RSS
- An Introduction to Open Source Economic Development
- Changes in our economy hit home
- Moving from a First Curve to a Second Curve economy
- The Urgency of Open Innovation
- New, Networked Approaches to Economic Development
- Building an open civic process: Strategic doing
- The emerging role of the civic leader
- The importance of mapping our networks
- Mapping and aligning Second Curve networks
- Open Source Economic Development: A Glossary
The importance of mapping our networks
In recent years, computers have become powerful tools and helping us understand how to build trusting social networks. We can actually map networks. By making these maps, we can learn how to strengthen our networks by building new connections.
Everyday, our networks evolve by the process of closing triangles. Bill knows Jane and Chuck, but Jane and Chuck do not know each other. We strengthen our networks when Bill introduces Jane to Chuck. Now Jane and Chuck may be able to find new opportunities together.
There are other ways of building networks. Regular civic forums can provide an opportunity for new people to meet each other and explore their connections. These regular civic forums, if guided with appreciative leadership, can become powerful tools for building of our networks, our social capital.
All of this may sound a little abstract, but it is very practical. Regions that build strong thick networks will be more competitive on the Second Curve economy. They will learn faster. They will spot opportunities faster. They will line their resources faster. And they will make decisions faster.
This approach to economic development is particularly important in rural communities. Take the case of Appalachian Economic Networks. This organization has focused on building networks as an economic development strategy for the past 10 years. With this approach, they have started to revitalize southeastern Ohio with new food and tourism businesses. Simple connections, relentlessly made, will over time build strong, vibrant networks. These open networks drive the creation of innovation and prosperity in the Second Curve economy.
Colleges, universities and libraries can play a vital role in strengthening these networks. We need places in our communities where people feel comfortable coming to meet and explore issues. People know that when they come to a library or college or university, they will be treated respectfully. There are simple, stable rules. Libraries, colleges and universities are places of learning, places of inquiry. Questions -- even dumb questions -- are expected and even encouraged.
In the years ahead, we will move forward more quickly to build innovative regional economies, if we pay attention to rebuilding our civic spaces. In any region, we need dozens of civic conversations taking place each week to explore what we can do with the many opportunities ahead of us. To frame and guide these conversations, we need a new set of civic skills that emphasize appreciative leadership. On the Second Curve, civic leadership is far more distributed than in a First Curve economy. Leadership comes from people who are willing to engage and who are capable of unleashing the energies of others for our common prosperity.
