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From Midtown Wednesdays, “Midtown Mornings” formed, an early morning

coffee and bagels gathering for civic entrepreneurs led by Cleveland marketing
and branding company, Boondock Walker, to connect leaders interested in
designing projects to revitalize urban Cleveland.
Link: http://midtownwednesdays.pbworks.com/MidtownMornings
From Midtown Mornings, “Midtown Brews” was created by a small group of

business, civic, and government leaders interested in identifying and connecting
technology businesses in Northeast Ohio. Webtego and Insivia, two Cleveland
based technology companies, hosted Midtown Brews. In the second and third
year of the program the Midtown Brews community expanded conversations to
include creativity and energy, land, food, water, transportation, civic service,
culture, creativity, spirituality, and Futuring.
Link: http://midtownbrews.net/overview/welcome
In July 2008, I-Open launched a second civic forum called, “Let’s Talk!” in
partnership with Judson Smart Living and the Women’s Enterprise Network, an I-
Open online community of women dedicated to the empowerment of one
another. These intergenerational broadcast conversations were co-led by Judson
residents whose average age of ninety years old brought deep insights, and
wise, experienced perspectives on the economic contributions and insights
women bring to education, economic, and workforce development. Women from
other parts of the nation and globe frequently joined “Let’s Talk!” live broadcasts
and contributed to the conversation on chat, sharing experiences, insights, and
building relationships focused on economic development.
Link: http://womens-enterprise-network.strategy-nets.net
Civic forums build an entrepreneurial culture to strengthen universities, colleges,

and libraries, as it simultaneously rewires institutions, organizations, and
government by connecting people and their ideas to revitalize education,
economic, and workforce development in communities and their regions.
About I-Open
The Institute for Open Economic Networks (I-Open) is a 501 (c)(3) not-for-profit
educational economic development organization based in Northeast Ohio with a
national and global reach. I-Open is a learning sharing organization engaged in
the ongoing experimentation of new practices and tools in Open Source
Economic Development (OSED) to advance transformative enterprise positively

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affecting education, economic, and workforce development in communities and

their regions. To fulfill its purpose, I-Open conducts programs, which may
include, for example: community forums and seminars on Open Source
Economic Development; discussions in economic development; and student
internships. Strategic activities focus on research, networks, enterprise, and
education.
I-Open’s Business Model - we organize as a hub and spoke.
Our business model is based on a small, multi-skilled core team connected to a

larger talent and resource network capable of recombining to advance changing,
strategic opportunities. Activities are guided by I-Open Principles, guiding
investment of a civic leader's most valuable assets, time and attention. I-Open
publishes research, builds strategic open networks to share knowledge, and
leads by creating in response to weak signals, trends, and emergent industry
opportunities in collaboration with individuals and organizations. Civic forums are
one type of deliverable from our activities.
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I-Open Principles – we are guided by a simple set of rules.
We have a simple vision: We will leave to future generations regional economies

that are creative, innovative and sustainable with opportunities for any individual
prepared to grasp them.
We are pursuing a simple strategy: Brainpower matters. Our regions will be

transformed by open networks of innovation and collaboration with colleges,
universities, libraries and schools as nodes in these networks.
We have a simple credo: We will prosper by treating each other in ways that
build respect and trust.
We have a simple purpose: I-Open will help facilitate the transformation already
underway in regions across our country. We will teach and share the best ideas
we can find to build open innovation networks to accelerate regional economic
development.
I-Open Vision – we are informed by transformative initiatives.
Global leader in helping advanced regions to achieve sustainable economic

growth.

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Our success will depend on our ability to generate transformative solutions that
grow stronger with replication and scale.
I-Open Mission - we are an educational resource for communities and regions.
Provide civic leaders with the best practices and tools for transforming advanced
regional economies and promoting sustainable growth.
Organizational Model – we connect to individual initiative and shared assets.
I-Open’s organizational model is based on core directors acting in tandem and/or

independently to engage business, organization, and government leaders in
funded collaborative enterprise projects. Costs are limited to time and out-of-
pocket expenses with a percentage of earnings returned to I-Open for operations
and attribution compensation, making cost of organization expenses efficient and
shared. I-Open publishes under a Creative Commons License with Attribution
(this means anyone can re-use I-Open materials, but must publish credit to the
original source).
I-Open Strategic Activities – we focus on a set of tasks and pragmatic next

steps.
Research. – Create and grow a portfolio of actionable hypotheses about open

innovation systems in regional economies
Networks. – Develop collaborative networks that accelerate regional economic

development
Products. – Create and market a portfolio of products and services that generate
revenues from regional economic development initiatives
Education. – Penetrate business and public policy schools with advanced

regional economic development curriculum and activities
Evaluation – we measure success with simple milestones.
The number of dialogues (civic forums) we successfully convene

