Insight and Innovation Networks July 2009 Report-Final

I-Open Insight and Innovation Networks
New York, New England, New Jersey, and Cincinnati July 2009
Written by
Betsey Merkel, I-Open and Alice Merkel, I-Open Intern August 2009
Introduction
Alice Merkel: Being the

photography intern for the Insight
and Innovation Networks Project
this summer not only led me to
experience what I-Open does,
but also connected me with people
I would typically not connect with.
I met innovative people who are
thinking in new ways about how to
improve their community in the
very present future, and who would
like to connect with similar mind
sets. Through the face-to-face
experience of the interviews, I have
expanded my networks and
Boston Commuter Rail with WiFi learned from different thinkers with
makes moving around the city easy and
new ways of thinking.
efficient. Photo by Alice Merkel
The interviews act as a window into
each person’s unique solution and capture what they are passionate
about and how they are incorporating that into their work. This was
accomplished by asking them a few simple, but complex questions
while also videotaping.
By being part of the interview process, I got to witness what each

interviewee’s passions are and how they see their work connecting to
Open Source Economic Development.
Copyright 2009 I-Open. 1

Distributed under Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0
The Institute for Open Economic Networks (I-Open) 4415 Euclid Ave 3rd Fl
Cleveland, Ohio 44103 USA
I furthered my experience of
each one of the interviewee’s
and what they are doing by
capturing the space they work
and live in through
photography. Taking still images
allowed me to profile how their
community is growing as a
result of their innovations.
Betsey Merkel: Reminded by “an

economic crisis is a terrible
thing to waste,” I can’t help but
ask, what are the new insights
people are experiencing in
response to change? How are
Beautiful gardens enhance Boston’s House people applying their insights to
of Representatives. Photo by Alice Merkel innovate? And how can the
new practices and tool in Open
Source Economic Development strengthen innovation? The answers to
these questions are the stories Alice and I sought to capture in our July
2009 interviews.
We learned from leaders envisioning new systems, building the

networks they need, addressing challenges to strengthen transparency,
and grappling with the realities of why collaboration is so important to
generating enterprise. This community of leaders is focused on
innovating from within these new contexts and their stories tell of
pursuing meaning to deepen connectivity and relevance.

Executive Summary
I-Open interviews discover insights from theoretical and practical

research. Interviews tell the story of innovation happening in Open
Source Economic Development, a networked approach to enterprise
collaboration in education, economic and workforce development in
communities and their regions.
Questions are designed for storytelling through the lens of the

Innovation Framework, a simple model that helps people to understand
where their work is focused and how it connects to economic
development. Interviews offer insights about academic, civic, business,
and government systems.
Sharing insights and how we act upon those insights help us to make
better decisions for positive change. Leaders can move forward in new
directions.
Insight and
Innovation Networks
is a collection of
pictures and video
interviews that offer
guidance to people
about how to
function going
forward in rapidly
changing times.
The images and

interviews begin to
explore who is acting
in innovative ways,
the affect of place on
creativity, and how
Boston Commuter Rail allows easy commuting between resources and
the suburbs and the metro area. Photo by Alice Merkel
capabilities can be

shared.
The New York, New England, New Jersey, Cincinnati July 2009 set is a
snap shot collection of leaders in government, civic, academic, and
business sharing what matters most to them in their work and how they
live and lead.
This collection is an introduction to deeper interviews posted to I-Open

Conversations. Interviews are posted to
http://i-open-2.near-time.net/overview/welcome
Photography by Alice Merkel on Flickr at

http://www.flickr.com/photos/16914646@N02/sets/721576218833884
46/
Purpose of the Project
The July 2009 interviews offer a starting point for individuals to share
insights and innovations inspiring solutions to shifts happening in
education, economic, and workforce development systems.
I-Open interviews, Civic Forums, and Strategic Doing build value in the
five areas of the Innovation Framework, a high-level filter and guide to
Open Source Economic Development investment in communities and
regions.
The maps included here address two common questions people ask in
the Civic Space:
Where do I start? and,
How do I get started?

Interviews identify where people are placing their attention and what they’re
attracted to. Categories locate people’s interests and their relationship to others.
This informs the design of a Civic Forum experience.

Interviews identify how people are developing a sense of context and meaning from
their insights working in industry. Topics provide communication details and
architect the frame of a Civic Forum conversation.

Interviews share the insights of individuals working in academic, civic,
business, and government systems and network infrastructure.
Interviews and Civic Forums discover areas for network development
and opportunities for enterprise collaboration. People understand
where network breaks occur and begin to engineer solutions to access
the resources, capabilities and talent they need.
Civic Forums prepare individuals in the Civic Space to know, think,
feel, and act differently for the purpose of network building and
enterprise collaboration.
Networks can build quickly producing a next generation of initiatives,

projects, and new businesses.

