tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-81317717290813940542024-03-13T14:08:11.190-07:00Experiential UniversityAndy Skadberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01597045259170791659noreply@blogger.comBlogger45125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8131771729081394054.post-60754058033349256552011-02-21T05:55:00.000-08:002011-02-21T06:09:11.519-08:00World Proclamation of Emancipation 2011<span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">By Andrew N. Skadberg</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">February 20, 2011</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Today marks the realization that we have within our reach the creation of a networked, Internet based tool-set to free humanity from the illusionary reality that it has imposed upon itself based on a mis-representation of the spiritual and intentional powers of human-beings.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Today, as a representative of the collective, human experience Eye proclaim and set forth in this document my realization that we have easily within our grasp the capabilities, skills, tools, resources and collective Will to solve all of the illusions of our collective sufferings: things like war, poverty, starvation, disease, strife, homelessness, and any other type of collectively created and supported concepts and mis-understandings that oppose the concept of Reverence for Life. These ideas are now history. History is only a reflection of the past. It does not exist. And our perspective as we understand it, and typically present it, is a reflection and is only a sliver of the truth of our collective experience. And we have habitually, as a collective, overemphasized what we collectively call “the negative”. This has perpetuated these experiences into our present, while also likely projecting those images into our future. They are not the truth. They are just a story that we have created which has been a form of entertainment, or a tool to teach us of our powers. But it is now time to let these things go. As we envision a new reality, and take the actions to use the tools at our disposal to accomplish the great re-creation we stand on the precipice of paradise on Earth.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">As a sovereign being, a representative of our collective human family, I boldly state my intention today that the challenges listed above are all easily addressed. The potential means, and some details of how this might be accomplished, will be presented in a diagrammatic presentation below. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">However, before these brief details are presented, Eye, as a catalyst, a Being who is a fully aware and conscious aspect of the multi-verse hologram, a Divine expression of the ONE, put forth the power of The Word, intention and attention, fueled by Love to bring into manifestation the elements that are presented. This presentation does not assume any particular order but to represent the broad array of opportunities for re-creation and emancipation. We will accomplish this profound consciousness change towards conscious evolution through: revitalization, education, improvisation, innovation, recreation, imagination, destination, commercialization, transportation, transmutation, catalyzation, vitalization, realization, technologization, experiementation, transformation, and visualization.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Eye now present this to the Universal Mind, and release all expectations and attachments to materiality to allow Spirit to manifest that which is in alignment with One Love and trust that the capabilities and capacities of the Universal Mind will easily accomplish all that is being invited to be created. Today marks the day that One Human Being, of the collective human experience, recognizes the power of the Word to transform. And the presentation of that intention to the Universal Mind will allow it to become manifest. With Great Love, So Be It!<br /><br /><br /></span></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPfEKiGZUb1VW65D6Jmrq-OjUAqanD7QPdhUByQ9qX6jcyzXKuUCw8WAAZtMCuHDGk7VG4X6pvnMAtF06nCBovOqpEwnROFuUl5lkDbPC8SllKMOX1sj9v3gBVw03SBysuW893IGy-9Z0/s1600/EmancipationDiagram.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 428px; height: 258px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPfEKiGZUb1VW65D6Jmrq-OjUAqanD7QPdhUByQ9qX6jcyzXKuUCw8WAAZtMCuHDGk7VG4X6pvnMAtF06nCBovOqpEwnROFuUl5lkDbPC8SllKMOX1sj9v3gBVw03SBysuW893IGy-9Z0/s400/EmancipationDiagram.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5576141953744614914" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Here is a brief description of the elements included in the above diagram.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" >Individual Empowerment and Collaborative Networking (Orange Box)</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">The center of this diagram shows the heart of the matter for re-creation. Empowering individuals and facilitation of collaborative networking is the foundation and starting point. By providing a simple set of tools, and the skill-set to use them, we will be able to transform the world one person at a time.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" >The World Self Management Institute</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">The Practice provides the connection to Spirit through each individual’s breath. As each person becomes conscious of their breath, and the other skills contained in The Practice, a catalyst ignites the powers of the Universal Mind. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" >Collaborative Networking – I Am Sharing</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">The next stage in online networking is collaborative networking, bringing people together to share, cooperate, have fun and “be the change they want to see in the world”. The collaborative networking model will provide the tools necessary to allow people to find other like-minded people to create new opportunities and collaborative projects. This component has significant documentation in addition to this introduction.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" >Tourism as an Initiator (Blue Box)</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Tourism touches all aspects of the economic systems in the world today. So, it is a great vehicle for transformation. Also tourism is a harbinger for peace. The Internet is a tool that we can use to help us to make the most of the industry.<br /><br /></span><span style="font-family:arial;">It is still paramount that the environment be protected. That can be accomplished by distributing tourism development as broadly as possible and utilizing proper planning methods to minimize impacts.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" >Travel Portal</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Currently being called “YouTooTravel” this element will create a global portal for travelers to find and purchase (as long as we have the existing economic system) experiential travel.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" >Support to Travel Industry</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Travel Talk Media is the natural solution to providing holistic information, services and media support and education to the various travel industry associations and communities.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" >Online Catalog</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">People like to purchase things when they travel. Additionally, small hand-crafts people, artisans, musicians, etc. need support to find people to purchase what the make. By creating an online presence and supporting via networking, marketing and education we can significantly enhance the economic situation of the people and the communities where they live. The key is to focus on getting “living wages” to these people and eliminate the exploitative production of things of very little value.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" >Accommodations Support</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Providing “back-office” support for smaller accommodations will enhance the travel industry significantly. By gathering these entities together into a larger collaborative group we will be able to help them find customers and provide many other services through our educational and technology solutions.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" >Vacation Education</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Based on a project that was already created to help people and families make the connection to quality learning and leisure pursuits. In addition to supporting travelers, teachers would find support and services to connect up with good experiential learning opportunities, and get guidance for how create quality programs.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" >Associations Support</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">The Internet is a powerful tool to support associations, in addition to their typical offerings for conferences and other programs. Creating a network of associations in the interest of serving the tourism industry, and all of the ancillary activities will be a powerful to organize and create a collaborative and cooperative atmosphere which is a much better model than competition.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;" >Education/Community, Environment (Green Box)</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" >Virtual Education – Institute – Experiential University</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Empowerment starts with preparing people to learn, and find the resources and tools to help them transform their lives. The internet is the most powerful tool to support people to do this and to help them make their dreams come true. Our view is that the only way we learn is by doing, or through experiential education. And combining the power of the Internet, experiential education and practical resources is the future of education.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" >Sustainable Development and Communities – Honoring Our Mother Earth (HOME) Communities</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Grass-roots revitalization in the interest of sustainability is happening around the world. Supporting this process by providing access to quality information, case-studies, and networking tools will enhance this process greatly. Additionally, linking these various communities, initiatives and organizations together into a larger global network will also accelerate this process.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" >Environmental Amelioration – Remote Sensing and Technology</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Protecting and ameliorating the environmental impacts that humanity has imposed on the earth is the most important foundation of this entire proposal. Technology provides a tool-set to help us deal with the environmental challenges that we face as global family. Putting these tools to use is critical. Immense opportunities exist to implement many solutions that are facing the people of the world.</span></span>Andy Skadberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01597045259170791659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8131771729081394054.post-88440257195912462192009-08-07T15:30:00.000-07:002009-08-07T13:30:14.134-07:00Educational Resources for Tourism and Success<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEdCQLHUKYbgWWvoxeslrKZBBVMIb921W1BKx7plJmkCP4UvuPnpt3JCSXsGwOcCxRZhi-qyi8Fkgq7fRdLl5vMhInCCND7qXJjlfYTAnNZHYmNcAGdxeldrA954_nmLNZIRt5Rp9PiYQ/s1600-h/16826026.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEdCQLHUKYbgWWvoxeslrKZBBVMIb921W1BKx7plJmkCP4UvuPnpt3JCSXsGwOcCxRZhi-qyi8Fkgq7fRdLl5vMhInCCND7qXJjlfYTAnNZHYmNcAGdxeldrA954_nmLNZIRt5Rp9PiYQ/s320/16826026.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5366963780531526370" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Here you will find educational resources for regions, communities, businesses, tourism attractions interested in developing nature tourism, eco-tourism, heritage-tourism, cultural tourism, agritourism. We call this "Experiential Tourism". </span><br /><br /><a style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" href="http://experientialuniversity.blogspot.com/2009/08/tourism-enterprise-opportunities_72.html">Tourism Enterprise Opportunities</a><br /><span style=";font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:85%;" >Is an entrepreneurial course developed to assist people to launch a new tourism venture. The original publication was developed at Texas A&M University.</span><br /><a href="http://experientialuniversity.blogspot.com/2009/08/empowerment-concepts-for-rural.html"><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Foundational Concepts for Successful Regional Revitalization and Empowerment</span></a><br /><span style=";font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:85%;" >Rural places are under significant pressures because traditional agriculture is not performing adequately. In order to understand and develop effective strategies for economic diversification and sustainability, we must understand over-arching principles. Here some important ideas and theories are described that provide guidance to successful rural empowerment strategies.</span><br /><br /><a href="http://experientialuniversity.blogspot.com/2009/08/tourism-product-development-effective.html"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Tourism Product Development - Effective Interpretation</span></a><br /><span style=";font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:85%;" >A series of publications written by James Kimmel Ph.D. about how to create quality experiences and how to "tell the story of your place". </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><a href="http://experientialuniversity.blogspot.com/2009/08/revitalizing-agricultural-systems.html">Revitalizing Agriculture - Organic foods & Value-added</a><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">Creating more sustainable, profitable for the producers, and healthy foods systems is critical for making the world a better place. From this section you will get access to publications and real world success stories.</span><br /></span><a href="http://experientialuniversity.blogspot.com/2009/08/vision-to-transform-world-table-of.html"><br /></a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><a href="http://experientialuniversity.blogspot.com/2009/08/vision-to-transform-world-table-of.html">A Vision to Transform the World</a><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">Is a comprehensive strategy for revitalization of rural places and their relationship to the natural world and urban places.</span><br /></span>Andy Skadberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01597045259170791659noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8131771729081394054.post-79081941336755991992009-08-07T15:00:00.000-07:002009-08-07T13:01:21.154-07:00Vision to Transform the World - Table of Contents<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZzd0Q_K0OaNfftgq-RzYucTkOc3E6fD0oEupCyPJN1M3FX68ArzdgWEzj3RVwcTcYlq3kCF4vHVP2RZmUaLjdrD0u1aBghl-oA7Pv0Bic24rN57b8SMhd7XEWmqck78J6fUo5gn6FbDA/s1600-h/WorldLightSmall.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZzd0Q_K0OaNfftgq-RzYucTkOc3E6fD0oEupCyPJN1M3FX68ArzdgWEzj3RVwcTcYlq3kCF4vHVP2RZmUaLjdrD0u1aBghl-oA7Pv0Bic24rN57b8SMhd7XEWmqck78J6fUo5gn6FbDA/s320/WorldLightSmall.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5367248464237986882" border="0" /></a><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:85%;" ><span style="font-weight: bold;">“Be the Change You Want to See in the World”</span><br />Mahatma Gandhi<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:100%;" >Executive Summary of Solomon Source<br />Rural Revitalization & Empowerment Strategies</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Mission:</span> <span style="font-style: italic;">To awaken people to the heart of the matter: our relationship with the planet – we’re all in this together, we must save Our-selves, and each other.</span><br /><br />Introduction<br /><br />This document describes a simple concept of “people helping people, and the planet”.<br /><br />This document has developed over the last twenty three years from looking at issues behind environmental degradation that are usually driven by economics, and ignorance of the ultimate costs of environmental destruction. The solution has to do with educating people and providing opportunities for people to get exposure to the wonders of nature, and for them to experience nature in new ways – leading to an awakening of the spirit. To this end the founder of Solomon Source has been on a personal mission to develop solutions that can be adapted and utilized in the current socio-economic paradigms.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;" >Guiding Principles, Conceptual Foundations and Action Centers</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Prior to presenting the specific “action centers” of the RRES, it is important to provide five theoretical/conceptual </span><span style="font-family:arial;">principles for a project of this sort. This document is organized as a progression from overarching “Guiding Principles” to </span><span style="font-family:arial;">specific components, initiatives and organizational structure. We additionally provide a case-study of a project that was </span><span style="font-family:arial;">implemented in 2003 in Texas which became the initiator of projects in a dozen states in the United States. This technology </span><span style="font-family:arial;">based “community network” project is still core to the RRES in regards to the creation of this holistic, community </span><span style="font-family:arial;">empowerment strategy. The final section provides a summary with the diagram entitled “The Big Picture in Simple Terms”, and </span><span style="font-family:arial;">some concluding comments. </span><br /><a href="http://experientialuniversity.blogspot.com/2009/08/guiding-principle-1-systems-thinking.html"><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Guiding Principle 1)</span> Systems Thinking – Understanding Context</span></a><br /><a href="http://experientialuniversity.blogspot.com/2009/08/duality-engineered-systems-and-people.html"><span style="font-family:arial;">a) the Duality of the Engineered vs Human</span></a><br /><a href="http://experientialuniversity.blogspot.com/2009/08/context-or-opportunity-space-urban.html"><span style="font-family:arial;">b) the Context, or Opportunity Space – the Urban Rural Nexus</span></a><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"><br /><a href="http://experientialuniversity.blogspot.com/2009/08/guiding-principle-2-focusing-energy.html"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Guiding Principle 2)</span> Focusing Energy—Creative Synchronicities: The Mandala/Lotus Flower </a></span><a href="http://experientialuniversity.blogspot.com/2009/08/guiding-principle-2-focusing-energy.html"><span style="font-family:arial;">Metaphor</span></a><br /><a href="http://experientialuniversity.blogspot.com/2009/08/guiding-principle-3-creating-systems.html"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Guiding Principle 3)</span> Creating Systems that Serve People</span></a><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">a) The Infrastructure Serving People Community Model, and </span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">b) Success Across Scales<br /><br /></span><span style="font-family:arial;"><a href="http://experientialuniversity.blogspot.com/2009/08/guiding-principle-4-extracting.html"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Guiding Principle 4)</span> Extracting Knowledge and Converting</a> (idea creation & development) </span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">a) Merging the Silo’s, and</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">b) Creating Effective Interfaces for Service Exchange</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"><a href="http://experientialuniversity.blogspot.com/2009/08/guiding-principle-5-grounding-education.html"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Guiding Principle 5)</span> Grounding Education Principle</a>: Experiential-Service Model – Next </span><span style="font-family:arial;">Generation Education</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"><br /><a href="http://experientialuniversity.blogspot.com/2009/08/transition-step-functional-puzzle.html"><span style="font-weight: bold;">The Bridge</span> - Moving from Concept to Functional – The Puzzle</a>: A Conceptual Vision </span><span style="font-family:arial;">with Practical Implications</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"><br /><a href="http://experientialuniversity.blogspot.com/2009/08/action-center-1-rres-institute-hub-for.html"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Action Center 1)</span> RRES Institute</a> (Hub for Education and Outreach)</span><br /><a href="http://experientialuniversity.blogspot.com/2009/08/action-center-2-idea-and-product.html"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Action Center 2)</span> </span></a></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><a href="http://experientialuniversity.blogspot.com/2009/08/action-center-2-idea-and-product.html"><span style="font-family:arial;">Product and Idea Visioning & Creation Center</span></a><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"><a href="http://experientialuniversity.blogspot.com/2009/08/action-center-3-technologies-platform.html"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Action Center 3)</span> Technologies – the Platform for Success</a>:</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">a) The Network – Creating Critical Mass and Supporting via Technologies </span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">b) Electronic (Virtual) Meeting Places – An Interface for Commerce and Education</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"><a href="http://experientialuniversity.blogspot.com/2009/08/case-study-creating-platform-traveler.html">c) Case Study:</a> Creating the Platform the Traveler Tourism and Community Network</span><br /><a href="http://experientialuniversity.blogspot.com/2009/08/action-center-4-rres-toolbox.html"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Action Center 4)</span> Community Empowerment Toolbox</span></a><br /><a href="http://experientialuniversity.blogspot.com/2009/08/conclusion-big-picture-contextual.html"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Summary and Conclusion</span> - The Big Picture a Contextual Summary</span></a></span>Andy Skadberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01597045259170791659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8131771729081394054.post-73831371177410875542009-08-07T12:46:00.000-07:002009-08-07T12:49:43.663-07:00Conclusion: The Big Picture a Contextual Summary<span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;" >Conclusion: The Big Picture a Contextual Summary</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">As a conclusion to this extensive discussion we introduce a concept that we call “The Big Picture”. This idea developed in </span> <span style="font-family:arial;">the last year as a result of about twenty-two years of various “concepts” floating around my head. In the 1980’s I was </span> <span style="font-family:arial;">introduced to Maslow’s Heirarchy of Needs, which I believe to be an important contribution to our understanding of humans and </span> <span style="font-family:arial;">the various stages</span></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"> of development.</span> <span style="font-family:arial;"><br /><br />We believe that Maslow’s model as a conceptual foundation is solid, however, over the years we think there are some ways that </span> <span style="font-family:arial;">it may be adjusted. It is not the point here to go into a lengthy discourse, however, we would like to introduce these ideas </span> <span style="font-family:arial;">as possibilities to the reader. The first is that in our personal experience, and our observation of people, that there are </span> <span style="font-family:arial;">opportunities to catalyze individual evolution. The term fairly commonly used for this would be “spiritual awakening”. We </span> <span style="font-family:arial;">believe there are increasing potentialities to raise people out of the lower levels of the Maslow’s pyramid and allow them to </span> <span style="font-family:arial;">experience dramatic transformations. Our approaches, especially related to empowerment will readily embrace these </span> <span style="font-family:arial;">possibilities, although we understand in scientific circles these are difficult to support. We however will remain open to </span> <span style="font-family:arial;">those possibilities because in a very real sense, we think that real empowerment, and a wholesale transformation of human </span> <span style="font-family:arial;">life on the planet is going to</span></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"> require the introduction of influences that fall way outside the paradigmatic realm of </span> <span style="font-family:arial;">“modern” science.