The number of seminars and workshops we sponsored and convene
The number of leadership training workshops we sponsor and convene
The number of collaborative online communities we develop
The number of expanded (existing) networks and new networks we develop

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In addition, we will measure the quality of these activities based on evaluation

feedback from participants.
Thought Leadership and Practitioner Network – we evolve through

redevelopment, reinvention, and redistribution.
I-Open has engaged in conversation with hundred’s of people to talk about

thought economies in the Civic Space. As a non-profit organization involved in
open source practices, the I-Open network builds on and evolves other people’s
contributions, and models and encourages new behaviors. I-Open believes that
Brainpower is the most important asset, which is to be shared. In appreciation,
we highlight a summary of I-Open thought leaders (below) and extend thanks to
all those not listed here.
I-Open draws upon the knowledge and practice of leaders Bruce Perens,
Founder of the Free/Open Source Software industry; economist and political
scientist, Joseph Schumpeter, who popularized the term “creative destruction”;
American philosopher and logician, Charles Sanders Peirce’s work in the theory
of inquiry, categories, and pragmatism; modern economic development
practitioner, Ed Morrison, who donated much of what is Open Source Economic
Development and the process “Strategic Doing” to I-Open and continues as a
proponent of I-Open principles and practices; and the late Richard Shatten,
Executive Director, and Paul Gottlieb, Director, Center for Regional Economic
Issues (REI), Case Western Reserve University. I-Open activity is influenced by
contemporary leaders Bill MacDermott, civic leader in solar power; Curt Lindberg,
Chief Learning and Science Officer, Plexus Institute, Complexity Science; Gloria
Ferris, civic leader in government process and Blogger; George Nemeth, civic
Leader in technology and Blogger; Jack Ricchiuto, DesigningLife; June Holley,
Network Weaving; the late Matthew Theobald, CEO, Internous and Founder,
Internet search Environment Number (ISEN) and the semantic Web; Peter Gloor,
Research Scientist, MIT, COINs-collaborative innovation networks and Cool
Trends 2.0, trend identification software; Scott Crawford, Writer and Brand
Strategist; Valdis Krebs, CEO, InFlow, relational social network mapping and
analysis; Betsey Merkel, Dennis Coughlin, Susan Altshuler, Co-Founders and
Directors, I-Open; and many others.
Network Feedback
“@BillNigh: Talk to Open Source maven @betseymerkel about how she is

enabling loosely coupled communities of interest to change our world.” – Bill
Nigh, IT/Web Contractor, Course Developer, Trainer, Writer,
http://www.twitter.com/billnigh, New York City, N.Y.

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“I-Open Civic Forums give people hope.” – David Moss, Retired Director,
FUTURE @The Cleveland Institute of Art
“I-Open is a sophisticated center of civic dialogue that furthers the community’s

understanding and engagement of issues.” - Gary Murphy, Professor of
Undergraduate Economics Program at Case Western Reserve University in
Cleveland, Ohio
“In November 2006 when Meet The Bloggers joined the Midtown Brews
collaborative, I had no idea of where the conversations would lead. The ongoing
relationships forged by these monthly get togethers have been nothing short of
amazing. Beyond the conversation is where the true value of Midtown Brews
lives.” - Gloria Ferris, Meet The Bloggers
"Your volume on 'The Role of COINs in the Civic Space' is impressive and well
structured and thought through." – Graham Leicester, Director, International
Futures Forum, Glasgow, Scotland
"I have been listening to some of the interviews and have found them touching
my thoughts and heart. I look forward to contributing to the community." - Jackie
Stevenson, CEO, The Spirit of Leadership LLC, Cleveland, Ohio
“As Midtown Brews host, Webtego has strengthened and built new connections,
enhanced the company’s visibility, and positively affected new business
opportunities. Open conversations help small to medium businesses meet the
challenges that we face in 2008 and beyond” - Jeff Friedman, Owner, Webtego
"I-Open is a dynamic missionary organization for the new economic model of