Civic Forums are guided conversations informed by the insights of
people. Forums build open networks of collaboration and identify and
connect resources and capabilities. Civic Forums accelerate frequency,
rate, and quality of activity on a scale appropriate for the present rate of
change.

(Ed Morrison. Used with permission)
Strategic Doing is a simple, disciplined process for people to move

ideas to action quickly and align social capital, resources, capabilities,
and talent for the purpose of enterprise collaboration.
Strategic Doing is replicable and scalable, efficient for one person, a

few, or many hundreds. Strategic Doing can take place in as little time
as twenty minutes and generate actionable initiatives.
Universities, Colleges, and Libraries are strategically positioned to lead

as conveners of Civic Forums and Strategic Doing in communities and
regions.
Open Source Economic Development is an efficient and low cost way

to leverage insight and innovation to refresh investment in civic,
government, business, and civic systems and infrastructure, revitalizing
education, economic, and workforce development.
Our findings
Interviewees have expressed

an openness to convene,
meet one another face-to-
face, and engage with
economic development
leaders to inform solutions to
national and global
imperatives affecting
communities and their
regions.
All express a desire to build

and strengthen some
combination of connectivity
to business, civic,
government, and academic
constituents.
Peter Gloor, Researcher, MIT, talks about the
Coins 2009 Conference. Photo by Alice Still others would like to focus
Merkel on how the field of economic
development is shifting and explore their role in this new, networked
context. Many have discussed the idea of participating in a 2010
gathering.
In conclusion
Our research continues to demonstrate there are no experts. We are all

co-creators in a larger research driven, open process. In the past experts
have been determined by criteria of proximity, social acceptance, and
access to resources. Today, in this connected world, there are no
experts and we must all make the cognitive shift from follower to co-
creator.

Alice:
As a young adult I am
still learning how to
gather new ideas and
apply them to what I
know. While I have
been taught how to
absorb new information
and apply that to
different areas of interest
in order to produce a
final solution, I have not
had the opportunity to
create my own creative
solution by using what I
am passionate about.
Through this project I
have had the
opportunity to learn,
Several hubs of innovation were surrounded by experience, and create
poverty. Photo by Alice Merkel. by helping to interview
the interviewees,
learning how they are
incorporating their passions into what they do, and creating images that
capture the environment that they work in.
I would definitely participate in this project again because I have

expanded my networks, experienced new ways of thinking and
witnessed how they connect to the work of I-Open, while also
contributing my work. I would recommend this project to others
because it is a great way to grow as a thinker of the next generation.
To improve this research program, I would suggest that the work of

publishing the interviews be split between two people, each person
having their own responsibilities.
Related Links
46/
Communication and distribution plan
• The New York, New England, New Jersey, Cincinnati July 2009
Flickr set is posted to
388446/
• Full length interviews and transcriptions are posted to I-Open
• Posts distributed via Web 2.0: Facebook, Livestream, Twitter,
You Tube, Vimeo
• Interviews will be featured in future I-Open e-mail
communications
Attribution
Innovation Framework, Ed Morrison, Economic Policy Advisor, Purdue

University; I-Open Co-Founder & Director
Strategic Doing, Ed Morrison, Economic Policy Advisor, Purdue

University; I-Open Co-Founder & Director


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I-Open Insight and Innovation Networks

Alice Merkel: Being the

By being part of the interview process, I got to witness what each

Copyright 2009 I-Open. 1

Betsey Merkel: Reminded by “an

We learned from leaders envisioning new systems, building the

Copyright 2009 I-Open. 2

I-Open interviews discover insights from theoretical and practical

Questions are designed for storytelling through the lens of the

The images and

Copyright 2009 I-Open. 3

This collection is an introduction to deeper interviews posted to I-Open

Photography by Alice Merkel on Flickr at

Purpose of the Project

Where do I start? and,

How do I get started?

Copyright 2009 I-Open. 4

Copyright 2009 I-Open. 5

Copyright 2009 I-Open. 6

Networks can build quickly producing a next generation of initiatives,

Copyright 2009 I-Open. 9

Copyright 2009 I-Open. 10

Strategic Doing is a simple, disciplined process for people to move

Strategic Doing is replicable and scalable, efficient for one person, a

Universities, Colleges, and Libraries are strategically positioned to lead

Open Source Economic Development is an efficient and low cost way

Interviewees have expressed

All express a desire to build

Our research continues to demonstrate there are no experts. We are all

Copyright 2009 I-Open. 12

I would definitely participate in this project again because I have

To improve this research program, I would suggest that the work of

Communication and distribution plan

Innovation Framework, Ed Morrison, Economic Policy Advisor, Purdue

Strategic Doing, Ed Morrison, Economic Policy Advisor, Purdue

Copyright 2009 I-Open. 14

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