The I-Open Backstory: A Tale of Industrial Economy Disruption and Spin-Out

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Image: REI Cluster Map by Ed Morrison & Laszlo Kosmon

From the Report: REI. Business Plan V.1.5 at I-Open on Scribd.

The Institute for Open Economic Networks (I-Open) is a 501c(3) not for profit educational economic development organization spun out (2005) of the Center for Regional Economic Issues (REI), a regional economic policy and report center based in Cleveland, Ohio from 1980 to 2005.

The Center was originally funded by the Cleveland US Federal Reserve Bank at the recommendation of a RAND Corporation report to advise the then many Fortune 500 corporate leaders based in the 23 counties of North East Ohio, a regional industrial economic success.

In 2003, Ed Morrison, lawyer, economic development practitioner, and policy strategist was hired as the Executive Director of REI, housed at the Weatherhead School of Management, Case Western Reserve University. The resident team led by Mr. Morrison, quickly incorporated legacy knowledge assets, updated and developed Center mission, generated a set of operational Principles, and aligned organizational investments with strategic programs in support of tech-based economic development in global networked economies.

(Note: Within 60 days of the time of the announced 2003 REI re-alignment, 60% of the Center's regional foundation funding provided by The Cleveland Foundation and George Gund Foundation was withdrawn; the remaining 30% funding provided by the Ameritech SBC Global corporation was re-dedicated by the corporate program office for the continued support of REI activities. Some 15 months later at the closing of the Center by CWRU in 2005, Ameritech SBC Global funds were confiscated by CWRU's Weatherhead School of Management, REI's host organization, during a time of organization and leadership disruption and financial downturn.)

In support of the REI 2003 mission update, and to catalyze and strengthen regional civic networks integral to tech-based economic transformation, team member Betsey Merkel developed the Civic Forum process, a pragmatic approach to civic engagement to accelerate the generation of transformational initiatives, ultimately engaging during the 17 month period over 3000 people "on a campus with no parking" - and before the advent of social media! (Costs averaged $.60 cents/person compared to a large failed regional engagement program averaging costs of $60.00/person, proving regional transformation for prosperity building does not need to be costly or complex in open economic networks.)

Simultaneously, Ed Morrison designed Strategic Doing, a rapid project development process to support, evaluate, and invest in the resulting Civic Forum entrepreneurial innovations for education, economic, and workforce development.

The Civic Forum process and Strategic Doing develop transformational civic entrepreneurial initiatives in Open Source Economic Development to accelerate prosperity for competitive regional advantage. 

 

Click Through For The Center for Regional Economic Issues (REI) Slide Show at I-Open On Flickr. [16 Slides]

The Center was closed by CWRU in June 2005. Ed Morrison was hired by Purdue University in Indiana USA to assist in the development of the Purdue Center for Regional Development, now a national and global hub for education, economic and workforce development and policy.

Also in June 2005, Ed Morrison, Betsey Merkel and two others co-founded The Institute for Open Economic Networks (I-Open) to continue the education and development of new practices and tools in Open Source Economic Development begun at REI.

(Note: Open Source Economic Development and Strategic Doing developed by REI Exec. Dir. Ed Morrison were later spun out in June 2005 and widely adopted by U.S. Workforce Investment Boards, the U.S. Economic Development Administration at the U.S. Dept of Commerce, and U.S. Dept of Energy to accelerate workforce innovation for regional economic development.

In Northeast Ohio, Betsey Merkel, REI Strategic Networks and Communications, and developer of the Civic Forum Process, continued to lead Civic Forums with I-Open colleagues and community to construct regional civic entrepreneurial networks and support resulting transformational enterprise initiatives.)

Ed retired from I-Open a few years ago to dedicate his work to the advancement of open models in workforce development. Betsey Merkel continues to invent and develop new practices and tools in Open Source Economic Development for the acceleration of transformative enterprise in emerging network economies.