</span> <span style="font-family:arial;"><br /><br />A second point relates to this idea adapted to collective experience. We are recognizing as a real possibility that we may be </span> <span style="font-family:arial;">able to stimulate with our RRES, a paradigmatic shift for the communities that we work with. To use another phrase would be a </span> <span style="font-family:arial;">“technology leap”. Our hope is that as we take the lessons that we have learned from our work in the United States, which </span> <span style="font-family:arial;">some would suggest had “advanced” ahead of developing places, that the lessons learned, especially in regards to mistakes, </span> <span style="font-family:arial;">could be avoided. </span> <span style="font-family:arial;"><br /><br />A specific example is where we are currently deploying the RRES here in Colombia. One of our team is originally from Colombia </span> <span style="font-family:arial;">but spent most of his career in the U.S. He has stated on a number of occasions that the U.S. is twenty years ahead of </span> <span style="font-family:arial;">Colombia. I would argue that thos</span></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">e twenty years are not necessarily all in positive ways. In fact, regarding food and </span> <span style="font-family:arial;">agriculture and other systems, I believe developments have become more and more problematic. Many examples could be provided. </span> <span style="font-family:arial;">The point here is the hope that we might be able to take the lessons learned, mistakes and/or successes from one place </span> <span style="font-family:arial;">(United States), and help another place avoid the same problems, or implement the successes. This potentially could even </span> <span style="font-family:arial;">contribute to, or stimulate, a paradigm shift and/or a technology leap, in essence advancing that place and its people ahead </span> <span style="font-family:arial;">twenty years of potential trials and tribulations. We see this happening in numerous places around the globe, so this is not </span> <span style="font-family:arial;">just a “pipe dream”.<br /><br /><br /></span></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjapQeUVGL4lUTawodoJt5nF9N1r1SzbV08ueMU7Ar6UP0aHsg422mnFqUe5JA1MmRCo4V9iqHVIn8wHe8OohdkVx2Knf0Zv8rAY4pz3PVQ6KB20So2UBhZfMDtOQmC0IYS1jFkKhyphenhyphenCC1Q/s1600-h/GenericBigPicture.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 282px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjapQeUVGL4lUTawodoJt5nF9N1r1SzbV08ueMU7Ar6UP0aHsg422mnFqUe5JA1MmRCo4V9iqHVIn8wHe8OohdkVx2Knf0Zv8rAY4pz3PVQ6KB20So2UBhZfMDtOQmC0IYS1jFkKhyphenhyphenCC1Q/s400/GenericBigPicture.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5367310983379618034" border="0" /></a>Andy Skadberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01597045259170791659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8131771729081394054.post-37660142778749327502009-08-07T12:35:00.000-07:002009-08-07T12:45:26.831-07:00Action Center 4 - RRES – Toolbox<span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Action Center 4) RRES – Toolbox</span><br /></span><span style="font-family:arial;">If the reader has not already gathered, we believe that metaphors or analogies are very powerful for helping people to grasp </span> <span style="font-family:arial;">a new concept. One of Solomon Source’s oldest analogies that we have been using has been that of a “toolbox”.<br /><br />Originally </span> <span style="font-family:arial;">conceived in 1998 as the <span style="font-style: italic;">Community Tourism Development Toolbox</span>, we continue to evolve this idea.</span> <span style="font-family:arial;">For the purposes of the RRES we have adapted many of the original concepts Community Tourism Development Toolbox. We would </span> <span style="font-family:arial;">highlight here, although it is addressed in other parts of this document, that here we emphasize the necessity for </span> <span style="font-family:arial;">evaluation.<br /><br /></span><span style="font-family:arial;">To boil down all of the previous materials, the bottom line of our approach would be like a mechanic going to a town that needed </span> <span style="font-family:arial;">to have their cars fixed. </span></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">The RRES in very simple terms is our team going out to communities with a toolbox and a head full </span> <span style="font-family:arial;">of know-how to help them in the area traditionally called community development, but we are calling it empowerment, in order </span> <span style="font-family:arial;">to establish a new paradigm of understanding and thinking. And, if we don’t have the tool or the knowledge we will know where </span> <span style="font-family:arial;">and how to get it.<br /></span> <span style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAT7ioXwkE0qw1e6lxH9wv4mmmOBe7ihIDsGOtvrnsbN0sxtlGlweU69ikuKH6HFq_5DoqjBGoVvuzAJMsD1K_2pStsnO4bm452x6eoQrprtdI-14mLhTxMI1-82wndNKZX20WsWGuFwc/s1600-h/GenericToolbox.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 297px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAT7ioXwkE0qw1e6lxH9wv4mmmOBe7ihIDsGOtvrnsbN0sxtlGlweU69ikuKH6HFq_5DoqjBGoVvuzAJMsD1K_2pStsnO4bm452x6eoQrprtdI-14mLhTxMI1-82wndNKZX20WsWGuFwc/s400/GenericToolbox.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5367308056332265954" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Diagram 16:</span> The RRES Toolbox</span> <span style="font-family:arial;"><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Purpose and Scope of the Rural Community Empowerment Strategies (RRES) Toolbox</span></span> <span style="font-family:arial;"><br />There are essentially two purposes of the RRES Toolbox. The first is to create a conceptual analogy in order for effective </span> <span style="font-family:arial;">understanding of how the RRES components are applied as practical solutions. Practically everyone understands the idea of a </span> <span style="font-family:arial;">toolbox, and this process of simplifying a seemly complex endeavor helps individuals in understanding. The second is to use </span> <span style="font-family:arial;">this same analogy to provide access to information and resources that are fundamental to community development, and to </span> <span style="font-family:arial;">establish effective strategies for evaluation and monitoring for the continued evolution of services. (<span style="font-style: italic;">This concept will </span></span> <span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-style: italic;">likely be developed in some fashion as an online resource, but at this time it does not exist</span>).<br /><br />Diagram 16 illustrates a </span> <span style="font-family:arial;">“tentative” overall organization of the Empowerment Toolbox. There are two major components: 1) resource linkages, and 2) </span> <span style="font-family:arial;">resource and program evaluations. The resource linkages will create a functional organization of empowerment resources. </span> <span style="font-family:arial;"><br /><br />The RRES Toolbox will consist of a set of “functional drawers.” Each drawer will provide information and resource linkages </span> <span style="font-family:arial;">about a particular topic/issue associated with tourism development. See Figure 1 for a set of preliminary topics. More </span> <span style="font-family:arial;">functional topics may evolve from the tourism resources evaluation phase of the project.</span> <span style="font-family:arial;"><br /><br />In each drawer are “tools” which will be resources or programs that are available from the various agencies or institutions, </span> <span style="font-family:arial;">or those developed by the RRES. The second feature of the Empowerment Toolbox is an evaluation of the resources that are </span> <span style="font-family:arial;">provided. In other words a concise “owner’s manual” will be provided that overviews important information and an objective </span> <span style="font-family:arial;">evaluation of the tools’ (programs and resources) strengths and weaknesses.</span> <span style="font-family:arial;"><br /><br />Preliminarily, evaluation criteria for the “tools” include time required, cost (if there are any costs associated with the </span> <span style="font-family:arial;">process), other inputs, expertise necessary (are there any special skills needed), and what audiences would this tool be </span> <span style="font-family:arial;">effective for (regions, communities, individuals/families, businesses). Additional criteria will emerge from the review </span> <span style="font-family:arial;">process. Some of the programs lead the user through an entire planning process. However, the toolbox will allow users to mix </span> <span style="font-family:arial;">and match resources from various programs.<br /><br />The RRES Toolbox will promote both methods. Examples of the types of programs we </span> <span style="font-family:arial;">will review and include in the toolbox are from various institutions in our network and especially extension programs in the </span> <span style="font-family:arial;">U.S. and other places.</span> <span style="font-family:arial;"><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Program Methods</span></span> <span style="font-family:arial;"><br />Methods focus on I) program development, and II) program evaluations.<br /><br /></span> <span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" >I. Program Development</span> <span style="font-family:arial;"><br />To develop the program we will identify, consolidate, organize, and present appropriate materials in a way that assists users </span> <span style="font-family:arial;">to find and use the right tools for their needs. </span> <span style="font-family:arial;">The tasks required to develop the program are as follows:<br /><br /></span><span style="font-family:arial;">Task 1) Review and evaluate all technical assistance.</span> <span style="font-family:arial;"><br />a) Determine the functional links between the “Drawers” of the toolbox and the appropriate sections of the various technical </span> <span style="font-family:arial;">assistance programs to identify the various tools to be included.</span> <span style="font-family:arial;"><br />b) Organize and consolidate information for “ease of use” and, where necessary, make arrangements for cooperative agreements </span> <span style="font-family:arial;">with other agencies and institutions.</span> <span style="font-family:arial;"><br /><br />Task 2) Design formats for review of tools (tourism resources and information). </span> <span style="font-family:arial;"><br /><br />Task 3) Write tool reviews.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Task 4) Identify examples and links to identified web sites. We will identify Internet sites that </span> <span style="font-family:arial;"> serve as good examples of rural tourism development. We will summarize these sites </span> <span style="font-family:arial;"> and provide linkages to them.</span> <span style="font-family:arial;"><br /><br />Task 5) Set up the Internet mechanism for on-line discussions and information exchange. We will provide and manage on-line </span> <span style="font-family:arial;">discussion groups that will facilitate interactions among people interested in rural tourism development.</span> <span style="font-family:arial;"><br /><br />Task 6) Develop the “Toolbox” </span> <span style="font-family:arial;"><br />a) Determine appropriate web site and graphic design for disseminating information</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">b) Design the web site and test functionality </span> <span style="font-family:arial;"><br />c) Design hard copy version </span> <span style="font-family:arial;"><br /><br />Task 7) Promote use of the Toolbox </span> <span style="font-family:arial;"><br />a) Collect mailing and e-mail lists of “target audiences”. This project will be promoted nationally. In order to leverage our </span> <span style="font-family:arial;">efforts and resources we will target Chambers of Commerce, Convention and Visitors Bureaus, and regional and other rural </span> <span style="font-family:arial;">tourism development organizations that can disseminate information about the Tourism Toolbox to their constituents. In </span> <span style="font-family:arial;">addition, we will identify state and federal agencies that are involved in tourism development.</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">b) Develop promotional plan—post cards, e-mail, Internet search engines</span> <span style="font-family:arial;"> <br /><br />Task 8) Pilot-test the web-based Tourism Toolbox on a sub-set of identified audiences<br /> </span> <span style="font-family:arial;">a) Evaluate pilot-test</span> <span style="font-family:arial;"><br />b) Re-design web site and toolbox organization as necessary</span> <span style="font-family:arial;"><br /><br />Task 9) Fully implement Web site toolbox and promote.</span> <span style="font-family:arial;"><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">II. Program evaluation</span></span> <span style="font-family:arial;"><br />Methods to evaluate the web site will include time on site, depth into site, an on-line user questionnaire, and response </span> <span style="font-family:arial;">cards from users of the hardcopy version. Tasks to evaluate the program are as follows: </span> <span style="font-family:arial;"><br /><br />Task 1) Design evaluation instruments</span> <span style="font-family:arial;"> <br />a) survey (web and hardcopy)</span> <span style="font-family:arial;"> <br />b) time on site (web)</span> <span style="font-family:arial;"> <br />c) depth in-site (web)</span> <span style="font-family:arial;"> <br />d) on-the-ground evaluations (web and hardcopy)</span> <span style="font-family:arial;"><br /><br />Task 2) Formal evaluation of Rural Tourism Development Toolbox </span> <span style="font-family:arial;"> <br />a) Collect and analyze survey data </span> <span style="font-family:arial;"> <br />b) Conduct on-the-ground evaluation of users of the toolbox</span> <span style="font-family:arial;"><br /><br />Task 3) Maintain e-mail and telephone contact with users of the Tourism Toolbox for an ongoing evaluation of the Tourism </span> <span style="font-family:arial;">Toolbox.</span> <span style="font-family:arial;"><br /><br />Task 4) Evaluate descriptions of tourism activities actually developed as a result of the Tourism Toolbox.</span> <span style="font-family:arial;"><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Expected results</span></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">The RRES Toolbox will help rural citizens to gain access to more information about community and business development. It </span> <span style="font-family:arial;">will inform residents about the variety of tools they can use for income diversification. </span> <span style="font-family:arial;">The Internet provides one of the most effective ways to find information.<br /><br />However, available search engines do not </span> <span style="font-family:arial;">necessarily locate the “best” information and the quantity of web sites returned from a “search” can be overwhelming, </span> <span style="font-family:arial;">especially for people who do not use the Internet extensively. In addition, it is difficult to assess these resources (web </span> <span style="font-family:arial;">sites) regarding costs and benefits, or their effectiveness for a particular application or user.<br /><br />The RRES Toolbox will </span> <span style="font-family:arial;">address these issues by locating the most pertinent resources, then making them available from a single web site, and </span> <span style="font-family:arial;">providing evaluation reviews (quality assurance).</span> <span style="font-family:arial;">Based on current knowledge of communities and business owners that need assistance, we expect considerable response to the </span> <span style="font-family:arial;">RRES Toolbox.<br /><br />This concept has developed from our experience and interaction with rural people as they consider creating new </span> <span style="font-family:arial;">businesses, and or products. Most people who live in rural areas are there because they feel a special connection with the </span> <span style="font-family:arial;">land, and would like to stay there. However, economic pressures are forcing people to abandon or subdivide farms and ranches. </span> <span style="font-family:arial;">Increasingly rural people are recognizing the need to diversify their economies. </span> <span style="font-family:arial;">Another unique strategy of this program is to identify our target audiences and “market” the RRES Toolbox. Over time, as we </span> <span style="font-family:arial;">correspond with its users, we will further refine the program to meet the needs of larger audiences.</span></span>Andy Skadberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01597045259170791659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8131771729081394054.post-35546023225992842512009-08-07T11:41:00.000-07:002009-08-07T12:32:07.039-07:00Case Study: Creating the Platform the Traveler Tourism and Community Network<span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;" >Case Study: Creating the Platform the Traveler Tourism and Community Network</span> <span style="font-family:arial;"><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">What is the Traveler Tourism and Community Network?</span></span> <span style="font-family:arial;"><br /><br />The Traveler Tourism and Community Network (hereafter Traveler Network) was a network of free-standing kiosks (or panel </span> <span style="font-family:arial;">displays) and virtual portals installed in various locations throughout the region (hotels, airports, attractions, etc.). A </span> <span style="font-family:arial;">pilot project called TexBox Tourism and Community Network” was developed and deployed in Texas in the United States in 2003. </span> <span style="font-family:arial;">TexBoxes (electronic information kiosks), during the pilot project provided important travel information and services to the </span> <span style="font-family:arial;">traveling public. The Traveler Network will c</span></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">reate numerous additional benefits, a few include:</span> <span style="font-family:arial;"><br /><br />• a new “marketing” venue for rural communities and businesses interested in growing tourism. </span> <span style="font-family:arial;"><br />• hubs for regional and community collaboration and networking.<br /></span> <span style="font-family:arial;">• valuable capabilities to disseminate critical emergency/medical services to rural areas.<br /></span> <span style="font-family:arial;">• a system to capture valuable information about the traveling public, their activities, preferences and feedback.</span> <span style="font-family:arial;"><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Introduction and </span></span></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;" >Demonstration Project Overview</span> <span style="font-family:arial;"><br /><br />Proposed is the development of a demonstration version of free-standing computer information kiosk including: cabinet, </span> <span style="font-family:arial;">computer hardware (CPU, touch-screen monitor, etc.) and software necessary to facilitate access to an online based system </span> <span style="font-family:arial;">that will provide information to the traveling public.<br /><br />Initial information provided will include:</span> <span style="font-family:arial;"><br />• Tourist information (accommodations, attractions, services, etc.)</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">• Weather</span> <span style="font-family:arial;"><br />• Road conditions</span> <span style="font-family:arial;"><br />• Route information</span> <span style="font-family:arial;"><br />• Safety Information</span> <span style="font-family:arial;"><br />• User surveys</span> <span style="font-family:arial;"><br />• Emergency services</span> <span style="font-family:arial;"><br />• Interpret</span></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">ive information about the area (natural, cultural, etc.)</span> <span style="font-family:arial;"><br />• Local industry contact information</span> <span style="font-family:arial;"><br /><br />Each chosen site will need to have Internet access available to the kiosk, preferably high-speed.<br /></span> <span style="font-family:arial;"><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Justification</span></span> <span style="font-family:arial;"><br />Travelers typically know little about the places they are traveling through. They also have questions that need to be </span> <span style="font-family:arial;">answered (e.g. road conditions, weather, etc.). In conjunction with the efforts of various tourism development entities, this </span> <span style="font-family:arial;">proposal outlines the creation of a network of digital information kiosks/portals that will provide answers to traveler’s </span> <span style="font-family:arial;">questions.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" >Purpose</span> <span style="font-family:arial;"><br />The purpose of the Traveler Network is to provide: </span> <span style="font-family:arial;"><br />1) a complete “package” of answers to questions that traveler’s might have, </span> <span style="font-family:arial;"><br />2) customized information about the places they are traveling through, </span> <span style="font-family:arial;"><br />3) support for small businesses in rural communities and regions, and</span> <span style="font-family:arial;"><br />4) contribute to coordination o</span></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">f tourism development efforts throughou</span></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">t the region.</span> <span style="font-family:arial;"><br /><br />The intent of the Traveler Network is to help the region and communities be better hosts to visitors and do a better job of </span> <span style="font-family:arial;">“Marketing Your Region”. In addition, the Traveler Network can provide dynamic, interesting and timely information to users </span> <span style="font-family:arial;">at locations where it is not practical to have the facilities staffed. In addition, the Traveler Network can serve as a </span> <span style="font-family:arial;">template that can easily be adapted in other regions. </span> <span style="font-family:arial;"><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Steps in the Process</span></span> <span style="font-family:arial;"><br />Solomon Source Consulting and our regional contacts will perform the following tasks as part of this project:</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">• Conduct on-site reconnaissance and perform research in the areas and communities where the kiosks/portals will be.</span> <span style="font-family:arial;"><br />• Contact communities located near each kiosk for assistance with gathering local information about attractions, </span> <span style="font-family:arial;">accommodations and other pertinent information.</span> <span style="font-family:arial;"><br />• Purchase, assemble and test the hardware, software and other equipment for the physical kiosk system (including the </span> <span style="font-family:arial;">cabinet and any accessories).</span> <span style="font-family:arial;"><br />• Research and identify Web based resources and information that will co</span></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">nstitute the “informational content” of kiosk </span> <span style="font-family:arial;">system.</span> <span style="font-family:arial;"><br />• Develop Graphic User Interface (GUI) necessary to provide touch-screen access to information provid</span></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">ed through the </span> <span style="font-family:arial;">kiosks.</span> <span style="font-family:arial;"><br />• Develop Web based resources (Web pages, text, graphics, maps, etc.) that will be stored locally on the computer CPU </span> <span style="font-family:arial;">that will be housed in each of the kiosk units.</span> <span style="font-family:arial;"><br />• Develop Web based resources (Web pages, text, graphics, databases, maps, etc.) that will be accessed from a Web </span> <span style="font-family:arial;">server housed at a centralized location </span> <span style="font-family:arial;"><br />• The final “pilot” product will present a prototype with some, but not all, of the information developed.</span> <span style="font-family:arial;"><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Benefits:</span></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">A Regional Tourism Development Hub?</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">The Traveler Network can become a tourism hub, creating a communication and collaboration network to assist communities and </span> <span style="font-family:arial;">businesses to share information and resources. The Traveler Network is a system that can provide “marketing” exposure for </span> <span style="font-family:arial;">rural communities to travelers who stop in communities and tourism attractions and </span></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">Travel Information Centers annually. <br /><br /></span> <span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" >Partners in the Traveler Network</span> <span style="font-family:arial;"><br />A cornerstone of the Traveler Network is that the “content” of each will be developed and maintained by regional groups </span> <span style="font-family:arial;">(local Chambers of Commerce, Convention & visitors bureaus, etc.) who live near the visitor facilities or attractions. Local </span> <span style="font-family:arial;">responsibility can transform the project into a community grassro</span></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">ots-based effort. This design distributes responsibility of </span> <span style="font-family:arial;">developing and maintaining the content to local groups who are one of the primary beneficiaries of the system, besides the </span> <span style="font-family:arial;">traveling public. </span> <span style="font-family:arial;"><br /><br />Regional tourism destinations can become more important for nearby communities because the information technology </span> <span style="font-family:arial;">infrastructure outlined in this proposal might very well establish regional and community tourism information centers as </span> <span style="font-family:arial;">“Hubs” for community and regional tourism development. The Traveler Network can answer customer’s questions while it can also </span> <span style="font-family:arial;">address several other important issues that </span></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">are facing the tourism industry, rural communities, and citizens in the </span> <span style="font-family:arial;">Department. A few of these are outlined briefly below.