collaboration...in a world of dwindling resources, the old model of wasteful
competition is no longer appropriate. I-Open suggests ways to pursue non-
destructive win/win scenarios, which are good for society." – Jim Herget, James
Herget Ltd"
Hi, I am only starting to discover what amazingly rich content and ideas u have
on I-Open!" - stevebanhegyi on Twitter - Facilitator & Media Developer at
www.storytelling.co.za and ThoughtFormz.com, Johannesburg Area, South
Africa
Support for I-Open – we seek partners to design networks for funded

collaborations.

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I-Open is supported through foundation, community, and funded project work. I-

Open has successful experience in designing processes and tools to support
"strategic doing". Our leadership team brings a combined experience of more
than 64 years in managing funded projects.
For more information, please visit our website at

APPENDIX A: The Legacy of the Center for Regional Economic Issues (REI)
The Institute for Open Economic Networks (I-Open) emerged from The Center
for Regional Economic Issues (REI), which has a long history of economic
development in Northeast Ohio. The Center was established in 1983 after the
completion of a study written by the Rand Corporation to address the Cleveland
economy and Cleveland’s economic distress. The report recommended that
Cleveland create a new analytical capability to help shape regional economic
development policies and programs. With a ten-year commitment from the
Cleveland Foundation, Dr. Michael Fogarty was hired as Executive Director and
established REI. Under Dr. Fogarty’s directorship, the REI concept increasingly
developed a unique interaction between research and practice that supported the
region’s economic development policy decisions.
REI, originally housed at the Levin College of Urban and Public Affairs at
Cleveland State University, moved to the Federal Reserve Bank in 1984 where it
remained for two years. I986, REI moved to the Weather School of Management
at Case Western Reserve University. There it established a unique partnership
between CWRU and the Federal Reserve Bank. The Center continued to be
supported by the Cleveland Foundation, The George Gund Foundation, the SBC
Foundation, The Cleveland Growth Association and Cleveland Tomorrow. Mike
Fogarty resigned, as Director in 1997 and Richard Shatten, former Director of
Cleveland Tomorrow, became Executive Director serving until his death in 2002.
REI’s mission during that time was more traditional in scope and viewed
economic development through the lens of an industrial economy model.
Ed Morrison, Executive Director from 2002 – 2005 brought over 25 years’

experience, practicing economic development globally. There, he and the REI
team developed a new concept of economic development – the open source
model.
Starting in September 2003, REI held weekly public forums, Tuesdays@REI, at

the Peter B. Lewis Building. In this neutral ground for expert knowledge
presentation, public opinion and discourse, REI began to penetrate academic
silos, gathered feedback, connected theoretical research and practical

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knowledge, ending each session with “next steps.” As a result of this positive
work, 3,000 people attended these forums over a 17-month period.
Collaborations were formed, new networks were developed and a wide range of
initiatives and new businesses were launched.
Over the course of the next seventeen months, Ed Morrison, Betsey Merkel,
Susan Altshuler, Matt Kozink, and Dennis Coughlin developed what was to
become I-Open Civic Forums and Strategic Doing. In August 2005, the Dean at
the Weatherhead School of Management closed REI permanently. Because of
widespread community support demonstrated by subsequent public picketing to
the closing of REI, Ed Morrison, Betsey Merkel, Dennis Coughlin, and Susan
Altshuler - the current I-Open leadership team with the exception of Mr. Morrison
- continued on with REI’s mission under the new name of The Institute for Open
Economic Networks (I-Open).
I-Open creates communities of innovation based on open networks by modeling

collaborative leadership behaviors to build trust and respect. Research shows
that regions characterized by thick networks of trusted relationships learn faster,
spot opportunities faster and align resources faster. To leverage the information
in the networks, I-Open focuses on teaching academic, business and civic
leaders the practice of “strategic doing” instead of “strategic planning” to realize
these new opportunities.
I-Open continues to build on the legacy of REI, the work of research economists
Michael Fogarty, Richard Shatten, Paul Gottlieb, and many others generated on
behalf of Northeast Ohio industry leadership, by advancing the Innovation
Framework of Open Source Economic Development. This new model of
economic development teaches entrepreneurs, organizations, and communities
how to build a knowledge and information economy for the twenty-first century.
REI Successes
REI (and now I-Open) has been developing and deploying practical approaches
in creating open innovation networks in neighborhoods, counties, and regions.
REI has triggered the following developments in Northeast Ohio:
• A new biodiesel distribution company based in East Cleveland;
• A Universities Collaborative for economic development;