Links of interest:

Entrepreneurship: A Path of Strength, Perseverance & Creativity

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Water on Oil

Image © Alice Merkel on Flickr

Kanwal Rekhi, Indian-American Engineer, Businessman and Millionaire Philanthropist spoke at the June 21, 2011 Launch of the Dublin International Business Assistance Center located in the City of Dublin, Ohio USA.

Mr. Rekhi describes the journey of an entrepreneur: the hardships, common stereotypes, and the often difficult access to support and affirmation. He carries a message of strength and perseverance to all entrepreneurs.

Kanwall Rekhi shares a story of education, employment, and self-discovery that lead him to pursue his passion for solving high tech industry problems by leveraging his creative talents.

Among his many accomplishments, "Kanwal Rekhi is a past Chairman and trustee of TiE, The Indus Entrepreneurs, a nonprofit support network to provide advice, contacts, and funding to Indian Americans hoping to start businesses. Forbes Magazine reports that Kanwal has helped energize TiE and as a philanthropist he has made major contributions to education, supporting universities on two continents. He is a prime benefactor of a foundation in India that identifies talented students without funds, and provides them with college tuition and living expenses. He is also Chairman of the Centre for Civil Society,[3] a think tank in India. He is currently a board member of Pan IIT USA, Inc, the alumni organization of the Indian Institutes of Technology." - Wikipedia

Kanwal Rekhi, Indian-American Engineer, Businessman & Philanthropist from I-Open on Vimeo.

Related Links:

All Your Databases Belong To You

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Brick Ceiling

Image © Alice Merkel on Flickr

Matthew Theobald (1970-2010), Founder, Internet Search Environment Number (ISEN) and CEO, Internous, tells us why databases are the next important application of the Internet. Matt talks about the Database of Databases, and what it will mean to each of us to access the deep web and design our own personal databases of information. 

All Your Databases Belong to You from I-Open on Vimeo.

Learn from the wisdom of civic leaders across these I-Open communities:
    •    Facebook I-Open http://tiny.cc/odlg2
    •    Flickr  http://www.flickr.com/people/iopen/
    •    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://tiny.cc/106p0
    •    You Tube http://tiny.cc/j5rse

 Images by Alice Merkel on Flickr

Copyright 2011 Betsey Merkel and I-Open. Creative Commons 3.0 Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works. Institute for Open Economic Networks (I-Open) 2563 Kingston Road Cleveland OH 44118 Phone: 216-220-0172 Web: http://i-open.posterous.com/

A Guide for Entrepreneurs Engaging in Social Business

“Economic Development is in everything today.”

– Tom McCarthy, teacher, lawyer, Economic Development professional, and technology entrepreneur. New York, USA.

Social business requires an integration of all we know to advance our conversations and meaningfully connect to both traditional and non-traditional employment opportunities.

The creation of a social media knowledge portrait combines traditional work experiences, skills training, formal education, human passion and interest.

Contextual Transmedia Communication is a method of organizing human knowledge and intelligence in Open Source Economic Development to,

  • Build social business value by empowering others;
  • Connect investments to education, economic and workforce development;  
  • Construct strategic pathways for sharing and collaboration;  
  • Generate a unique knowledge base; and,
  • Inventory knowledge, expertise, skills and interest.
CTC is an appreciative process of integrating the creative passion and technical skills of an entrepreneur to curate knowledge for publishing.

This document also includes a Meaning Matrix, the first step to customize what you know, put valuable experiences to work, and leverage education and skills training to power integral knowledge for innovation.

Learn the wisdom of civic leaders across these I-Open communities: 

Copyright 2011 Betsey Merkel and I-Open. Creative Commons 3.0 Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works. Institute for Open Economic Networks (I-Open) 2563 Kingston Road Cleveland OH 44118 Phone: 216-220-0172 Web: http://i-open.posterous.com/

Network Weaving: Connecting People, Ideas and Projects

Networks: Weaving People, Ideas and Projects from I-Open on Vimeo.

