Community Impact Investment

By: John Reed Issue: Resource Management Section: Community

Berkeley Information Center

As local governments continue tightening their belts in the face of economic realities, the prior funding to address community problems is becoming scarce. Communities are faced with finding new ways to finance solutions until the economy recovers. The Sullivan Chair for Free Enterprise at Regis University is advancing an idea for funding a variety of community projects: a Community Impact Investment. This idea attracts private funding resources from within the community and utilizes those funds within a business investment model, monetizing the solution and paying back the money. Successful execution of this approach may prove a renewable, repeatable way to answer the pervasive question of “Where’s the money?”

“We know that there are more than 535,000 locally owned businesses fueling our state's economy, and employing more than 1,632,000 Coloradoans. Local community investment is how we can leverage that investment and multiply it, creating a dramatic change in communities,” said Karl Dakin, executive director of the Sullivan Chair. “My backyard is becoming the center point for economic planning. And entrepreneurial approaches are needed. As the largest economic force within the Berkeley community, Regis University is making available the knowledge and creativity of its faculty and students to develop new economic models that are free enterprise approaches for communities,” he went on.

Work is currently underway on the pilot project Community Impact Investment—the Berkeley Information Center. The center is intended to provide a broad range of local information to the citizens of the Berkeley District of Denver, Colorado.  At present, there is no single, central depository of information regarding the many recreational, professional, civic, and domestic activities needed in daily life by individuals, families and businesses within the community. The Berkeley District Merchants’ Association identified a lack of information as the major obstacle to economic development, and as a clear limitation on the district’s quality of life.

“The greatest challenge that we have as a business is getting our information out to our potential local customers. In this age of social media, the web, and other forms of information dissemination, there are too many outlets for information, all with varying degrees of credibility,” points out Dan Taylor, Merchants’ Association president. “Trying to use just a couple of these methods of communication is not only time consuming, but fails to reach a broad enough audience. What is really needed is a hub to allow access to local information and a central location to disseminate information.”

Community Impact Investment is a community development and revitalization activity that is conducted to address a community problem.  Funding for the activity may be provided through a social investment model without government monies or charitable gifts. By looking to local money and providing a means for repayment, a community can achieve a level of self-determination.

The Berkeley project will use a two-stage process of planning and action. Regis University will lead the first stage supported by the Berkeley community. In the second stage, the Berkeley community will lead the start and growth of the information center, while Regis University provides support. “Working together we can build a more durable, healthy and connected local economy,” says Rebecca Saltman, project manager for the Berkeley Information Center. “The more we can do in our own backyard, the more stable our local economy will be.”

During the planning process, information will be gathered from citizens and businesses within Berkeley as to their common information needs.  Information in this context could include anything from soccer game schedules and field usage, to merchant coupons, or police reports, government forms, real estate listings and virtual tours, community billboard postings, Regis University activities, and entrée to all forms of social media. After completing an inventory of all types of Berkeley community information, the citizens of Berkeley will be surveyed to determine what information is most important. Then, different delivery options will be considered based upon available technology. The Berkeley Information Center will make use of the latest Wi-Fi and smartphone systems for collection and distribution of information.

The Sullivan Chair will present the Berkeley Merchants’ Association with different funding options on January 5, 2012.  The plans will provide for the operation of the center to generate revenue from which investors may be paid back. This monetization of the Berkeley Information Center may include advertising fees for banner ads, tag ads, and coupons, transactional fees on sales of products and services, subscription fees by members of the Berkeley community, and information distribution fees by government agencies. Total fees need to be sufficient to cover operational costs and recover investment dollars.

Regis University students will be integrally involved in both the planning and launch of the center so that they can learn entrepreneurship. The immersion-based educational approach allows students to learn entrepreneurship by engaging in entrepreneurial activities. “To best prepare students to enter the workforce, they must learn entrepreneurial practices for managing constant change,” stated Marilynn Force, an adjunct faculty member at Regis University and an educational consultant to the Sullivan Chair. She offered a quote by Chris Lowney from his book “Heroic Leadership,” “Only those with the deeply ingrained capacity for continuous learning and self-reflection stand a chance of surfing the waves of change successfully.” Regis University advocates this kind of surfing regularly by applying the principals of Jesuit education, inculcating the characteristics of a modern entrepreneur. The measure of their personal greatness is less what they found at journey’s end and more the depth of human character that carried them along the way: their imagination, will, perseverance, courage, resourcefulness and willingness to bear the risk of failure…”

Force goes on, “Regis University strives to instill in students the discipline of continuous self-reflection that the Ignatian process demands. For in that process one can define order to one’s life and know self-awareness as the foundation of leadership. Entrepreneurs, if not self-aware, are subject to a loss in understanding of their market place/demographic, community and self-actualization which connects them to their customer base.”

If the Center can meet the needs of the Berkeley community and achieve sustainable operations, the Sullivan Chair will package the Center's plan in a kit with lessons learned from the plan’s implementation.  The kit will be offered for sale to other communities.  In this manner, a single project may be widely replicated and locally funded across the nation.

John Reed is a volunteer at Regis University with an interest in rural economic development.

Kelly de la Torre

Issue: Resource Management Section: Advisory Board

Kelly de la Torre

Kelly de la Torre is an attorney with ALG | Attorneys in Colorado, a Denver-based law firm founded in 2008. The attorneys at ALG believe in collaborative implementation. They work together to blend insights, innovation, and expertise to leverage the team’s goal-oriented strategy for the benefit of the firm’s business clients. The ALG strategic approach lets the attorneys be a more powerful partner in service of business growth and momentum.

De la Torre has a Bachelor of Science in biochemistry and a Master of Science in chemistry. During graduate school, she worked as a research fellow in the Fuel Science Department at Sandia National Laboratories designing biomimetic catalysts for CO2 activation. The goal of the project was to design a catalyst to convert CO2 to a reusable fuel source. So began de la Torre’s interest in energy and energy systems.

While assessing the ultimate goal of her research, Kelly wondered, “What if emerging technology could be developed that would reduce U.S. oil consumption? What would that do to the world’s politics?” It was then that de la Torre read The Prize, Daniel Yergin’s 1992 Pulitzer Prize winning book about the history of oil; she then and took her first steps into the world of energy policy.

She attended Rutgers-Camden School of Law in Camden, New Jersey. While in law school, she worked as a technical advisor on patent litigation cases. After graduation, she moved to Denver and landed her first job as an attorney working with the McIntosh Group. The group focused on commercialization of energy technologies primarily in the energy space including, innovations in electrical power cable technology and wind and solar technologies.

De la Torre has a true admiration for inventors and the challenges that they face in bringing their products to market. Some of these barriers can be addressed through policies designed to create demand for the product and others through creative partnerships and consumer education. She uses her technical background and these strategies to assist companies in overcoming barriers to market penetration.

Energy influences every part of our lives. It is a complex landscape of integrated and moving parts where the equilibrium is constantly challenged by emerging energy needs and policy changes. It is the intersection between business, law and policy that de la Torre finds most intriguing, and it is this intersection that can be used to engage the energy consumer. Consumers should understand that they can influence policy; however, this influence should be informed influence because good energy policies can lead to efficient and cost effective energy initiatives and decisions. This is why when asked to participate in the “Connect and Collaborate with ICOSA” radio show, she jumped at the chance to start the recurring segment entitled Energy 101. Jan Mazotti, ICOSA editor and de la Torre use the show to discuss energy from the perspective of the consumer.