</span> <span style="font-family:arial;"><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Addressing the Needs of Both User Groups</span></span> <span style="font-family:arial;"><br />The Traveler Network can help regions and the tourism agencies to satisfy the needs of communities’ and travelers. </span> <span style="font-family:arial;">Communities need to promote their areas to the traveling public, and travelers need travel information and ways to find </span> <span style="font-family:arial;">tourism opportunities. The Traveler Network accomplishes this while satisfying several goals for regions and states, its </span> <span style="font-family:arial;">citizens, and the people that are visiting the country. A few of these include:</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" >Easing Traveler’s—Travel Anxieties—S</span></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" >afety & Security </span> <span style="font-family:arial;"><br />The Traveler Network will provide important safety and security information which can potentially reduce traffic fatalities </span> <span style="font-family:arial;">and ensure that traveler’s concerns are minimized, while maximizing public awareness of safety issues.</span> <span style="font-family:arial;"><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Create Tourism Marketing Opportunities for Communities and Businesses</span></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">The Traveler Network will provide communities a wa</span></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">y to attract travelers to spend some time in their region. Marketing for </span> <span style="font-family:arial;">rural areas is constantly a challenge. The kiosks and portals at designated locations would provide useful information to </span> <span style="font-family:arial;">travelers and create a new vehicle to reach potential customers who at the present time are driving by with little knowledge </span> <span style="font-family:arial;">about the area<span style="font-style: italic;">.</span></span> <span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" ><br /><br />Avoid Creating a New Government Agency or Bureaucracy</span> <span style="font-family:arial;"><br />The Traveler Network will provide additional information without creating a need for additional on-site personnel. The design </span> <span style="font-family:arial;">of th</span></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">e Traveler Network facilitates gathering information and providing a network for inputting, accessing and updating the </span> <span style="font-family:arial;">information. The majority of content production and management will be the responsibility of the communities where the </span> <span style="font-family:arial;">touris</span></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">m kiosks are located.</span> <span style="font-family:arial;"><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Collect Important Information About Tourism’s Impact</span></span> <span style="font-family:arial;"><br />Embedded in the Traveler Network kiosks technology are the capabilities to capture important information about users of the </span> <span style="font-family:arial;">system. Several strategies have been developed and can be used to gather important information about tourism in the chosen </span> <span style="font-family:arial;">region. In addition, this information will be invaluable to policy and decision makers (local, regional, national) and </span> <span style="font-family:arial;">researchers interested in studying tourism’s impacts.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Internet Access Kiosk</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Internet acc</span></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">ess Kiosks will be installed in designated facilities in a well-lit, secure location. They will be secured to the </span> <span style="font-family:arial;">floor to prevent theft. The kiosks that are being considered will be</span></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"> heavy-duty with durable components, designed </span> <span style="font-family:arial;">specifically for use in areas without supervision. Other components such as a security camera will be included to discourage </span> <span style="font-family:arial;">vandalism. </span></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">An example of a kiosk is shown in Diagram 8.</span></span><span style="font-size:85%;"> <span style="font-family:arial;"><br /><br />The kiosk will be attractive with a modular design. It will include th</span></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">e following components: </span> <span style="font-family:arial;"><br />1) Kiosk Enclosure</span> <span style="font-family:arial;"><br />2) Color monitor (optional touch screen)</span> <span style="font-family:arial;"><br />3) Computer CPU with CD drive (up-to-date processor and </span> <span style="font-family:arial;"> RAM/ROM memory)</span> <span style="font-family:arial;"><br />4) Durable keyboard </span> <span style="font-family:arial;"><br />5) Durable trackball mouse (optional outdoor)</span></span><span style="font-size:85%;"> <span style="font-family:arial;"><br />6) Camera</span> <span style="font-family:arial;"><br />7) Speakers/sound system</span> <span style="font-family:arial;"><br />8) Internet ready with wireless capability </span> <span style="font-family:arial;"> (optional wireless Internet "hot-spot")</span> <span style="font-family:arial;"><br />9) Promotional space</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"><br /><br /></span></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpVpJnqnheJ2oSp4MgYcbbqqdgpGp3NWYXT7cVTI5nuF0uOYjRUgayH-UjE8NfXi379kaSqNT0rhXrwXjc9OiciROmKLPCKIpLV9Bgf2zBF1q40wqLkLFDJKsBN1v2snPkf9bZevyR7zA/s1600-h/kioskred.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 328px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpVpJnqnheJ2oSp4MgYcbbqqdgpGp3NWYXT7cVTI5nuF0uOYjRUgayH-UjE8NfXi379kaSqNT0rhXrwXjc9OiciROmKLPCKIpLV9Bgf2zBF1q40wqLkLFDJKsBN1v2snPkf9bZevyR7zA/s400/kioskred.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5367295657739706674" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">Figure 2: Example kiosk</span> <span style="font-family:arial;"><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Promotion and Public </span></span></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" >Relation Campaigns</span> <span style="font-family:arial;"><br />Working in concert with the existing projects in the region, “Experience Your Region” will launch a public relations </span> <span style="font-family:arial;">campaign to promote this project in a selected region, nationwide and internationally. It is likely that this project will be </span> <span style="font-family:arial;">the first of its kind in this country and it will serve as a model for other states considering this type of offering.<br /><br />To </span> <span style="font-family:arial;">sustain the positive publicity about this initiative, “Experience Your Region” (see branding discussion in </span></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">Initiative II) </span> <span style="font-family:arial;">will actively promote this service utilizing its media contacts and outlets and throu</span></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">gh its relationships with governmental </span> <span style="font-family:arial;">offices, other businesses, tourism asso</span></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">ciations and other organizations.<br /><br /></span></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgyYKgSpH1Kv5WifPeaaS-PB0bth0TZUugGTsOl5C3BaOcl49VDVUVZw3fbQl1fMLKb7LEnPLyd5Z8AjWK-m7WIG0T_NfI_OpKc-6yldZFlFfOjPJpz-eiX4jOtHF_0HWBrOS-Fe96it8/s1600-h/TravelerHostSystem.bmp"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 237px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgyYKgSpH1Kv5WifPeaaS-PB0bth0TZUugGTsOl5C3BaOcl49VDVUVZw3fbQl1fMLKb7LEnPLyd5Z8AjWK-m7WIG0T_NfI_OpKc-6yldZFlFfOjPJpz-eiX4jOtHF_0HWBrOS-Fe96it8/s400/TravelerHostSystem.bmp" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5367294621687192738" border="0" /></a>Andy Skadberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01597045259170791659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8131771729081394054.post-25726493737054306862009-08-07T11:16:00.000-07:002009-08-07T11:40:14.755-07:00Action Center 3 - Technologies – the Platform for Success<span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:85%;" ><span style="font-weight: bold;">Action Center 3) Technologies – the Platform for Success</span><br /><br />We believe we are at one of the most fortuitous times in human history. The Internet presents unprecedented opportunities.</span> <span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:85%;" >Just think about how the telephone transformed the world - simple voice communication, primarily 1 to 1 communication.<br /></span><br /><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:85%;" >Now think about the Internet. Potentially, innumerable channels of communication o</span><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:85%;" >pen simultaneously. And what can we exchange?: voice, music, video, knowledge, data, information, Money!, and even scents. - All at the touch of a button. But in our view we have barely tapped into a fraction of its potential. We have often used the analogy of our use of the Internet to be like “kids playing in a sandbox”, but we think that we have really put any toys</span><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:85%;" > in the sandbox yet, we are just throwing</span> <span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:85%;" >sand at each other.<br /><br />The potentials in our view are boundless. Many of the tools, software and technologies have already been developed, but much</span> <span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:85%;" >of these are contributing to further fragmentation. We see our opportunities as looking at the specific needs of certain groups of peoples and providing them the necessary information tools and resources to help them advance their lives. That is</span> <span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:85%;" >why we are focusing on what we call “collaborative networking”. The idea is to facilitate the creation of substantive relationships, that help people of like minds or interests come together. Then provide them the necessary access to information and services to facilitate them to collaborate with busines</span><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:85%;" >s or social or community development interests.<br /><br />But “like minds” can be a continually evolving concept. One example in tourism is to have a biking company collaborate with a bed and breakfast. It seems to be a simple connection, but these two business operators are not usually viewed to have like</span> <span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:85%;" >minds or similar interests, but they do. There are as many possibilities as the imagination can create.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Challenge: time, ease of access, productivity and communication</span><br /><br />There are challenges, but in the right mind-set those challenges transform into opportunities. Following are some preliminary</span> <span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:85%;" >ideas about creation of these “collaborative networks”. Some key elements include: efficient for users, support effective time management, support effective exchange of ideas and information, and collaboration. The technologies need to operate</span> <span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:85%;" >seamlessly and be easy to use for all audiences. Additionally, these collaboration networks need to create a productive</span> <span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:85%;" >working environment and one that promotes communication.</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;font-size:85%;" ><br />Basic principles that we recommend for effective online collaboration:</span><br /><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:85%;" ><br />In order to achieve the highest quality experiences, we have been working on tools that assist our users (user group(s)) to:<br />- find what they are looking for – easily!</span><br /><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:85%;" >- Provide access to content 24/7/365<br />- communicate efficiently and effectively (e.g. live, or at collaborators convenience)<br />- remotely work together</span><br /><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:85%;" >- not require a significant “learning curve” to utilize<br />- get access to the standard tools<br />- provide an engaging experience for network members<br /></span><br /><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:85%;" >Our proposed approach will be to evolve and expand these existing collaboration networking capabilities. The emphasis of our approach will be to expand the utility of existing networks to provide ways for people to collaborate instead of just communicating (or social networking). We are aware that there are numerous</span><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:85%;" > tools that are available for effective coordination (online learning environments). However, our observation is that these tools tend to be disparate and not </span><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:85%;" >combined to provide a complete solution.<br /><br />We intend to utilize these existing capabilities but also to improve on them, initially by using the techniques outlined below. At the outset, an important realization is that a significant proportion of one of our first audiences (youth and students), are already “fluent” and totally adapted to an online environm</span><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:85%;" >ent. Thus, a part of our ultimate audience is already well prepared to utilize the resources and platform (Internet) that we intend to use. They should also be </span><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:85%;" >instrumental in our efforts to extend our impacts and capabilities. Our primary aim is to improve collaboration, coordination and communication with an ultimate goal to substantiate the content and effectiveness without affecting usability.<br /><br />- User feedback</span><br /><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:85%;" >- Network participants performance evaluation and testing<br />- multi-mode distance collaboration capabilties<br />o chat capabilities,<br />o video,</span><br /><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:85%;" >o document/presentation shared mark-up<br />- virtual environments (adapting gaming environments for more immersed user experiences)<br />- document sharing with ease of use as a focus (e.g. Googledocs, etc).<br />- team and project coordination tools (e.g. calendar, shared projects, etc.)<br /><br /> Preliminarily the IAmSharing will need to provide the capabilities to support:</span><br /><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:85%;" >- discussion boards, chat rooms, and other communication platforms<br /> - tools supporting distance collaboration and project management<br /> - potentially, virtual laboratories<br /></span><br /><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:85%;" >As highlighted by the Great Plains Interactive Distance Education Alliance (Great Plains IDEA), one of the most significant challenges that will be faced by a collaborative network will be to coordinate and meld the relationships between the various </span><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:85%;" >institutions. Moxely and Maes stated emphatically that in their alliance is “an agreement on principles preceded agreement of</span> <span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:85%;" >policies”. Rosabeth Moss Kanter (1994) identified three fundamental aspects of business alliances that apply to higher education:<br /><br />1) Successful alliances yield benefits for the partners and evolve progressively in their possibilities.<br />2) Successful alliances involve collaboration (creating new value together) rather than mere exchange (getting something </span><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:85%;" >back for what you put in).<br />3) Successful alliances are supported by a dense web of interpersonal connections and internal infrastructures that enhance learning; they cannot be controlled by formal systems.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">The Network – Creating Critical Mass and Supporting via Technologies</span><br /></span><br /><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:85%;" >It is a well established theory in tourism that regional models are necessary to sustain a viable base of resources for </span><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:85%;" >attracting visitors. These principles for regionalism are now being embraced as necessary for all levels of economic development (see Rural Policy Conference hosted by the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, 2004).<br /><br />We see an even broader implication of this understanding and envision, potentially, an entire restructuring of societies. </span><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:85%;" >Toward that end a critical element of this process will be the utilization of technologies for forming, and facilitating </span><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:85%;" >these network functions. To illustrate this idea we will use tourism, in this section, as a lead driver for this process.<br /><br />Thus the illustrations and “case-study” focus on tourism. However, since tourism as an industry touches most sectors of the</span> <span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:85%;" >economy in some form or fashion, it is easy to expand the idea of “critical mass” to the other aspects of regional and community development. The beauty of the Internet and computer software and technologies is that once the network is</span> <span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:85%;" >constructed the machine will actually coordinate, track, and monitor all activities, in perpetuity.<br /><br />Diagram 13 depicts the need to establish a critical mass of attractions in order to attract more visitors and to be able to support an international branding effort for enhancing tourism development (the map in diagram 13 is the Department of Quindio, Colombia). In addition, through the pooling of organizational, institutional and community resources, capacity building is enhanced via improvements in efficiencies and effectiveness due to imp</span><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:85%;" >rove</span><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:85%;" >d communication and coordination.<br /><br />Effective coordination is easily accommodated by utilizing Internet Communication Technologies (ICT). Due to the ease of “manifesting” and supporting “The Network” with ICT tools, we will be better able to support regional networking and collaboration. The model we employ is about cooperation and creativity rather </span><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:85%;" >than a competitive model. This focus results in the greatest benefits for the greatest number of people, “the whole is greater than the sum</span><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:85%;" > of its parts”.<br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1SXMh_7MpOjox9nm8ggoTBGkmjiEb0oHUzeslkSZ5qcDx6kmQLXuCjW2CsdZ9UVd4EEhmhv1k-cSVWQj6ahbetRP2Kcy1S30HhM8-hBZ3AU_FPkgbu7zjqYGAR-fn_UGs-U2p1qda7ZQ/s1600-h/RegionalNetworks_BigPie_Quindio.bmp"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 298px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1SXMh_7MpOjox9nm8ggoTBGkmjiEb0oHUzeslkSZ5qcDx6kmQLXuCjW2CsdZ9UVd4EEhmhv1k-cSVWQj6ahbetRP2Kcy1S30HhM8-hBZ3AU_FPkgbu7zjqYGAR-fn_UGs-U2p1qda7ZQ/s400/RegionalNetworks_BigPie_Quindio.bmp" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5367288222438651186" border="0" /></a><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:85%;" ><br />Diagram 13: Establishing a critical mass of attractions via coordination and technology – (example provided adapted from Quindio, Colombia initiative – “Viva Quindio)</span><br /><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:85%;" ><br /><br /><br /></span><br /><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:85%;" ><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Electronic (Virtual) Meeting Places – An Interface for Commerce and Education</span><br /><br />Real, substantive content needs to be generated from the grass-roots. Otherwise information is superficial and doesn’t get to </span><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:85%;" >the real story. Every place, business and person has a story to tell. In order to create this content we need to create a “grass-fire” of inspiration to provide a way for people to be able to tell their story – whatever it m</span><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:85%;" >ight be. This process of people catching onto a wave of new ideas or technologies is called “adoption-diffusion”. This term describes the process by which people start taking part of a new phenomenon.<br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguxzFVQbxs0AeP0-NcpDMxvHsg29iCj7TPgE7M1CBZKtYDDo7zJVKSS0XIUJkTN_6CkxQ8LbW9qjLcNTPhWndFwrt5imy6fFH1JQ0j3iSXjUxl9gxF26w50qag0bfdQfXHpgQ3halLHlM/s1600-h/meetingplace.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 345px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguxzFVQbxs0AeP0-NcpDMxvHsg29iCj7TPgE7M1CBZKtYDDo7zJVKSS0XIUJkTN_6CkxQ8LbW9qjLcNTPhWndFwrt5imy6fFH1JQ0j3iSXjUxl9gxF26w50qag0bfdQfXHpgQ3halLHlM/s400/meetingplace.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5367289684020894226" border="0" /></a><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:85%;" >Diagram 14: Electronic (Virtual) Meeting Places – An Interface for Commerce and Education – supporting exchange between users and content provider<br /><br />Diagram 14 depicts what we call the “Virtual Meeting Place” (web portal) which shows the flow of information and services from a group of content providers (e.g. businesses, institutions, organizations, etc.) to their customers or constituents. We believe the quality of the exchange is based upon two primary components 1) the efficiency and effectiveness of the technologies to facilitate the exchange (technologies & tools), and 2) the usefulness and usability of the information and services being exchanged – connected to the idea of “stickiness” in ICT circles. (Also see “flow experience” or optimal experience theory, Mihály Csíkszentmihályi)<br /><br />Much could be written on these two items. For brevity we suggest that there are challenges and tremendous opportunities to improve in both areas. Secondly, we see that for our objectives, the most critical element is to decipher existing information into useful materials for those entities that we intend to serve. Our observation is that within the Internet as a whole (including well established institutions) that there is more than enough information available to satisfy almost all purposes. The challenge, and opportunity, is to convert and/or translate this information into a form that is understandable and usable for various constituencies. We refer to this process as “sifting through the haystack”, which for the Internet is becoming more challenging every day. This is because every day more content is being created and also the potential to get lost in the labyrinth increases. The next critical step is to develop the technology tools to facilitate these exchanges in a way that satisfies the users, and helps them to improve their lives.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">“Meaningful” Content is King!</span><br /><br />In order for new ideas to move “across the landscape”, metaphorically speaking, people need to see how these new services might benefit them. It seems entirely possible that with these technologies, and audience appropriate content, that the process of adoption-diffusion can be accelerated. A key to this will be using the tools at our disposal to carry the message of “benefits” and by making the adoption process painless.<br /><br />In the domain of the services that we intend to offer, there may actually be more than one thing that is being adopted by our customers. For example, new environmental agricultural practices and the technology they are using. The need to consider and address our customer’s fears, concerns and other obstacles that might deter their using our technology is paramount. The best way to address these issues is to understand our customers and make sure the services are user friendly and to provide rapid rewards that will help them realize the overall benefits in the shortest time possible.</span>Andy Skadberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01597045259170791659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8131771729081394054.post-6038194001396312932009-08-07T10:53:00.000-07:002009-08-07T11:10:41.998-07:00Action Center 2 - Idea and Product Visioning & Creation Center<span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Action Center 2) Idea and Product Visioning & Creation Center</span><br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhet2Y_htY9et7BLvtD-R9wjDlO1EBuZsgX-YPOvK-7sefzyLjc2XQLH6OfkuauJCWIBEgNM3lcTo8E4fpsyUZNcTv104llIowX4ZYIxS2sMaSglsOmLMEt2Nt5v6RDA-VQNU7OFI_m8tY/s1600-h/IPVCCStarEnglish.