Global Pulse 2010 and "Open-Source Collaboration"

Since the formation of greaterthan > in 2008 and the accomplishment of our extremely rewarding inaugural conference in 2009, international interest in collaborative work, partnerships and alliances has grown dramatically. The mission we have undertaken is to promote awareness and understanding of cross-sector collaboration, to explore and advance approaches that make collaboration and partnerships successful, and to introduce people and organizations to a resourceful community, willing and able to support–and join–collaborative efforts to address specific challenges.

In her address to the Global Philanthropy Forum in 2009, Secretary of State Hilary Clinton heralded a new era of public-private partnerships to address urgent and complex global challenges:

"(It is) absolutely essential that we recognize our interconnectedness as we grapple with the difficult challenges sweeping the planet...I’m even more convinced now than I was when I became Secretary of State that the problems we face today will not be solved by governments alone. It will be in partnerships – partnerships with philanthropy, with global business, partnerships with civil society."

In a well-publicized essay, Google’s chairman and CEO Eric Schmidt said, “Collaborate or perish!” And in keeping with both this sense of urgency and the rapid expansion of global and local cross-sector partnerships to address complex issues, it is exciting to see another ground breaking example of innovative problem solving and what might be called, “Open Source Collaboration.”

Through this 3-day international virtual event called Global Pulse 2010, the U.S. Government hopes to engage, and partner, with the international community in a “meaningful” way. They are inviting the public, albeit through a reviewed registration process, to participate in a unique event to, as the promoters say, “help shape the future.”

Global Pulse 2010 will bring together “individual socially-engaged participants and organizations from around the world.” According to the website, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) is sponsoring the Global Pulse 2010, in partnership with the Departments of State, Education, Commerce, and Health and Human Services.

Ten individual discussions will take place within forums and will focus on designated topics:

• Inspiring a New Generation
  
• Empowering Women and Girls
• Enabling the Essential Education
• Building Stronger Partnerships
• Exercising Political and Civil Rights
• Promoting Global Health
• Advancing Entrepreneurship, Trade & Economic Opportunity
• Fostering Science, Technology & Innovation
• Supporting a Sustainable Planet
• Pursuing Grand Challenges

Each topic area will have recognized leaders in the related field of interest facilitating the conversations. The forum gives people ideas the opportunity to present innovative ideas, to voice their opinion, learn from one another, and “speak directly with those who have the desire and resources to take action.”

The Global Pulse 2010 is a hosted online event using IBM’s Innovation Jam ^TM solution. In the words of the event promoters, the platform is:

“Similar to the collaborative spirit of musical ‘jamming,’ participants gather online to collaborate on ideas around real societal issues, build on each other’s contributions, find shared solutions — or simply connect. The Web 2.0 platform provides for a meaningful brainstorming environment where groups of individuals ranging from a few hundred — to hundreds of thousands — can join in. Based on the concept of crowdsourcing (also knows as “wisdom of crowds”), the Jam platform is especially adept at bringing communities together to discuss social issues.”

For more information or to submit a registration application, see Global Pulse 2010.

Collaborative Innovation: Big Challenges, Bold Solutions

At its founding, greaterthan > undertook the mission to serve as a catalyst for new models of partnership across all sectors. We set out to help organizations benefit from the power of collaboration in addressing complex challenges in our society, and in our world.

Three goals were established for the first greaterthan > conference:

· Promote awareness and understanding of cross-sector collaboration

· Explore approaches that make collaboration and partnerships successful

· Introduce people and organizations to a resourceful community, willing and able to support–or join–collaborative efforts to address specific challenges

The inaugural greaterthan > conference was enormously gratifying and enlightening. A new, 4-minute video has been posted on the greaterthan > conference site: http://www.greaterthanconference.com And there are videos posted for 17 of the presentations from the 2009 conference.

The National Advisory Board of greaterthan > met just before Thanksgiving and will meet again in January. The Board has taken up such key issues as setting goals for the outcomes of the next greaterthan > conference, reviewing the greaterthan > mission, defining the overarching themes for 2010, developing specific recommendations for topics, issues and speakers to engage in with the greaterthan > community, and suggesting venues and formats for programming.

As we look ahead to the work of greaterthan >, we invite you to join in the discussion of big challenges, big ideas and bold solutions. We are focusing on issues that have both global and local implications (e.g. environment, sustainability, food, water, poverty, economic opportunity, social justice). We are also mindful of approaches that make meaningful progress, all the while addressing a topic that was raised at greaterthan > 2009: “Absolutism” vs. “Incrementalism.” And we are inspired by the opportunities that collaboration and partnerships bring to younger or emerging leaders in all organizations. In short, we see great possibilities when organizations work together to produce the benefits of collaborative innovation.

Happy New Year!

An Unprecedented Success

By Peter Brown
Member of the Board
Maine Businesses for Social Responsibility

The inaugural Greaterthan Conference at Portland’s Holiday Inn by the Bay on July 27th & 28th was an unprecedented success by any measure. Any one of the 200 lucky enough to attend this innovative, information packed, inspirational, and network building session will surely agree that it exceeded all of their expectations. It was compared, appropriately so, as the East Coast’s version of the internationally acclaimed TED conference.