In her law practice, de la Torre advocates on behalf of her clients for statutory and regulatory changes to support emerging business models in the energy sector. This type of effective advocacy however, requires a broad understanding of how business, law and policy intersect across the energy spectrum. To help facilitate a better understanding of this intersection, she tracks emerging regulatory and statutory changes on her blog, the “Rocky Mountain Energy Blog” which can be found at http://rmenergyblog.blogspot.com.

Complex issues further require collaboration. To provide a forum to facilitate discussion amongst women in the energy industry, she co-founded Women in Energy, a networking group for women. In addition, since its inception, de la Torre has been actively involved with the annual Global New Energy Summit, an event that highlights the energy spectrum in the states of New Mexico, Colorado and Wyoming.  The event brings together the key elements that facilitate energy development, specifically science and technology, finance, industry and policy.  Coordinating the leadership across these disciplines encourages collaboration that is necessary to address the changing energy landscape in the region and the nation and is a key goal supported by her and the summit.

JERRY PETERSON

By: Issue: Resource Management Section: Advisory Board

JERRY PETERSON

After receiving his Bachelors of Science in 1961 and a graduate degree in 1966, both in physics, from the University of Washington, R.J. (Jerry) Peterson was an instructor at Princeton University and part of the research faculty at Yale University.

Jerry's research interests have covered many arenas of nuclear physics, including nuclear astrophysics, nuclear reactions, nuclear fission, and applications of nuclear reactions to computer memory elements. These experimental studies have used beams from a wide variety of particle accelerators, often involving foreign collaborators. He has been a visiting professor at the University of Copenhagen (Niels Bohr Institute), the University of Tokyo, and the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro. He is a Foreign Fellow of the Pakistan Academy of Sciences and a Fellow of the American Physical Society. Jerry is also a member of the faculty in the UCB Program in International Affairs. His recent teaching has included classes in physics, environmental studies, journalism and international affairs.

Jerry worked as an analyst in the Office of Economic Analysis of the Bureau of Intelligence and Research for the U.S. Department of State, where he focused on energy and the environment with an emphasis on coal and nuclear energy. Based on his research and analyses, he wrote assessments, memos, and papers on the aforementioned issues and presented briefings and seminars to U.S. officials and to the associated intelligence community. Following his fellowship year, he returned to his academic career but remained available to the State Department for short-term projects over a period of five years.

Today, Peterson is a professor in the physics department specializing in the area of nuclear physics. In the past, he was an administrator in the CU-Boulder Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research for six years, including posts as Assistant Vice Chancellor, Associate Vice Chancellor and Interim Vice Chancellor. He is currently chair of the Boulder Faculty Assembly, the representative body of the CU Boulder Faculty.

You’ll Move Mountains! Get On Your Way!

By: Jan Mazotti Issue: Resource Management Section: Letter from Editor

You’ll Move Mountains! Get On Your Way!

There are so many definitions for resources. It could be an economic or productive factor required to accomplish an activity or as means to undertake an enterprise and achieve a desired outcome. The three most basic resources are land, labor, and capital; but other resources include energy, entrepreneurship, information, expertise, management, and time. Or, you could say that resources are materials and components that can be found within the environment. Every man-made product is composed of natural resources. A natural resource may exist as a separate entity such as fresh water and air, as well as a living organism such as a fish, or it may exist in an alternate form which must be processed to obtain the resource such as metal ores, oil, and most forms of energy.

This issue is jam packed with stories from academia, business, and community organizations that are using resources to maximize the use of money and talent to accomplish amazing things all over the world. So instead of another boring letter from me, perhaps Dr. Seuss can demonstrate some of the lessons within. Be a thinker of great things to bend your world in wonderful ways. "Think left and think right and think low and think high. Oh, the thinks you can think up if only you try!" This is the underlying message of the Canadian Oil Sands story. It is about the collaborative nature of various organizations—friend or foe—who are thinking of new and productive ways to create energy, while sustaining the community and the environment.

Don’t put yourself in a box. Dream it and do it. And, that is exactly what the Massachusetts Green High Performance Computing Center in Holyoke, Massachusetts is doing. They found their “collaborative gene” and engaged academia, business, and government to create jobs, build technological capacity, and improving state-wide collaboration. As Seuss says, “You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself, any direction you choose.”

“There are so many things you can learn about, but you’ll miss the best things if you keep your eyes shut.” Denver-based Boyers Coffee proves that focused persistence pays off. Founded in 1965, the company strives to do the right thing for its employees and the community, believing whole-heartedly that sustainability serves as a foundation for their new operational strategies—benefit consumers, benefit the company, and benefit the environment. They know that, “If you read with your eyes shut, you’re likely to find that the place where you’re going is far, far behind. So that’s why I tell you to keep your eyes wide, keep them wide open... at least on one side!”

Whether writing about Cats in Hats, Grinches, Sneeches, Gacks, or Whos, Dr. Seuss always found a way to string together the ridiculous and fun, while sharing moving messages. He was a master storyteller who encouraged us all to have big hairy audacious goals, and to never settle for anything less.

He taught us to “think and wonder, wonder and think.” And considering the world around us, isn’t that what we should all commit ourselves to doing? Success is a journey, and we all have our own paths, where each voice counts. We must stay focused, and we must recognize that, “Today is your day! Your mountain is waiting. So… get on your way” in order to make change. “Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not.” All the best,

- Jan Mazotti P.S. – It is impossible to sneeze with your eyes open.

Resource Management

By: Gayle Dendinger with Annette Perez Issue: Resource Management Section: Letter from Publisher

Working Together for Competitive Advantage

As was noted in the last issue of ICOSA, we are heading in a new direction. As indicated in our inaugural issue, this magazine is a “work in progress,” and over the past three years, we have fine-tuned it to maximize our internal and external resources.

About five years ago, my team and I wrote a book based on years of notes and research on what I believe demonstrates a model for connection and collaboration. This issue focuses on resources, of which I look to the bee as a guide. Our goal is to show you in future issues that the creation of an infrastructure (spider), a resource management system (bee), and a vision (dragonfly) are all required before action can begin. Once all preparation has taken place, we look to transform (butterfly) the vision into action and continuously (snail) build and improve in subsequent rounds. There is an abundance of resources in our world and in our community, and many of the stories in this issue highlight the significance of these resources. I would argue that the business world has many means available yet wastes innumerable amounts of resources. In order to operate a successful business, the following resources are vital for an organization to survive—financial, human, information technology, and other intangible resources.

Financial Resources

It is imperative to have financial resources available. Financial resources include everything from inventory, operating materials, supplies, property, plant and equipment, accounts receivables, bonds, stocks, cash and cash equivalents, short-term investments, buildings, machinery, real estate, vehicles, tools, bank loans, venture capital and lines of credit. Simply stated, money or hard assets are needed to run the business.

Resource reserves allow collaborative efforts to continue in times of scarcity. For example, ICOSA started because of terrible difficult economic circumstances. We needed a tool to maximize and share our stories and the stories of our collaborative partners. This entire magazine and media engine would not be possible without years of financial planning to get through rough periods that have ultimately affected the whole world.