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 392px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhet2Y_htY9et7BLvtD-R9wjDlO1EBuZsgX-YPOvK-7sefzyLjc2XQLH6OfkuauJCWIBEgNM3lcTo8E4fpsyUZNcTv104llIowX4ZYIxS2sMaSglsOmLMEt2Nt5v6RDA-VQNU7OFI_m8tY/s400/IPVCCStarEnglish.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5367284243399280786" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">This section describes a second critical tangible “center” for the RRES, that which empowers entrepreneurship. In combination with the Institute, the part of the strategy is one that brings a tangible asset which results in many benefits. Focusing on</span> <span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">supporting the process of generating new ideas and products, there is a cooperative nature grounded in the ultimate aim to</span> <span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">support regional communities, businesses, organizations, but ultimately individuals. The model is designed in a way for it to be adaptable. It includes a practical arrangement for the organizati</span><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">on, its functions, the steps to implementation and an </span><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">overview of the technologies that will facilitate complet</span><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">ion.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">A Proposed Structure for the IPVCC – three legs: Business, Social, I</span></span><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">nfrastructure Introduction a Cooperative Model</span><br /><br />In the world today there are three primary types of organizations: business (financial), non-profit (social good) and institution/ government (infrastructure and public services). Usually, these three types of organizations end up attempting </span><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">to support all three of these functions within their organization, but do not succeed because the main focus of the </span><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">organization is on one aspect and are not designed to support the other </span><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">activities. A balanced organization should give </span><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">adequate importance to each function. For example, if infrastructural support falters, the success of the organization will be diminished. Likewise, if the “quality of life” (social) diminishes then the whole organism suffers. Finally, if adequate </span><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">financial resources (business) are not generated and sustained, </span><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">there will be a breakdown of the whole organization (community, re</span><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">gion).</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlGJQ-fdOh3xi4v3H1jjAk9j0WwCshyCCVZhWRe8fsp4eqFsixz1ZgrGK8QxNwf9DXsXMe3_fbv3qiJYQdeM209u1wZsHVIP3J4qk5TR0TH7CPIN8ZwLpG4xK9CdwSAsJMPW4SIVkgn08/s1600-h/SolSourceProductCtr.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 346px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlGJQ-fdOh3xi4v3H1jjAk9j0WwCshyCCVZhWRe8fsp4eqFsixz1ZgrGK8QxNwf9DXsXMe3_fbv3qiJYQdeM209u1wZsHVIP3J4qk5TR0TH7CPIN8ZwLpG4xK9CdwSAsJMPW4SIVkgn08/s400/SolSourceProductCtr.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5367283405583702882" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Figure 1:</span> Idea and Product Visioning & Creation</span><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"> Center</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">It appears that a blending of the primary functions of these three entities would make for a more efficient organization. The</span> <span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">institution would be responsible for managing the infrast</span><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">ructure and the services of the Cooperative. The business would be</span> <span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">responsible for the fiscal and financial (marketing, business development) aspects and the continued monetary </span><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">support/management for the other two legs of the organiz</span><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">ation. The n</span><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">on-profit portion of the organization would be responsible for the programs that ensure the continued vitality of the region, such as education, social and other community </span><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">empowerment programs.<br /><br /></span><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">Figure 1 provides a schematic for the overarching components of the Idea and Product Visioning & Creation Center (IPVCC). The foci of the IPVCC will be on small business (products</span><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">, services) creation and support and tourism. The tourism strategy will follow the regional development model as described in detail later in this document with a focus on education, marketing and technology. The diagram below shows the initial structure and flows of activities and organizational functions of the</span> <span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">IPVCC. The items “Education” and the “Rural Urban Nexus” iden</span><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">tify the first opportunity spaces and the way the process will begin will be through the successful launching and implementation of “pilot projects.”<br /></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioSl3LuQnyOvprZRHIKt6N0WykUDbcWoT6eyLozG5QH57WWkH7LatwAlr7L7Z-pldDEF7Qc8M7_Hsxb4aGQK1kA5p6VVh00SSXHQzqPBIaIgSLvs4W6ocqWJJle0J6ydqy30kpPKmQcQU/s1600-h/RRES_IPVCCStruture.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 206px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioSl3LuQnyOvprZRHIKt6N0WykUDbcWoT6eyLozG5QH57WWkH7LatwAlr7L7Z-pldDEF7Qc8M7_Hsxb4aGQK1kA5p6VVh00SSXHQzqPBIaIgSLvs4W6ocqWJJle0J6ydqy30kpPKmQcQU/s400/RRES_IPVCCStruture.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5367282990030122594" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Diagram 10:</span> Functional Structure (internal & external) for the RRES Idea and Product Visioning & Creation Center<br /><br />This document description only provides a brief outline of what we see as the critical functions necessary and the steps to </span><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">realize the “vision” of the IPVCC. This is a “living” document so elements can be added and expanded and adaptation will occur often, depending on the organic, evolutionary nature of this “systems” endeavor:<br /></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">Facilities necessary to accomplish our Vision<br /><br />The kinds of facilities that we will need to realize this vision are depicted in Diagram 10. Both Diagrams 10 and 11 are based on the activities occurring for several products that are in development in Colombia South America. One of our team is an</span> <span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">inventor that has several “green” products and processes to bring to market. Thus, there is a focus on the creation of the product development laboratory, testing center and shop outfitted with all the necessary tools to manufacture or fabricate</span> <span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">first production (test versions) of the various products.<br /><br />Additionally, our understanding for the su</span><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">ccess of a regional initiative is to have a physical place where the community can come and actually see the products and gain an understanding of progress for our initiative. To fulfill this we are acquiring a complex of buildings to include a productand demonstration showroom. We also want to have a “business development” section:</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Marketing, business planning, packaging</span></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"><br />Also necessary will be computer infrastructure for supporting online application development, a GIS laboratory, hyperspectral data storage, manipulation and product creation.<br /><br /></span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTVai12jjSx7Fr7ksBXzhFsrjavKRZK1Qo9m0sHjJ9KDq7gMje-8efkg8rxIIlbYrvQVXBYSPM9AmrWsWjQR6epXCvkqo8j7JgRcA7pUnTEPAJzMoNh52uDK5rw9ViOe9Fo8Ine_kwXwI/s1600-h/RRESInternalOrg.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 208px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTVai12jjSx7Fr7ksBXzhFsrjavKRZK1Qo9m0sHjJ9KDq7gMje-8efkg8rxIIlbYrvQVXBYSPM9AmrWsWjQR6epXCvkqo8j7JgRcA7pUnTEPAJzMoNh52uDK5rw9ViOe9Fo8Ine_kwXwI/s400/RRESInternalOrg.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5367282634556403602" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Diagram 11:</span> Internal Organizational Structure for the RRES Product and Idea Visioning & Creation Center<br /><br />Diagram 12 below illustrates the flow of an idea or product from conception to delivery to the market place. The center </span><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">box, is a sort of “black box” representing the flow of activities between the product creation section (Incubation) and the business side of the IPVCC. This box is depicted in organizational details in Diagrams 10 and 11. One important additional</span> <span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">aspect are the feedback loops from the products and services in the market place. These provide intelligence and continual quality control to assure that the process is functioning effectively and efficiently.<br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBtN2ayBPIu3h4Hd5fqgghddt1dhV6SQUJIIGxZYCj7N_13m7Me_7o77tuO7NkL_XcBWW-OLGsj7iyn_sPTcW3Gek2zzfmN8fh_P0PCa42-KdxTd2lxOADEGzSQg0C-sGJrpST_PotRzo/s1600-h/RCESVisionCtr.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 235px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBtN2ayBPIu3h4Hd5fqgghddt1dhV6SQUJIIGxZYCj7N_13m7Me_7o77tuO7NkL_XcBWW-OLGsj7iyn_sPTcW3Gek2zzfmN8fh_P0PCa42-KdxTd2lxOADEGzSQg0C-sGJrpST_PotRzo/s400/RCESVisionCtr.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5367282025863386786" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Diagram 12:</span> Flow diagram of ideas moving through the RRES Idea and Product Visioning and Creation Center</span>Andy Skadberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01597045259170791659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8131771729081394054.post-36842453187233122322009-08-07T10:37:00.000-07:002009-08-07T10:45:56.242-07:00Action Center 1 - The RRES Institute (Hub for Education and Outreach)<span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Action Center 1) The RRES Institute (Hub for Education and Outreach)</span><br /><br />As should be abundantly clear from the previous discussion, the overall success of the RRES is dependent on all the parts of our approach. To that end, Education is one of the pillars, or in many respects be viewed as the “hub” of the mandala.<br /><br />The RRES Institute is grounded in three primary concepts 1) creating a central repository of knowledge and technical</span> <span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">assistance, 2) providing strong extension and outreach, and 3) utilizing both in-person and technology based means to deliver various educational content and services. Areas of expertise that are developed are derived from the needs of the specific</span> <span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">region where the RRES is established.<br /><br />As depicted in diagram 9, the success of the RRES is a matter of fulfilling the mission of our strategy which is to successfully empower communities and people. This is accomplished, in short, by utilizing the resources available to us and to create useful educational programs and technical assistance.<br /><br />A primary role of the RRES Institute will be to provide access to information and technical assistance to the region with an</span> <span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">entrepreneurial focus. The RRES Institute will support a holistic economic development strategy focused on all aspects of a community’s economy. Common areas needing support and expansion commonly include tourism, innovation in agriculture and small business development. As depicted in the bottom center of Diagram 9, there are an abundance of resources that are available</span> <span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">through existing institutions around the globe. The key is to decipher, refine and adapt the materials to be usable to each specific audience. The RRES Institute will be comprised of an institutional (physical location) and a Web based distance learning resource center to be accessed through “partner” organizations (e.g. universities, Internet cafes and/or community</span> <span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">and school computer centers/classrooms). Additionally the RRES Institute will provide on-site, hands-on training seminars to local “trainers” to create a network of “tech-transfer associates” throughout the region. It is our preference to partner with regional universities to develop educational outreach programs.<br /><br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH4DBGnjeTor6D_7MEvYZENbNMomHYcOdoVYR8IIhDrxMZ9lReYppPHDBfpIOcHMauTuE5MGlzF_SGaD_jFxScbHcLhCxCiPVNDxSgQlMOWzuZG4BBifYjWQVNZsXyK62kp0i19Wuri7c/s1600-h/GenericConceptModel.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 271px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH4DBGnjeTor6D_7MEvYZENbNMomHYcOdoVYR8IIhDrxMZ9lReYppPHDBfpIOcHMauTuE5MGlzF_SGaD_jFxScbHcLhCxCiPVNDxSgQlMOWzuZG4BBifYjWQVNZsXyK62kp0i19Wuri7c/s400/GenericConceptModel.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5367277752186244434" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Diagram 9: </span>The RRES Institute: Conceptual Model—Inputs and Outputs<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">RRES Institute – Empowerment, Economic Diversification and Innovation</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Introduction</span><br />The following discussion provides a refinement and expansion of ideas of the institute, and details about steps in the process of creating it. Preliminarily, as stated above, a basic assumption of the RRES Institute is the protection of the natural environment, which is where all wealth, and community success is derived from. The aim of the RRES is to develop strategies to grow opportunities and diversify economies, based upon existing agricultural and community necessities. The approach, based on “systems thinking” will enhance ecological sustainability by addressing traditional environmental challenges that usually result from economic pressures and improper planning.<br /><br />Additionally, this proposal recommends the development of new technologies that will facilitate this process and significantly contribute to a new platform for extending education to more people. An added benefit of these technologies will be the capabilities to track all aspects of the RRES including educational program success, marketing and business performance.<br /><br />A primary objective of the RRES Institute will be to build a bridge of benefits to communities, supporting the various industries that their economies are based upon. Tourism across the globe is emerging as a strong complimentary sector to agriculture in most rural communities. Our approach will focus on several levels, but entrepreneurship, diversification into value-added agriculture and creative business development will be primary foci. Creative and complimentary business will be encouraged—in contrast to a competitive approach. The main features of the initiative will build upon: a) a regional focus, b) the development of cooperatives, and c) adapting successful innovative initiatives from other places (e.g. Colombia, Rwanda Texas A&M project, etc.).<br /><br />Technology and education will be the vehicles for success. A primary result of the RRES will be to extend educational opportunities to broader and more diverse audiences. The effort will focus on extension outreach programs throughout the region. Once this effort has been developed, tested and evolved, the same process can be taken to other areas and adopted.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Establishing the RRES Institute - Proposed Approach</span><br /><br />1) Aim to enhance a holistic economic development strategy – tourism (ecotourism, nature, heritage and cultural tourism, etc.), agriculture, value-added agriculture, energy, entrepreneurship, micro-enterprise development.<br />2) Adapt existing educational materials available from many sources.<br />3) Develop a “custom” entrepreneurial training series (modularized) specific to the context of the host community(s) – resources can be developed with regional universities specifically adapted as “educational outreach programs”.<br />4) Develop a custom Rural Community Leadership Program<br />5) Create Web based distance learning portal(s) that could be accessed through “partner” universities, Internet cafes and/or community and school computer centers/classrooms.<br />- On-site, hands-on training seminars provided by locally trained instructors (using a train-the-trainer) approach supported via Solomon Source Consulting (seek sponsorship from agencies, non-profit organizations or other entities).<br />6) Conduct research and project benchmarking throughout the project lifecycle.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Steps in the Process</span><br />- Conduct Strategic Planning session for the RRES strategy workshop – Identify Project Board and Key Stakeholders for the coalition.<br />- Form working coalition.<br />- Identify viable sized “region(s)” to initiate project.<br />- Create short list of prospect communities (regional based preferred – see criteria below).<br />- Evaluate those communities based on a set of criteria to ensure project success.<br />- Resources for the Institute are available and some are in development, or can be adopted/integrated from a variety of sources (e.g. Extension materials from various U.S. universities, etc.).<br />- Identify potential additional funding sources (public & private)<br />- Project leaders, community(s), collaborators, and institutional partners “contextualize” the approach based on political and social climate of proposed sites.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Select “Pilot” Community Development Projects – Pending discussion</span><br />- Rural agricultural and forestry regions<br />- See criteria for selection listed below<br /><br />Potential Collaborators<br />- Communities in region<br />- Sponsoring organizations<br />- Regional (state & national) governmental representatives<br />- Private businesses<br />- Regional University(s)<br />- Etc.<br /><br />Outcomes:<br />- Stimulate/create robust rural community economies<br />- Sustainability as a driver creating sensible linkages between the various complimentary “assets” and economic sectors within the community/region<br />- Conserve (and/or enhance) the natural, historical and cultural assets of the community<br />- Enhance Quality of Life<br /><br />The RRES aims to integrate all aspects of community economic development into a centralized approach supported by a technology based information and technical assistance system. Publications, information and a variety of rudimentary tools are available to assist communities realize a more diverse set of economic development opportunities. These resources can be combined with new forms of assistance to address other important areas of need including: leadership training and development, tourism development, community enhancement, technology development and utilization, and forest, animal and plant (ecological) protection and enhancement. These areas can be supported via technical assistance and training and other support to stimulate/enhance other economic activities that are necessary for communities to flourish, while also protecting the natural and historical resource base and culture of the region.<br /><br />The approach utilized will provide incentives for the adoption and diffusion of the use of new technologies and distance learning tools and information that is, essentially, universally needed for tourism and other economic development<br />activities. New Web-based technologies can create direct economic returns (rewards) for businesses and communities. These “rewards” then will stimulate people to expand their use of computers for running and growing their businesses and community economic development programs.<br /><br />An active outreach and “marketing branch” of this initiative will promote resources and services and also conduct in-the-field research to identify and recruit communities that are “primed” with proper leadership and a community collaborative spirit. These communities (or groups of communities) can then be “seeded” with a package of incentives to stimulate their participation.<br /><br />Because the RRES is designed to be market-driven, it will be economically sustainable perpetually. Driven by a successful business development model, programs will be designed to be self-sustaining over time. Initial funds will be used to “prime” the initiative, but the “Institute” will generate revenues so that the initiative will not need to be subsidized over time.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Pilot Community (Region) Selection Criteria – (tentative and not prioritized)</span><br />- Leadership<br />- Creativity<br />- Cottage industries<br />- Relatively stable economic basis<br />- Community forestry<br />- Funding assistance available<br />- Diversity of natural resources<br />- Critical mass of tourist attractions<br />- Linkages between communities (collaborative potential)<br />- Absence of contentiousness intra-community and inter-community<br />- Infrastructure (roads, telecommunications, service industry e.g. food, lodging)<br />- Access to financial support and outside funding<br />- Social networking - capital<br />- Access – to tourism attractions by visitors, distance from University collaborators<br />- Prior leadership training<br />- Volunteer/service organizations<br />- Prior projects that may have potential to re-start or revitalize<br />- Rural development models (existing approaches – Rwanda/Texas A&M)</span>Andy Skadberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01597045259170791659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8131771729081394054.post-11920610197246434412009-08-07T10:30:00.000-07:002009-08-07T10:35:06.612-07:00Transition Step: Functional – The Puzzle<span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Transition Step: Functional – The Puzzle: A Conceptual Vision with Practical Implications</span><br /><br />Now we are going to move from the conceptual/theoretical realm to more practical. This section provides a segue to thefunctional aspects of the RRES, but also ties back to our systems thinking approach, or context. It should be apparent that</span> <span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">any community project done within “context” will have numerous activities which need to be organized and coordinated. Many of these “pieces of the puzzle” have very different characteristics and functions. So the operational activities (goals, objectives, tasks) can be very different.<br /><br />In order to help us get our mind “wrapped around” all of these pieces it has been useful for us to use the image of a puzzle to help us comprehend and organize our efforts. The puzzle put back together</span><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"> metaphorically represents the “vision” or the overall picture that we want to achieve. The pieces of the puzzle represent the various components of the strategy.<br /><br />Diagram 8 depicts this tool. It is important that the “tools” that we use for our systems approach not distract or confuse us. Using a puzzle image provides a simple, yet effective way to visualize context and, to an extent, relationships.<br /><br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-3elITO5WVclTWfgUT1OgGu63yxXejSYl1UvNKQR9jJEhZOzrlgycVPjCFTZiPE7MO6XPqMZtCGMWjSAxKRYwyUx4xyEjlDboowL370p6Iq_xbaAELAgC8sG-3lC1tiigYNndzILc_YY/s1600-h/GenericProjectpuzzle.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 330px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-3elITO5WVclTWfgUT1OgGu63yxXejSYl1UvNKQR9jJEhZOzrlgycVPjCFTZiPE7MO6XPqMZtCGMWjSAxKRYwyUx4xyEjlDboowL370p6Iq_xbaAELAgC8sG-3lC1tiigYNndzILc_YY/s400/GenericProjectpuzzle.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5367276100699196546" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"><br /><br />Diagram 8: The puzzle – a functional diagram for understanding context.<br /><br />Diagram 8 shows a preliminary set of functional components of a “generic” Regional Community Empowerment Strategy (RRES). Each piece of the puzzle is critical to manifest the vision (the puzzle picture). It is necessary to identify the separate pieces because the functional aspects of any project will be different. Each puzzle piece has its own set of steps in order to accomplish that function. Additionally, a different set of individuals will likely be responsible for different pieces of the puzzle, however, all of the pieces need to be developed in a coordinated fashion.<br /><br />This diagram is only a conceptual model since each project will have its own set of functional components (puzzle pieces) based on the organizational and regional context. However, since the Solomon Source approach has evolved from real, or existing projects (e.g. wireless internet portals, community and regional projects, etc.), there is a high likelihood that several of these components (pieces of the puzzle) can be used in any RRES.