FMYI | For My Innovation

Let’s dive deeper into the innovation blueprint (collaboration + sustainability + technology) for Economy 2.0. First up is collaboration.

In 2000, Seth Godin wrote about the progression from farms, factories, and now ideas in the first chapter of his seminal book Ideavirus. Godin brought up an intriguing point. How do we build a farm or factory for ideas? And how do we commercialize the ideas in the most efficient way?

To me, the key is through collaboration to maximize our resources. Open source is a perfect example of this. Bringing people together passionate about a mission with a minimum amount of overhead and the skills to get the job done. Using the sectors I mentioned in my last blog post, let’s check out examples of innovative collaborative approaches coming out of Portland:

EDUCATION
The Natural Step is a framework for understanding sustainability. People take the tools and train others in their community and within their organizations. It grows virally, often in a decentralized way. In the case of The Natural Step Network (the U.S. chapter of the Natural Step), networks form of people helping each other out across sectors in local communities. 

ENERGY
Green Empowerment partners up with NGOs in developing countries to leverage clean technology solutions to alleviate poverty and preserve the environment. Their staff brings together products from clean tech manufacturers, students, and on the ground NGOs who understand the local needs. Fundamentally, they are connectors who utilize collaboration for innovation in rural communities in the developing world.

FOOD
Beer Chips makes potato chips. Made from beer. And I love eating them. But that’s not why they’re an example here. It’s an amazing example of innovation through collaboration. Founder and inventor Brett Stern came up with the idea of combining beer and chips, and worked with a virtual network of chip producers and distributors. For quite awhile, he was a one man virtual company, collaborating like mad to develop the chips, get the word out, and get the product in stores.

HEALTH
Recess Wellness helps companies get their employees in shape. They develop a customized fitness plan, bring selected fitness instructors from their large network of subcontractors into the office, and track the progress. Like Beer Chips, Recess Wellness is highly efficient, and Tanya Barnham, their founder, utilizes her network to provide customized services to each client.

HOUSING
Orange Splot is a cohousing developer. They build affordable and green community-oriented developments, leveraging a wide range of talent to make ideas turn into reality. And a strong foundation of every community are the residents, who participate in the design process.

PRODUCTS
RYZ is a site to buy customized footwear. What’s unique? They leverage crowdsourcing to produce what people want. Designers can download a template and whip up the look they want. Then the community at ryzwear.com votes on their favorites. In essence, RYZ leverages collaboration to design what their customers want.

TRANSPORTATION
Zipcar is a car sharing program. At its heart, the idea is to bring a community together to share cars, instead of selling cars to individuals. People enjoy a variety of options without the full time commitment.

Do you have suggestions of other innovative models of collaboration in these sectors? Share them in the comments field below. In my next blog post, we’ll examine how sustainability can be leveraged for innovation in Economy 2.0…

-Justin