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60% of the Center's regional foundation funding provided by The Cleveland Foundation and George Gund Foundation was withdrawn; the remaining 30% funding provided by the Ameritech SBC Global corporation was re-dedicated by the corporate program office for the continued support of REI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:

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 Social Network Maps

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Social network maps strengthen transparency by indicating where and with whom an entrepreneur or organizational leader can access information and resources. 

The 2003 Northeast Ohio Economic Development Social Network map shown above maps organizations and institutions in Northeast Ohio who invest in economic development. The arrows indicate directional flow of information. Colors designate TYPE of organization ... light green are all of the Universities, Grey are Government, Dk Green Commercial Biz, etc. This map was generated by Valdis Krebs, Founder and Chief Scientist, Orgnet.com and creator of Network Visualization - InFlow 3.01, and George Nemeth from public data.

Maps are tools to enable communities to visualize connectivity and, acting as intermediaries, strengthen connection or complete a connection between human talent, resources and capabilities. I-Open maps published in the Flickr set below were generated by Dennis Coughlin, I-Open using InFlow 3.01. See the Network Map Inventory below the set for corresponding title information.

 

Open Economic Networks Map Inventory


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/

The New "Cluster Moment": How Regional Innovation Clusters Can Foster the Next Economy

From the report:

What explains clusters’ renewed popularity?  To be sure, some of the concept’s new and bipartisan relevance owes to its sound non-partisan concern with the mechanics of value-creation in local economies, whether metropolitan or rural, high-tech or manufacturing.  And it’s true that as a matter of policy action clusters—ranging from the famous Silicon Valley technology cluster to the Vermont cheesemaking cluster—are all about synergies and efficiencies, and don’t tend to cost too much.
 
But what is most timely beyond all that may be the possibility that the new prominence of regional innovation clusters reflects something deeper: a positive interest in locating a more grounded, realistic way to think about the economy and development efforts so as to put both on a more productive footing.  
 
In this setting, the new cluster discussions redirect attention, analysis, and policymaking to the more grounded, day-to-day interactions by which real companies in real places complete transactions, share technologies, develop innovations, start new businesses—and yes, create jobs and locate workers. To that extent, clusters—whether of airplane manufacturing in Wichita or cleantech in Colorado or biomedical innovation in Cleveland—represent an antidote to the nation’s recent economic history of bubbles and consumption and also a framework for recognizing and bolstering the real-world variety and dynamism of regional economies.  Hot spots of productivity and collaboration as well as competition, clusters are the locations most likely to deliver a new economy that is export-oriented, lower carbon, innovation-driven and so opportunity and prosperity rich...

In sum, cluster thinking and cluster strategies have the potential to accelerate regional economic growth and assist with the nation’s needed economic restructuring, but they are more a paradigm than a single program. In that sense, the opportunities that a cluster policy framework provides for delivering impact, clarifying economic priorities, and coordinating disparate programmatic efforts will only grow more important in the coming era of intensified competitive pressures and tightened resources.

I-Open Civic Forums generate the open economic networks necessary to strengthen early cluster development in Open Source Economic Development.

Learn more at I-Open on Scribd, "I-Open Civic Forums Strengthen Entrepreneurship and Business Development in Network Economies".


The Role of Colleges and Universities in Regional Transformation: A Model

The Center for Regional Economic Issues (REI) Summary provides an overview of the important role of universities and colleges to strengthen innovation and enterprise for regional economic transformation.

The Center, originally created from a recommendation by the Rand Corporation to advise then Fortune 500 corporate leaders in Northeast Ohio, was first housed at the Cleveland Federal Reserve, Cleveland State University, and then at Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio.

Ed Morrison, Executive Director, working with Betsey Merkel, Susan Altshuler, Matt Kozink, and Dennis Coughlin as an open team, led the Center from 2003-2005. The report details what was accomplished, the alignment of Center activities with University strategy, and results of working with regional leaders to build networks, social capital, and accelerate transformative initiatives in education, economic, and workforce development.

The Institute for Open Economic Networks (I-Open) is the spin off of the Center and continues to develop and deploy new practices in Open Source Economic Development in Northeast Ohio and the world.