October @ the House

This month's conversation focused on the community's rich variety of creative and cultural events and the important role that they play in building quality, connected places. Our guest speakers are involved with directing these events and shared how they connect with one another and with the greater community.


Brian Owens
Indiana International Film Festival
http://indyfilmfest.org/

How does the Indiana International Film Festival connect us to the community?
- promotes cross-cultural communication
- develops the film-making community
- provides an opportunity for local aspiring artists to connect with film makers from across the country; across the world. (Success meets ideas)

Where do you hope to be in 5 years?
A Huge Premier at the restored Circle Theatre! :)
-Word of mouth and community support can make it possible

Ken Honeywell
Tonic Ball & Tonic Gallery
A benefit for Second Helpings
http://www.secondhelpings.org/

How does the Tonic Ball and Tonic Gallery connect us to the community?
- connects a lot of (kinds of) people to an important charitable organization in the city.
- it cross-pollinates the music scene. All different types of music and audiences share the same stage/arena.
-it promotes the progress of the neighborhood (fountain square, specif.)

The importance of the cause in central Indiana
An event like this connects a whole different community with a charitable need.

Where do you hope to be in 5 years?
Idealistically, the ultimate goal is to not need charitable events; for hunger to be solved.
Realistically, it’d be great for Tonic Ball to have both rooms packed! Huge turnouts!

*** Check out Tonic Ball on November 17^th on two stages in Fountain Square!!

Ryan Hickey
Oranje
http://www.oranjeindy.com/
ORANJE is a contemporary art & music event showcasing progressive artists and musicians. The goal of ORANJE is to create a stimulating and interactive art & music experience.

How does Oranje connect us to the community?
- Indianapolis has an incredible existent and developing cultural scene, but it’s often stuck in the traditional. There’s not a lot catering to the younger audience.
- Oranje takes the under-exposed underground artists and musicians and brings them to the surface.
- creates a ‘cultural gathering.’

The importance of the cause in central Indiana
-Balance and Variety are what makes a city great. That’s what Oranje is all about promoting.

Well, hello!

Welcome to the new Evenings @ the House blog!
Please use this site as an opportunity to share your ideas, continue discussions, and stay updated on what's happening at our Evenings @ the House events!

If you have questions or comments, would like more information or would like to contribute material or add a link to this blog, feel free to contact us at jhnewlin@iupui.edu.

Thanks for your interest in Indiana leadership!
Hope to see you at the October Evenings @ the House.

September @ the House

Presenter: Michael Fox

Topic: Open Source

The RE-CAP

> "Source", in computer speak, means they can execute a series of demands

> "Open" means that the code is published and available; it doesn't mean no profit

> Open Source: everyone has to be equal or it doesn't work.

> The words "open source" were coined by Mozilla

Two types of ways to see code:

1. Free as in beer- pay nothing

2. Open Source- can change code

*Every project starts because of a problem or a passion.

The open source process:

1. Someone begins a project

2. The project is posted to a repository

3. Other people get the project off the repository and design more

4. The original creator decides whether or not to accept the revision into code.

The benefits to open source:

*Natural user base

*Builds a community of people who like the same things

*Superior product: choosing to work on it vs. being paid to do it

*More secure

*Makes it very accessible

Examples of open source:

Internet, Mozilla, Linux, and Open Office, to name a few.

Seven Open Source Rules:

1. If you don't work on your own project, others won't

2. Realease early and often

3. A project is never finished

4. Every successful project will ultimately form a subproject

5. Open source is not magic

6. All barriers to input and criticism must be broken down

7. All input must be filtered (platform to build/sell services)

Roger Williams shared how he has applied these concepts in his community work and gave an example of post-tsunami work on a small island where people came together to do the work they needed to do each day... relying on eachother's best skills.