The conference, founded by Portland business owners David Swardlick of Swardlick Marketing Group and John Rooks of The SOAP Group, was designed to explore cross sector collaboration between corporations, NGO’s, governments, nonprofits, academics and more to address the complex challenges we face as a global community related to the environment, economic opportunity, poverty and social justice. The idea is that no one sector can adequately address these massive and critical issues alone—that cross collaboration between all sectors is essential if we hope to be effective in restoring our world to one which can continue to provide for all of its inhabitants. The name ‘Greaterthan’ was appropriately chosen from the concept that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.

The list of some 30 presenters and panelists included a diverse selection of notable experts and leaders, both local and from across the country with a wide variety of expertise, reach and influence. The conference was kicked off by Brian Dumaine, Global Editor for Fortune Magazine, with opening remarks that set the stage for the conference. Most sessions were designed as panel discussions around specific topical segments. A unifying theme throughout was the increased strength that is realized through planned and logical partnering. Emphasis was placed on the value of choosing partnerships with shared alignment of goals, objectives and values; these being most likely to endure into long term relationships which would yield long term beneficial results to all parties. Discussions included public and private partnerships, partnering with NGO’s, and the role of education at all levels. Segments were rife with case studies and examples of successful engagements. A notable element of all of the case studies was an emphasis on how open collaboration and partnering created greater benefits for all stakeholders than could have been realized by any one working alone.

This refreshing and inspiring conference was also a first class event from the comfortable, engaging elements and touches at the conference to a wonderful lobster bake on Great Diamond Isle. At the end of the first day, participants boarded a ferry for a crossing of Portland Harbor to Great Diamond Island, where they were greeted by wait staff bearing trays wine and local micro brews. Hors d'oeuvres were offered and a jazz group played as guests mingled in the fine summer breeze and then were seated for a classic Maine lobster feast.

At the beginning of the second day, we were treated to an unexpected appearance by former Maine governor Angus King who dropped in to open the session with a very energetic, entertaining, and inspiring talk. There are simply too many highlights and significant moments to include in this short article. Visit www.greaterthanconference.com to see the full schedule of events, sponsors, and presenters, and stay tuned as you will surely hear more about this great event.

It was a privilege in every way to attend this conference, and I look forward to doing so again next year. Congratulations to David, John, and all those involved!

Yes we can! But we can't do it alone.

Few would disagree that we face urgent, complex and compelling challenges in society, in our communities, around the world, and throughout our entire ecosystem.

But after two days at the inaugural greaterthan > conference in the historic, coastal city of Portland, Maine, a powerful sense of optimism and inspiration prevailed. While by no means without recognition for the stark reality of the clock ticking toward confrontation with countless, at times overwhelming, problems, the sense of positive energy, determination and encouragement shone through.

The theme of the urgency of time was ever-present. Quoting Abraham Lincoln, Maine’s former governor, Angus King, brought perspective in his morning address, "The dogmas of the quiet past are inadequate to the stormy present. The occasion is piled high with difficulty, and we must rise – with the occasion. As our case is new, so we must think anew, and act anew."

King, in the spirit of cross-sector collaboration, personally exemplifies leadership across the sectors – as a successful business entrepreneur, a highly popular elected official, an engaged leader on countless nonprofit boards, and as a teacher of leadership at Bowdoin College. He raised the issue of creativity and suggested that perhaps we will look back and see these times as “the Age of Innovation, Creativity and Connection.” King added, “We must create a culture of creativity.”

Brian Dumaine, Fortune magazine’s Global Editor, kicked-off what would be a rich, densely packed, two-day agenda, by introducing four leaders whose organizations – City Year, Comcast, Green For All, and the Aspen Network of Development Entrepreneurs – are answering what was billed as “A Call for a New Era of Partnership and Collaboration.”

Michael Brown, CEO and Co-Founder of City Year said, “It’s time for serious people to come together, to do big things. But we can’t do it alone.”

The Urgency of Time, the Need for Innovation and Collaboration

The urgency of time and the need for innovation and collaboration – these were key themes that ran through greaterthan >. There was a very clear and powerful message, heard over and again throughout the conference: “We can do it – but we can’t do it alone.”

Leaders from all four sectors – business, nonprofit, government and academic – echoed these themes. David Cohen, Executive Vice President at Comcast said, “I see an expansive future for the kind of cross-sectoral partnerships greaterthan is all about.” But directing his words toward corporate leaders he added, "Corporations should come down from the skyboxes and get down on the field."

Citing many inspiring examples of people and organizations committing to public service and working for the common good, Michael Brown suggested, “Americans are ready to answer the call to active citizenship, but scale and impact are the next great challenge.”

As was said in the opening words of the greaterthan > conference, the challenges are too big and too complex for any one sector, let alone any one organization, to address. One who brought numerous organizations together in a time of crisis and disaster is Chuck Banks, former State Director for Rural Development, USDA, (Kansas). In the wake of the May 2007 tornado that destroyed 95% of Greensburg, Kansas, Banks used a model of partnership and collaboration that he contends can be applied to countless challenges.

In the words of Chuck Banks, “We have to be willing to think out of the box. We can’t have blinders on. We have to know how to modify plans, and take risks.” Banks added, “These are key skills for success.” Banks has been called the “architect of the Greensburg Recovery” – a plan that is coming to fruition as Greensburg becomes America’s first, master-planned green city. This inspiring story was shared at greaterthan >.

