hello neighbor: an innovative use of asset based community development
I loved this story I heard this morning on NPR’s Morning Edition entitled A Photo Project’s Message: Hello Neighbor.
” Tommie Washington is celebrating his 60th anniversary living in the same Portland, Ore., neighborhood. In fact, he has spent 60 years in the very same house, which is now full of memories.
“We knew all the neighbors,” Washington recalls. “As kids, we could run in one house in the front door and go out the back door with a sweet potato pie. The community was a village raising all the kids.”
Those days are history; Washington’s village of old has been gentrifying at a dizzying speed. But his affable face is still a prominent one in his community. You can see it on a banner hanging on North Mississippi Avenue, as part of a project called Hello Neighbor.
Hello Neighbor was conceived by photojournalist Julie Keefe, after she observed how gentrification was leaving many of her own neighborhood’s kids estranged. As their young friends moved away, strangers were moving in. They were often young, often wary, and usually white.
And, as Keefe noticed, neighbors were no longer saying “hello” to each other.”…
innovative philanthropy
“What if there were a simple way to provide students with the books, technology, and supplies that they need to learn? What if people from all walks of life could connect directly with public schools, learn about specific classroom needs, and choose how to help? DonorsChoose.org makes this possible.”
disruptive implementation as a better way to implement innovation
There’s an interesting article I just read in Forbes entitled “How to Change the Way Kids Learn” that asserts “The way to implement an innovation so it will transform an organization is to implement it disruptively. That means not attaching it to the existing paradigm and serving existing customers but targeting those not being served or not buying what’s served, people we call nonconsumers. That way, all the new approach has to do is be better than a nonexistent alternative.“
overcoming technology barriers: how to innovate without extra money or support
Five easy, practical steps toward better digital integration in your classroom from Edutopia
“According to a recent survey by the nation’s two largest teachers’ unions, most educators are enthusiastic about the role technology can play in improving learning, but many still feel unprepared to take advantage of digital tools in the classroom. What’s stopping them? The persistent barriers include too few computers, a lack of technical support, and inadequate professional development.”
snowy range nonprofit institute addresses leadership deficit
I was delighted to provide the keynote address at the 7th annual Snowy Range Nonprofit Institute on the topic of “Connecting the Generations”.
I wanted to provide the full text of the articles and resources that I referenced so here they are:
Stanford Social Innovation Review – The Leadership Deficit
Ready to Lead: Next Generation Leaders Speak Out
Chronicle of Philanthropy – Building Tomorrow’s Nonprofit Work Force
I’d also love if we could start a dialogue here. Simply leave a comment about what thoughts you have marinating after the Institute.
innovation in education
i was delighted to be a part of this exciting initiative in canada earlier this week:
Family and Children’s Service has embarked on an ambitious plan to create an education centre for foster children with difficulty learning in traditional academic settings.
After months of research Ron Groskleg, director of project development with Family and Children’s Services of Renfrew County, has invited individuals from child welfare and mental health agencies, as well as educational professionals to a two-day strategic planning session to learn about the Eagle Rock School and Professional Development Centre in Colorado.
Two teachers from the school are in Pembroke today and tomorrow to help the agency lay the ground work for a creative and innovative program based on the Colorado model of hands-on, value-driven learning that will work for students in Renfrew County.
The goal is to have the program running by September 2009.
The key is creating a program that allows students to feel a sense of belonging, Mr. Groskleg said.
“We want to work with the education system, parents and families to figure out what we need to be doing differently to help these children,” he added. “We want to give the students the message that we want to help them learn and find their skills and talents.”
nonprofit institute provides innovative partnership
The mission of the Snowy Range Nonprofit Institute is to provide an educational training partnership with nonprofit organizations and their supporters throughout the state of Wyoming and the Rocky Mountain region.
A group of University of Wyoming volunteers who shared an interest in the state’s nonprofit sector established SRNI in 2002. The organizing team had a vision: providing a high-quality educational experience at UW. Professional development is the goal, via practitioner-focused educational programming.
Our first agenda focused on fund-raising issues. Year two introduced concurrent sessions, featuring multiple tracks that build on an institute theme. In response to participant requests for more focused, a practicum that offers opportunities for advanced training on a topic of interest to nonprofits in 2005.
SRNI began an exciting new partnership with the UW Cooperative Extension Service Community Development Education Initiative Team in 2006. We look forward to building the institute’s future in collaboration with this group of expert community educators.
I’m excited to be keynoting this year’s conference.
“It’s gotta be the chutzpah”
“Artists, scientists and Nobel laureates gathered in Israel for a conference paying tribute to Jewish innovators. But why are there so many in a country about as big as New Jersey? Daniel Estrin asked around Jerusalem.” Check out this NPR Marketplace story.
do not imitate – innovate
“Do Not Imitate.” The mandate of Soichiro Honda echoes in the minds and hearts of everyone at Honda. At Honda, we are constantly challenging ourselves to seek out new initiatives and stay at the forefront of innovation.”
“As an organization dedicated to the advancement of mobility, we have always targeted leading-edge technologies. From our racing spirit and our commitment to “Safety for Everyone,” to our dedication to environmental leadership and the advanced potential of ASIMO, it is our mission to develop forward-thinking technologies that anticipate and satisfy the needs of people in the future.“
can prizes and contests spur innovation?
This recent piece in Fast Company entitled The Power of the Prize suggests that contests actually work to spur innovation. “They are innovation prizes — think, X Prize — and from their origins in the Age of Discovery in the 1500s, they’ve come roaring back to life in recent years, with foundations, governments, and businesses alike rewarding fantastic achievements. This spring alone, Cisco Systems, eBay, and MIT are expected to announce the winners of major business-idea competitions. Some economists — and some CEOs — believe that public contests have the ability to usher in a new era of progress by leveraging R&D resources to capture diverse imaginations and tackle everything from Web widgets to massive global challenges.”