If you have questions or comments about open source ideas, contact Michael Fox at midfox@gmail.com.

the REPORT OUT

Innovative Networks; Quality, Connected Places
The group discussed how the internet is important but that we must take that to the 'face-to-face' engagement for the best community impact. They also discussed the value of stories to "sell" good innovative network examples.
Open Source allows innovative networks to kill the silos and allows everyone to have access---no hierarchy or bureaucracy.

Branding
The group discussed that branding is the character of a thing vs. the logo. It is a living entity (story) based on relationships by example and by doing it well! You have to overcome fear to be open.
If you are doing your mission; you will ultimately get the credit!
Branding must be done through relationships and authenticity, not hype.
There is complexity: multiple layers. It can't be over-simplified.

Brainpower
We must connect the "good" activities going on out there, don’t recreate 'the wheel'! We must create ways to engage student's in communities today.

Continue this conversation! Post a comment and share your ideas!

Also, you can bring your thoughts and ideas to our next Evenings @ the House on October 19th, 2006. The evening's focus will be on the communities’ rich variety of creative and cultural events and the important role that they play in building quality, connected places. Our guest speakers are involved with directing these events and will share how they connect with one another and with the greater community. We would love to see you there!

Visit our website at http://indianahumanities.org/leadership/Eveningsindex.html for more information on the Evenings @ the House events.

August @ the House

August 17, 2006

On August 17 we welcomed Don Schilling, President and General Manager of the Decatur County REMC and President of the Greensburg – Decatur County Economic Development Corporation to join us for our sixth Evening @ the House. Don shared his insight on a recent BIG DEAL for Indiana and how networks provided a foundation for bringing Honda to Decatur County. Don shared with us the “inside view” of how the community built the right team of stakeholders together to create the right atmosphere and proposal, as well as a few tough decisions that the community faced. As we learned first hand, leadership means taking calculated risks and making the commitment to succeed, as this community is prepared to do now and in the future as the relationship with Honda progresses.

The small group discussions concentrated on three areas:

Education – How schools will help prepare our future workforce for jobs such as those presented by Honda.

Employment – How a new employer, particularly one with the potential to increase jobs by 20% in a community, impacts the existing employment environment.

Hospitality and Networking – How a community can build the necessary connections within and outside of itself to welcome new residents, a new workforce, and the changes that come with an investment of this size.

These groups generated the following ideas and commentary:

Employment
• Give up something small to achieve something big
• Changing your agenda
• “Just-in-time” suppliers
• Hospitality industry
• Basic services-police, fire, etc.
• Demographic of workforce
• Reallocation of workers based on skills
• More jobs for higher education

Education
• Rethink education (globalize)
• Value education
• Next level of education
• Use the old system or innovate
• Access to education

Hospitality/Welcome
• Out of town workers part of community

July @ the House

The July 20th Evening @ the House focused on developing creative ideas for the Indianapolis Culture Trail, an exciting infrastructure project that connects people to important Indiana places. Bryan Payne, president of the Central Indiana Community Foundation and The Indianapolis Foundation, led the discussion.

Groups worked in small table dialogues to address the questions: How can we maximize quality of life by connecting places? and What would you like to see on the cultural trail?

These groups generated the following ideas:

- Art that engages thought; not just pretty to look at
- First aid stops
- Pet-friendly – watering spots, bags- Vendors along the trail
- Balance tradition and innovations
- Fun things for young kids – kid-friendly
- Street performers
- Benches set back from trail for people-watching
- Interactive kiosks with maps “you are here”
- Podcasts at locations to deliver info/background
- Public art done by youth
- Murals throughout, not just pockets
- Animals/sculptures for kids to crawl on
- Address brain drain by engaging IUPUI students in ownership of Trail before graduation (e.g. cultural tourism students)
- Create a plan for each neighborhood to engage in trail that makes it uniquely their own
- Education around: bike safety, IPD walks & talks, fitness, something for daycare
- Bring people who live along trail together (e.g. backyard sales, cookouts)
- Shade
- Information on history of places long trail
- Good signage
- Bike racks, bike rental facility
- Visible hospitality and safety presence
- Many public restrooms
- Many refreshment stops
- Antique street-scape panoramas (old view finders) to peek into city’s history
- Juried street performance festivals
- Water fountains
- Drinking fountains
- Have things that appeal to all ages and lifestyles, residents and non-residents
- Visuals must “look” diverse, so people feel welcomed from all backgrounds
- Touch on all senses
- Games
- Playgrounds
- Art installations
- Private places
- Checkers/chess tables
- Watching art being created
- Story-telling
- State performance area
- Sacred parts
- Ice sculpture festival during the winter
- Micro-stores
- Open-air shops
- Side-walk art competition
- Water parks
- Exercise stations
- Artistic take on fitness stations
- Human connectivity
- Spaces that welcome conversation/interaction
- Mini-street performance venues
- Provide incentives or decrease red tape to streamline process for small business or individuals who want to sell goods/services
- Transportation to subs/neighborhoods
- Diverse districts will be highlighted by the connection
- Create ownership by keeping people involved
- Multi-generational interaction
- Open container policy on cultural trail
- Lower income senior housing
- Storytellers re. IN history
- Economic diversity
- Restaurant tour
- Tree steward training
- Skateboard park
- Open air theatres
- Community gardens
- Ability for schools to use the cultural trail for field trips
- Leave the trail unfinished so that generations can add to it
- Easily accessible
- Everyone knows how it works (education those who are on the stops)
- Something for every kind of person: all economic and physical levels
- Think of nodes for low income elderly
- Don’t push people out
- Needs to be clear you can go in for free
- Outreach to businesses so they know the trail
- Volunteers – residents guiding tours/welcome
- Exchanges between neighborhoods: learn about each other
- Free guide

June @ the House

The June 15th Evening @ the House was full of engaging dialogue.

After mingling over drinks and hors d’oeuvres, Krista Skidmore and Rebecca Hutton reviewed the ground rules and intent of the evening.

Krista then introduced Dr. Scott Massey, President and CEO of the Indiana Humanities Council and co-author of Renewing American Culture and the Pursuit of Happiness. Dr. Massey gave a brief overview of his guiding vision for the Indiana Humanities Council. Then he discussed his new book that focuses on the need to pursue happiness. For more information on either, please visit www.indianahumanities.org.

After a brief Question and Answer period with Dr. Massey, Rebecca provided a brief introduction to the evening’s second speaker Molly Wilkinson Chavers, Executive Director of Indy Hub, Inc. Her organization focuses on connecting Indianapolis’ young professionals. Visit www.indyhub.org for more information about Indy Hub.

The group then worked in small table dialogues to address the appreciative question: How do we form networks that maximize human capital?

The small groups came up with the following ideas:
• Create a hub for Indiana’s 65,000 non-profits to identify each other geographically or by purpose
• Use http://www.100ideas.org as a model for generating innovative ideas for the future
• Hit the pavement and spread the word
• Use mediums that fit the audience
• To maximize, connect an individual’s needs, passions, skills, and abilities with community opportunities
• Network for teachers focused on something specific like coping with being a teacher
• Language focused groups: to promote mentoring opportunities so Learning new language isn’t just for kids
• Cross-company and/or cross-industry mentoring
• To get connected, volunteer
• Increase loan payoff opportunities in corporations for college grads (sign on bonus, relocation benefits, health/insurance benefits)
• Physical space/connections: sidewalks, trails, things to keep youth healthy and engaged
• Take personal responsibility for closing triangles (connect to people you know)
• Don’t limit groups to sameness, use differences to bring people together
• See the need, then act
• Do not rely on community leaders’ approval
• Develop networks by virtue
• Complete relationship capital inventory
• Regular forums for creativity
• Give and take, do not just take
• Feed relationships
• Stay in touch
• Share food

If you have questions about any of these ideas, post a comment or attend the next conversation.