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• The Center for Health and Disease Management (funded by Civic

Innovation Lab);
• A Car Sharing project (funded by Civic Innovation Lab);
• A new community networking initiative, REAL NEO;
• A new internet-based business, Smart Meeting Design;
• A new initiative to establish a collaborative among component

manufacturers; and
• A proposal to establish a truck driving school (supported by at least

one major trucking company)
Community Support for REI
The Center for Regional Issues at Case (REI) provided the foundation for I-Open.
Because of REI’s success, I-Open is now developing and deploying this approach
in regions across the country. The community support for REI is high, evidenced
by the comments quoted below:
"The Center’s model of Open Source Economic Development and its emphasis
on civic networks and dialogue as competitive strategies are truly innovative
practical tools that our research shows to be unique in the nation. Open Source
Economic Development is remaking Indiana’s economic landscape."- Scott
Massey, Ph.D., President and CEO Indiana Humanities Council
“REI is a catalyst that helped us understand the potential for libraries to

intentionally engage in regional economic development. Substantial civic space,
social networks, skilled staff and information resources are already in place – REI
helped us understand how to “host the party” rather than wait to be invited!” -
Cathy Moninn, President, Board of Trustees, Cleveland Area Metropolitan Library
System
"It is with great pleasure that I write in unequivocal support of Ed Morrison and
REI. Ed and his staff have been tireless in their efforts to reach out and
communicate with the surrounding community. I cannot applaud these important
efforts enough."- Bruce Latimer, Ph.D., Executive Director, Cleveland Museum of
Natural History

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"I am impressed with the more immediate projects that REI has inspired. You are
doing a great job, and I am proud to be part of it."- Richard Medvick, Standards
and Regulatory Compliance Engineer, Swagelok Company
"REI has done a great job connecting various groups within the region. They
have truly been the leader in networking in NEOhio." - James B. Cookinham,
President Northeast Ohio Software Alliance (NEOSA)
"REI has been a great partner in the work to create a broad network for
sustainability in Northeast Ohio. REI regularly convenes some of the most
innovative people in the region."
- David Beach, Executive Director, EcoCity Cleveland
”Regionalism’ and ‘economic development’ have never been greater topics of

conversation or higher public policy priorities than today in Greater Cleveland.
REI has brought substance, form, and focus to this imperative community-wide
dialog. Diverse ideas and opinions on the myriad of critical subjects are invited to
REI, dissected by the audience and used to advance our community’s knowledge
and momentum in practical and innovative ways.” - Paul Oyaski, Director,
Economic Development, Cuyahoga County Commission
“I'm working with people to find high tech employees to help teach at our camps.
Before finding resources were like pulling teeth; because of Defrag/I-Open I
found 10 qualified employees within a matter of days.” - Ted Jordan, Jordan
Team Learning LLC
About Defrag/I-Open: “There is an energy within the meeting like none I’ve felt in
any other conference. The attendees are extremely diverse in terms of industries
and are open, excited and engaged.” - Barbara Oney, Digital Airport Initiative
“If you work in the digital creative arts, or are focused on a new web-based
project or company, you owe it to yourself to plug into Defrag/I-Open in April at
LCCC. These are "your kind of people!" - Mike Gesing, www. NEOhio.org
APPENDIX B: I-Open Lexicon
o Civic Forums – are a platform for new experiences in civic engagement.