The scope of opportunities for powerful, innovative new approaches is global, as evidenced in the presentation by Randall Kempner, Executive Director of the Aspen Network of Development Entrepreneurs (ANDE), an affiliate of the Aspen Institute. Dozens of previously disconnected charitable foundations and technical service organizations are now collaborating through the efforts of ANDE. By coordinating and focusing resources, there will be an acceleration of support for the vital contributions of “small and growing businesses (SGBs)” to creating sustainable communities in developing regions around the world.

The difficult work of organizations actually implementing productive and enduring partnerships was a major topic at greaterthan >. Key issues related not only to the motivations for partnership, but such serious impediments as the core values and the cultures of organizations, plus the complexities of multiple owners, varied interests of stakeholder groups, and legal and financial considerations. Over the two days of the conference, each of these concerns emerged, along with numerous case studies and strategies, and “how-tos” for addressing the well-acknowledged difficulties associated with successful collaboration.

Melissa Bradley-Burns, Senior Strategist at Green For All, shared the pressures of balancing the need to work with major, corporate partners, along with the commitment to upholding value systems and principles. She said about an offer of partnership with one of America’s corporate giants, “Don’t just show me the money!”

In reconciling how nonprofits and NGOs can effectively work with corporations with whom they may, perhaps, not fully agree in terms of values or policies, Bradley-Burns’ examples of engagement suggested finding ways of making progress together. Building trust and understanding – step-by-step.

More than once at greaterthan >, Charles Darwin’s famous words were cited, “In the long history of humankind (and animal kind, too) those who learned to collaborate and improvise most effectively have prevailed.”

The Alignment of Values

The alignment or misalignment of core values in potential partner organizations was a matter of deep discussion at greaterthan >. A group of academic leaders put forth far-reaching perspectives on the evolution of corporate structures, missions and values – all contributing to the motivations for, and ability to succeed with, partnerships to address issues outside of traditional, core business concerns.

The motivation to initiate partnerships and collaboration need not come only from the C-Suite. In the words of Sandra King, of Bentley University, a respected leader in the field of academic marketing and veteran of numerous cross-sector partnerships suggested, “Motivation for partnership doesn't have to come only from the top. It can come from anywhere in the organization.”

Why are businesses reaching beyond the day-to-day work of making and selling better products and maximizing shareholder wealth? This sort of question was implicit in many presentations, panel discussions and audience questions and comments at greaterthan >.

Raj Sisodia, author of the recent book, Firms of Endearment: How World-Class Companies Profit from Passion and Purpose, made the assertion that companies whose mission goes beyond shareholder wealth – focusing fully on bringing value to the full spectrum of stakeholders – have actually outperformed the market in financial terms. Companies that exemplify what Sisodia and others are calling the “Conscious Capitalism” movement are defining their missions and values to make their larger purpose for existence very clear. Citing the example of Whole Foods, Sisodia said, “John Mackey wanted to build a company based on love, not on fear.” Such “Firms of Endearment” are actually loved by their customers.

Another example of a successful corporation that has transcended the old model of a single-minded mission focused solely shareholder return was referenced Michael Brown of City Year. “Timerberland, City Year’s longest-term corporate partner,” says Brown, “was built on Boots, Brand and Beliefs.”

As Babson College’s Mark Albion – author of Making a Life, Making a Living – said, “For business, there should be only one bottom line, social and economic value (together).”

The structures, values and missions of corporations were the subject of a presentation on a “Sustainable Enterprise Economy” by Sandra Waddock of Boston College. She suggested that major changes will be required in the way businesses operate to address global challenges, particularly in terms of environmental sustainability. Waddock proclaimed, “The population of world has quadrupled in the past 100 years. We’ll need more than tinkering to achieve sustainability.”

Waddock also mentioned “B-Corporations” as an innovative evolution of the structure, function and commitments of corporations. Later, Bart Houlahan, Co-Founder of B Lab and the B-Corporation designation, led a panel of three innovative B-Corp companies. In defining the essence of those companies seeking a clear identification with a higher purpose Houlahan said, “B-Corp certification is for those whose business and social missions are one in the same.”

At an entertaining and energizing luncheon address, Joe Sibilia, CEO of Meadowbrook Lane Capital and president of CSRwire, summed up one of the key issues that will either forever be the impediment to full corporate engagement in social and environmental issues, or will someday allow and encourage the prioritization and acceleration of the application of corporate resources into efforts for the common good. Point blank, Sibilia said, “The way business accounts for value is outmoded.”

Constructing and Managing Partnerships To Achieve Strategic Goals

Over the two days of the greaterthan > conference, operational partnerships between two, three and multiple organizations, working across sectors, became the focus of discussion. Recognizing the difficulty of organizations coming together, staying together and producing meaningful results, Co-Founder of The Rhythm of Business, Inc., a consultancy in the field of managing complex organizational collaborations, Jeff Shuman said, with a bit of “tongue in cheek,” “If you can do it alone, don’t bother to collaborate. It takes too much time. But it’s clear, some things just can’t be done alone.”

Shuman, who is also a management professor at Bentley University, defined collaboration as, “a purposeful way of working that leverages the resources of each party for the benefit of all.” He suggested that, too often, you hear what he called, “the radio station heard around the world – WIIFM – What’s In It For Me!” Mutual benefit and achieving highly valued, common objectives are essential. Shuman added, “It’s hard enough managing the work of the collaboration, but you also have to manage the collaboration.”