<br /><br />The “Important Issues” outline in the bottom left corner of Diagram 8 has been derived from several years of research and experience, especially as it relates to team building and keeping harmony within an organization. These are issues that we consider critical for the success for a RRES. It is our opinion that managing people inside of organizations and initiatives are one of the biggest challenges, and proper guidance and policy development provide a solid foundation for success. Thus, this short, but highly critical list identifies how potential pitfalls can be avoided. Things like “vision”, “communications”, “organizational roles and responsibilities” must be seen as paramount for creating a harmonious and successful initiative. The following section of the RRES goes into the specific organizational and functional parts of the Solomon Source RRES.</span>Andy Skadberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01597045259170791659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8131771729081394054.post-56981271938532812142009-08-07T10:15:00.000-07:002009-08-07T10:25:19.743-07:00Guiding Principle 5 - Grounding Education Principle<span style="font-family: arial;font-size:85%;" ><span style="font-weight: bold;">Guiding Principle 5) Grounding Education Principle: Experiential-Service Model – Next Generation Education</span><br /><br />Observing the performance of contemporary educational systems, and a long term view of experiential education and the service (Extension) side of the Land-grant system, we suggest that there is a more dynamic and results oriented model that could be developed and utilized for the RRES (see Diagram 7). The </span><span style="font-family: arial;font-size:85%;" >main objectives of this model are to connect the project benefactors to real-world learning, and also create a better flow of benefits to the public at large.<br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS0JOBLaRAslE1ZboRgRbRXxZ6APdwDZ38dv5Cy9SjeQYqrCId1xNE3tHn2kkxy_Nn7nZkCyEgIeIK_IrO70JR_jrhzBcSHUgkH0IR41oGXYVSntOEMYCSdMzN7q6zUsO68bNI5EEJ1M8/s1600-h/EducationModelExtension.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 276px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS0JOBLaRAslE1ZboRgRbRXxZ6APdwDZ38dv5Cy9SjeQYqrCId1xNE3tHn2kkxy_Nn7nZkCyEgIeIK_IrO70JR_jrhzBcSHUgkH0IR41oGXYVSntOEMYCSdMzN7q6zUsO68bNI5EEJ1M8/s400/EducationModelExtension.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5367273603191116546" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family: arial;font-size:85%;" ><span style="font-weight: bold;">Diagram 7:</span> Depicts the flow of the “Experiential-Service Model, the Next Generation of Education”.<br /><br />Communities and citizen are in great need of what institutions of higher learning have to offer. However the flow of knowledge out of the institution is not adequate. The flow of knowledge (and services) include, but are not limited to 1) student practical experience, 2) training in entrepreneurship/commercialization, and 3) technical assistance with a innovative dynamism outside of traditional pedagogical realms.<br /><br />In our proposed model the institutions of learning would focus on a more interactive (hands-on) discovery approach for<br />Teaching/Learning (Sharing – in the center of diagram 7). This would be directly tied to an Outreach/Service (bottom center) function which would make the educational component of the RCEP more applied and also develop a community benefits model that would be perpetually expanding.<br /><br />The over-arching theme, or driver, would be the needs of communities (businesses, organizations, institutions, individuals) (bottom circle) which, when fulfilled, provides incentives for the creation of more programs that fulfill needs and are more benefits based. As more and more students are reached, and the subsequent learning programs are expanded, there will be a resultant expansion of the domains for learning and research.<br /><br />Additionally the Experiential-Service Model for delivery of educational programs emphasizes “Experiential Learning”. The highlights of this approach are to allow students (constituents) to learn practical skills and knowledge to advance their lives. The “real-world” practicality is derived from providing discovery/learning opportunities from experiences in actual real-world situations. This “discovery/teaching/sharing” process then leads to opportunities for “Outreach and Service”.<br /><br />Outreach and active learning in communities and businesses leads to fulfilled community “needs” which will naturally evolve to more opportunities to fulfill those needs. The outcome of this process is students with a more applied and practical education, and communities being more engaged and informed about what actually is being taught, and how it can benefit them.<br /><br />A final critical element of the model relates to the emphasis on the educational programs being self-sustaining. The courses/programs being taught should be pertinent and generate enough revenues to support their own continuance. If a course becomes a burden and requires being “subsidized”, than it should be carefully evaluated to be discontinued or replaced by another course/program. Inherent in the process needs to be an understanding that there should be a business model behind this process. Having a guiding principle of “entrepreneurship and commercialization” (or “dream making”) can provide an enhancement of student’s interest in participating in the programs. Instead of seeking funding from institutions and non-profit organizations, the model could be perpetually self supporting if a portion of all business endeavors that develop from the model are fed back to fund the continued growth and development of this new educational paradigm.</span>Andy Skadberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01597045259170791659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8131771729081394054.post-31695787938686887242009-08-07T10:06:00.000-07:002009-08-07T10:13:59.998-07:00Guiding Principle 4 - Extracting Knowledge and Converting<span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;" >Guiding Principle 4) Extracting Knowledge and Converting (idea creation & development)</span> <span style="font-family:arial;"><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">A Complete Solution – Merging the Silo’s and Creating Effective Interfaces for S</span></span></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" >ervice and Information Exchange</span> <span style="font-family:arial;"><br /><br />As with previous topics introduced, an entire book could be written on the topic of institutional “silos”. However, for our </span> <span style="font-family:arial;">purposes the main point is to realize that information and knowledge have become, in a term, “locked-up” in institutions of </span> <span style="font-family:arial;">higher learning and agencies that were established to serve the public good. In higher education this issue was first </span> <span style="font-family:arial;">addressed in the Land-grant education model created during the Civil War in the United States. The Extension Service was </span> <span style="font-family:arial;">created, from the laws passed by Abraham Lincoln, with the intent to extend what was learned from land-grant colleges to the </span> <span style="font-family:arial;">public at large. John Campbell was likely the first author to boldly reveal that the “extension” or service arm of </span> <span style="font-family:arial;">institutions of higher learning have not been supported and evolved adequately (see Reclaiming a Lost Heritage: Land-grant </span> <span style="font-family:arial;">and other Initiatives of Higher Education in the 21st Century). The Extension model serves several key functions, but one </span> <span style="font-family:arial;">aspect is to put the institutional endeavors in context – fulfilling the needs of people.</span> <span style="font-family:arial;"><br /><br />In our observation this “lack of </span></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">context” or focus on really serving people is how technologies and community development </span> <span style="font-family:arial;">also are undertaken—in a sort of vacuum. In essence, they become isolated in their development with little consideration of </span> <span style="font-family:arial;">how they could advance the ability to extract and deliver the much needed knowledge and technical assistance that communities </span> <span style="font-family:arial;">are desperately seeking, (information, technical assistance) ways to solve the challenges they face.<br /><br /></span><span style="font-family:arial;">Diagram 6 depicts the concept of bringing the three “silos” that are germane to our approach into a common domain with the </span> <span style="font-family:arial;">aim to extract the knowledge from the “knowledge silos”, and use the communications infrastructure (Internet) to deliver </span> <span style="font-family:arial;">viable, common-sense solutions to communities, at any scale: city, town, organization, business, family. At this point, our </span> <span style="font-family:arial;">observation is that finding information via the Internet is like sifting through a haystack, although an incredible amount of </span> <span style="font-family:arial;">knowledge is available. We believe that </span></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">agencies and institutions should be dedicating considerable resources for how to </span> <span style="font-family:arial;">adapt and evolve their knowledge into this “new” communications and delivery platform (by the way, just creating a Web site </span> <span style="font-family:arial;">is not adequate). If they were to evaluate their mission, in the context of the possibilities afforded via the Internet, they </span> <span style="font-family:arial;">would realize an incredible opportunity was open to serve their constituencies - an efficient and cost effective way to </span> <span style="font-family:arial;">accomplish their mission.</span> <span style="font-family:arial;"><br /><br />A subsequent result of these efforts will be a sort of “co-evolutionary” process between these three “silos”. If the proper </span> <span style="font-family:arial;">methodologies for evaluating performance are created, and specific strategies for improving services are designed, then each </span> <span style="font-family:arial;">of these “entities” ability to utilize the dynamic information and service exchange will be enhanced, further evolving the </span> <span style="font-family:arial;">performance of each domain (or silo). </span> <span style="font-family:arial;"><br /><br />Diagram 6 shows how we first “extract” the knowledge from the knowledge “silo” then either directly to the consti</span></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">tuents </span> <span style="font-family:arial;">(Community Development), or through the Nodal Network, we deliver the information that has been encumbered inside of various </span> <span style="font-family:arial;">institutions (libraries, institutional repositories, etc.). This process is not about converting all books into “digital </span> <span style="font-family:arial;">books”, but in extracting and adapting, in a very </span></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">deliberate way, the information that will provide much n</span></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">eeded insights for </span> <span style="font-family:arial;">constituencies and individuals.<br /><br /></span></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHOBsEmtrMnnTQiCh5d1E10i-jFtLpit9eaahM4EGKpOf6p0nUSg2kEQusqhZp_aAUt2cStXKNR3MvBd0LHxtcRMgj0ec7wUKPbR4y12tmKdpSCwNYQEDwt-y2fNFhUoA_y6PtM6Z78xc/s1600-h/knowledgesilos.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 210px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHOBsEmtrMnnTQiCh5d1E10i-jFtLpit9eaahM4EGKpOf6p0nUSg2kEQusqhZp_aAUt2cStXKNR3MvBd0LHxtcRMgj0ec7wUKPbR4y12tmKdpSCwNYQEDwt-y2fNFhUoA_y6PtM6Z78xc/s400/knowledgesilos.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5367270213763495874" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Diagram 6:</span> Merging the Silo’s and Creating Effective Interfaces for Service Exchange</span> </span>Andy Skadberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01597045259170791659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8131771729081394054.post-33707035136276587682009-08-07T09:40:00.000-07:002009-08-07T10:02:52.420-07:00Guiding Principle 3 - Creating Systems that Serve People<span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;" >Guiding Principle 3) Creating Systems that Serve People: The Infrastructure Serving People Community Model and Success Across </span> <span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;" >Scales</span> <span style="font-family:arial;"><br /><br />From over fifteen years work with rural communities we have discovered two critical concepts which must be understood to make </span> <span style="font-family:arial;">“systems” contribute to the success of the community: 1) Infrastructure Serving People Community Model, and 2) Success Across </span> <span style="font-family:arial;">Scales.<br /><br /></span><span style="font-family:arial;">The Infrastructure Serving People Model of Community Development is depicted in Diagram 4, and shows, in a very rudimentary </span> <span style="font-family:arial;">way, the flow of life in a community from an infrastructural and services perspective that lead to the community’s goals and </span> <span style="font-family:arial;">visions. Currently, in nearly all societies, we develop community supported infrastructure (Box 1) that serve the people who </span> <span style="font-family:arial;">live in the community (Box 2), that leads the community to a collective or shared vision (Box 3), – while (by assumption) </span> <span style="font-family:arial;">supporting individual community member’s “pursuit of happiness”. The ba</span></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">sic, default, </span></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">assumption is that the individuals in a </span> <span style="font-family:arial;">communit</span></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">y all share some basic values that are depicted as Box 3 on the far right “Vision/Dreams – Better life”. </span></span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO_iDBJe8GV-hV5mkl_vveOUDllptSaYsj9IY7WNZ_t8ikCWLM-1QK5lSdc3p-a44pY7beZguV1zdIhZbGxY2CUvuxvQJjOVTjGwQ6yc1syv2TGTuz0sCoODw0yesj7FcPz30FHJXyHtY/s1600-h/CommunitySimplified.bmp"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 179px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO_iDBJe8GV-hV5mkl_vveOUDllptSaYsj9IY7WNZ_t8ikCWLM-1QK5lSdc3p-a44pY7beZguV1zdIhZbGxY2CUvuxvQJjOVTjGwQ6yc1syv2TGTuz0sCoODw0yesj7FcPz30FHJXyHtY/s400/CommunitySimplified.bmp" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5367263145346609874" border="0" /></a><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:85%;" ><span style="font-weight: bold;">Diagram 4:</span> The “Infrastructure Serving People” Model of Community Development: Where is the Gap? – Converting the “potential”of Infrastructure and Services to Realize a Community’s Vision<br /><br />The common practice is for government(s) to supply capital (derived from taxes) into a community to support infrastructure development (Box 1) (roads, sewer, water, etc.). The second box depicts the social/cultural context. This includes all of the human systems (organizational) and supporting governmental functions within the community. These two (boxes 1 & 2)</span> <span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:85%;" >components, in a “hoped for reality”, would work in dynamic interaction leading to the advancement of the human system (socio-cultural community)—that is to say, to evolve the community towards some advanced state, supposedly leading the </span><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:85%;" >community toward a shared vision, and a better quality of life.<br /><br />The ability for a community to realize a shared vision is highly dependent upon leadership. Over the years, working with a variety of communities and examining research that has been conducted, the process of creating this a “vision/dream” in communities is becoming a stronger and more deliberate process. In fact, as one looks across the rural landscape, tools and businesses that are espousing advanced processes to support the dev</span><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:85%;" >elopment of community “vision” are expanding. But, in our experience, communities achieving goals and visions were most often stymied by community conflict or problems with leadership, agencies or political processes which often reflected a sort of “drama” usually associated with individual personality conflicts or power struggles.<br /><br />Various techniques for resolving community conflict have been developed, but many expand on the concepts derived from a SWOT</span> <span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:85%;" >analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats). Our team’s extensive work on a community development project inspired us to create this simplified version of the reality of places—communities and their citizens. A fairly simplistic model, however, it allows us to not get lost in the details of the community, using the old adage to avoid the trap of “not seeing the forest for the trees”.</span><br /><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:85%;" ><br />It has been our observation that public dollars are spent primarily on infrastructure (roads, sewer, etc.). This is where the state and national governments focus the funding that is available for rural communities. The remaining public monies (usually insignificant compared to engineered capital expenditures) a</span><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:85%;" >re allocated to social programs. Our observations have been that these do not adequately empower individuals or the groups that they are designed to serve (normally “hand-outs”, or charity based). Most social programs of government agencies (or contracting companies) do not ultimately perform satisfactorily. When resources are limited, the demand</span><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:85%;" > for effectiveness should be extremely high. In almost all government programs monies that are available for building roads or physical infrastructure are many times greater than monies available for empowering the people.<br /><br />We believe that ultimately institutions should be expected to utilize the resources allocated more effectively and efficiently. However, as stated above, changing these institutions is like trying to change the course of an oil tanker by pushing the front with a kayak. This may seem to be a pessimistic</span><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:85%;" > view, but in reality we do not have the time or energy to waste to discover whether or not this analogy is accurate. We ourselves have been attempting to innovate in various agencies and institutions in the United States (especially Texas) for more than fifteen years. We believe that during these dramatically changing times we will see one of two things happen with these agencies that have been assigned to “serve the</span> <span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:85%;" >people”, they will either adapt and start serving more effectively, or they will ultimately go away. We predict no timeframe for this to happen. But the necessity for solutions is far too urgent than to be able to wait to see what happens.<br /><br />We propose pragmatic, cost-effective strategies to be implemented at whatever level progress can be realized. The “success-across-scales” concept introduces some basic ideas for empo</span><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:85%;" >werment. Ultimately these strategies boil down to two basic ideas “education” and “empowerment”, usually initiated by inspiration. The education principle is addressed in at least three subsequent sections of this document, and is really the “hub on the wheel” and something that we can, from a practical and organizational level, address and implement. The most </span><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:85%;" >effective means will be through identifying a strategy and inviting other institutional (government, private, non-profit) partners, but ultimately moving forward with the strategy without waiting for buy-in. We will move forward with those partners that see the vision, believing ultimately most organizations will participate. The best strategy will be to have partners that have a mission to serve at each of the scales identified in the following discussion, but if a proper strategy is implemented from the “bottom-up” the appropriate partners will come on board because individuals of influence who participate in</span><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:85%;" > the RRES (power-actors or “local stars”) will bring them in as necessary.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Success Across Scales</span><br /><br />The “Success Across Scales” principle emphasizes that to achieve organizational (or community) success, individuals and the different scales of organizations need to be supported. (e.g. family, business, organization, city, region, state, etc.).<br /><br />One simple fact that can be learned from working with individuals </span><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:85%;" >and organizations in essentially any context is this: the success of collective groups, on the whole, is highly dependent on the success, or health and happiness, of its individual members. This truth applies at all scales and for all organizations or communities whether it is a family, a business, an organization, a village, a city, a region, or a natio</span><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:85%;" >n.<br /><br />Collective (or community) health can be measured by the community’s ability to provide services to ensure that the whole “body” be healthy and prosperous. In other words success can be measured by how the members of the community are being served and thus prospering in health and happiness (spiritually physically, mentally and economically). This, to some extent, would be a result of services being provided through the group’s efforts (education, infrastructure, social services). However, an</span> <span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:85%;" >individual’s success is not dependent on a group’s success, or are all groups dependent on other groups. For larger communities the typical “terms” or areas of concern that are important to a systems analysis would be social, economic, political, environmental and historical/cultural (as depicted in Figure 3). The success of all community services, and subsequently the overall health of the community, could be determined by creating measures and evaluation techniques that </span><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:85%;" >would examine the overall performance of the government or services sectors to fulfill and sustain the community in the most healthful, prosperous and meaningful way.<br /><br />Much evidence supports the fact that most agencies and bureaucratic efforts have failed to accomplish the social programs</span> <span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:85%;" >that they have been assigned to fulfill. One need only spend some time thinking of personal experiences, or observations of the performance of the organizations they have come in contact with. We can cite numerous examples, but will not for the purpose of brevity.</span><br /><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:85%;" ><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Taking Care of the Whole (person, community)</span><br /><br />As Wallace D. Wattles so clearly stated,<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">“Those who do not quite fill their present places are dead weight upon society, government, commerce, and industry; they must be carried along by others at a great expense.”</span> (Wattles </span><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:85%;" >1910).<br /><br />This quote contradicts much of our view of “helping people”, but in reality there is great truth in this statement. In fact<br />empowered in a “certain way” we see that every person can make a contribution, although the problem really comes down to them realizing that. We would argue that the “charity” model for service has been institutionalized, but ultimately is doomed to failure. What should replace it is the model of “inspiratio</span><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:85%;" >n” or “empowerment”.<br /><br />We propose an analogy of an individual that elaborates this idea. The same analogy can then be extended to communities, nations and the world. Imagine if a person was to only take ca</span><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:85%;" >re of half of his body (if it could be done): to literally not feed it, bath it or take any efforts to assist it to be a healthy partner to the other half of his body. One can easily imagine how healthy or happy that person might be, dragging around a half-dead body.<br /><br />This may seem to be a ridiculous analogy because there is no way that a person could only sustain half his body. However, is the analogy so ridiculous? If we extend the analogy to the world, at this time only about ½ of the world’s population has access to clean water. That would seem to be the most basic human right, but</span><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:85%;" > one half of our “body” or “collective being” is not getting the most basic needs fulfilled. Now, if we take this hypothetical situation and extend it to any other “body” that exists in the human condition – a community, a nation, the world, wouldn’t the actions of leaving behind and not caring for a significant portion of the those “communities”, denigrate the whole?