Human Resources

After financial resources are established, the second greatest significant resource, in my opinion, is people—otherwise known as human resources. Since organizational performance depends so heavily on the people we interface with, we must be selective about who is hired. Once they are hired, we must give them the tools and support they need to shine. Strong connections between peers, colleagues, and outstanding leaders are the key to acquiring intelligence, information, ideas, and ideals to effectively run a business. This again reminds us of why connecting people for collaborative purposes is so powerful. Teams are made up of different people with different roles who unite for a common purpose. Collaborative efforts strive to connect passionate and productive people who bring different skill sets and resources to the table. By connecting quality people, quality information, intelligence, ideas and innovation can be gathered together for collective purposes, therefore propelling the organization.

Information Technology Resources

Information technologies resources can be viewed as information, data, physical computers, laptops, hardware, software, servers, and cloud computing, to name a few. Although information is easy to access (i.e. internet, social media sites, multiple documents and spreadsheets), it becomes cumbersome if the information is scattered. An information management system is an absolute necessity, storing the information and tools that support the organizational functions. It provides a means to organize and archive all forms and records for human resources and provides a universal communication system. A proper information management system helps groups to stay organized and maintain a shared vision by keeping all records and research in one location. Resources, such as data and information, must be shared if the organization is to survive. And, if the members of the organization are properly tied together, they are able to quickly relay information and create meaningful knowledge.

Moreover, technological advancements play a huge role in modern society. It is for this reason that businesses must first require a system that facilitates the information sharing necessary for true collaboration to occur. In today’s information age, a group that can systematize, access, and use the right resources has a huge competitive edge, and quality output should increase as resource management systems help to magnify the power of cooperative supporters.

Intangible Resources

It’s easy to ignore intangible resources for obvious reasons—they are intangible. But they are important. They can be anything from reputation, brand, intellectual property, or company culture. These resources are all very important in keeping a business prosperous. Building a trustworthy and strong reputation for an organization takes many years and uses financial and human resources to keep it continuous;, unfortunately, reputation can be broken down within a matter of minutes if proper training and criteria are not established. Equally important is a company’s intellectual property. Every company has a “golden nugget” that was specifically built for that organization. Case in point, an information management system may be built to include all the “bells and whistles” that is fit for that organization, but if that trade secret is not protected, then that valuable piece of information can be duplicated, and as a result be worth nothing, causing loss in value, lost customers, and perhaps lost competitive edge. Finally a company’s culture is a treasured resource. In my organization, we strongly embrace the “value of now,” and we infrequently find anyone sitting on a task. When an assignment is delegated, it is quickly and proficiently completed. As I’ve mentioned in previous issues, we are a freight forwarding company whose ultimate goal is to move equipment globally—NOW. And, because of our freight background, we are extremely agile.

Wasted Resources

The duplication of resources results in wasted time, money, effort, and space. When members of a collaborative effort can proficiently navigate within the system, keeping a constant flow of necessary information, waste is thereby reduced and collaboration becomes infinitely easier. Whatever the method, all members of an organization should be required to use the group’s mode of information sharing so that communication is sustainable, consistent and standardized. Creating a proper system able to consistently increase productivity while improving quality over time is a serious challenge. It needs to be designed in a fashion so that its form fits its function, helping collaborative members to create value and benefitting all involved. People are the workers of the collaborative “hive.” They are responsible for gathering both the tangible and intangible resources, and for using these resources to further the work of the organization. However, it is important to remember that while increasing the number of team members is likely to mean greater input of resources into the system, it will not necessarily increase the output of results. Productivity, not size, determines the success of a collaborative effort. Organizations that attempt to proliferate too quickly will have gaps in both their infrastructure and their resource management system—they cannot grow strong if they are spread too thin. Collaborative systems must start with a small group of outstanding people, who each bring a large amount of resources to the group. If expansion is a necessary part of completing the vision, growth must be careful and deliberate. The infrastructure must remain strong and well connected, while the resource management system continues to maintain order amongst the newly compounding resources during the subsequent infrastructure growth.

Conclusion

While an efficient resource management system must have a common structure for all members to utilize, it also requires flexibility in the types of imperative resources it is able to store. Collaboration works by allowing different individuals, departments and companies to do what they do best, while still working towards a common vision (the dragonfly). Regardless of how well-managed a resource system is, it will not further a collaborative effort if there is not cooperation among members in using that information for a common good. In nature, individual bees do not inherently know what actions will benefit their collective hive. They must communicate well in order to coordinate their efforts. We must take this lesson from the bee and realize that simply having and storing resources does not make them valuable. The success of honeybees comes from their ability to communicate while collecting and storing resources as a group, and utilizing these resources in a way that benefits the entire hive.

- Gayle Dendinger

Good Company, Business Success in the Worthiness Era

By: Maria E. Luna Issue: Resource Management Section: Book Review

An Interview With Laurie Bassi

Merging global economic security starts with the Worthiness Era. Good Company, Business Success in the Worthiness Era, by Laurie Bassi, proves that in order to yield high profits, companies must make investments in employees, customers and investors. Good Company was written for leaders on the frontlines and to demonstrate that in The Worthiness Era “halfhearted corporate responsibility efforts common today,” can be marginalized. Bassi says, “Only thoroughly worthy companies that genuinely see to do more than enrich a narrow set of shareholders and executives will thrive.” Such enrichment comes about through managing and inspiring employees effectively, and avoiding The Worthiness Era will result in not only a poor reputation, but poor business in general.

ICOSA: What’s the most surprising thing you learned from writing Good Company?

Bassi: Through our systematic compilation of information on the Fortune 100 we gave each company a grade from A to F. And, there were two surprising things we learned. The happiest thing we learned was how good many of these companies were doing. We looked at how they used their core capabilities to make contributions to the community and society. For example, Proctor and Gamble learned that in India adolocent girls tended to miss school a couple of days every month because they didn’t have access to hygiene products. This ultimately caused them to drop out of school, get married, have children at a younger age, which then increased childhood mortality, and poverty rates. So the simple act of using their core capabilities and distributing the products they produce to these girls in India helps break the cycle. They have been able to document the impact—reductions in childhood mortality, increases in female education rate, and overall increases in income. Some may look at that cynically and say they are just in this for the money when incomes raise—but I say they have earned it.

ICOSA: You say your title has a double meaning. Tell us more.

Bassi: What we are discovering is that people are requiring more of companies. We are tired of greed, as evidenced by the Occupy Wall Street efforts. The double meaning of Good Company is it pays for companies to be good and we want companies in our lives that are good companies.

ICOSA: The economy is sluggish, the deficit is astronomical; yet do you think things are getting better?

Bassi: At a micro-level, as opposed to a macro-level, the power is shifting from big corporations to people. There is a lot that we as individual consumers and investors can do to make things better for ourselves, our families and ultimately the society in which we live. People are exercising that power.

ICOSA: What is The Worthiness Era?

Bassi: There is a convergence of forces going on. It’s a convergence of economic, social and political forces that is actually forcing companies towards better behaviors; being good employers, being better sellers and good stewards of the community and environment. That is what we define as a good company. It’s not about being good for goodness sake. It’s about being good because it is the way to make money. In the end it all boils down to technology-fueled people power. That is what is giving people the power to force better behavior on companies. To be a good employer you need to simultaneously be caring, exacting and inspiring. It’s not enough anymore to just make money. Most of us expect more out of our work today.