Two experts in the field known as “Cause Marketing,” – Ed Chansky of the international law firm, Greenberg Traurig, and David Hessekiel, Founder of the Cause Marketing Forum – led a discussion of the operational, legal, an ethical issues involved in bringing companies and nonprofits together to engage consumers in fundraising for causes and issues in the public interest.

Building Leadership Capacity and Taking Initiative

As several at greaterthan > cited, “Trust is the glue that holds collaborations together.” And, along with building trust, another core theme that ran through the greaterthan > conference was leadership. In several fascinating presentations and panel discussions, corporate executives and nonprofit executive directors shared approaches to the development of leadership strategies to foster change.

The Institute for Civic Leadership, a Maine-based nonprofit, has been working for 15 years to help build regional leadership capacity by engaging corporate leaders where their personal passions lie. Through an intensive program of skill-building and corporate-civic program matching, companies such as those on a greaterthan > panel – L.L.Bean, Unum and Fairchild Semiconductor – are providing a new echelon of engaged and capable professionals to work in partnership with nonprofit organizations to fulfill communities’ vital needs.

In similar fashion, another organization that for 40 years has been helping to increase leaders’ “capacity to collaborate” is Interaction Associates, and their affiliate, the Institute for Social Change. These partner firms presented deep program offerings to help accelerate the development and refinement of personal and professional skills vital for planning and managing effective partnerships and collaborative efforts. In one such program, called the “Accelerator Expedition,” to take place in the rainforest of Ecuador in October of 2009 – offered with first priority to attendees of the greaterthan > conference – will combine (in the words of the program directors), a unique immersion experience that combines accelerated leadership development with deep learning in sustainability, facilitated by experts in both fields: Interaction Associates and the Pachamama Alliance. It promises to be a leadership immersion experience geared to global change.

In an additional demonstration of the rapid expansion of mission and purpose of corporations, and the increasing ease of movement across traditional lines of business and nonprofit realms, a panel of three organizations shared their proactive agendas for change to help achieve environmental sustainability.

Timberland, already cited as a role-model company for its boundary-breaking approach to stakeholder issues, presented a great example of what might be called, “co-opetition” or the willingness to engage cooperatively with competitors in their industry to address complex challenges. Betsey Blaisdell, Manager of Environmental Stewardship at Timberland, talked about a far-reaching initiative related to industry practices in the procurement of leather to solve serious sustainability concerns.

Wood Turner, Executive Director of Climate Counts, and Terry Kellogg, Chief Executive Officer of 1% For The Planet, described the creation of nonprofit organizations to fulfill, and dramatically extend, the deep commitments of their corporate founders and collaborators.

Climate Counts, founded and supported by Stonyfield Farm, “scores” the world's largest companies on their climate impact to “spur corporate climate responsibility and conscious consumption.” And, 1% For The Planet, affiliated with Patagonia, is a growing network of over 1,200 companies that have committed to contributing 1% of their sales to nearly 1,800 environmental organizations worldwide.

Sustainability: The Issue Driving Change

Sustainability was “teed up” as one of the key issues driving new models of partnership and collaboration at greaterthan > because of the inherently interdisciplinary and cross-sectoral nature of the stakeholders and “actors” involved. A number of specific case studies relating to global and regional environmental initiatives involving corporate, nonprofit and government partners were shared by academic leader Jon Fink of Arizona State University, who has served as Director of ASU’s Global Institute of Sustainability.

Providing specific insights into the operational issues relating to several recent initiatives and partnerships, Maurice Bechard of JohnsonDiversey and chairman of the Global Environmental Management Initiative (GEMI), and Jason Mathers of the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), presented “lessons learned” from case studies contained in the Guide to Successful Corporate-NGO Partnerships, recently published by EDF and GEMI.

Living Locally, Acting Globally

As an added feature at greaterthan >, a spotlight was pointed upon several small, but inspiring, social enterprises either started by, or actively engaging, young adults working to make a difference in the world. Three such locally based, but globally focused organizations receiving special attention were, Working Villages International, with headquarters in Topsham, Maine, building a sustainable village in the Democratic Republic of Congo; the Tanzanian Children’s Fund, based in Portland, Maine, operating an orphanage, an organic farm, and a microfinance program in the Rift Valley region of northern Tanzania; and also, Safe Passage, a Yarmouth, Maine, based nonprofit that works with the poorest children and families who have been living off of the Guatemala City garbage dump.

Finally, a special preview presentation by Bangor Savings Bank, featuring a soon-to-be-released, feature-length documentary about the heartwarming and inspiring work of the “troop greeters” who welcome soldiers and marines back from Iraq and Afghanistan – often in the middle of the night – when their transport flights first touch down on U.S. soil at Bangor International Airport. The film is called, The Way We Get By.

The brief presentations and displays by these organizations, along with the documentary preview, helped bring to life the interconnectedness of our local, national and regional actions and concerns. And, they illustrated what individuals and smaller organizations can do by reaching out to partner with others, sometimes across continents and oceans.