<br /><br />Throughout human history we can see that this has been t</span><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:85%;" >he case. Take the civil war in the United States. What was the result of the two halves of the nation fighting? – tremendous strife and suffering (although elements of transformation resulted).<br /><br />An endless number of examples could be cited. And currently, if one looks from this perspective across the globe, one can easily observe this “ailing body” syndrome. Dis-ease (allegorically used) is rife, poverty and human blight are ubiquitous,</span> <span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:85%;" >and extremely denigrated environmental conditions exist in every corner of the globe.<br /><br />The solution to this dilemma seems to evade us. Yet as one looks in another place, in the lives of some awakened people, there seems to be great harmony, peace, prosperity and abundance. Is the solution so elusive and difficult that only a few</span> <span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:85%;" >can utilize and implement it? No! And this truth is well established in literature and spiritual traditions that has come to us throughout the ages. The solution is clearly stated in Wattles’s book, to “move from the competitive to the creative”, or to awaken.</span><br /><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:85%;" ><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">The Solution: Inspiration instead of Charity</span><br /><br />As Wattles points out, the basis of revitalizing individual lives, and naturally communities, is not through charity but through inspiration.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">"The poor do not need charity; they need inspiration. Charity only sends them a loaf of bread to keep them alive in their </span><span style="font-style: italic;">wretchedness, or gives them an entertainment to make them forget for an hour or two; but inspiration will cause them to rise out of their misery.</span></span>"<br /><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:85%;" >(Wattles, 1910)<br /><br />Our challenge, and opportunity, is to assist each individual to realize this. No one is his brother’s keeper. Les Brown states it clearly "<span style="font-style: italic;">Accept responsibility for your life. Know that it is you who will get you where you want to go, no one else.</span>" (Motivational speaker and author Nightengale-Conant). And the inability to empower the individual naturally extends to</span> <span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:85%;" >larger communities because the primary basis of social programs is based on a charity model, programs that give “hand-outs”. </span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw8kK_OjdRZrtP6bVEb1dMdTVNAdpKV47LpUFVN2LdVqT2BsEczvGrcZ9nxBvPVRKnju9BM-7FiH3v4aYlF_pVnFDJGyJftCo14L2MGyB58YGZVjI903r4-orfcUnvuQBVCdQiYqfro2k/s1600-h/JRLUSuccessAcrossScales.bmp"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 230px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw8kK_OjdRZrtP6bVEb1dMdTVNAdpKV47LpUFVN2LdVqT2BsEczvGrcZ9nxBvPVRKnju9BM-7FiH3v4aYlF_pVnFDJGyJftCo14L2MGyB58YGZVjI903r4-orfcUnvuQBVCdQiYqfro2k/s400/JRLUSuccessAcrossScales.bmp" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5367264025857000642" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Diagram 5:</span> Success Across Scales: The success of each level of organization moving up with the arrow is dependent on the </span><span style="font-family:arial;">success of the lower levels.</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">The “Success Across Scales” Principle</span></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"><br />Diagram 5 depicts our “Success Across Scales” principle. In very simple terms, this diagram shows that the success of the </span><span style="font-family:arial;">larger scale organizations (geographic, or structural) are dependent, first on the success of individuals, and then on the </span><span style="font-family:arial;">subsequent organizational success moving up the pyramid. This diagram contradicts the traditional top-down, hierarchical </span><span style="font-family:arial;">model that has over-taken most governments, institutions of higher learning, and corporations. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">There appears to be an interesting paradigm shift occurring where these systems are failing and are being replaced by systems </span><span style="font-family:arial;">that are based on the foundation of empowerment of individuals, and cooperative models (grass-roots). It is beyond the scope </span><span style="font-family:arial;">of this proposal to cite numerous examples, but one significant case is in banking, the success of micro-loan programs that </span><span style="font-family:arial;">are making tremendous impacts in Bangladesh, Guatemala and Colombia (as well as in other countries) (Banker to the Poor). </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">The success-across-scales principle illustrates a natural, logical building of the “capitalization” of social systems, or in </span><span style="font-family:arial;">other words – empowering people. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">It is our contention, as we propose a new development paradigm, one based on each individual awakening, that the next </span><span style="font-family:arial;">critical organization to re-align is the family. Practically universally, the family will be a pivotal “community” for the </span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">realization of a successful societal empowerment strategy. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Realizing this awakening, or transformation, is not about forcing the family to change, but to empower individual family </span><span style="font-family:arial;">members to free themselves from limiting perceptions and mentality. Providing “a way out” of the cycle of suffering to a </span><span style="font-family:arial;">family member, to awaken and empower them to “demonstrate” personal transformation is possibly the most effective strategy. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Ultimately, for the family, all of the members need to thrive, if they do not this decline is reflected as a diminishment of </span><span style="font-family:arial;">the overall health and prosperity of the family. And typically this diminishment is played out generation after generation. </span><span style="font-family:arial;">However, in some places this tide is being reversed.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">We expect that the rate of societal change will advance rapidly as families are transformed and that transformation then </span><span style="font-family:arial;">“adopts and diffuses” into the larger community groups. So our efforts need not so much be focused on changing the family, as </span><span style="font-family:arial;">on reaching the “<span style="font-style: italic;">change agent</span>” (or receptive individuals) in the family. Change agents are ripe and receptive and can be </span><span style="font-family:arial;">found throughout organizations, communities and societies. These individuals then become the carriers of the message, not </span><span style="font-family:arial;">through preaching, but through demonstration, through living a more empowered and awakened life. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Then, as the rest of the family watches their brother, sister, daughter or husband make their dreams come true and become </span><span style="font-family:arial;">free, the rest of the family will much more likely follow suit. We can see this phenomenon demonstrated in organizations like </span><span style="font-family:arial;">Alcoholics Anonymous, A Course in Miracles, Over-eaters Anonymous and other “self-help” organizations.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">The family, given its importance in nearly all cultures, can be a pivotal influence to catalyze societal (global) </span><span style="font-family:arial;">transformations. This process is known in scholarly circles as “adoption-diffusion” and the process can be stimulated at all </span><span style="font-family:arial;">levels and across broad geographies. The key to success is to find “stars”, “change agents”, or “power actors” who will </span><span style="font-family:arial;">embrace “change and transformation” and then will show others how to transform their lives, to realize their dreams and </span><span style="font-family:arial;">aspirations. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">In order for a region to successfully create collaborative initiatives, it will be dependent on the success of the </span><span style="font-family:arial;">communities within the region, and also the businesses, but ultimately the individuals who operate those businesses. </span></span>Andy Skadberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01597045259170791659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8131771729081394054.post-38258999975806171382009-08-07T09:22:00.000-07:002009-08-07T09:34:07.058-07:00Guiding Principle 2 - Focusing Energy: Creative Synchronicities – The Mandala/Lotus Flower Metaphor<span style="font-family: arial;font-size:85%;" ><span style="font-weight: bold;">Guiding Principle 2 - Focusing Energy: Creative Synchronicities – The Mandala/Lotus Flower Metaphor</span><br /><br />Following prior projects undertaken, Solomon Source recognizes that it is critical to have</span><span style="font-family: arial;font-size:85%;" > a strong conceptual framework for its projects. Derived from work with the Vice President for Research at Texas A&M University, Diagram 3 highlights the necessity for creating a focal point for a regional empowerment model. This diagram creates the foundation of our effort, highlighting the importance of education for improving people’s lives.<br /><br />The Rural Revitalization and Empowerment Strategy (RRES) does not ignore traditional educational settings such as classrooms, workshops, seminars and short courses, but will utilize a dynamic combination of learning environments with an emphasis on experiential, learning, “conversations”, and real -world learning. The aim and underlying purposes of the RRES strategy is to infuse our educational experience with an understanding of the truly spectacular planet where we live and our own inherent magnificence, and then to empower individuals and organizations to ignite the dreams and aspirations in their hearts. <br /><br />To move from the theoretical to application this proposal develops specific “action centers” to adapt the RRES to any context. Diagram 3 is a metaphorical representation of a nu</span><span style="font-family: arial;font-size:85%;" >clear reaction. The key to getting an explosion is to focus a considerable amount of energy into the core of the reaction. However, after the critical mass of energy has been reached, the expulsion of energy is instantaneous and far reaching. We thank Dr. Ewing for sharing this vision with us before he passed in 2007. Below is a brief discussion of how we see this image providing another way of depicting our approach. <br /><br />The Center of Diagram 3 represents the core “nucleus” of the RRES which will be represented most significantly by the RRES Institute and the Idea and Product Visioning & Creation Center (IPVCC). The five “green” circles represent the “context” in which the project works in a community / region / country. The RRES team recognizes that the world has been cut up into pieces by our scientific and human-oriented (separatist) perspectives. Depicting the general categories of disciplines (environmental, social, cultural/historical, political, economic</span><span style="font-family: arial;font-size:85%;" >s) in the five inner circles in Diagram 3 will allow us to re-cogniz</span><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family: arial;font-family:arial;" >e the integral relationship of these pedagogical domains, providing a new context for re-aligning our efforts for a </span> <span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-family: arial;">successful rural economic empowerment strategy.</span><br /><br /><br /></span></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrryZJLJoNhtfb7r3Var2z19sFHGgfd2La1zwt6f8-anhcwhpJa-hiE8AvVxAPRwQNUin-xOejCc4tFsIMM-wG0vgyD80THWdfa-ofn_f-1KcnR3Gkf_MPrMxAuLFKZIhdLHj15E5YFb4/s1600-h/GenericFlowerWorld.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 382px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrryZJLJoNhtfb7r3Var2z19sFHGgfd2La1zwt6f8-anhcwhpJa-hiE8AvVxAPRwQNUin-xOejCc4tFsIMM-wG0vgyD80THWdfa-ofn_f-1KcnR3Gkf_MPrMxAuLFKZIhdLHj15E5YFb4/s400/GenericFlowerWorld.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5367258745363002850" border="0" /></a><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:85%;" >Diagram 3): The Nuclear Reaction – or The Mandala (Lotus Flower): “when a critical mass of knowledge and energy is reached, the results can touch the world”.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:78%;">1. We memorialize the inspiration for our “lotus flower” (or mandala) to Dr. Richard Ewing. Dr. Ewing was the Vice<br />President for Research at Texas A&M University until Dec. 5, 2007. Thank You Dr. Ewing.<br />2. President Emeritus, Oklahoma State University – author “Reclaiming a Lost Heritage: Land-grant and Other Higher Education Initiatives of the 21st Century.</span><br /><br />The RRES, as it develops its programs, will take into account each of these areas. Yet we recognize that the lines drawn between these “disciplines” are only a functional or organizational delineation established by historical and contemporary authorities. In fact, as stipulated in Systems Thinking, there is a desperate need to re-examine and recombine these perspectives into a comprehensive whole after study or examination.<br /><br />The “petals of the flower” in Diagram 3 depict the “outreach-service” delivery mechanism of the RRES. Our emphasis on Outreach-Service (extension) is developed from the Land Grant University System that was so powerfully transformative in the United States. However, we agree with John Campbell’s<span style="font-size:78%;">(2</span>) critique of the limitations of the Land-grant system as it has matured, mainly that the “Outreach” not been properly expanded and utilized. Diagram 3 is a symbolic metaphor of a “nuclear reaction”, which is our vision to powerfully extend the learning and research of RRES to re-connect education to the world, which is depicted in the outer ring of Diagram 3.<br /><br />It is beyond the scope of this document to discuss all of the benefits of utilizing/revitalizing the land-grant model while empowering it with information communication technologies (ICT), however, in brief, this approach will re-vitalize the educational experience for students. It will also connect RRES to the mainstream of society, delivering a multitude of benefits: essentially creating a recursive flow of ideas, information, people and business to a world that is clamoring for these outputs of our educational system. The outer ring of Diagram 3 shows the original vision of the Land-grant model which framed the educational system on three legs (Education, Research, Outreach). We add to the model the ultimate outputs of this inspired model – Learning, Development, and Service.<br /><br />The purpose of the Rural Revitalization & Empowerment Strategy (RRES) is to stimulate creative innovation in the economy through the creation of an experiential learning institution (see Diagram 9). We will begin with a core educational program derived from our team’s broad based experience. Delivery will be supported by state-of-the-art hardware and software infrastructure, in addition to “train the trainer” community outreach. It is critical that both the technology and human elements be supported in a complimentary fashion. Our “faculty” is strongly connected to excellent colleagues, experts and practitioners around the world. Working together, they can produce a unique experiential, multidisciplinary, international institution that will excel in education, research and outreach. Students will be able to expand their horizons enormously in this virtual and on-site learning environment. </span>Andy Skadberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01597045259170791659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8131771729081394054.post-81634343517397177492009-08-07T09:08:00.000-07:002009-10-15T17:11:07.454-07:00The Context, or Opportunity Space – The Urban Rural Nexus<span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;" >The Context, or Opportunity Space – The Urban Rural Nexus </span> <span style="font-family:arial;"><br /><br />Traditionally urban and rural are viewed as two separate entities competing for resources. In actuality it is a whole system. </span> <span style="font-family:arial;">Rural economics are dependent on an influx of dollars from the city. Cities are dependent on rural places for food, water, </span> <span style="font-family:arial;">fiber, natural resource protection and for leisure and recreational respites. In other words the two are inextricably linked. </span> <span style="font-family:arial;">Diagram 2 below presents what we call the Rural – Urban Nexus which illustrates the dynamic interchange and </span> <span style="font-family:arial;">interdependencies.</span> <span style="font-family:arial;"><br /><br />The challenge for rural places is real. Geography and supplying various services to rural places has been a constant </span> <span style="font-family:arial;">challenge because services need to be extended across distances, without the “critical mass” of customers which will pay for </span> <span style="font-family:arial;">the services. Cities inherently have better access to services, but one could a</span></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">rgue that the quality of life is not </span> <span style="font-family:arial;">necessarily better. Much could be written about this conundrum, which is not the point of this paper. The key issue is to </span> <span style="font-family:arial;">introduce the “opportunity space” for extending services to rural places, and to identify how urban centers and rural places </span> <span style="font-family:arial;">are dependent on each other for ultimate survival. In a way this paper suggests first recognizing the interdependencies and </span> <span style="font-family:arial;">secondly to build a bridge for enhancing the opportunities that are presented to support this important dynamic relationship. </span> <span style="font-family:arial;">That bridge can be built via the Internet.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">It is critical to extend services to rural communities, and, with the advent of the Internet, it ca</span></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">n be viable economically </span> <span style="font-family:arial;">to do so. There are cases of businesses that realized the rural opportunity such as Wal-Mart and Dollar General. Both became </span> <span style="font-family:arial;">highly profitable. However, these examples do little justice to the opportunity that we intend to develop by extending </span> <span style="font-family:arial;">services, education and empowerment tools and resources to support the local citizenry of rural communities to be grown from </span> <span style="font-family:arial;">the community itself. The overall potential for success in building this bridge, in combination with the “systems approach” </span> <span style="font-family:arial;">for managing negative impacts more effectively, is tremendous and not just economically, but more importantly for the quality of </span> <span style="font-family:arial;">life.<br /><br /></span></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicKeoIgWjjzB5ssXvf-Vh70fIc9_j4oYIyIAmSoPvfarX2bJY00YgrStO8deruiR89DWchWekhLoNK8MMJqAkf_xR7A6hCjOWDf_CrWYsgJDkH-2kv99NLSA5Ftyrkm0Hy1WTQPZzRlSU/s1600-h/RRESRuralUrban.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 231px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicKeoIgWjjzB5ssXvf-Vh70fIc9_j4oYIyIAmSoPvfarX2bJY00YgrStO8deruiR89DWchWekhLoNK8MMJqAkf_xR7A6hCjOWDf_CrWYsgJDkH-2kv99NLSA5Ftyrkm0Hy1WTQPZzRlSU/s400/RRESRuralUrban.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5367255734339456914" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">Diagram 2: The Urban – Rural Nexus – Building the Bridge<br /><br />In Diagram 2 we highlight the provision of a group of services and information to empower rural communities (starting upper left). The key to this diagram is the process of extending services to rural regions and communities which have been historically underserved. The large 90 degree arrow points to the desired outcomes: the bringing of hope, inspiration and ultimately empowerment to individuals where success is ultimately grounded. The upper right quadrant of the diagram depicts the interdependent relationships between rural and urban places.<br /><br />The bullet points in the bottom left of the diagram highlights that entities previously have extended services before and have been successful. However, our new opportunity is even greater with the advent of the Internet. In fact, we often point out that our new success will not be based on consumerism, selling people a bunch of stuff, but on providing resources to empower people through education and the various “empowerment tools” to capitalize the inherent capital available in all places a) people, 2) the natural resource endowment, and 3) the history and culture of the place.<br /><br />Finally, the last point in the bottom right of the diagram is included for those who would argue that private landowners cannot or will not protect the natural environment. This observation is true to an extent. However, our experience working in Texas which is almost exclusively privately owned is that landowners love their land. And if they end up causing damages it is usually a result of ignorance. We observed that as land management education was made available to these people it was taken up and implemented with impressive success. The primary point of the statement in Diagram 2 about government agencies is that first, there is not the political will to make enough “effective” land management agencies for all lands, and secondly if there was, it would be such a huge endeavor it would almost surely fail. We have examples of this in the United States such as the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), and the effectiveness of these organizations for managing the vast resources under their watch is dubious at best.<br /><br />A basic fact could be stated as we look at the rural-urban question: not every one can live in the city! Nor would we want them to. One need only look at history to see what happens when too many people live in close proximity.<br /><br />However, as one looks at economic pressures on the average rural citizen there appears to be significant challenges to be able to “stay on the land”, so to speak. And pressures continue to grow on urban centers as mass exoduses occur from rural areas of people hoping to find a better life, especially in developing countries.<br /><br />However, there are some deviations to these trends in places like the United States. Where people have freed themselves financially, there are growing numbers that are moving from the city to rural places, and/or buying second homes there. Some investigators are highlighting that rural places are flourishing. Needless to say as one travels in rural communities whether it is in the United States or any country there appears to be some level of revitalization. Nonetheless, in our observations, problems are still ubiquitous, especially for the poor. These problems can especially be seen in communities that have historically been on the fringe, economically, socially or geographically (e.g. urban) or are in areas of racial diversity.<br /><br />Further stymieing the process of agencies or corporations extending services by that the efforts are “silo’ized” (discussed in detail in Extracting Knowledge and Converting below) . Each entity (agency) segments their area of service and only tries to push a narrow set of ideas/programs onto their constituents – almost always utilizing a “top-down” approach. Efforts are fragmented and lack quality and substance. We can cite innumerable cases. In the process they are using up precious financial resources that could be better utilized by cooperating with other agencies and programs that not only extend services from the top down, but start to build from “grass-roots”. Often the agencies and institutions have policies to share and collaborate with other organizations, or to make what they offer more germane and effective through cooperation, but in the end we would argue this usually only is presented as “lip-service”.<br /><br />The time has come to bring more value and substance in the programs and services that are offered in the spirit of cooperation and efficiency, and utilizing new technologies. Drivers for this process go beyond the traditional, almost<br />exclusive economic drivers to include things like, environmental sustainability, enhancing the “quality of life”, innovation and inspiration in business and agriculture, creativity, enthusiasm, human connections, passion, spirit, intuition, etc.<br /><br />In summary, some important points to consider when evaluating the “Rural – Urban Nexus”<br /><br />- Rural landowners can provide much needed land and natural resource management, even if the “public will” was to create agencies to provide “land management” it is highly cost prohibitive, plus the performance of these agencies for long-term “protection”, from a historical perspective, is really abysmal.<br />- Rural areas are necessary for the “recreation respite”, from the high paced, stressful lifestyle of cities. Nature is truly necessary for adequate rest and revitalization and large, quiet natural areas are not normally found in cities.