June Holley, Network Weaver, talks about simple steps community, industry and organization leaders can do to get started weaving networks.

Open economic networks are the social relationships between people to share information about resources and talent for the purpose of initiative building. Networks are generated by people connecting on their similarities and benefiting by their differences.

June is a global thought leader on the practice of network weaving, community building and the mapping of social networks.

View or download the story transcription at I-Open on Scribd below.

June Holley 02-21-09 Interview
 

You can learn more about June Holley at the Network Weaving blog.

Learn the wisdom of civic leaders across these I-Open communities:

Copyright 2011 Betsey Merkel and I-Open. Creative Commons 3.0 Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works. Institute for Open Economic Networks (I-Open) 2563 Kingston Road Cleveland OH 44118 Phone: 216-220-0172 Web: http://i-open.posterous.com/

A Summary Guide to Convening Open Conversations

Conversations bring new value to strengthen local economies. Guided, open conversations build trust and offer starting points for entrepreneurs and large organizations to identify local creativity for collaboration and capacity building.

How conversations bring value to local economies are summarized in the document below from an interview George Nemeth, Founder and Chief Blogging Officer, Brewed Fresh Daily contributed to The Institute for Open Economic Networks (I-Open) January 2008, in Collinwood, Ohio.

George is known for his natural talent to engage people in public discussion and dialogue.  

Summary Guide to Convening Open Conversations

Energy Efficiency Enterprise in Collaborative Innovation Networks

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Basket Abstract

Image © Alice Merkel on Flickr

James Flock, energy entrepreneur, Cleveland, Ohio, describes his enterprise solution - the socialization of energy - focused on personalized Energy Services (like the emerging personalized health care industry) in networked economies.

As an RF engineer, Jim's work experience is deeply rooted in MRI, Antennae and Radio Frequencies. He's applied his expert level skills to understand how communities can fine tune resonance to create signal and optimize energy delivery to only where it is needed.

Jim has thought through how value-based brands with services defined by community can lead to energy efficiency techniques. Understanding how corporations and homeowners prefer to experience energy as members of dynamic community systems, personalized energy delivery can be optimized and precise, efficient techniques developed. Ultimately, brands play a pivotal role in the embodiment of a service provider's energy efficient community culture.

In this in-depth and expansive interview, Jim describes project investment, construction methodology, and deliverables. In addition, Jim shares personal philosophies on information sharing, habits of collaboration, advice for youth working on the web, the value of sharing in networks for the purpose of "giving ahead", and how his enterprise will positively affect education, economic and workforce development, and sustainable communities 50 years from now.

Energy Efficiency Enterprise in Collaborative Networks from I-Open on Vimeo.

You can connect with Jim at his blog Global Definition and on LinkedIn.

Learn the wisdom of civic leaders across these I-Open communities:

Copyright 2011 Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License Betsey Merkel and The Institute for Open Economic Networks (I-Open), 2563 Kingston Road Cleveland OH 44118 

Challenging Jumpstart: A New Conversation About Regional Entrepreneurship

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Good Bubbles

Image © Alice Merkel on Flickr

Marc Canter, CEO of Broadband Mechanics (BBM) is a 25+ year veteran of the software business. Marc was the co-founder of MacroMind, which became Macromedia and helped to develop the world's first multi-media player, the world's first multi-media authoring system, and the world's first cross-platform authoring system while at MacroMind. More about Marc here.

Today technology Guru Marc Cantor posted the article, "Challenging Jumpstart". This interesting article questions the operations of Jumpstart, the Northeast Ohio economic development organization recently cited by The White House as a model for replication across America to advance national innovation and entrepreneurship. Marc points out - and backs up in detail with organizational leadership and awardee email correspondence - that the present Jumpstart organization lacks serious levels of transparency and accountability about how and what percentage of regional and Federal tax dollars (upward of $1B+) are being awarded to fund Northeast Ohio's entrepreneurs. If Jumpstart and other regional organizations tasked to address regional poverty and joblessness via their stewardship of regional assets, innovation and entrepreneurship to generate jobs and prosperity, word out on the street wouldn't be "3 out of 5 folks in Northeast Ohio live in poverty".