Forums are most effective as weekly, or monthly, programs connecting
business, civic, government, and academic leaders. Forums are based on
guided, open discussions focused on information sharing and knowledge
exchange in conjunction with the Innovation Framework, a heuristic model

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for investment in Open Source Economic Development (OSED). Forums

build networks and community for transformative enterprise collaboration.
o Civic Insight Library -- is a collection of searchable interviews, stories,

conversations, images, and transcriptions in multi-media format begun in
2008. Civic leaders have contributed over 100 interviews, nearly fifty
conversations with over 1000 voices participating, and over 150 hours of
content to I-Open research. Interviews share civic leader insights, stories
of innovation, and priorities through the lens of the Innovation Framework,
a heuristic model of investment in Open Source Economic Development
(OSED).
o Civic Space – OSED occurs in the lateral intersections of social and

economic complexity, and is the most volatile, opportunistic situation for
transformative innovation to occur. The Civic Space is popularly known as
“the area outside the four walls of any organization”, and pertains to
leaders in academia, civic, business, and government equally affected by
disruptive change.
o Collaboration -- is the ability to work together in a meritocratic manner

based on interest, talent, and skills toward a goal larger than what is
possible by any one member alone. Collaboration in OSED is accelerated
by conversations; networks, leadership and a process called “Strategic
Doing” - a simple, disciplined process of moving ideas to action quickly.
o Collaborative Community -- is a networked, co-branded, thematic

community that shares information, knowledge, talent, and resources for
projects focused on a social and/or economic opportunity. Themed
collaborative communities often result from Civic Forums focused on a
next step initiative; the emergence of online communities sustain and
amplify activity between face-to-face meetings while remaining loosely
connected to each other.
o Convener -- Civic Forums are convened by colleges, universities, and

libraries; places associated with civility, culture, knowledge, and research.
Institutions are stewards of previously gifted industrial economy assets
that include buildings, administration systems, parking, cultural artifacts,
research and knowledge, inter-generational activity, curriculum, project
work spaces, technology and Internet access – important resources for
civic entrepreneurs building enterprise.

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o Creative Commons License -- let people distribute their work under

specific conditions. It is increasingly valuable to address accountability in
collaboration and multiple, varying, degrees of sharing and co-creating
across industries. I-Open publishes all content under the Creative
Commons License with Attribution back to the original source. You can
learn more about Creative Commons at http://creativecommons.org/
o Economic Development -- is any activity that leads to sustainable and

resilient communities, including, but not limited to, urban, real estate,
social, and community development.
o Enterprise Collaboration -- is the result of Strategic Doing; acting with

others in an entrepreneurial way to identify new innovation opportunities,
human talent, and accessible resources connected to civic networks, and
resulting in collaborative opportunities for business development.
o Free/Open Source Software (F/OSS) industry -- is a meritocratic

community of software developers, their projects, and project teams
whose combined enterprise comprises the greater majority of operating
systems servicing operations of the World Wide Web. The F/OSS
community offers lessons and deep value to civic leaders working in Open
Source Economic Development.
o Innovation Economy -- an economic model centered on knowledge,

technology, entrepreneurship, and innovation.
o Innovation Framework -- is a heuristic model for a balanced approach to

investment in OSED. The Framework can be applied to an individual,
business, community, or region. The five areas are: (1) Brainpower; (2)
Innovation and Entrepreneurial Networks; (3) Quality, Connected Places;
(4) Dialogue and Inclusion; and (5) Branding Stories.
o Link and Leverage -- strategies guide how we invest our time and
attention in civic networks. To leverage the value of networks, we begin by
"connecting on our similarities and innovating from our differences", Valdis
Krebs, Orgnet. By continually asking, "What can we do together?" and
"What are our next steps?" we explore how to re-combine interests and
resources to innovate. In OSED, link and leverage strategies allow us to
connect closely with specific interests through networks to leverage larger
industry goals.