Activating the greaterthan > Community

In a closing presentation, followed by a roundtable and conference-wide, open discussion, talk was of “activating” the greaterthan > community. Many expressed hope that this forum for bringing representatives of the four sectors together will continue and grow. A preview was made of a new web-based facility that will soon help connect organizations and individuals with offers of resources, descriptions of shared needs, and indications of willingness and commitment to be a resource to others, to work in common purpose.

Based on feedback from numerous conference attendees and speakers, greaterthan > was a timely, inspiring and important gathering. With such powerful and positive feedback, it is very likely that greaterthan > will schedule one or more events over the year ahead and dates are being explored for the second, annual greaterthan > conference, quite possibly returning to the beautiful Coast of Maine.

Visit www.greaterthanconference.com

Complex Challenges Demand Greater Collaboration

Leaders from Corporate, Nonprofit/NGO, Government, and Academic Sectors will Gather at greaterthan >, July 26 – 28, 2009, Portland, Maine, to Explore New Models of Partnership

On May 4, 2007, a massive tornado leveled the town of Greensburg, KS, destroying 95% of the structures, killing 11 people and leaving the rural community of 1600 in the heart of Kansas wheat country, in devastation. And, even though Greensburg had previously begun a planning process for economic development in the 21st century, this small farming community could not have known that just two years after its unimaginable disaster, it would not only be in the midst of becoming America’s first, master-planned LEED-certified green city, but it would also become a role model for a new era of cross-sectoral collaboration and partnership.

At the greaterthan > conference, planned for July 26- 28 in the historic seaport city of Portland, Maine, thought leaders and innovators from the corporate, nonprofit, governmental and academic sectors will meet to explore new models of cross-sectoral collaboration, to address complex challenges related to the environment, economic development, poverty and social justice. See: www.greaterthanconference.com

Chuck Banks, former State Director for the USDA in Kansas, and one of the key contributors to the Greensburg master planning and collaborative rebuilding program, has been working for a decade on a model of public-private collaboration and comprehensive planning that saw its most urgent and broad-based application in Greensburg. Banks will share the stage at greaterthan > with Dave Jeffers, manager of Retail Experience for John Deere, whose agricultural equipment dealers in the Greensburg area were wiped out by the tornado, putting scores of people out of work and destroying millions of dollars worth of agricultural equipment at a time critical for area farms.

Around the world today, recognition is growing for the need to bring leaders and organizations from the for-profit, nonprofit and governmental sectors to bear on some of society’s most pressing issues. In the words of Dr. Jon Fink of the Global Institute of Sustainability at Arizona State University, “Today’s global challenges are too complex for any one discipline or sector to solve.”

Dr Fink will share, at greaterthan >, several examples of collaborative projects that bring academic research, corporate investment, nonprofit organization field teams, and governmental support and facilitation to address urgent and long-term sustainability concerns. In the San Francisco Bay Area, Cisco Systems is working with NASA and city government to help citizens measure, in real time, their environmental impact to implement behavior-changing programs at the neighborhood and community level. Fink is also working with several Israeli and Jordanian universities, NGOs and government agencies to use ecological research as a vehicle for promoting peaceful cooperation.

In developing regions of the world, partnerships and collaboration are essential to begin to build sustainable economic development and meet the long-term social and economic needs of local populations. Randall Kempner, Executive Director of the Aspen Network of Development Entrepreneurs (ANDE), an affiliate of the renowned Aspen Institute, is focusing on bringing financial and technical support to the small and growing businesses which will become the key to sustainable local communities in places like Africa, South America and Asia. ANDE is a membership-based organization comprising organizations such as The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Acumen Fund, the Rockefeller Foundation, the Citi Foundation, the Omidyar Network and many other foundations and technical support providers.

In many major American cities, the long-entrenched challenges of poverty, low educational attainment and unemployment have found new hope with programs like City Year, AmeriCorps, Teach For America and today, a new-found interest in addressing environmental and economic issues by creating a broad-based, green-collar work force.

Michael Brown, Co-Founder and CEO of City Year, will bring to greaterthan > the perspective of 20 years of developing long-term, committed partnerships with leading corporations to support economic and educational opportunity. City Year, – founded on the belief that “young people can change the world” – has brought over 20,000 mentors and young leaders to inner-city schools and is said to have been the role model organization that inspired the Clinton Administration to launch the highly effective AmeriCorps program. Today, AmeriCorps places some 75,000 young people each year into vital roles of service to disadvantaged communities. Joining Michael Brown, will be Comcast Executive Vice President, David Cohen, discussing Comcast’s long-term partnership with City Year and its collaborative engagement in urban affairs, economic opportunity and higher education.

Melissa Bradley-Burns, senior strategist at Green For All, sees a direct connection between America’s environmental crisis and its economic injustices and poverty. Green For All was founded by Van Jones, now President Obama’s Special Advisor for Green Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation. Bradley-Burns will bring insights from this dynamic nonprofit organization that has been working in collaboration with the business, government, labor, and grassroots communities “to create and implement programs that increase quality jobs and opportunities in green industry – all while holding the most vulnerable people at the center of its agenda.” The mission of Green For All is to help solve two of our most compelling challenges (our ecological crisis and persistent poverty) with one solution – greening our inner cities first, with the help of a newly activated and trained green-collar workforce. This powerful concept is now finding its way into the new Administration’s policies and initiatives.