Here's an excerpt from Marc's article:

"For several years now, what concerned entrepreneurs throughout Northeast Ohio have been calling for is greater responsiveness and transparency from Jumpstart (Ohio), an organization largely funded by taxpayers. Now, as we see Jumpstart (Ohio) spinning off Jumpstart (America) and moving on to tackle issues of national economic importance (while we continue to face staggering historical unemployment here at home) many entrepreneurs in our community are left scratching their heads."

If organizations adopt habits of transparency and accountability public funding would actually reach down to turbo charge the real powerhouse of Northeast Ohio's regional economic and job creation machine -- our expansive, courageous, brilliant regional network of entrepreneurs.

Learn more about Northeast Ohio entrepreneurs and the widespread innovation already here - invisible because it's under connected and under supported at the levels open innovation requires - in I-Open's Civic Wisdom Libraries on LivestreamVimeo and You Tube.

Read Marc's blog post, comment and participate in this important new conversation with Northeast Ohio entrepreneurs and Jumpstart - and hopefully joined by other regional education, economic and workforce development organizations - to implement better ways of connecting regional assets, resources,  and support services to advance Northeast Ohio's entrepreneurs.

Read Marc's blog post, and if you are so inclined, share this note with your networks. E-mail/ask Marc Cantor (on Facebook and Twitter) what you can do to strengthen transparency and accountability for prosperity building in our Northeast Ohio region, other regions in the nation, and perhaps the world.

Bring the best of the I-Open community's collective Brainpower to this important new conversation. Share your knowledge and expertise by posting to Marc's blog post examples and comments of how you strengthen transparency and accountability.

If every region's economic development organizations adopted the new practices and tools of Open Source Economic Development - openness, transparency and collaboration - entrepreneurs would be connected and regions would be cultures of bubbling-up thriving sustainability.

I-Open Civic Wisdom Library Index 2010

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Color Span.

The I-Open Civic Wisdom Library is an archive of video interviews contributed by entrepreneurial leaders in research and industry. Stories share individual perspectives and accounts of insight - civic intelligence - through the lens of the Innovation Framework, a heuristic model of investment in Open Source Economic Development.

Interviews are available at I-Open's channel on Livestream. Scroll down the broadcast channel page to access the Archive Folders. Share your favorite links on Twitter and Facebook and embed the player on your blog and website! Share Civic Wisdom Widely! 

I-Open Civic Wisdom Library Index 2010

Learn from the wisdom of civic leaders across I-Open communities:

Copyright 2010 Betsey Merkel and I-Open. Creative Commons 3.0 Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works. Institute for Open Economic Networks (I-Open) 4415 Euclid Ave Suite 301 Cleveland, Ohio 44103 USA

Hub Contributions to COINs2010: Hub MILAN on Vimeo

The three founders of The Hub contributed video interviews about their work to the COINs 2010 community in celebration of the COINs 2010 Conference hosted by the Savannah College of Art & Design located in Savannah, Georgia, October 7-9, 2010.

Alberto Masetti, founder of Hub Milan, shares an interview with us about Milan's creative space and talks about the spread of collective intelligence.

Hub Milan is an example of investing in Quality, Connected Place - one of five areas of innovation investment in Open Source Economic Development.

Hub Milan is one of a network of 27 Hub models, each a distinctive example of how to   identify and connect place-based interests and assets.

Founders of Hub Zurich and Hub Sao Paulo also contributed interviews and we'll be posting them to this blog subsequently.

You can learn more about Hub Milan at this site. 

Learn about COINs 2010 at this site.