May @ the House

Here’s the scoop on the May Evenings @ House…
Thursday, May 18
5-7 p.m.
Indiana Humanities Council House
1500 North Delaware St.

Innovation in Brainpower- An Indianapolis Charter School Story and the Importance of Business in the Classroom

Presenter:
Scott Bess, chief operating officer
Goodwill Education Initiatives, Inc.
317.524.4501
http://www.indianapolismet.org/default.asp

History:
On Aug. 23, 2004, Goodwill Education Initiatives, Inc., a nonprofit entity established by Goodwill Industries of Central Indiana, Inc., opened Indianapolis Met to provide an educational option that did not exist in Indianapolis before.

Indianapolis Met believes that all students should have the opportunity to pursue education beyond high school. All Indianapolis Met students are required to apply to college, and students and their families are provided with support throughout the application process.

We aim to empower students to take charge of their learning, to gain the skills and knowledge necessary to achieve success beyond high school and to become lifelong learners.

Background:
Join us after work for a crucial conversation about statewide branding and what it means for YOU and Central Indiana. Light refreshments will fuel a healthy conversation about things that matter to you!

INVITE YOUR FRIENDS! Forward this e-mail to everyone you know so we can ensure a diverse, interesting crowd!

The program will begin at 5:15PM with an introduction about our process to date and the "Second Curve" knowledge economy and why conversations like these are so critical.

Scott Bess will present and his comments will set the stage for small group conversations.

Around 6:45PM, we will share the fruits of these appreciative conversations and plot strategic action steps.

Check out our progress to date at http://eveningsatthehouse.blogspot.com/

Our purpose with this series of crucial conversations is to convene and inform a critical mass of leaders that will a catalyst for change in three key action areas: 1) building strong economies; 2) developing human capital; and 3) encouraging connectivity between the public, private and government sectors.

the ReCap:

Annie Hernandez opened the evening sharing some talking points (see next post) about Evenings @ the House. Everyone is encourage to use these to talk to others about the conversations and invite them to the next one.

Ed Morrison did a quick introduction to the regional forums that have been happening across the state hosted by the Indiana Humanities Council. These forums have been using a similar format to Evenings @ the House. Attendees received a LENS toolkit which includes explanations of community conversation tools. If you are interested in learning more about the leadership forums happening in regions across the state, visit www.indianahumanities.org.

Scott Bess, VP and CIO of Goodwill Industries of Central Indiana, Inc., and COO of Goodwill Education Initiatives, Inc. shared a brief overview of charter schools in Indianapolis and then described the strategic direction of his schools, the Indianapolis Metropolitan Career Academies, two public charter high schools operated by Goodwill Education Initiatives. If you are interested in learning more about the schools or volunteering to be a mentor, host an intern, etc., contact Scott Bess at 317.524.4501 or visit them on-line at http://www.indianapolismet.org/default.asp.

The group then broke into small table conversations to consider the question:

What innovation(s) would allow education to best utilize business(es)?

After 20 minutes of discussion, the following ideas were shared:
• High school intern-net: like indianainternet.org but for high school students
• Open certification for business professionals: make teacher certification more accessible to business professionals
• Loaned executives for 1-2 year teaching sabbatical
• Task-a-teer- specific task/project and time
• Professional/social networking for teachers with learning component (across schools/discipline)---not CEUs!
• Have business folks serve on “review” teams for public/charter schools (ex. United Way- Governance/Management Review)
• Change education to reflect community assets- not just the wants of business- do matches
• Healthy community

If you have questions about any of these ideas, post a comment or attend the next conversation.

April @ the House

Evenings @ the House- Thursday, April 20
Branding Innovation- NEW Statewide Tourism Brand

Presentation by Carrie Lambert, Marketing Director,
Indiana Office of Tourism Development

Carrie presented the process and research behind the new tourism brand released Wednesday, April 19, 2006.