There are many forces and factors that give rise to the kind of innovative and powerful examples of partnership and collaboration to be highlighted at greaterthan >. A growing consciousness among citizens that their immediate and long-term health, well-being and economic survival depends on the quality of our environment and the transparency and responsiveness of our government and institutions. The proliferation of access to the Internet has sped the adoption of new beliefs and standards of behavior. And, the scientific community, through many of the same communications mechanisms fueling consumer or citizen engagement, has rapidly coalesced around certain ideas, such as global warming or disease management, thus opening the door for cross-sectoral initiatives backed by the endorsement of analytical or technical expertise.

As societies around the world wrestle with powerful and urgent challenges, it is becoming clear that no one sector ¬– not corporations, not NGOs, not governmental agencies, not academic institutions ¬– can amass the talent, the team or the resources to address issues on the scale needed. The greaterthan > conference is focused on “catalyzing collaboration” and fostering new models of partnership to bring far more power and much greater pace to such challenges, where the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.

For more information about greaterthan >, see: www.greaterthanconference.com
or contact: mfairbrother@greaterthanconference.com


Posted by David Swardlick, June 21, 2009

A New Era of Collaboration

A powerful social and political movement sweeps a new administration into office. A global of wave of rising consciousness about environmental degradation and climate change launches thousands of organizations to engage communities and nations in behavioral change. An increasing number of international summits convene to address the many crises and high-profile conflicts within and between nations in regions all over the world. Is that sufficient evidence that change is the new world order?

If there is a common theme in all these domains of challenge and change, it is that collaboration between and among organizations, governments and communities is essential for progress in addressing the compelling problems we face at home and around the world.

In a perfectly timed and insightful article, Linda Dunkel, president and CEO of Interaction Associates asks: is collaboration at a tipping point?

(please see:)
Collaboration: At a Tipping Point?
By Linda Dunkel, President and CEO, Interaction Associates
http://www.interactionassociates.com/ideas/2009/03/collaboration_at_a_tipping_poi_1.php

Ms. Dunkel, head of a 40-year-old consulting firm that describes itself as “the leading innovator of collaboration methods that help clients achieve critical business results,” puts it this way, “We’re watching how collaboration is reaching a critical tipping point. A rapidly growing cadre of leaders across the world — in business and elsewhere, including government — now view collaboration as vital for empowering individuals and for driving change. And, they're speaking up about it in clear and powerful terms.”

She cites President Obama’s landmark Memorandum For Transparency and Open Government as she makes the case for collaboration reaching a tipping point. “More evidence of that comes from none other than The White House itself — and a recent executive memo from President Obama directing cabinet secretaries and agency heads to focus on collaboration to make government work better, smarter, and more effectively,” she said.

The President’s memorandum is a directive to his administration, a statement of his philosophy of governing, and an expression of the times in which we live:

“Government should be collaborative. Collaboration actively engages Americans in the work of their Government. Executive departments and agencies should use innovative tools, methods, and systems to cooperate among themselves, across all levels of Government, and with nonprofit organizations, businesses, and individuals in the private sector. Executive departments and agencies should solicit public feedback to assess and improve their level of collaboration and to identify new opportunities for cooperation.”

http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/TransparencyandOpenGovernment/

Applying the same philosophy directly to the world of business, Linda Dunkel says, “...collaboration is an essential tool for the new kind of business leader — the facilitative leader — one who engages relevant stakeholders in solving problems collaboratively and works to build a more collaborative culture in his or her organization or community.”

A” tipping point” – a descriptor made a household word by author Malcolm Gladwell in his book of the same name, defines that critical time when “conventional wisdom” or one set of expectations visibly begins to give way to a new order or paradigm. The Tipping Point presents “a new way of understanding why change so often happens as quickly and as unexpectedly as it does.” The book is an examination of the social epidemics that surround us. “As human beings, we always expect everyday change to happen slowly and steadily, and for there to be some relationship between cause and effect,” says Gladwell. “And when there isn't -- we're surprised. I'm saying, don't be surprised. This is the way social epidemics work.”

http://www.gladwell.com/tippingpoint/

If concepts such as “go-it-alone,” ”us-versus-them,” and “super power,” have failed to heal the rifts between people, alleviate hunger and poverty, prevent dangerous buildup of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, or keep communities safe from oppression, then let's hope that there is a new social epidemic starting to spread and that we are, in fact, at a tipping point for collaboration, partnerships and change.

(Posted by David Swardlick with thanks to Linda Dunkel and Interaction Associates)

Interaction Associates describes itself as specialists at “developing collaborative work cultures, cultivating great teams, developing successful leaders, coaching individual performance, navigating change, and helping clients pursue profitable corporate responsibility strategies.”
http://www.interactionassociates.com

Partnerships, Collaboration – Working For the Greater Good

Faced with a potential global flu pandemic, health officials did something remarkable recently: They asked Google for help.

Scientists from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control suggested that the company create a version of Google Flu Trends for Mexico. Flu Trends identifies the presence of influenza in specific locations by determining where people are entering search terms such as “body ache” and “high fever.” The CDC already uses the system to identify flu hot spots in the United States, so it seemed natural for the government-funded agency to turn to its corporate colleague for help.

The Google-CDC relationship is just one small example of a sea change taking place across the world, as organizations from the business, nonprofit and governmental sectors come together in unprecedented ways. They are entering into creative and committed partnerships, determined to work together in a sustained and sophisticated fashion to address challenges that have grown so large and complex that they are now beyond the reach of any single group or sector.

