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What are the elements of a sustainability strategy?
Created by Ed Morrison
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Gay Gilbert raised some provocative questions during a session on sustainability at the Boston Academy. Among the questions she asked: - What are the common elements of sustainability? If we are going to develop strategies around sustainability, what dimensions do we need to be thinking about? (Translation: It's not just about the money.)
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This topic contains 6 posts
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Ed Morrison
5 posts
5/3/08
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In our session, I heard the following comments about critical elements of a sustainability strategy: - Connecting economic development and workforce development with a solid communications strategy.
- Connecting our efforts with local government
- Managing cultural differences across organizations
- Creating a sustainable governance structure
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Richard Mains
3 posts
7/9/08
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I just attended a insightful California Innovation Corridor (www.innovatecalifornia.net) WIRED webinar on their evolving sustainability strategy. They are focusing on three "sustainability" projects (Workforce Investment Board Toolkit, STEM Collaborative Action Plan and EconDev Model/Asset Mapping Inventory) that have cross-over with several other projects. They are also adding Partner-related content in their new "Opportunities for Collaboration" section. I hadn't noticed this WIRED-Nation Forum topic on sustainability, but since its here, I hope CIC Partners and other WIRED-Nation members wade into this critical and timely discussion. A question I would like to pose...Do the benefits of online knowledge sharing on sustainability (succeses, challenges, lessons-learned, resources, etc.) outweigh the competitive pressures between WIRED grantees? And, if so, how?
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Ed Morrison
5 posts
7/12/08
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Richard: I attended a forum on WIRED Sustainability at our Boston WIRED Academy. Gay Gilbert and Helen Parker led the discussion. I tried to capture the audio, but the quality is not great. That said, there are some important insights, and I will distill them in a post to the weblog. Thanks for the prod..
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Richard Mains
3 posts
7/13/08
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Ed, I look forward to learning more about your and other's insights on sustainability. In my view, the primary goal for WIRED-nation.net is community knowledge sharing and collaboration-building, but I am very aware of the fundamental survival instincts of local, regional and state-wide entities and their needs for sustainable funding. The value of collaboration for increased innovation, leveraging and impact seems like the foundation for WIRED grant successes, so I'm very interested in learning more about how WIRED participants see their collaboration opportunities related to associated resource challenges.
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Edited by Richard Mains 7/14/08
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Rick Maher
1 post
7/20/08
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Bloggers - In my experience in regions (WIRED grantees and otherwise), there is a great deal of chatter about sustainability -- particularly so as some grants approach their end in both dollars and time. Many seem to connect sustainability with governance, and, of course, that latter with turf and "control" issues that plague many regions. To me, sustainability is and always has been about the network. A healthy social network - one cultivated over time - brings the social and political capital (as well as the resources) to drive sustainability. Governance becomes the result - not the issue itself. The value of a healthy social network cannot be over-stated in my view.
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Richard Mains
3 posts
7/20/08
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Rick, your view that "A healthy social network - one cultivated over time - brings the social and political capital (as well as the resources) to drive sustainability." rings true. That has likely been the case for a long time, certainly well-before the Web 2.0 networking world with its near real-time interactivity arrived. Many human-scale networks that have evolved organically within existing communities are now intentionally expanding rapidly online, and turf issues will naturally arise. It takes both time and experience to build the trust to work together, with sustainability, as you suggest, being a secondary benefit. I do think that participation in online knowledge sharing communities like WIRED-Nation and the new Innovation Networks can help to lower competition barriers, but that takes a willingness to be more open and assume more risk to gain the real value, at least in my experience.
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Edited by Richard Mains 7/20/08
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