<br />- Plenty of solutions are available in educational institutions and agencies that can be utilized to cope with to the rural economic, social and environmental conundrum. The key is to develop the ways/means to extend these services.<br />- There is a tremendous opportunity to create a new service paradigm for “Extension education” via the Internet and technology tools.<br />- Value comes from real solutions. There are numerous “success stories” at various scales from around the globe by which general principles can be derived and then those strategies adapted to various contexts.<br /></span></span>Andy Skadberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01597045259170791659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8131771729081394054.post-8274831816862274722009-08-07T08:59:00.000-07:002009-08-07T09:07:21.275-07:00The Duality – Engineered “systems” and People<span style="font-family: arial;font-size:85%;" >The Duality – Engineered “systems” and People<br /><br />Gharajedaghi presents an insightful and important discussion pointing to a conundrum in the structure for dealing with the realities of the world. He discusses three theoretical views: Mindless Systems: mechanistic, Uniminded Systems: A biological view, and Multiminded Systems: sociocultural systems. As you might imagine each of these perspectives involves considerable discussion. And in that process we add complexity which can cloud our perspective or clarity.<br /><br />For our purposes here we will only focus on two systems that can be deduced from Ghaarajedaghi’s discourse and our observations working in communities. These two are sufficient for our need to identify a core issue that must be addressed. <br /><br />They are 1) Engineered, and 2) Human. In our view all things are created to advance human life. And all engineered solutions were created for this purpose. However, in our perspective the engineered world dominates our reality now. And attention to the engineered world has caused us to lose perspective on the reasons why we make all this “stuff”, to make our lives better. But we see that the human and natural world have fallen into obscurity as we have become obsessed with technological advancement and “development”.<br /><br />The term “Engineered” in this contest includes organizations, agencies, roads, automobiles, etc. etc. In essence, and this can be traced back to the industrial revolution and to Adam Smith’s economic view, all of the institutions, governments, corporations, educational endeavors have fallen into the “engineered” reality because “science” has presented us this framework.<br /><br />Even though some minor change in perspective may have occurred, the evolution of how the two systems interact built/engineered” and human has not changed. It is easy to apply a “systems” solution to a road, or a machine or even an institution or government, the challenge is how does that affect the “human” part of the equation? Machines and systems are predictable (for the most part), but people are not, even less so are natural systems. In fact, even the term “systems thinking” is couched within the problem. Vesterberg provides a concise definition of Systems Thinking.<br /><br />What is Systems Thinking? Systems thinking comes from a rigorous scientific discipline called General Systems Theory, which was developed in the 1920s. The theory centered on the natural world, the living systems therein and the common laws governing those systems. Its major premise was that such laws, once known, could serve as a conceptual framework for understanding the relationships within any system, and for handling any problems or changes encompassed by that system. Consequently, the theory emphasized the value of viewing a system as a whole, of gaining a perspective on the entire “entity”, before examining its parts.<br /><br />The framework is based on the belief that the component parts of a system will act differently when the systems relationships are removed and it is viewed in isolation. The only way to fully understand why a problem or element occurs and persists is to understand the part in relation to the whole. (http://www.vesterberg.se/systems-thinking/)<br /><br />Even the language that is being used in this document is constrained with the “engineered” mentality using the phrase “systems thinking”. If we look at how various institutions, corporations or governments operate, because they are structural, and thus systems, they implement engineered or “mechanistic” solutions. For example, if there is a gap in a program or some form of waste is discovered inside an organization what is implemented is a new policy, or regulation, or law usually consisting of a new form to be filled out and/or some type of police action in order that the “gap” be watched and monitored.<br /><br />For all intents and purposes this is like putting a new “gear” in the machine. But even in a machine, this will not work.<br />Even more blatant, and we have confronted this challenge innumerable times, is to attempt to introduce a new “program” or innovation into one of these institutions. If there is not a box on the form to write that, the idea simply will be discarded. In order to consider, there would need to be a major policy or structural change in order to accommodate even a “pilot” or demonstration project. An analogy would be like trying to add a new apparatus to the internal combustion engine – it’s not going to happen.<br /><br />Where humans meet the machine cannot be described simply in mechanistic terms. It seems a bit ironic that systems thinking” was originally derived from the observation of the natural world. But the natural world has been around much longer than this “mechanistic” view, and it would seem ultimately to be showing us the error of our ways. Because of our self inflicted crisis, we are having to turn once again to nature to find solutions. We need to move out of the rigid language and thinking to a more fluid, organic and natural process that allows for adaptation to new environments which are presenting themselves.<br /><br />In our discussion here, for lack of a better term, we are promoting a “grass-roots” approach. To demonstrate how inadequate “engineered” thinking and language is to solve our crisis between our created systems and the natural world, would be to try to describe the beauty of a flower with engineers terms, much less the growth and development of a natural ecosystem, a landscape or a baby. It can’t be done.<br /><br />The main point here is people do not respond like machines. So a engineered solution will not be adequate. For lack of a better term, people’s lives are more like “soap operas”, filled with drama, and uncertainty. And at the end, the systems don’t ultimately serve the people’s needs, they serve the institutions needs which use up precious resources that could have been better utilized. It should be accepted as a given that the systems we have created are supposed to serve people. Another example of how a “mechanistic” or engineered view fails is how institutions, or agencies monitor their success or performance. It usually just comes down to numbers. This is because engineered reality can essentially deal only with quantitative characteristics not qualitative. Everything has to be boiled down to numbers, even the qualitative measures have to be put into tables of numbers, so what ends up happening to the qualities? It’s an important question. And even more importantly is the question that really is the bottom line in most people’s lives whether it is in a family, community, region or nation - how is the quality of life?<br /><br />This discussion is not proposing to address this philosophical or paradigmatic crisis. That too is really “raging against the machine”, and would require exorbitant energies to change - precious energies that are better used to change the “system” from the ground-up, or from the “grass-roots”. The institutional structure that has been created is rigid, and will ultimately crumble under its own weight. The point to introducing this important issue is to be aware as one starts to move down to the level of bringing innovation into communities and potentially “evolution” into individual’s lives, it will be necessary to treat the people like “people” not “machines”. They will respond much better. Of course, people indoctrinated into the mechanistic way of being will resist these structural changes, but we ultimately do not have to worry about this.<br /><br />The people who are ready for change, the early adopters, are the ones we are interested in. The key to our success will be to get practical, rewarding solutions into these people’s hands and let them demonstrate to the remaining people and community, how new ways can open up opportunities and create a better “quality of life”. We can find innumerable examples of this occurring throughout history, and in our current times. However, in most cases, these are fairly isolated. What we want to do is implement strategies that take these successful approaches, and make them available to others.<br /></span>Andy Skadberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01597045259170791659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8131771729081394054.post-71503980424377605892009-08-07T08:51:00.000-07:002009-10-15T17:16:37.316-07:00Guiding Principle 1 - Systems Thinking - Understanding Context<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTrhBUTGiZpvBF0g_ccchHgLi5HjIjNJkFGKr5XBG1mCaAeZR-y_GUPUfiTrYHoByjzB9GMuxqatSTGoXdYnb8rSKGqa4PW8T0OM0gTkCdJE107BY7RWs0EqYeSC6iSOhBNhw74CvVWgw/s1600-h/RCESVision.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 294px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTrhBUTGiZpvBF0g_ccchHgLi5HjIjNJkFGKr5XBG1mCaAeZR-y_GUPUfiTrYHoByjzB9GMuxqatSTGoXdYnb8rSKGqa4PW8T0OM0gTkCdJE107BY7RWs0EqYeSC6iSOhBNhw74CvVWgw/s320/RCESVision.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5367250465603734162" border="0" /></a><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:85%;" >Guiding Principle 1) Systems Thinking – Understanding Context<br />Effective strategies in every human endeavor require that “context” be considered. In short, Systems Thinking aims to “contextualize” things and to steer clear of simple multi-disciplinary models. No project can be properly developed without carefully considering the context and repercussions of the proposed effort or change.<br /><br />Gharajedaghi, 2006, describes “Systems Thinking” in extensive detail in “Systems Thinking: Managing Chaos & Complexity, a Platform for Designing Business Architecture”. And it is beyond the scope of this summary to discuss at length. In short, however, all endeavors should give serious consideration to the potential environmental, social, political, economic, and cultural/historical repercussions and implications as they interact in the human-natural environment.<br /><br />As an economic, social and educational endeavor, the Rural Revitalization and Empowerment Strategy (RRES) should similarly consider the macro-scale impacts since a project of this scope touches all aspects of community life and will be instrumental in shaping future societies. However, we would also include two other “micro”- considerations that might best be termed human and spiritual as they relate to the foundations of our efforts to stimulate individual, personal empowerment that will then convert to community advancement.<br /><br />Our strategy, discussed in greater detail below, is derived from the basic understanding that strategies aimed towards successful community empowerment require that we also comprehend the “opportunity space” objectively and comprehensively, and the ensuing impacts of our actions.<br /><br />In general, historically and traditionally, human endeavors and scientific research (under the rubric of education) have tended to focus on independent multi-disciplinary pieces in which the whole is the sum of its associative parts. In our systems approach, we intend to look at the “big-picture”, identify and examine the various pieces, reassemble the “puzzle,” (Diagram 4) and then study it as an interactive system—a synthesis of processes, people, and subsystems which is the key to success. Evaluation is a critical element which is inherent throughout the process.<br /><br />The complexity of endeavors to serve human needs effectively, efficiently and responsibly demands that a dynamic and adaptive approach be used. Systems Theory (or Thinking) provides a strong foundation for such an approach. Systems Thinking does not simply entail a multi-disciplinary approach; rather, the real issues related to dynamic and changing situations involving human systems and services (engineered) is to develop ways to synthesize separate findings into a coherent whole. This fact is far more critical than the ability to generate information from different perspectives. To illustrate our point, we use the elephant story found in Persian literature as narrated by Molana Jaladedin Molavi (Rumi). It is presented as a metaphor in which several men are attempting to identify an elephant in the dark. The effort proves fruitless until another man shows up with a light. Gharajedaghi (2006) Page 108-109 presents this perspective in the following:<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;"> “The light, which in this context is a metaphor for methodology, enables them all to see the whole at last.</span><span style="font-style: italic;"> Rumi’s version of the story means that the ability to see the whole somehow requires an enabling light in the form of an operational systems methodology.” …. For our purpose here, … “one should be able to make one’s underlying assumptions about the nature of the socio-cultural systems explicitly known and verifiable to oneself.<br /><br /></span><span style="font-style: italic;">Whatever the nature of the enabling light, my contention is that it must have two dimensions. The first dimension is a </span><span style="font-style: italic;">framework for reality, a system of systems concepts to help generate the initial set of working assumptions about the </span><span style="font-style: italic;">subject. The second dimension is an iterative search process to: 1) generate the initial working assumptions, 2) verify </span><span style="font-style: italic;">and/or modify initial assumptions, and 3) expand and evolve the emerging notions, until a satisfactory vision of the whole is produced. As Singer put it “Truth lies at the end, not at the beginning of the holistic inquiry” (Singer, 1959). </span><br /><br />The challenges presented by our modern world, and agencies and institutions inadequate performance to rectify the “problems”, suggest that we consider “stepping-back” to gain new insights to develop solutions and more effective “holistic” approaches. </span>Andy Skadberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01597045259170791659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8131771729081394054.post-43697668710976437842009-08-06T16:15:00.000-07:002009-08-06T16:21:48.705-07:00Empowerment Resources - Individuals, Business, Community<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXmZ-3YMvEsopT0GROXEAlCmUV58-rLHabCC09qVjTY6j4yBDFA8KfO4AOn3cN6-_3H8QXqSRE2sv0bPYBmfAT45laprH0uMqrTcndK8FmogoDwHunBtOgC7JGgcNVxoqPwbcg4mH-umc/s1600-h/16852268.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXmZ-3YMvEsopT0GROXEAlCmUV58-rLHabCC09qVjTY6j4yBDFA8KfO4AOn3cN6-_3H8QXqSRE2sv0bPYBmfAT45laprH0uMqrTcndK8FmogoDwHunBtOgC7JGgcNVxoqPwbcg4mH-umc/s320/16852268.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5366994027708508802" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">Individual Empowerment </span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">Based on the Wisdom of King Solomon, these e-books and courses draw from the timeless wisdom.</span></span><br /><br /><a href="http://experientialuniversity.blogspot.com/2009/08/educational-resources-for-tourism-and.html"><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">Rural Revitalization and Community Empowerment</span></a><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">These resources provide practical solutions to pressing problems. Creativity and Cooperation are the keys to success for diversification of agriculture, entrepreneurship and tourism</span></span>Andy Skadberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01597045259170791659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8131771729081394054.post-3775609936990012312009-08-06T16:10:00.000-07:002009-08-06T16:24:21.283-07:00Individual Empowerment<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitgZRyrSX2hgNjIPvvg_gUEY4rpZp9oEetjUNM169CnvR2QkTO3VfeCEOglCU9wfUl4aSPyJ1rslmOS5W37GLWJygebcm_ZoP9LVYeUeoi3OE6dSgxQ4jm1YJNligx7woIj9jLs5_tMOU/s1600-h/16854671.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitgZRyrSX2hgNjIPvvg_gUEY4rpZp9oEetjUNM169CnvR2QkTO3VfeCEOglCU9wfUl4aSPyJ1rslmOS5W37GLWJygebcm_ZoP9LVYeUeoi3OE6dSgxQ4jm1YJNligx7woIj9jLs5_tMOU/s320/16854671.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5366995409184853074" border="0" /></a><br />Here we will share books turned into courses. And lots of other materials.Andy Skadberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01597045259170791659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8131771729081394054.post-79747350334129635472009-08-06T15:01:00.000-07:002009-08-07T08:44:24.482-07:00A Vision to Transform the World - Introduction<span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-family:arial;">A Vision to Transform</span><span style="font-family:arial;"> the World</span></span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"></span><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" >“Be the Change You Want to See in the World”</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Mahatma Gandhi</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"> </span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Executive Summary of Solomon Source </span><span style="font-family:arial;">Rural Revitalization & Empowerment Strategies</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" ><span style="font-weight: bold;">Mission:</span> To awaken people to the heart of the matter: our relationship with the planet – we’re all in this together, we must save Our-selves, and each other.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;" >Introduction</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">This document describes a simple concept of “people helping people, and the planet”.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">This document has developed over the last twenty three years from looking at issues behind environmental degradation that are </span><span style="font-family:arial;">usually driven by economics, and ignorance of the ultimate costs of environmental destruction. The solution has to do with </span><span style="font-family:arial;">educating people and providing opportunities for people to get exposure to the wonders of nature, and for them to experience </span><span style="font-family:arial;">nature in new ways – leading to an awakening of the spirit. To this end the founder of Solomon Source has been on a personal </span><span style="font-family:arial;">mission to develop solutions that can be adapted and utilized in the current socio-economic paradigms. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Initially, our approach seems to focus on tourism or economic development. However, upon closer examination, it is apparent </span><span style="font-family:arial;">that these are used as vehicles for interaction, and platforms to establish opportunities for people to experience the out-</span><span style="font-family:arial;">of-doors. We use the term "Experiential Tourism" to describe a very robust opportunity space, mainly because there has been </span><span style="font-family:arial;">so much fragmentation in the tourism industry, with new terms being constantly created (e.g. ecotourism, nature tourism, </span><span style="font-family:arial;">heritage, shopping, etc). Ultimately it all comes down to experience. Satiating people's curiosity and providing them with </span><span style="font-family:arial;">meaningful, memorable experiences. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">We promote tourism and innovation, within context, while at the same time empowering rural communities and their citizens to </span><span style="font-family:arial;">expand the economy, creatively and responsibly (especially agricultural). Tourism must be blended and be complimentary to the </span><span style="font-family:arial;">existing economy. At the same time, careful considerations are made for a holistic approach to protect the environmental, </span><span style="font-family:arial;">social and cultural characteristics of the communities and the region. We also focus on rural, but it is important to note </span><span style="font-family:arial;">that a critical relationship exists in what is called the "rural-urban nexus". In short, these two exist in absolute </span><span style="font-family:arial;">dependence. Rural places provide the food, water, natural resource management and respite from urban life, while the cities </span><span style="font-family:arial;">utilize the products of the rural places. We have said for some time that "everyone can't live in the city", nor would we </span><span style="font-family:arial;">want them to. However, if we don't support rural places through policy and through rural and agricultural innovation, we will </span><span style="font-family:arial;">have even more serious problems than we currently do.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">So as you read this document it appears to discuss many things. It does. But it is necessary to look at the bigger picture in </span><span style="font-family:arial;">order to blend these new opportunities into the environment and to advancing humanity. To move forward on these opportunities </span><span style="font-family:arial;">we must bring together teams of experts, but more importantly we emphasize empowering the local citizenry to be the "masters </span><span style="font-family:arial;">of their own destiny". Because, at some point in time, the teams will go home and the community will need to carry on. So </span><span style="font-family:arial;">again, the solution is about education, and empowerment.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">It should be obvious that we see the Internet, and new emerging technologies, as paramount to support these efforts. It is </span><span style="font-family:arial;">our opinion that we have barely tapped into the potential, however, we need to remember that these new technologies are only </span><span style="font-family:arial;">a tool. Ultimately we see tremendous hope for the changes that are happening, people awakening and developing "grass-roots" </span><span style="font-family:arial;">initiatives and recognizing the urgency of our task - to take care of each other, and the planet.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;" >Executive Summary</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">The Rural Revitalization & Empowerment Strategies (RRES) describes a holistic regional and community empowerment initiative. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">It is grounded in the idea of developing and implementing community and individual change through pragmatic, “common-sense” </span><span style="font-family:arial;">solutions. These common sense approaches have been developed from a theoretical understanding of the world, but are based on </span><span style="font-family:arial;">pragmatic questions. The principles and approaches described here have been hammered out of many years of study and work in </span><span style="font-family:arial;">the area of “community development”, mostly in rural regions but the approaches are designed to be generalizable and </span><span style="font-family:arial;">adaptable to any situation. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">This document extracts from hundreds of pages of materials to provide the crux of the approach for our regional empowerment </span><span style="font-family:arial;">process. The document is organized as follows: </span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">1) executive summary, (pages 1-3) </span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">2) an introduction to some of the theoretical concepts that provide a context for our approach, and </span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">3) a refinement of specific “action centers” the of strategy including a) education institute, b) product and idea creation </span><span style="font-family:arial;">and development center, c) technology platform, and d) the community “toolbox”.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">It is not possible to cover the theoretical concepts beyond a rudimentary introduction. Nor is it possible to go into the </span><span style="font-family:arial;">level of detail of the functional components as each “component” has numerous sub-parts that require a unique set of </span><span style="font-family:arial;">objectives and activities. However, this document will provide the reader with a good working understanding of the overall </span><span style="font-family:arial;">approach of the Solomon Source Rural Revitalization & Empowerment Strategy (hereafter RRES). </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">The necessity for this “new model” comes from what we would term a “wholesale failure” of current methodologies to accomplish </span><span style="font-family:arial;">the goal of sustainable development in rural places. Additionally, in our evaluation, the performance of current means and </span><span style="font-family:arial;">methods to supply all peoples a satisfactory life has not been met. At the same time our current basis for economic </span><span style="font-family:arial;">development inadequately distributes wealth. Plus, they destroy the environment at the same time which further exacerbates </span><span style="font-family:arial;">problems and affects the quality of life for people and the natural world.