ICOSA: How is what you’re doing different from other socially responsible assessments, like the KLD 400 Social Index or the Dow Jones Sustainability Index? Hasn’t this already been done?

Bassi: The Good Company Index we created is a comprehensive look at companies versus the Dow Jones Sustainability Index which focuses primarily on the environment. And the KLD Index is not all that exclusive. We think most concepts of social responsibility are the starting point and the other Indexes don’t look at the concept of being a good employer. Their concepts of good employers are minimal. We go beyond the concept of social responsibility. Goldman Sachs has been “socially responsible” according to the others, but clearly they have demonstrated some behaviors like betting against their own customers. Goldman is “socially responsible” by the technical definition—but that is not good enough.

ICOSA: You talk about a turnaround whereby firms that have tried to insinuate themselves into our lives as “friends” or “family” are now getting more attention from people than they ever wanted. Tell us more about that.

Bassi: We start the book with a story about Home Depot back in 2007. Remember Home Depot’s motto, “You can do it, we can help.” Well, in 2007 Home Depot's service quality was declining. An MSN blogger wrote a piece complaining about the decline at Home Depot and within a week there were over 4,000 additional blog entries commenting—mostly complaints. As a result, the newly appointed CEO went online and apologized for the oversight and bad service. This is an example of technology-fueled people power. It is fundamental to what is causing the shift we are talking about—The Worthiness Era.

ICOSA: What should boards of directors do differently to help promote sustainable profitability?

Bassi: This is where boards of directors really need to get more involved, not at a micro-management level, but at the macro, good employer level. People actually do the work and I think this is the place boards need to get more involved in now.

ICOSA: What concrete advice do you have to give to investors? People looking for jobs? Customers who want to use their spending to encourage better corporate stewardship?

Bassi: This book is written for thoughtful people who want a broader and deeper understanding of the forces at work and how they can contribute and benefit from this unfolding Worthiness Era. This is not a political message. In fact, people from the far left and far right can agree that we need to focus on this. The book lays out the common grounds. Remarkably the message is the same for investors and people looking for jobs. Both should ask the question, ‘Is this a good employer I’m investing in—whether I’m investing my work life or my hard earned dollars?’ To learn more about these companies, go to a website called www.glassdoor.com, it enables users to see into these companies. It has employee reviews on 133,000 firms—another example of technology-fueled people power. What we have found is that employee satisfaction is very powerfully correlated with stock prices, so investors should be looking at it too. They should want to know the same thing an employee would want to know.

ICOSA: Is the CEO of XYZ company overpaid?

Bassi: Often yes. We have a rock star celebrity culture in the United States for CEOs. That is one of the reasons I say boards of directors need to be paying more attention to the people side of the business.

ICOSA: Final thoughts?

Bassi: In an interview for the book with Mitch Markson, president of consumer marketing at Edelman, a large public-relations firm, we learned that companies that become catalysts for social change and respond to rising consumer expectations, their brands will help make the world a better place and will not only survive, but thrive in ways their competitors will not. For up-to-date ratings, visit: www.goodcompanyindex.com.

Electricity Underpins Modern Civilization

By: By Kelly de la Torre Issue: Resource Management Section: Book Review

Electricity Underpins Modern Civilization. With this simple sentence, Daniel Yergin sums up our way of life as it relates to energy and frames the three fundamental issues that shape the narrative in his book, The Quest. These issues include adequate supply, energy security, and the associated environmental impacts. Yergin’s writing demonstrates that the energy landscape consists of more than supply security—the energy landscape is a system with numerous moving parts that make the whole. Yergin deftly maps out the interconnected nature of this system and using this groundwork explains why we should care about the energy industry and energy policy.

A critical question throughout the book relates to fuel choice and what fuel mix will enable the generation of enough electricity to meet the nation’s growing demands for power? “The prospects for electric power in the twenty-first century can be summarized in a single word: growth.”

Our lifestyle and economic growth is intimately tied to energy, and the world’s appetite for energy keeps growing. Decades have passed since the “Live Better Electrically” campaign that was launched by Ronald Reagan in the 1950’s to extol the benefits of an all-electric home. At that time, it was a luxury to have a vacuum cleaner, a toaster, and a television. It was during the 1950’s and the 1960’s that America became an electrified society. Electricity spurred industrial growth and created a better lifestyle. According to Yergin, Reagan and his daughter summed it up, “You really begin to live when you live better electrically!” Today’s consumer doesn’t need any convincing about the virtues of electricity. In fact, it’s quite the opposite. We can’t function without it, and we need a lot of it. The statistics are staggering. Yergin says, “Electricity consumption, both worldwide and in the United States, has doubled since 1980. It is expected, on a global basis, to about double again by 2030.” But, the costs and logistics of this growth are also staggering. In fact, Yergin argues that the cost for building the new capacity to accommodate this growth between now and 2030 is currently estimated at $14 trillion, and is rising. But that expansion is what will be required to support what could be by then a $130 trillion world economy.

Yergin says that these big numbers generate big and complicated questions and at the crux: fuel choice. He says, “The centrality of electricity makes the matter of fuel choice and meeting future power needs one of the most fundamental issues for the global economy.”

Fuel choice, however, doesn’t just involve selection of the energy source, but includes considerations surrounding energy security, physical safety, economics, environment, geography, carbon and climate change, values, public policy and reliability—all decisions that are critical to the state of our electricity grid.

Interwoven into this conversation is the gap between public expectations and the reality of what can actually get built in the face of dramatic swings in markets and popular opinion. “Meeting future needs for electricity means facing challenging and sometimes wrenching decisions about the choice of fuel that will be required to keep the lights on and the power flowing,” states Yergin. Yergin addresses the lack of certainty over rules, politics, and expectations and how this lack of certainty defines the reality of what can get built. The huge capital investment and the timeframe for which these plants and facilities will operatee, further complicate the decision-making process. For example, power plants and facilities are typically in operation for 60 to 70 years. New coal-fired plants can cost as much as $3 billion, and new nuclear facilities can cost upwards of $6 or $7 billion or more. Thus, today’s decisions will impact the energy landscape now and into the next century—while the rules, politics, and public perception continue to change.

Further analysis underscores the importance of understanding the risks and requirements of energy security. Any major disruption of supply demonstrates how fundamental access to energy is to our modern life and how important it is to protect our access to it. The Quest explains the simple definitions of energy security and the availability of sufficient supplies at affordable prices, so that one can delve into the multiple dimensions of the energy landscape. Physical security relating to infrastructure, supply chains and trade routes, access or supply security, systems management to provide coordinated response to disruptions and emergencies, and certainty with respect to the policy and business climate in order to promote investment and development are all key factors when considering the current energy debate.

Beyond the physical infrastructure, The Quest highlights how energy security now extends into cyberspace. Yergin refers to the difficulty of protecting our electric grid this way, “The bulk power system is comprised of over 200,000 miles of high voltage transmission lines, thousands of generation plants, and millions of digital controls. It is also one of the most complicated to secure.” Unfortunately, the threat is not limited to the grid. The threat extends to other systems relating to energy production, pipelines and water. One solution proposed in the book is investment into the architecture of these systems with increased focus on design and security. The question of security, however, underscores the need for innovation across the energy spectrum. Yergin says, “Today there is a great bubbling in the broth of energy innovation as has never occurred before.”