New brand:
Indiana- restart your engines
www.visitindiana.com

The new brand implies the familiar racing of the state while also highlighting the ways to relax, rejuvenate and have fun in Indiana.

The Indiana Tourism Development office has eight staff members. It is one of the only state agencies that works beyond state borders to try to attract tourists. The Indiana Tourism office ranks 43rd in budget in the US and is the lowest in the Midwest. Indiana is a get-away destination and competes with Ohio and Michigan. The offices key partners are local convention and visitors bureaus and individual attractions across the state.

In 1998, the brand “Enjoy Indiana” was released after a long standing brand of “Wander Indiana.” Since early 2000, Indiana’s tourism slogan has been beat by MI, IL and KY. IN has only beat OH in the brand testing. Indiana needed a more progressive message.

The Tourism office conducted focus groups to test the old brand with the new…and the new brand tested even higher than the old brand ever had in key target markets.

To follow-up the brand, sample ad executions were developed. For the first time, a National Geographic photographer was hired to shoot the ad photos.

This does NOT replace the state motto.

ATTENDEE COMMENTS:
• Everyone should work to embrace the brand, understand the process.
• We should use the images that help develop unique assets of that state with the brand.
• The office should take inventory of the state’s WIDE variety of unique assets and use with the brand (identify niche markets)
• Q: What do with more $$$? A: Media buys; product development
• Q: How measure success? A: Ad effectiveness campaign- $30,000; increase line item in budget
• Q: The brand could be considered Indy-centric, is it? A: People think of all of Indiana with racing
• Don’t apologize for Indy- it is what people from other states/countries know!
• Idea: Highlight unique assets using public television (ex. syndicate WFYI- Across Indiana)
• Q: Speak to the graphic design, A: Softness of new logo- curvy/relaxed
• Q: How will the website change? A: The website is currently designed by region and will be redesigned to have a cleaner look and feel.
• Suggestive shopping would be cool on-line!

OTHER
May 13-Sept. 4- partnership with Kroger and at places across state- discount cards with new brand will be distributed.

Spring campaign will begin April 24 and will run for three weeks. The campaign for August is still to be determined.

MORE INFORMATION:
Carrie Lambert
clambert@VisitIndiana.com
317.234.2081

March @ the House

Evenings @ The House
March 16, 2006
Indiana Humanities Council House

Ed Morrison welcomed the group to the house and gave insight into why public conversations like these are crucial to the new, second-curve economy. We have civic responsibiltiy to connect people and get stuff done!
Check out information on Ed's work in the Cleveland area- www.iopen.squarespace.com
Check out the Humanites Council summary of their conference from last year for more information on the Second Curve economy-
http://indianahumanities.org/


As a result of our conversations, the following Key Innovation Investments were determined. These investment areas will be used to determine the topics discussed at upcoming Evenings @ the House events.

BRAINPOWER
• Innovation in early childhood education
• Innovation in business/industry involvement in education
• Innovation in college attendance and access to funding (grants/tuition)
• Innovation in campus connections and the state
• Innovation in attracting and retaining educated in Indiana

QUALITY, CONNECTED PLACES
• Innovation in intercity competitiveness (statewide networks for collaboration)
• Innovation in building networks for common good (ex. neighborhoods; diversity)
• Innovation in social services
• Innovation in virtual access
• Innovation in urban public transportation
• Innovation in accessing human capital
• Innovation in accessing philanthropic capital

BRANDING
• Innovation in defining, celebrating and promoting our culture
• Innovation in investing in social capital

INNOVATION NETWORKS
• Innovation in Global Entrepreneurship
• Innovation in Creative Industries (ex. Digital media, art, theatre)

PLEASE LET ME KNOW IF YOU HAVE IDEAS OF INNOVATIVE PRESENTERS FOR ANY OF THE AREAS OR ARE INTERESTED IN HELPING COORDINATE ANY ACTIVITIES.

The next couple conversations @ the House will be April 20 and May 18. Invite your friends and colleagues.