Of course, cross-sector collaboration and working relationships are not new. Most non-profits have been heavily dependent upon corporate philanthropy, grants from foundations and the public sector, or contracts to provide services in conjunction with governmental agencies.

What is happening now, though, goes beyond the kind of programmatic relationships we’ve grown accustomed to seeing. New models are emerging: Organizations are determined to become true partners with one another in something bigger, longer lasting and more powerful than what our societies have been able to build in the past.

Some of these relationships involve hundreds of millions of dollars in spending, operations that span continents and plans of action that stretch many years into the future. Others are tightly focused on local communities. All are determined to make a real difference by building on the strengths of their committed partners.

They are an expression of a powerful movement pulsing just beneath the surface of public consciousness: a growing sense of urgency for finding solutions to compelling challenges — in our communities, our nation and around the world. Paul Hawken called this worldwide movement for social and environmental change “Blessed Unrest.”


What’s Behind This New Way of Thinking?

A number of factors are contributing significantly to this shift.

First, there is growing awareness that we face urgent and collective challenges, rather than narrow-interest or localized issues that can be ignored or left for “others” to deal with.

The problems are numerous, deep and interconnected: A global financial crisis has led to the bankruptcy of some of the world’s largest corporations, the financial insolvency of governments and widespread social dislocation. Global warming is threatening the very survival of communities and species around the world. The emergence of swine flu has raised the specter of a mortally dangerous disease pandemic – if not in this instance, then certainly as a future possibility. These problems and many others are massive threats that no single country or set of organizations can address individually.

This awareness of the increased complexity and scope of today’s global challenges is reflected in the research and analysis that has given rise to terms to describe individuals as “conscious consumers,”1 “cultural creatives,”2 or perhaps simply, “global citizens.”

This worldwide concern is being fueled and spread at an unprecedented rate through technology and the adoption of advanced communications, public relations, advocacy and social-action tactics. The documentary “An Inconvenient Truth” and the movement it spurred present just one example.

Second, NGOs and governmental agencies have struggled to keep pace with the scope and urgency of many compelling problems. Fundraising and philanthropic support are in no way keeping up with the needs of non-profits, and in many cases, the non-profits lack the entrepreneurial or innovation skills or the operational adaptability to scale up to match the magnitude of the issues that are central to their missions. For their part, governmental agencies are often hampered by changing political and financial priorities or the inertia of bureaucratic structures. And while they may, at times, possess the best information and have the best access or hold the keys to the policy, regulatory or legal aspects of the issue in question, governmental agencies may be unable to commit to urgent or ambitious operational programs.

Third, corporations are changing. Just as citizens are demonstrating new commitments to social and environmental change, so are corporations. If a corporation is like a person in the eyes of the law, then “corporate citizens” should be demonstrating a rapid elevation of social and environmental responsibility and commitment in today’s world. Customers, employees and shareholders are making their expectations in this regard known, and consequently, fundamental changes in corporate behavior are taking place.

Corporate mission statements are being rewritten to include long-term, clear commitments for businesses to play active roles in addressing broad stakeholder interests, not just stockholder interests. Social responsibility and sustainability reports are becoming part of the annual reporting process.

Companies such as Royal Dutch Shell, Bristol-Myers, and Norsk Hydro are producing detailed reports that not only describe their firms’ financial performances, but also their ability to protect the environment and the communities in which they operate. They also are outlining best practices and detailing management techniques that worked in supporting this “triple bottom line,” so as to share that information with others.

Some of the most successful corporate leaders around the world have called for what might be considered a redefinition of capitalism to require this more highly evolved sense of corporate citizenship.

A Sea Change in the Approach to World Challenges

At the beginning of this decade, signs were pointing to the need for new approaches. In talking about the 2001 World Economic Forum in Davos, renowned journalist David Ignatius wrote in the International Herald Tribune:

Beyond the short-term economic worries, a deeper Davos problem surfaced in some of the sessions and corridor talk. The forum gathers each year partly to talk about big global problems such as the environment, AIDS and the spread of poverty, but solutions for these problems seem to be receding rather than getting nearer.

The most innovative thinking I have heard here about globalization starts with the frank admission that current efforts to solve problems are not working. Global warming is getting worse. The destitute countries of Africa are becoming poorer and more disease-ridden. The digital gap between the wired haves and the unwired have-nots is growing. 3

So what is the answer? Ignatius continues:

Davos attendee Jean-François Rischard, (former vice president for Europe of the World Bank) ventures an intriguing proposal. The only models that have a chance in the 21st century will be ones that share the network effects of the new economy. They will be coalitions of interested nations, private companies and nongovernmental organizations. They will use online polling to speed their work along. And they will focus on setting standards or norms—much like the informal bodies that built out the Internet without treaties or legislated rules and regulations.4

Global society, as a whole, appears to be setting the stage, if not explicitly calling, for new approaches to addressing the world’s problems. As Paul Hawken illustrates in his Blessed Unrest, there are hundreds of thousands of grassroots organizations springing up all over the world to address local, regional and global challenges. He likens this widespread phenomenon to the natural response of an organism to illness or disease:

If we accept that the metaphor of an organism can be applied to humankind, we can imagine a collective movement that would protect, repair, and restore that organism’s capacity to endure when threatened. If so, that capacity to respond would function like an immune system, which operates independently of an individual person’s intent. Specifically, the shared activity of hundreds of thousands of nonprofit organizations can be seen as humanity’s immune response to toxins like political corruption, economic disease, and ecological degradation.5

Recently, there has been an outpouring of new thinking and writing about innovative approaches to problem solving as reflected in the programs and the work of businesses, NGOs, governmental agencies, academic institutions and media professionals. A 2008 report on partnerships between corporations and NGOs published by the Environmental Defense Fund and the Global Environmental Management Initiative (GEMI) expresses this shift well:

Leading companies know that: ‘Business as usual’ has changed. Investors and customers want companies to address social and environmental concerns. Leading companies in the private sector recognize that they should develop strategies to meet these needs while remaining profitable. At the same time, many of the most effective non-governmental organizations (NGOs) recognize that they can achieve widespread and lasting change by harnessing the power of the market. To achieve these goals, companies and NGOs are finding ways to work together.6


There is a clear sense developing of the interdependency of business, government and society. In his remarks at the New York Stock Exchange on April 27, 2006, Kofi Anan said, “if societies fail, business fails.”

In the book Firms of Endearment: How World-Class Companies Profit From Passion and Purpose by Raj Sisodia, Jag Sheth and David Wolfe, an expanded vision of corporate purpose among exemplary companies is documented, as is the success of these companies: “The best form of corporate social responsibility is not making monetary donations to charities, but the dedicated involvement of everyone in a company in meaningful pursuits that transcend the bottom line.”

The authors continue, “...when (one of the world’s most valuable companies) begins to aggressively address issues of general concern that traditionally have been within the purview of government, the handwriting is on the wall. The well being of society increasingly depends on business. GE’s Jeff Immelt apparently knows that and accepts this role as being appropriate to his company’s place in society worldwide.”7

Bill Gates, addressing the World Economic Forum in Davos in 2007, called it “Creative Capitalism.” Mr. Gates said: "We need a creative capitalism where business and non-governmental organizations work together to create a market system that eases the world's inequities.”8

Duke University’s Center for Advancement of Social Entrepreneurship describes it this way:

Recent trends in the social sector have led to a blurring of the distinctions between business, nonprofit and government organizations. In particular, frustration with traditional governmental and charitable approaches to social problems has prompted social sector leaders to tap into the strengths of the business and entrepreneurial world in their search for more sustainable and systemic solutions.9

Through the formation of Google.org, Google’s charitable foundation, a powerful new commitment of corporate purpose was brought forward by the company’s leadership. They committed resources from Google's profits, equity and substantial employee time to this philanthropic effort, and they created the mission: "to use the power of information and technology to address the global challenges of our age."10

In the words of Dr. Larry Brilliant, Google's Chief Philanthropy Evangelist, “I think this is the highest contribution that I can make both to Google.org and to fighting the urgent threats of our day: from climate change to emerging infectious diseases, to issues of poverty and health care... I hope to be able to spend more time motivating policy makers, encouraging public and private partnerships, and generally advocating for the changes that we must make as a global society to solve these problems.”11

The Promise of New Approaches

The growing urgency of global problems, the heightened sense of personal and corporate social responsibility, and the willingness of organizations to work with partners from other sectors is inspiring new models of partnership and what appears to be a promising “blurring of the lines” between corporations, NGOs and public-sector agencies.

The greaterthan > conference will explore and foster such partnerships, across sectors, among multiple organizations, public and private. It will help bring ideas, creative approaches, tools, techniques and a supportive community together to be employed by those who are seeking new ways to tackle pervasive problems.

End Notes

1 Raphael Bemporad and Mitch Baranowski, BBMG Conscious Consumer Report: Conscious Consumers Are Changing the Rules of Marketing. Are You Ready? (2007). http://www.bbmg.com/index_whoweare.html
2 Paul H. Ray, Ph.D. and Sherry Ruth Anderson, Ph.D., The Cultural Creatives: How 50 Million People Are Changing the World (New York: Harmony Books, 2000). http://www.culturalcreatives.org/book.html
3 David Ignatius, “Try A Network Approach to Global Problem Solving,” International Herald Tribune, January 29, 2001.
4 Ibid.
5 Paul Hawken, Blessed Unrest (New York: Viking Press, 2007), 141.
6 Guide To Successful Corporate-NGO Partnerships by Environmental Defense Fund and GEMI, 2008. http://www.edf.org/documents/8818_GEMI-EDF%20Guide%20Final.pdf
7 Raj Sisodia, Jag Sheth and David Wolfe, Firms of Endearment: How World-Class Companies Profit From Passion and Purpose, (Philadelphia: Wharton School Publishing, 2007), 1 and 56.
8 Tim Webber, “Gates wants creative capitalism.” BBC News online, January 24, 2008. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7207808.stm
9 Duke University Fuqua School of Business, Center for the Advancement of Social Entrepreneurship website. http://www.caseatduke.org/about/
10 Dr. Larry Brilliant, “Brilliant Takes on Urgent Threats,” The Official google.org blog, April 14, 2009. http://blog.google.org/
11 Dr. Larry Brilliant, “The Next Chapter for Google.org,” The Official google.org blog, February 23, 2009. http://blog.google.org/2009/02/next-chapter-for-googleorg.html