The challenges of energy supply, usage, security, environmental impact, and climate change drive innovation. One example provided by Yergin is the natural gas revolution driven by fraccing and incented in the 1990’s by a federal tax credit. Fraccing know-how was combined with skills in horizontal drilling, and the result was a transformation of the U.S. natural gas market. New innovations could once again dramatically change the supply outlook.

Yet another way to dramatically change the supply outlook is to conserve energy by implementing energy efficiency technologies and processes. The book notes that a global consensus is emerging around the key role of energy efficiency. Call it a “C-change in attitudes” around conservation and climate change. Energy efficiency goes by many names but the effect is the same—using less for the same or greater effect. Yergin explains that energy efficiency is applying greater intelligence to consumption, and its potential application is huge. “The United States uses less than half as much energy for every unit of GDP as it did in the 1970’s. A good part of the improvement is certainly pure efficiency,” he says.

In the United States, the industrial sector consumes about a third of total energy. Industry strives to understand how to manage energy costs and how to ensure payback on efficiency investments. Yergin again emphasizes the need for some certainty and predictability in fuel choice. Small investments in operations and maintenance can lead to low-cost gains. However, large capital investment hinges on predictability in the market. “Volatility – the way that prices can rapidly move up and down – can be a real challenge. Companies are more likely to invest the money and effort – and stick with it – if they believe that process will be high enough to have a significant impact on their costs and bottom line.”

The Quest concludes with the “Great Revolution”—a time where we all recognize that energy transition generally takes a long time, but that there are principles that can define a place to start. Yergin says it best, “Diversification of oil resources needs to be expanded to diversification among energy sources—conventional and new. This represents a realization that there are no risk-free options and that the risks can come in many forms. Energy efficiency remains a top priority for a growing world economy.”

He goes on, “The real advances, whether in developed or developing nations, will be embodied in behavior and value, but especially in investment in new processes, new factories, new buildings, and new vehicles. Sustainability is now a fundamental value of society. Environmental priorities need to continue to be integrated into the production and consumption of energy. They should be analyzed and assessed in terms of impact and scale and cost-benefit analysis, assuring access to energy, with appropriate environmental safeguards.”

Fundamental to the “quest” is the continuing search for knowledge which will spur innovation to meet the rising challenges of energy demand. Energy is fundamental to all of our lives and no revolution can happen without our input to solve the challenges of today and our energy future. No one explains that quite like Mr. Yergin.

Salt Lake City­­­­– It Is A Changin’

By: David Jones Issue: Resource Management Section: Academia

How the Metropolitan Area’s Economic Centers are Undergoing Profound Changes

Salt Lake Community College is faced with providing the educational and training needs called for by many—especially the significant population increase in the southern Salt Lake Valley. Given the recent goal of Utah’s Governor Gary Herbert and local education partnership group, Prosperity2020, to create a state workforce that will have two-thirds of its population with a post-secondary degree or credential by 2020, providing this training is a weighty responsibility.

The total population of Utah is 2.9 million. Salt Lake City is the largest city in the state, with a metropolitan area hovering near 200,000 people, but the entire Valley hosts as many as 1.2 million residents.

Salt Lake Community College is Utah’s only comprehensive community college and is responsible for meeting the education and training needs for the residents. Those who have seen the Broadway smash hit “The Book of Mormon” might have a sense that Utah is demographically different from the rest of the United States. And it is.

In 2010, Utah’s population saw a net increase—as it has every year since 1990. The state’s population growth of 29.6 percent in 2010 more than doubled the U.S.’s 13.2 percent increase. Much of this increase—88 percent to be exact—is attributable to a high birth rate. But many people are relocating to Utah as well, even though in-migration was only 12 percent of Utah’s total population increase. In fact, 2010 marked the 15th consecutive year that the state saw more people move into the state than move out of it.

Fortunately, Utah does have some characteristics that help the college provide the training people need, and that makes a college education a realistic goal for the state’s residents. Utah, for example, has the nation’s highest literacy rate and fourth highest percentage of high school graduates. It lags behind, however, in percentage of college graduates with only the 11th highest percentage in the country. And more of those people need a college education than elsewhere in the U.S., as Utah's median age in 2011 is 27 years, well below the national figure of 35.

Lately, more and more of Utah residents are located south of where they once lived, as the southern end of the Salt Lake Valley is growing at a remarkable rate. The population of West Jordan city alone increased by 125,000 residents between 2000 and 2010; Herriman City saw an increase of more than 1,200 percent during that period. While the rate of these two cities’ growth is unusual, their neighboring cities south of Salt Lake City are also experiencing robust growth.

Providing an education for all of these newcomers is challenging, particularly given that Utah, like many states, has seen significant budget cuts in public and higher education. This, coupled with several consecutive years of record enrollment increases at SLCC, is creating huge funding issues.

Administrators and industry leaders clearly recognized that providing training that the burgeoning population south of Utah’s capital needs will require both facilities and programs to suit the area’s changing needs.

As an institution with an open-door policy, Salt Lake Community College can’t simply deal with the region’s sizeable population increase by capping enrollment or by implementing more selective admissions policies. Instead, the college, already the largest institution of higher education in Utah, with 13 locations and more than 60,000 students annually, recently partnered with a major land developer to obtain 90 acres in Herriman City with plans to expand into the southern part of the valley.

Both human and energy resources are the key to the decision by the college to move south. By building new facilities and putting energy programs in that part of the valley, the college is able to maximize both the state’s human capital and naturally abundant energy stores.

Because the location is in a natural wind corridor, the college and the developer—which donated 30 of the total 90 acres—accepted the challenge of meeting the area’s twin needs to produce education and energy opportunities. To that end, the college plans to build its full array of energy programs at the new site. Already a national educational leader in the fields of energy management and green technologies, the college has established a Green Academy that will ultimately be moved to the Herriman campus. The Green Academy is an academic entity that houses numerous programs in alternative and renewable energy fields. Courses in these programs provide students with the knowledge and skills to prepare them for emerging opportunities in green technologies.

The new Herriman Campus and the Green Academy will offer students access to several programs in alternative and renewable energy fields, such as electric power technology, green retrofitting, lineman apprenticeship, smart grid technology, solar photovoltaic systems, and a compressed natural gas (CNG) certification program. As such, the college has committed not only to providing access to the highest quality education throughout the Salt Lake Valley but also to preparing Utah’s workforce for a future in renewable energy technologies and energy conservation.

This commitment and effort have been aided by a $3.7 million U.S. Department of Energy grant that makes the college the training site for the entire Mountain West Region. Through this program, the college will be the institution that educates the solar installer trainers in most of the Western U.S.

SLCC is the only community college to be a part of this grant and is one of only nine institutions selected to participate. Along with the Rocky Mountain Solar Training Consortium, Solar Energy International, and the Utah Solar Energy Association, the college will assist 11 states in adopting and using solar electrical technologies and in developing or improving existing photovoltaic or solar heating and cooling installation courses.

The college will assist state directors of career and technical education and other institutions in making sure solar installation training in the region is coordinated at the college level and will make sure high school students receive training opportunities that will enable them to take full advantage of the post-secondary opportunities that will become increasingly available because of this grant program.