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o Networks -- human relationships exchanging knowledge and information

about innovation, talent, tools and resources.
o Network Weaving -- "A network weaver is someone who is aware of the

networks around them and explicitly works to make them healthier (more
inclusive, bridging divides) and they do this by connecting people
strategically where there's potential for mutual benefit, help people identify
their passions, and serve as a catalyst for self-organizing groups." - June
Holley, Network Weaver
o Open Conversations -- were developed by civic leaders George Nemeth

and Gloria Ferris of Meet the Bloggers, a Northeast Ohio network of
citizen journalists. Open conversations are guided, public conversations
informed by the insights of civic leaders to address aspects of social and
economic change and scout innovation opportunities. Conversations look
into the future based on the wisdom that “people say today what they will
do tomorrow” - Peter Gloor, MIT. I-Open conversations help people make
important cognitive shifts together, such as thinking in terms of networks
to utilize information more effectively.
o Open Source Economic Development -- Open Source Economic

Development (OSED) is a methodology, an inclusive, community driven
iterative approach to creativity advancing transformative enterprise
opportunities positively affecting education, economic, and workforce
development in communities and their regions. OSED is the generation of
entrepreneurial initiatives, projects, and new businesses in the Civic
Space accelerated by open economic networks.
o Open, Neutral Spaces -- I-Open builds the open, neutral spaces for people
to connect. Civic Forum discussions take place in open, neutral spaces
and over time build trust by mentoring practices of civility. Conversations
model nonpartisan dialogue, generating constructive and potentially,
quantum solutions to shared issues of a community. Consistent openness
and neutrality of forum discussions build higher levels of participation,
conversation, and contribution.
o Strategic Doing -- is a simple, but disciplined process based largely on the

scientific method of inquiry to connect civic leaders, ideas, and assets to
enterprise initiatives. I-Open Co-Founder, Ed Morrison, leads this practice
with the support of Purdue Center for Regional Development (PCRD), the
U.S. Department of Labor, the U.S. Department of Energy, the U.S.

19
Economic Development Administration, in collaboration with education,

economic, and workforce development leaders and their organizations.
APPENDIX C: References
Articles
Wikipedia. "NetCentric Enterprise Architecture"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Net-centric
Umair Haque. Harvard Business Review (March 17, 2010) “Twitter, SXSW, and
Building a 21st Century Business”,
http://blogs.hbr.org/haque/2010/03/twitter_sxsw_and_building_a_21.html
DesigningLife. “Power of New Questions”

http://www.designinglife.com/Jack/PowerOfNewQuestions.html
Wikipedia. “Joseph Schumpeter”

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Schumpeter
Wikipedia. “Charles Sanders Peirce”

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Sanders_Peirce
Perens, Bruce. “The Emerging Economics of Open Source Software”

http://perens.com/Articles/Economic.html
Morrison, Ed; Fowler, Linda. (2009) “Colorado Workforce Strategic Doing Pack”
http://www.scribd.com/doc/15722797/Colorado-Workforce-Strategic-Doing-Pack-
Ed-Morrison-Linda-Fowler
Recommended Books
Benkler, Yonchai. (2007) The Wealth of Networks: How Social Production

Transforms Production and Freedom. http://www.benkler.org
Fung, Victor K, Fung, William K. (2008) Competing in a Flat World: Building

Enterprises for a Borderless World. New Jersey: Wharton School Publishing
Gloor, Peter A. (2006). Swarm Creativity: Competitive Advantage through

Collaborative Innovation Networks. New York: Oxford University Press, Inc.
20
Lindberg, C, Nash S, and Lindberg C. 2008. On the Edge: Nursing in the Age of
Complexity, Plexus Press.
Martin, Roger L. (2009) The Design of Business: Why Design Thinking is the
Next Competitive Advantage. Boston: Harvard Business School Publishing
Stacey, R. 2007, Strategic management and organisational dynamics: the

challenge of complexity to ways of thinking about organisations, 5 edn, Pearson
Education, London.
Tapscott, Don and Williams, Anthony D. (2006) Wikinomics. New York: Penguin
Zimmerman, B, Lindberg, and Plsek, P. 1998, Edgeware: Insights From

Complexity Science for Health Care Leaders, VHA Inc.
Zuboff, Shoshana (2004) The Support Economy: Why Corporations are Failing
Individuals and the Next Episode of Capitalism. New York: Penguin Books
Waldrop, M.M. 1992, Complexity: The Emerging Science at the Edge of Order
and Chaos. Simon & Schuster.
Papers
Merkel, B. (2009) “COINS: An economic development tool for education,

economic and workforce development in Open Source Economic Development,”
http://www.scribd.com/doc/23295366/COINS-2009-Paper-10-12-09
Merkel, B. (2010) “Building Collaborative Communities in the Civic Space”

http://content.yudu.com/Library/A1nqy4/BuildingCollaborativ/resources/index.htm
?referrerUrl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.yudu.com%2Fitem%2Fdetails%2F163061%
2FBuilding-Collaborative-Communities-in-the-Civic-Space
Merkel, B. (2009) ”I-Open interview and conversation research”

http://i-open-2.strategy-nets.net/wiki/interview-and-conversation-research
Morrison, Ed. (2008) “An Introduction to Open Source Economic Development:

Thriving on the new economic development frontier”
http://publishing.yudu.com/Library/Auwsy/IntroductontoOpenSou/resources/index
.htm?referrerUrl=http%3A%2F%2Fbeta.yudu.com%2Fitem%2Fdetails%2F19346
%2FIntroducton-to-Open-Source-Economic-Development

21
Merkel, B., Morrison, E., Altshuler, A. and Coughlin, D. (2007) “Civic Forums as
an Economic Development Tool,” The Institute for Open Economic Networks (I-
Open)
http://www.scribd.com/doc/17180205/Civic-Forum-White-Paper-Final
Reports
“Crossing the Next Regional Frontier: Information and Analytics Linking Regional
Competitiveness to Investment in a Knowledge-Based Economy”, October 2009
U.S. Economic Development Administration
http://www.scribd.com/doc/29709443/Crossing-the-Next-Regional-Frontier-2009
I-Open Collaborative Communities
I-Open – offers an overview of I-Open services.

The Institute for Open Economic Networks (I-Open) – is a collaborative online

community of information and knowledge resources about Open Source
Economic Development.
http://i-open-2.strategy-nets.net/overview/welcome
Midtown Brews – a Northeast Ohio monthly forum and community focused on

advancing innovation in technology, creativity, and energy.
http://midtownbrews.net/news
Women’s Enterprise Network – a Northeast Ohio monthly intergenerational

broadcast conversation and enterprise community focused on economic
development from a woman’s perspective.
http://womensenterprisenetwork.net/overview/welcome
Overview of I-Open Collaborative Communities

http://i-open-2.strategy-nets.net/news/2009/1/22/i-open-collaborative-
communities-jan-2009
I-Open Social Media
I-Open
http://i-open-2.strategy-nets.net
Facebook I-Open
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=35942064712&ref=ts

22
Facebook The Institute for Open Economic Networks (I-Open)

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=35942064712&ref=ts
Flickr
http://www.flickr.com/photos/iopen/sets/72157623351094216/
Friendfeed
http://friendfeed.com/iopen
Livestream
http://www.livestream.com/iopen/
Posterous
http://i-open.posterous.com/
Scribd
http://www.scribd.com/I-Open
Slideshare
http://www.slideshare.net/IOpen2
Twitter
http://twitter.com/iopen2
Vimeo
http://www.vimeo.com/user1999383
You Tube
http://www.youtube.com/user/IOpen2
For more information, please contact any member of the I-Open team:
Betsey Merkel, Director / Research, Network Design & Development

Email: betseymerkel@gmail.com
Betsey, Co-Founder and Director, the Institute for Open Economic Networks (I-
Open), brings 20 years of business development experience designing
community residency projects in the non-profit sector. Areas of focus are
research, social media design, strategic network and community development.
Betsey created the I-Open Civic Forum process to accelerate information sharing
and knowledge creation focused on civic networks and transformative enterprise
projects. Betsey leads broadcast I-Open Civic Forums, Open Conversations, and

23
Strategic Doing.
Dennis Coughlin, Director / Administration & Operations

Email: denniscoughlin@gmail.com
Dennis, Co-Founder and Director, the Institute for Open Economic Networks (I-
Open), designs new operational models for social enterprise and brings deep
back office experience to all financial operations, including preparing budgets,
approving purchases, general accounting, preparation, analyzing and presenting
financial statements to the leadership, policy development, evaluation, and
coordination of I-Open operations and network activities. Dennis leads broadcast
I-Open Civic Forums, Open Conversations, and Strategic Doing.
Susan Altshuler, Director / Finance & Grants Administration