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">The RRES is established on foundational principles which are presented in this document in brief. Volumes could be written on </span><span style="font-family:arial;">any one of these topics. It is not the point to proclaim the solution. The intent is to introduce some new, and re-introduce </span><span style="font-family:arial;">some established principles and approaches to start to build a new “foundation” upon which to begin building a new structure </span><span style="font-family:arial;">for primarily rural regional and community economies based on strategies for enhancing cooperation, collaboration and </span><span style="font-family:arial;">creativity (see Nash). </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Paramount to all this is the consideration of the existing context (systems thinking) and the protection of the natural </span><span style="font-family:arial;">environment. Environmental protection is not discussed in detail in this document because the topic could divert us from the </span><span style="font-family:arial;">aim to introduce a focused approach to sustainable development. The reader must understand that environmental protection, </span><span style="font-family:arial;">management and enhancement, and the development of new practices for agriculture and all economic activities must be based on </span><span style="font-family:arial;">new models, or models using combinations of established methods that perform better for long term environmental </span><span style="font-family:arial;">sustainability. This is a topic for a future discourse.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Our position regarding environmental protection is based on evidence gathered from throughout recorded human history, and we </span><span style="font-family:arial;">are irrefutable on this point: that the costs for not protecting and sustaining that where our bounty comes from (the planet) </span><span style="font-family:arial;">are exorbitantly high, not only in economic terms but in regards to human, animal and plant health and for the quality of </span><span style="font-family:arial;">life. The current “human-nature” paradigm of exploitation and dominance has failed. We need new models and practices, and we </span><span style="font-family:arial;">need them now.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">We foresee radical changes occurring in communities and economies in the future. However, we see that we must move from the </span><span style="font-family:arial;">current economic and social paradigm to the new one without a total collapse. The RRES presents a process that will fit </span><span style="font-family:arial;">within current paradigms, but move the communities towards those new models. We do not proclaim to know what those new models </span><span style="font-family:arial;">will be in total, but in certain circles we have observed a more “micro-scale” economy to be more sustainable. We believe </span><span style="font-family:arial;">that regional based economies to be more supportable, efficient and workable. Based on trends in communities and larger </span><span style="font-family:arial;">economies, and our evaluation of what we see as structural problems in current corporate and macro-scale economics, there </span><span style="font-family:arial;">will need to be significant changes for the creation of more sustainable communities. We have predicted for some years that </span><span style="font-family:arial;">more localized, regional models are more efficient and more sustainable. However, it is necessary to present the RRES within </span><span style="font-family:arial;">the existing economic, institutional and social contexts. In any case, it has been our belief that the new model will grow </span><span style="font-family:arial;">from the “grass-roots”, based on individual empowerment which will lead to more creativity and cooperation, as opposed to the </span><span style="font-family:arial;">competitive model. It is envisioned that these approaches will aid in the evolution, or adaptation, of regions, communities, </span><span style="font-family:arial;">businesses and individuals to a more harmonious and sustainable way of life.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">As a very general introduction we see that two of the most important principles reside at two ends of a spectrum – broad </span><span style="font-family:arial;">scale “context” and “individual empowerment”. In order for our strategies to proclaim a holistic approach we must understand </span><span style="font-family:arial;">the larger “context” , this idea is related to the concept of “systems thinking”, and at the other end of this spectrum is </span><span style="font-family:arial;">“individual empowerment”. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;" >Introduction to Vision, Guiding Principles and Conceptual Foundations </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Prior to presenting the specific “action centers” of the RRES, it is important to provide five theoretical/conceptual </span><span style="font-family:arial;">principles for a project of this sort. This document is organized as a progression from overarching “Guiding Principles” to </span><span style="font-family:arial;">specific components, initiatives and organizational structure. We additionally provide a case-study of a project that was </span><span style="font-family:arial;">implemented in 2003 in Texas which became the initiator of projects in a dozen states in the United States. This technology </span><span style="font-family:arial;">based “community network” project is still core to the RRES in regards to the creation of this holistic, community </span><span style="font-family:arial;">empowerment strategy. The final section provides a summary with the diagram entitled “The Big Picture in Simple Terms”, and </span><span style="font-family:arial;">some concluding comments. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Guiding Principle 1) Systems Thinking – Understanding Context</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">a) the Duality of the Engineered vs Human</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">b) the Context, or Opportunity Space – the Urban Rural Nexus</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Guiding Principle 2) Focusing Energy—Creative Synchronicities: The Mandala/Lotus Flower </span><span style="font-family:arial;">Metaphor</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Guiding Principle 3) Creating Systems that Serve People</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">a) The Infrastructure Serving People Community Model, and </span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">b) Success Across Scales</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Guiding Principle 4) Extracting Knowledge and Converting (idea creation & development) </span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">a) Merging the Silo’s, and</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">b) Creating Effective Interfaces for Service Exchange</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Guiding Principle 5) Grounding Education Principle: Experiential-Service Model – Next </span><span style="font-family:arial;">Generation Education</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"><br />The Bridge - Moving from Concept to Functional – The Puzzle: A Conceptual Vision </span><span style="font-family:arial;">with Practical Implications</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"><br />Action Center 1) RRES Institute (Hub for Education and Outreach)</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Action Center 2) Product and Idea Visioning & Creation Center</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Action Center 3) Technologies – the Platform for Success:</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">a) The Network – Creating Critical Mass and Supporting via Technologies </span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">b) Electronic (Virtual) Meeting Places – An Interface for Commerce and Education</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">c) Case Study: Creating the Platform the Traveler Tourism and Community Network</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Action Center 4) Community Empowerment Toolbox</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Summary and Conclusion - The Big Picture a Contextual Summary</span></span>Andy Skadberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01597045259170791659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8131771729081394054.post-2635158306891687692009-08-06T14:53:00.000-07:002009-08-06T14:59:58.112-07:00Revitalizing Agricultural Systems<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHDoyub8chaJJW-mv9gYvJLOaqWD3N-rOJ3nsqRHwe5m46dzPTkIMsICWvUCO1tRmIRa9oktM8zoZ7ROYi4Mk6AmxK4l_2MhRb798nBaCfQT_JK8L36_K3UO3-R9WCi1NQMSm2YhuuXng/s1600-h/16846476.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHDoyub8chaJJW-mv9gYvJLOaqWD3N-rOJ3nsqRHwe5m46dzPTkIMsICWvUCO1tRmIRa9oktM8zoZ7ROYi4Mk6AmxK4l_2MhRb798nBaCfQT_JK8L36_K3UO3-R9WCi1NQMSm2YhuuXng/s320/16846476.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5366973148322640402" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">This is where I will post a bunch of great stuff like:</span><br /><br /><a href="http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/group.php?gid=87745018236&ref=ts"><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">David's farm</span></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.spreadproject.org/"><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">Rwanda Spread Project</span></a><br /><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">Others</span></span>Andy Skadberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01597045259170791659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8131771729081394054.post-15479882719171002232009-08-06T14:44:00.000-07:002009-08-06T14:49:21.927-07:00Tourism Product Development - Effective Interpretation<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAcghuRET2dEzUAmpZzAX9EkX196VuMhojXyDL8Be-TtaNuB5JDOKrBxyubVZQJaivB6_4ssSKPNuhJ16qTiScELSlEZQ6RRGQ3FxzuFt6kMSRWbR0F_Qv1W1YnS0syRUpi43SuGzTkcY/s1600-h/19810217.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAcghuRET2dEzUAmpZzAX9EkX196VuMhojXyDL8Be-TtaNuB5JDOKrBxyubVZQJaivB6_4ssSKPNuhJ16qTiScELSlEZQ6RRGQ3FxzuFt6kMSRWbR0F_Qv1W1YnS0syRUpi43SuGzTkcY/s320/19810217.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5366970957651534706" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Introduction </span><br />Most simply, interpretation tells true and compelling stories of places, people, and events. Here you'll be introduced to interpretation and the key elements to effective interpretation - which translates to "product development" for Experiential Tourism.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"><a href="http://experientialuniversity.blogspot.com/2009/08/interpretive-planning.html">Interpretive Planning</a> </span><br />Since interpretation is a fundamental function of nature and heritage tourism activities, it should be a major focus of planning and development from the outset. The interpretive program will determine the types of activities and facilities needed.<br /><br /><a href="http://experientialuniversity.blogspot.com/2009/08/developing-guided-interpretive.html"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Developing Guided Interpretive Experiences </span></a><br />Develop interpretive programs based on themes identified in the interpretive planning process. Here is a consise overview of important factors to consider: organization of the presentation, audience issues, and suggestions about preparing an effective presentation.<br /><a href="http://experientialuniversity.blogspot.com/2009/08/developing-self-directed-interpretive.html"><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Developing Self-guided Interpretive Experiences </span></a><br />Most self-directed interpretation uses a printed document. The effectiveness of documents depends on the quality of their design, writing, and production. Here are some practical, no nonsense guidelines to accomplish this.<br /><br /><a href="http://experientialuniversity.blogspot.com/2009/08/developing-interpretation-for-trails.html"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Developing Interpretation for Trails</span></a><br />Trails are important venues for self-directed interpretation. Trails take many forms - walking, wheelchair, biking, skiing, swimming, boating, and auto. Here are some tips on the interpretive design of trails, not their physical design.</span>Andy Skadberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01597045259170791659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8131771729081394054.post-4347454855146443042009-08-06T14:37:00.000-07:002009-08-06T14:42:35.329-07:00Empowerment Concepts for Rural Revitalization<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL0RCr29drU0YvxiZp5JGdPdSjLaAP8QPw9wDScqUBFSKl-SCJv5Db_kjHL4Kekhtn0KqMP5ZkZ_99SAxr9ULYUJqVbVuYpbehOpPxygFzjKKtc0VfxNLr7c95yWYssemH1OiFziZn1NU/s1600-h/16823254.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL0RCr29drU0YvxiZp5JGdPdSjLaAP8QPw9wDScqUBFSKl-SCJv5Db_kjHL4Kekhtn0KqMP5ZkZ_99SAxr9ULYUJqVbVuYpbehOpPxygFzjKKtc0VfxNLr7c95yWYssemH1OiFziZn1NU/s320/16823254.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5366968738954985698" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" href="http://experientialuniversity.blogspot.com/2009/08/empowerment-concept-hybrid-community.html">The Hybrid Community Cooperative</a><br /><a style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" href="http://experientialuniversity.blogspot.com/2009/08/empowerment-concept-success-across.html">Success Across Scales</a><br /><a style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" href="http://experientialuniversity.blogspot.com/2009/08/empowerment-concept-big-picture-change.html">The Big Picture - Change & Education</a><br /><a style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" href="http://experientialuniversity.blogspot.com/2009/08/empowerment-concept-puzzle.html">The Puzzle - Understanding Context</a><br /><a style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" href="http://experientialuniversity.blogspot.com/2009/08/empowerment-concept-mandala.html">The Mandala</a><br /><br /><a style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" href="http://experientialuniversity.blogspot.com/2009/08/regional-revitalization-empowerment-3_05.html">Regional Revitalization & Empowerment - 3 Pronged Approach</a><br /></div>Andy Skadberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01597045259170791659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8131771729081394054.post-20684787562548153362009-08-06T13:00:00.000-07:002009-08-06T14:07:15.257-07:00Tourism Enterprise Opportunities<span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Tourism Enterprise Opportunities<br /><br /></span></span></span><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span>Andrew Skadberg, Assistant Professor and Extension Specialist</span></span></span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span>Jeremy James, Graduate Assistant</span></span></span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span>Miles Phillips, Nature Tourism Program Specialist</span></span></span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span>Carson E. Watt, Professor Emeritus</span></span></span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span>Department of Recreation, Park and Tourism Sciences</span></span></span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span>The Texas A&M University System</span></span></span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span>and</span></span></span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span>James R. Kimmel, Associate Professor</span></span></span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span>Texas State University — San Marcos</span></span></span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span>Special thanks to Stan Meador, James Featherston and Jason Johnson</span></span></span><br /></div><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></span><span>This resource was originally published by Texas Cooperative Extension as "Nature Tourism: a Guidebook for Evaluating Enterprise Opportunities.<br /><br />This publication is no longer in print, nor is it available as an online resource, until now. This presentation is essentially the original publication with minor alterations for posting on the Web and to correct materials or links that are no longer available.<br /><br />These materials were also taught as a course at Texas A&M in 2004, but the original intent was to create an online course for Texan's interested in developing nature tourism on their farms and ranches. Even though the content describes the situation in Texas, the guidelines will be useful for any type of tourism business no matter where the location. The detailed information in Section 5 are the most specific to Texas, so you will need to seek assistance in your area.<br /></span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br />An Enterprise Assessment Resource</span></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">This resource guide aims to address the most important questions and issues to consider</span><span style="font-family:arial;"> in evaluating a potential tourism/recreation enterprise. Because we know that your</span><span style="font-family:arial;"> time is valuable, we have strived to be concise but acknowledge that such a resource</span><span style="font-family:arial;"> cannot provide all the answers on these topics. </span><span style="font-family:arial;"><br /><a href="http://experientialuniversity.blogspot.com/2009/08/tourism-enterprise-opportunities_05.html"><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:100%;" ><br />Introduction</span></a><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://experientialuniversity.blogspot.com/2009/08/tourism-enterprise-opportunities.html">Getting Started</a><br /><a href="http://experientialuniversity.blogspot.com/2009/08/section-2-enterprise-selection-product.html">Section 2 - Enterprise Selection & Product Development</a><br /><a href="http://experientialuniversity.blogspot.com/2009/08/section-3.html">Section 3 - Creating a Financial Plan</a><br /><a href="http://experientialuniversity.blogspot.com/2009/08/tourism-enterprise-opportunities_06.html">Section 4 - Creating a Marketing Plan</a><br /><a href="http://experientialuniversity.blogspot.com/2009/08/tourism-enterprise-opportunities_2039.html">Section 5 - Enterprise Selection & Moving Forward</a></span><br /><br /><br /><br /></span></span>Andy Skadberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01597045259170791659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8131771729081394054.post-56020260768559953802009-08-06T12:45:00.000-07:002009-09-23T10:08:17.704-07:00Tourism Enterprise Opportunities - Introduction<span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://experientialuniversity.blogspot.com/2009/08/tourism-enterprise-opportunities_72.html">Index Page</a> - Introduction - <a href="http://experientialuniversity.blogspot.com/2009/08/tourism-enterprise-opportunities.html">Getting Started</a> - <a href="http://experientialuniversity.blogspot.com/2009/08/section-2-enterprise-selection-product.html">Section 2</a> - <a href="http://experientialuniversity.blogspot.com/2009/08/section-3.html">Section 3</a> - <a href="http://experientialuniversity.blogspot.com/2009/08/tourism-enterprise-opportunities_06.html">Section 4</a> - <a href="http://experientialuniversity.blogspot.com/2009/08/tourism-enterprise-opportunities_2039.html">Section 5</a> - <a href="http://experientialuniversity.blogspot.com/2009/08/tourism-enterprise-opportunities_6948.html">Appendixes</a></span></span></span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-family:arial;"><br />Introduction</span></span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" ><br />Can a Tourism/Recreation Enterprise Help Achieve Your Goals?</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">An Enterprise Assessment Resource</span></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">This resource guide aims to address the most important questions and issues to consider</span><span style="font-family:arial;"> in evaluating a potential tourism/recreation enterprise. Because we know that your</span><span style="font-family:arial;"> time is valuable, we have strived to be concise but acknowledge that such a handbook</span><span style="font-family:arial;"> cannot provide all the answers on these topics. Consequently, we have included an</span><span style="font-family:arial;"> “additional resources” section at the end for additional information.</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"><br />This guide is designed to lead you through a step-by-step process so you will have a</span><span style="font-family:arial;"> clear idea about:</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"><br />- Whether an agritourism, nature/eco tourism or recreation business will work for</span><span style="font-family:arial;"> you, your family and your ranch/farm operation.</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">- If the answer is “yes,” you will have a specific idea about what that business</span><span style="font-family:arial;"> will be.</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">- Whether or not a particular business will be economically feasible.</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">- How to enter that business based on sound research and planning.</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"><br />Agricultural tourism/recreation is significantly different from traditional ranching/farming</span><span style="font-family:arial;"> activities. It will be necessary for you to put on a “new pair of glasses” when considering</span><span style="font-family:arial;"> these opportunities. However, tourism can be very compatible with a rural</span><span style="font-family:arial;"> agricultural lifestyle, while providing significant benefits economically and in other </span><span style="font-family:arial;">ways.</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" ><br />In addition, this handbook is...</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">For landowners who have an interest in tourism/recreation enterprises that take</span><span style="font-family:arial;"> advantage of the natural and heritage resources of the land.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">A guide to information sources about issues not fully covered in this handbook.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Focused on tourism enterprises, but the framework for decision making can be</span><span style="font-family:arial;"> applied to other alternative enterprises to traditional agriculture operations.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Designed so landowners who complete the steps in this handbook will have the</span><span style="font-family:arial;"> beginning of a business plan describing their enterprise and an estimate of its</span><span style="font-family:arial;"> revenue potential.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;" >Tourism Enterprises Defined</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">For the purpose of this handbook, tourism (or recreational) enterprises are those that</span><span style="font-family:arial;"> use the natural and heritage resources of the land by inviting customers to visit the</span><span style="font-family:arial;"> ranch/farm to “experience” the unique natural, cultural and historic resources of the</span><span style="font-family:arial;"> site. To the rancher/farmer, the aim is to create a sustainable income stream or augment </span><span style="font-family:arial;">existing revenues.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">This handbook is designed to be a 5-week assessment process, requiring about 2 or 3</span><span style="font-family:arial;"> hours of activities per week. Each weekly topic includes a section of the handbook,</span><span style="font-family:arial;"> exercise and worksheet(s) to build on those topics. Some weeks require more time than</span><span style="font-family:arial;"> others. You may invest more time for additional benefit. The book provides space for</span><span style="font-family:arial;"> you to compile your ideas for your own situation. Each chapter includes an exercise</span><span style="font-family:arial;"> worksheet for your potential operation. At the end of the process, you will likely produce</span><span style="font-family:arial;"> a business plan framework, e.g., topics addressed in the worksheets can be inserted</span><span style="font-family:arial;"> into an outline to become the beginning of your business plan, including a five-year </span><span style="font-family:arial;">projection of revenues and costs.<br /><span style="font-size:78%;"><br /><a href="http://experientialuniversity.blogspot.com/2009/08/tourism-enterprise-opportunities_72.html">Index Page</a> - Introduction - <a href="http://experientialuniversity.blogspot.com/2009/08/tourism-enterprise-opportunities.html">Getting Started</a> - <a href="http://experientialuniversity.blogspot.com/2009/08/section-2-enterprise-selection-product.html">Section 2</a> - <a href="http://experientialuniversity.blogspot.com/2009/08/section-3.html">Section 3</a> - <a href="http://experientialuniversity.blogspot.com/2009/08/section-3.html">Section 4</a> - <a href="http://experientialuniversity.blogspot.com/2009/08/tourism-enterprise-opportunities_2039.html">Section 5</a> - <a href="http://experientialuniversity.blogspot.com/2009/08/tourism-enterprise-opportunities_6948.html">Appendixes</a></span><br /></span></span>Andy Skadberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01597045259170791659noreply@blogger.com0