“The training we will be able to provide as a result of this grant is tremendous,” said Karen Gunn, dean of SLCC’s School of Professional and Economic Development. “Of course, all of our involvement with new and emerging alternative energy technologies is exciting. But our role in this consortium is especially rewarding because we’re able to take the absolute best practices in the industry and ensure that enterprising professionals who live and work anywhere in the region can have access to and benefit from them. In this way, we are truly capitalizing on the promise of these clean energy technologies.”

Another federal grant, this one a $4.6 million State Energy Sector Partnership grant, allows the college to lead Utah’s Energy Cluster Accelerator Partnership efforts. Through these efforts, SLCC is promoting environmental sustainability and teaching the next generation of green champions—those who will in turn help build more sustainable communities. The college is the lead institution of the State Energy Sector Partnership that brings together educational institutions and state government along with the private sector to develop new jobs in energy fields. As lead institution in this partnership, the college has been integral in creating four regional energy academies that teach workers skills in industries that promote energy efficiency or the development of renewable-energy resources.

The State Core Energy Curriculum is comprised of the following regional academies: green construction, energy management and efficiency, renewable energy and transmission, and alternative fuels. These core areas were decided on as part of an overall statewide approach that meshes with with the Utah Governor's Office of Economic Development’s efforts to promote cluster accelerator projects. The projects capitalize on the state's strong points that begin with energy development and include numerous other resources such as outdoor recreation industries. “This program is obviously a great benefit to the State of Utah and to students as well, especially those who want to get into energy industries,” said Layne Ashton, director of the State Energy Sector Partnership. “Students are able to begin their study in an array of energy programs, and this grant provides funding that covers their total expenses for their programs of study, from tuition to books and supplies. Perhaps best of all, students can complete the training so quickly—those in the program finish their study in less than a year and are completely job-ready at that time.” Funding by the U.S. Department of Labor through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 saw $190 million be appropriated to green jobs training grants nationwide and will provide training to more than 1,400 people in Utah alone. "Our goal in this partnership is to get people trained for good-paying jobs that will last a long time," said Tim Sheehan, SLCC vice president of Institutional Advancement.

Training programs in these areas were designed specifically with industry needs in mind. “We certainly looked closely at data from various employment projections in creating and designing the curriculum for these programs,” Layne Ashton said. “We knew to be successful, we’d need to carefully consider and fully understand where the demand is and what the industry needs now and in the future. We engaged in discussions with our private-sector partners every step of the way to ensure we had that understanding.”

As an institution accustomed to accommodating the vagaries of busy students’ hectic schedules, the college has tailored numerous features in these programs to allow people to get the training they’re looking for in ways they can use.

Beyond the plan to physically relocate to the southern part of the Salt Lake Valley, the college also makes many courses available online. Students can also finish training in a core area and then return to school to complete a more specialized training certificate in areas such as natural gas vehicle conversion or solar voltaic installation. As a result of these efforts, Utah—already recognized as being one of the country’s most business-friendly states—will be well-positioned to make the fullest possible use of the resources at its disposal. “The great thing about what both of these grants allow us to do is that we can directly target the specific needs that local communities have and can adapt to those needs as circumstances and economies change,” said Sheehan. “These grants, coupled with our long-standing commitment to developing training programs in alternative energy fields will allow Salt Lake Community College to play such a vital role in stimulating the local and regional economy. Our new Herriman Campus will be a big part of that.”

Salt Lake Community College has recognized how the region is growing and how the business climate is changing. It is moving aggressively to provide the instructional and physical resources that Utah needs to make the best use of its resources. And, the college will be recognized for progress in sustainability with the Green Business award in November 2011 from Utah Business.

Perspectives on the Oil Sands, Climate, and New Energy

By: Michael Connors & Tammy Schmidt Issue: Resource Management Section: Academia

A Discussion with David Keith

Alberta’s Oil Sands are a nexus of heated debate concerning the future of energy exploration, both in the United States and Canada. Development of this resource is an economic benefit to both Canada and the U.S., but there are serious climate implications. During a trip to Alberta’s Oil Sands, ICOSA had the opportunity to spend some time with environmental scientist David Keith at the University of Calgary. Mr. Keith has worked closely with the interface between climate science, energy technology and public policy for 20 years. He took first prize in Canada's national physics prize exam, won MIT's prize for excellence in experimental physics, and was listed as one of TIME’s Heroes of the Environment 2009. Keith’s academic appointments are at Harvard where he serves as the Gordon McKay Professor of Applied Physics in the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences and as Professor of Public Policy at the Harvard Kennedy School. He divides his time between Boston and Calgary where he also serves as president of Carbon Engineering, a start-up company developing industrial scale technologies for capture of CO2 (carbon dioxide) from ambient air.

His expertise has guided numerous government panels on climate science and theory, and in an interview with Keith, we were able to glean a new, broader perspective of the climate debate with regard to the Alberta Oil Sands.

Essentially, Keith contextualizes the Oil Sands development in a way that makes the over-arching climate debate accessible to an average person. While most believe that the Oil Sands will be developed, Mr. Keith advocates transitioning away from Oil Sands development as soon as possible and replacing that fuel source with lower carbon energy alternatives. Right now, he notes that Calgary is a mecca for people who know how to develop large capital projects, and industry will do what industry does. “If we're serious about being a clean energy superpower," Keith said with a wry smile, "you would want to actually think about putting enough money into one or two areas that you could build globally competitive industries on energy technologies that are going to win in a carbon concerning world." Mr. Keith, essentially, helps place the development of the Oil Sands within a broader context. Simply put, Mr. Keith advocates the abandonment of oil itself.

However, his angst and concern about the future of oil sand development lies with the people who make the policy. Ideally, he suggests, Canada should take the wealth generated from the sale of oil from Alberta and re-invest that money into a low carbon energy source that could be developed and advanced in Canada and then sold to other countries when carbon becomes too expensive to release. "I don't think we should shut down the Oil Sands today, but we need to use that wealth to invest it in things that allow us to thrive when those things are shut down. I don't see that the current federal government gets that long-term challenge," said Mr. Keith.

Countries like China are currently developing renewable energy technologies to the tune of $1 trillion dollars per year, and will, in the future, be able to resell this technology to countries like the U.S. and Canada. The prospect of losing competitive advantage to other countries is particularly frustrating to someone who knows that the same talent and know-how is available in Canada. "You could make strategic decisions to actually develop a new reactor technology or adapt one," he explained. "China has made a single decision to go with a certain reactor design. They've got multiple vendors and they are actually building them. And when we decide what we want 30 years from now, we are going to have to buy that technology from them. That is not a way to make a successful economy in the long run." He is personally involved in developing a carbon capture method that would pull carbon out of the air, and in the long run this technology could be used to produce carbon neutral hydrocarbon fuels from carbon free energy sources such as nuclear or solar power. But the carbon debate surrounding the Oil Sands, in his view, is one focused on tactics and strategies by both industry and environmentalists and often misses the big picture of energy 100 years from now.

Professor Keith opines, "The environmental community will say all sorts of stuff about why they don't like the Oil Sands, but the underlying sensible strategic view is that they want to kill them. They're not interested in making it 10 percent better because 10 percent better isn't the issue. You could eliminate the emissions from the Oil Sands process, and you still have only solved 10 to 20 percent of the problem." He continues by noting, "In the long run if we are serious about climate risk, and we should be, we must be serious about moving away from oil as a transportation fuel. This means ending Oil Sands production no matter what. The problem for climate is not the environmental emissions from the Oil Sands production, it is the carbon in the product itself. In the long run, we cannot keep burning carbon we took from the ground if we want a stable climate."