Email: susanaltshuler@gmail.com
Susan, Co-Founder and Director, the Institute for Open Economic Networks (I-
Open), brings over 25 years of office and financial management in both the
corporate and nonprofit environments. Susan brings extensive human resource
management experience to the development of civic networks, finance and
grants administration, and leading I-Open broadcast Civic Forums, Open
Conversations, and Strategic Doing.
The Institute for Open Economic Networks (I-Open) shares best practices and
tools for Open Source Economic Development, a method to accelerate
enterprise collaboration in communities and their regions.
All information is published under a Creative Commons License Attribution-Non-

Commercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States, unless otherwise specified.
Please share freely with Attribution to original sources and I-Open.
Mailing address: The Institute for Open Economic Networks (I-Open) – Cleveland
Innovation Center, Euclid Avenue Suite 306, Cleveland, Ohio 44103 USA E-mail:
iopenteam@gmail.com On the Web at


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1

Civic Forums Strengthen Entrepreneurship

I-Open is a networked educational resource

Compiled and written by Betsey Merkel, Co-Founder and Director,

Copyright 2010 Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License

o I-Open is an Educational Resource -- Page 3

o Civic Forums for Civic Engagement -- Page 3

o Civic Forums Focus Industry Investments -- Page 4

o Civic Forums Build Civic Networks -- Page 4

o I-Open Shares Civic Insights and Innovations – Page 4

o I-Open Communications Advance Knowledge – Page 5

o I-Open Loosens Up Innovation -- Page 6

o Examples of I-Open Civic Forums – Page 6

o About I-Open -- Page 7

Copyright 2010 Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License

I-Open is an Educational Resource

I-Open process is a pragmatic system of convening, communicating, and

• I-Open Civic Forums to connect industry leaders in new conversations

I-Open process improves the collective brainpower of entrepreneurs and the

Civic Forums for Civic Engagement

Civic Forums teach “Strategic Doing”, designed by Ed Morrison and developed in

Copyright 2010 Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License

Civic Forums Focus Industry Investments

Civic Forums communicate innovation opportunities in industry. Since 2006, 40%

Civic Forums Build Civic Networks

The I-Open civic forum process strengthens purposeful habits of collaboration,

I-Open Shares Civic Insights and Innovations

Copyright 2010 Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License

I-Open research focuses on the insights, innovations, and priorities of civic

Sharing information is key to quickly catalyzing innovation in Open Source

I-Open Communications Advance Knowledge

I-Open’s communication process publishes searchable content across connected

Since 2006, I-Open educational communications reached over 195,000 (opt-in)

Copyright 2010 Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License

I-Open process integrates the face-to-face and online aspects of civic

I-Open Loosens Up Innovation

Examples of I-Open Civic Forums

A regular schedule of I-Open Civic Forums attracts people, strengthens

In early 2006, I-Open, in collaboration with Myers University, a Cleveland, Ohio

Copyright 2010 Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License

From Midtown Wednesdays, “Midtown Mornings” formed, an early morning

From Midtown Mornings, “Midtown Brews” was created by a small group of

Civic forums build an entrepreneurial culture to strengthen universities, colleges,

Copyright 2010 Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License

affecting education, economic, and workforce development in communities and

I-Open’s Business Model - we organize as a hub and spoke.

Our business model is based on a small, multi-skilled core team connected to a

We have a simple vision: We will leave to future generations regional economies

We are pursuing a simple strategy: Brainpower matters. Our regions will be

I-Open Vision – we are informed by transformative initiatives.

Global leader in helping advanced regions to achieve sustainable economic

Copyright 2010 Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License

I-Open Mission - we are an educational resource for communities and regions.

Organizational Model – we connect to individual initiative and shared assets.

I-Open’s organizational model is based on core directors acting in tandem and/or

I-Open Strategic Activities – we focus on a set of tasks and pragmatic next

Research. – Create and grow a portfolio of actionable hypotheses about open

Networks. – Develop collaborative networks that accelerate regional economic

Education. – Penetrate business and public policy schools with advanced

Evaluation – we measure success with simple milestones.

The number of dialogues (civic forums) we successfully convene

Copyright 2010 Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License

In addition, we will measure the quality of these activities based on evaluation

Thought Leadership and Practitioner Network – we evolve through

I-Open Civic Forums Strengthen Entrepreneurship & Accelerate Business Development in Network Economies

I-Open Civic Forums Strengthen Entrepreneurship & Accelerate Business Development in Network Economies