[Ailist] Innovation Center -- Jane Watkins?

Thu Mar 12 11:40:10 MST 2009

Regarding John's post about wanting more information about the  
Innovation Center (for US Dairy)...

The Innovation Center:  www.theinnovationcenter.org does some of the  
most profound community change work.  And, has done the best job I've  
seen in integrating AI into a a full fledge intemediary that connects  
people and ideas to create change.  They offer four threads of service:

*  Get consulting
*  Find training
*  Use tools
*  Share ideas

This group originally was part of the US 4H programs, that focused on  
youth growing up on farms (agriculture, dairy, animal products) and  
then evolved to focus on all types of youth and community  
development.  They now engage and employ young leaders to work with  
communities on connecting people and ideas to create change.  And, are  
led by one of the truly great innovative minds, Wendy Wheeler, who  
attended an early AI series of trainings put on Jane Watkins in the  
late 80's/early 90's that focsed on using the AI methods -- then  
called Strength Based Planning or Appreciative Planning  (Jane could  
fill us in on more about the dates, who attended and the focus).  This  
was part of the early work Jane did (associated with David Cooperider)  
before AI was a formalized faciitation method.

I share this bit of history, because these events have been the  
foundation of what is now known world wide as Positive Community  
Development (engaging Youth, Adults, Business and Communities as  
agents of change).  These trainings were attended by the top US  
National Policy leaders on youth and community development in the  
United States.  Innovation Center (then 4H) wrote an entire curriculum  
in partnership with the National Network of Youth (a network of  
homeless shelters that work with youth) based in AI and TOP  
(International Cultural Affairs) principles to train youth workers in  
everything related to the causes of community malaise (of course food,  
shelter, schools, crime, social justice is part of there focus).

Jane's original series of trainings also resulted in the Community  
Schools Movement (spear headed by Jane Quinn and the Children's Aid's  
Society), the Beacon Schools (24 hour school/community centers in New  
York City) which than seeded NY school reform funded by Gates with 20  
billion dollars!!!

There were many other success' that resulted from this original  
summit.  And, I post this here, first to congratulate Jane on her  
historical wins (that she may be unaware of) and also to bring note to  
John's commit that I think the Innovation Center for US Dairy used  
some kind of AI process.

What really worked about what Jane did, was that she didn't do AI --  
she never does!  She gave the attendees her commitment to the process  
in such a way that they felt empowered to make it their own.  Bliss  
Brown, Imagine Chicago also uses AI this way -- inspiring her  
communities to bring life where it's needed, how it's needed and to  
make it their own.

Congratulations to the US Dairy Industry!

I've been trained by Jane Watkins in AI.  My community has no idea we  
dream AI style, however we have created a citizen-city partnership  
(never been done before in our rural community, and awarded by the  
state of Nevada with $450,000 grant) that is building an art and  
cultural Peace Park, which has resulted in the formation of  a new  
community foundation, The Elko Parks Foundation.

I met many of the leaders who attended Jane's original training on a  
grant from the Annie E Casey Foundation in 1999, to interview the top  
community youth development Policy Leaders in the US.  The Annie E  
Casey Foundation paid for my training with Jane Watkin's as follow-up  
to 2 years of field work where the grant was used to ask these leaders:

What works?  What do you need to sustain and maintain what works?

One of the leader's was Richard Murphy, who is now integrating  
cooking, nutrition, social entrapenuership and youth development as a  
youth worker, youth engagement pilot in New York City.  He was one of  
the founders of the community school movement and attended Jane's  
series of trainings.  Richard asked me not to go to DC and form a new  
non-profit (with what I learned ), but to go home and build a school.

I went home and found out my community wanted to build a reflective  
park (all we had was ball fields)!!!  That was in 2004.

Yesterday, I was contacted by some parents who are now buidling a  
community school here in Elko, where I live.  This Saturday and Monday  
we begin the Appreciative Process to bring life to their new  
school....Thank you Richard Murphy!!!

John, if you'd like to contact me, please do.  I love Austrailia,  
lived 30 days in one of your animal sancuaries in 2004 -- came home  
and built a Peace Park!!!  That's how AI works and sustains!!!!

Julie Caldwell
Emerging Futures Youth Network
phone:  01-775-753-8414 (PTD-USA)
skype:   juliecaldwell

"doing together what we can not do alone"

On Mar 11, 2009, at 9:50 PM, John Loty wrote:

>
>
> Hello all,
>
> In 2008 (in the US) there was a Sustainability Summit: Creating Value
> Through Dairy Innovation that looks to have followed Appreciative  
> Inquiry
> processes. This was followed by further work by the Innovation  
> Center for US
> Dairy.
>
> A couple of days ago, here in Sydney, I was chatting with someone at  
> an
> Innovation conference that we both attended and they are very  
> interested in
> seeing something similar happen in Australia. We are having an  
> exploratory
> discussion about the possibilities next Monday.
>
> I have the Executive Summary of the Sustainable Summit, a presentation
> (summary) of project proposals and a follow up presentation  on those
> proposals (listing objectives and naming the people involved) that  
> is dated
> September 2008.
>
> I was hoping (I am an optimist!) to speak to /communicate with to an  
> AI
> practitioner that was involved to get some more background before this
> initial meeting that I am having (in Melbourne) next week.
>
> The Exec Summary first 2 paragraphs gives some more detail - and I  
> quote:
>
> Executive Summary
>
> Sustainability Summit: Creating Value Through Dairy Innovation
>
>
>
> In June, dairy leaders met in Rogers, Arkansas for the inaugural
> Sustainability Summit: Creating Value Through Dairy Innovation. The  
> Summit
> was an unprecedented gathering of 250 leaders representing producers,
> processors, non-governmental organizations, university researchers and
> government agencies. Together, these stakeholders generated action  
> steps and
> made an industry-wide commitment to reduce fluid milk's carbon  
> footprint
> while increasing business value, from farm to consumer.
>
>
>
> The Sustainability Summit, held in conjunction with the University of
> Arkansas' Applied Sustainability Center, was the first major step in a
> comprehensive industry-wide dairy initiative to identify and address
> sustainability opportunities. Leading the initiative are Dairy  
> Management
> Inc., representing America's dairy producers, the International  
> Dairy Foods
> Association (IDFA), representing processors and manufacturers, and the
> National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) representing dairy  
> cooperatives.
>
> So if there is someone on the list that knows and is willing to  
> share some
> high level background to these events I would be most grateful if  
> they would
> drop me a line (not on this list serve) or via Skype. My Skype ID is  
> fairgo
> (I am in Sydney Australia where the time is GMT plus 10 and we are in
> Daylight Saving time)
>
> I am also interested in some detail on how the graphic artist that was
> engaged went about their work.
>
> Cheers
>
> John Loty
>
> Appreciative Inquiry Advocate, Facilitator and Consultant
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