These types of conversations tend to result in governments legislating bit-by-bit solutions—adding wind power or eliminating tailings ponds, for example. Keith would prefer to see the Canadian government plan for years and generations ahead. "They're not at the point where the regulation is going to come by itself. I presume that we are not going to keep putting carbon into the air at this rate, but maybe we will," he said. He goes on to say that when stiffer regulations do come, it will be devastating to the Alberta economy because new investment will stop instantly.

There will be a transition from fossil fuels to some renewable energy at some point, when carbon becomes too expensive, both financially and environmentally. And as history has taught, transition is painful. Keith advocates for selecting and developing technologies now that will advance into the distant future. He said, “It would require the kind of leadership and drive that Japan had in post-war times. I mean, it requires people to really think 30 years out and to reduce some current consumption in order to build stuff in the future.”

This leadership would do more to secure Canada's long-term economic and environmental future. He maintains that by taking climate change seriously and its impact on future economies as well as environmental hazards, sensible decisions can be made.

"One of the problems is, we put a little money into everything," said Keith. "Our competitors aren't doing that. We can't innovate everything. We must make some strategic national choices." Again, Mr. Keith helps the public to envision a country’s energy picture into the distant future.

In reality, it's not as simple as making an energy choice. With a government committed to accelerated growth, it is difficult for technologies and industries to not only keep up, but to develop the best methods. Says Mr. Keith, "It's harder to develop other industries here because it raises all the wage and labor rates. It makes us more and more committed to it, and it's going to make the crash that much more devastating."

Progress in climate change is a long, slow road. The first major report by a president on climate change was from President Johnson in 1965, and according to Keith, it had all the correct science. Since then, it’s been a pattern of discussion, regulation, legislation and gradual change.

Says Keith, "We've made huge environmental progress since 1959 on climate. He concludes by encapsulating the climate debate thusly: "Climate action is not popular now, but the climate risk goes up with every ton of carbon we put into the atmosphere quite independent of current opinion. The Clean Air Act really did make a big improvement. Water quality also got better, and we solved the ozone problem; so it's not like we can't do these things. We still should go further."

Finding the Collaborative Gene

By: Eric Nakajima Issue: Resource Management Section: Academia

The Massachusetts Green High Performance Computing Center

Ninety miles west of Boston, in one of the poorest cities in Massachusetts, arguably the most significant public/private collaboration in state history between government, industry and academia is taking shape. Five of the state’s premier research universities, two global technology corporations and the administration of Massachusetts Governor Deval L. Patrick are partnering to develop the state’s first high performance computing center. The center and related initiatives will strengthen the state’s position as the leading knowledge economy state in the nation and extend the reach of the Massachusetts’ innovation economy far beyond greater Boston.

The Massachusetts Green High Performance Computing Center (MGHPCC), which is currently under construction and scheduled to open at the end of 2012, will be a shared resource facility that will dramatically improve the efficiency and competitiveness of the universities. It will catalyze new research partnerships between faculty of the universities, helping them break new ground on critical scientific questions and better compete for federal research dollars. In the community of Holyoke, where the MGHPCC is located, the MGHPCC initiative leverages the existing assets of the city and region to become a focal point for innovation-based economic development.

The MGHPCC facility is being developed and managed by a nonprofit corporation established in 2010, by the five largest research universities in the state. The partners include: the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, University of Massachusetts, Boston University, Northeastern University and Harvard University.

The building is being financed through investments by the five universities and contributions from EMC Corporation, Cisco and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The center costs approximately $95 million to build, with an additional $75 million of computer equipment to be located in the finished building. The universities are contributing $10 million each for the project, with $25 million invested by the state, $5 million combined from EMC and Cisco, and the remainder of the project financed through federal New Markets Tax Credits.

Once finished, the five universities will locate state-of-the-art high performance computers in the 90,300 square-foot facility, with up to 10 megawatts of computing power. The universities are shifting all of their current and future high performance computing from their campuses to the MGHPCC, which will dramatically improve the efficiency of their operations and save money. The center will also have university-industry demonstration space, to allow for unique research activities on-site and classroom space to provide on-site training and education extending from the K-12 level through community colleges and the universities.

Has Massachusetts Found the Collaborative Gene?

Massachusetts leaders from business, academia and government have often heard that the state is hampered by the absence of the kind of “collaborative gene” that makes Silicon Valley so successful. Whether true or not—and there are many people in the state who would agree—Massachusetts, through the MGHPCC initiative, appears to have discovered its collaborative gene. How did that happen? In October 2008, MIT President Susan Hockfield invited a small group of leading business, academic, and government leaders to breakfast at Gray House on the MIT campus in Cambridge. In attendance were Massachusetts Governor Patrick, Cisco chairman and CEO John Chambers, EMC Corporation’s chairman and CEO Joe Tucci, University of Massachusetts president Jack Wilson, and Akamai’s president Paul Sagan, among others. At the breakfast, the leaders forged a common relationship and discussed their shared interest in reinvigorating the state’s innovation ecosystem through some still undefined collaborative effort.

Following that meeting, in January 2009, Susan Hockfield initiated a conversation with UMass President Jack Wilson about MIT’s critical need to expand and rationalize its high performance computing infrastructure. MIT had conducted a New England-wide feasibility study of the best locations to develop an integrated high performance computing center and settled on Holyoke as the ideal place. Holyoke had significantly less expensive electricity than elsewhere in New England, thus saving MIT millions of dollars in operating costs, and it had excellent broadband connectivity to Cambridge. MIT had been planning on building the facility itself prior to the current “Great Recession,” but was now looking for partners to share the expense. Necessity and the familiarity created through the breakfast had catalyzed the collaborative gene.

Once UMass and MIT launched their partnership, their planning efforts rapidly expanded to include other attendees at President Hockfield’s breakfast. Governor Patrick committed his economic development team to the planning effort, and Cisco’s John Chambers and EMC’s Joe Tucci enthusiastically joined the conversation. In turn, Boston University President Bob Brown committed BU as a third university partner in the project. President Brown turned out to be a key voice early on because he had led a previously failed effort to develop a multi-partner supercomputing center in Massachusetts while at MIT. All of the partners were keen to get it right this time.

In June 2009, project partners signed a letter of intent that launched an extensive planning process that would end with the selection of a building site in downtown Holyoke and an October 2010 groundbreaking for development of the center. The project planning phase took a shared commitment to collaborate and to project goals, further forging the working institutional relationships and understandings that made that collaboration real.

In less than a year and a half, the MGHPCC partners developed a series of goals and commitments that extended from university-based actions to inter-university research collaboration to partnerships with community leaders in Holyoke and Western Massachusetts to improve Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) education and cultivate the region’s entrepreneurial ecosystem. One of the first shared goals of the MGHPCC partners was to build a green high performance computing center.

Why Is It Called Green?

The MGHPCC is called the “green” computing center due to three significant qualities that differentiate this project from other data centers. First, the center is located in Holyoke, Massachusetts, a city with a municipal utility that manages a large hydro-electric dam that provides about 78 percent of the city’s electric needs with green power. The utility, Holyoke Gas & Electric, is uniquely entrepreneurial and is forward-looking in its efforts to expand renewable generation and deploy smart grid technologies on its system. Holyoke’s commitment to expanding the use of green power and efficient technologies gives the MGHPCC a critical local partner.

The second “green” commitment made by the universities was to pursue efficient and green technologies in the development of the center. The MGHPCC sought LEED certification and are currently seeking a best-in-breed standard for the efficient use of power in the building. Data center efficiency is typically measured by its power usage efficiency (PUE), where a PUE of 1 means every watt of power is being used by the computers with no loss of energy, and a PUE of 2 (which is common for many data centers) means two watts of power are used to get one watt of computing. The MGHPCC is targeting a PUE of 1.2, which will place it at a leading edge for major data centers.

Third, the MGHPCC is committed to applying its world-class research capabilities to “greening” the infrastructure and organization of the center itself over time. Leading computer scientists from all five universities have been involved in designing the computing center, and they will continue to optimize the facility through applied research in green storage, green networking, and data center management.

Leading the Next Scientific Revolutions

Massachusetts is fortunate to be home to many of the world’s finest research institutions, from MIT and Harvard, to Longwood Medical Area, to pioneering private companies like EMC and iRobot. Current research and development leadership will work to ensure that Massachusetts continues to out-compete other states for increasingly scarce federal research dollars and translate university-based discoveries into new innovative products or services.

Beyond the benefits of the shared-resource computing facility itself, the MGHPCC initiative creates a platform for improving collaboration across the state’s innovation pipeline. In June 2010, the universities held a joint New England Faculty Summit on CyberSecurity to discuss plans to establish a regional academic consortium on the topic and have since joined privately-led efforts by MassInsight to develop an Advanced Cyber Security Center in Massachusetts. In September 2011, the universities launched a $500 million collaborative research seed fund to support research collaborations, including faculty from two or more of the schools on topics in high performance computing. And, the universities have partnered with the Patrick Administration and leaders in the Holyoke area to launch innovation-based initiatives that leverage the advantages of the MGHPCC facility and the region.

Governor Patrick continues to seek ways that state government and policymakers can play a positive role in catalyzing innovation, collaboration and entrepreneurship in the Holyoke region and statewide. Governor Patrick has led the state through the recession with a clear agenda focused on fiscal discipline and investments in education, infrastructure and innovation—and that focus has itself provided confidence to the private sector. Strong leadership from the state does not have to mean top-down solutions. Massachusetts does it differently.

Strengthening the Economy in Western Massachusetts

The MGHPCC is focused on creating a world-class computing resource that will profoundly improve the competitiveness of the member universities, while improving the economy of the City of Holyoke and Western Massachusetts.

From the beginning of the project, officials from the City of Holyoke have been essential partners to executing the project. The former and current Mayors, Mike Sullivan and Elaine Pluta, and City Council have ensured rapid permitting of the project, while the Planning and Economic Development staff and Holyoke Gas & Electric have provided everything from technical support to the developers to management of the site demolition and remediation that ensured a clean site for construction of the facility.

Everyone involved in the project believes that the successful completion of the MGHPCC building provides world-class evidence that Holyoke is a great place to do business. If Holyoke is the best place in New England for MIT to be, maybe it will work for other businesses, too.

The MGHPCC project has also attracted new resources to Holyoke that will help it compete for business. In September 2011, the U.S. Economic Development Administration awarded $2.1 million to substantially modernize Holyoke’s downtown utility infrastructure with a new substation and cabling that will enable highly reliable transmission of enterprise grade power.

In addition, the Patrick Administration and the MGHPCC universities are partnering with the Holyoke region in three significant ways to improve the economic future of residents in the region. First, the MGHPCC universities have committed themselves to working with the Holyoke community to extend their education resources into the community. The five universities launched a planning effort with the Holyoke Public Schools, Holyoke Community College, and local community-based nonprofits to develop projects collaboratively. In September 2011, the first of what will be many projects at the center received a $250,000 grant from the National Science Foundation. Faculty from MIT and UMass—Amherst are jointly developing curriculum that will allow students in the Holyoke and Springfield Public Schools to use tablet computers to conduct STEM experiments using computers at the MGHPCC.

Second, many of the MGHPCC leaders, in particular MIT President Susan Hockfield and EMC’s Joe Tucci, immediately saw opportunities to enhance the Holyoke economy by developing the city as a test-site for innovative renewable and smart grid technologies, either from the universities or private companies. Through the diligence of Holyoke Gas & Electric General Manager Jim Lavelle and others, the MGHPCC project team kept focused on developing this radically-innovative concept. In November 2011, Holyoke hosted a major workshop including leaders from MIT, UMass, ISO New England, numerous companies and the Patrick Administration to launch this effort.

Finally, the Patrick Administration and its local partners at the MGHPCC and in Holyoke have sought to learn from and cultivate the entrepreneurial leadership that already exists in the region. Holyoke and Western Massachusetts are currently home to competitive start-ups, angels and venture investors at a greatly smaller scale and with less visibility than greater Boston.

Encouraging the growth of that innovation ecosystem is critical. In 2010, the Patrick Administration helped to seed-fund MassChallenge, a global start-up competition in Boston. MassChallenge was successfully marketed in Western Massachusetts, and a local company was a finalist in the 2011 competition. The Patrick Administration also seed-funded Idea Mill, a Holyoke-based entrepreneurship networking event that brought together for the first time technology leaders, such as iRobot CEO Colin Angle, with innovators from throughout the region. In October 2011, 150 people joined a daylong gathering that was the first of an annual self-supporting event.

A Solid Foundation For the Future

The Massachusetts Green High Performance Computing Center brought together a historic partnership between the state’s leading research universities, corporate partners and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. In partnership with Holyoke and leaders throughout Western Massachusetts, the state is also building a local foundation to enhance the competitiveness of the region and better connect to the state’s innovation economy. In three years, Massachusetts has found the collaborative gene and set a solid foundation for continued global leadership of the innovation economy.

Jody Williams and PeaceJam

By: Maria E. Luna Issue: Resource Management Section: Collaboration Close Up

Recognizing The Power Of Collaboration

Jody Williams appreciates being an ordinary person who collaborates with other people to do extraordinary things. She says it’s what makes change happen across the world. “One person doesn’t change the world—it takes a collaboration of people,” says Williams.

It is evident when looking at the change that took place at the Chautauqua Learn and Serve Charter School in Panama City, Florida. The school hosts students ages 18-22 with moderate to severe disabilities who work in their community to help elderly and other disabled people use public transportation and community services. Chautauqua Learn and Serve Charter School’s motto is, "The servers, not the served.” Over the years, the students have worked to advance the rights of people with disabilities around the world by advocating for accessibles and efficient public mass transit across Florida and around the globe. They are also doers of other PeaceJam Call to Action issues such as water and energy use. This PeaceJam chapter was recognized November 15, 2011 and awarded the Global Call to Action Challenge award presented to them by Nobel Peace Prize Winner Jody Williams.

Williams believes peace is found in people who have the courage to make a contribution resulting in a better world for everyone. “There is nothing magical about creating change in the world. It is using the power that each and every one of us has and choosing to use it to make a positive change—just like those kids do. They rock. War is glorified in this country as we know, but there is nothing glorious about war. Anybody who thinks that war is heroic, that war is glorious has not been in the middle of a war. People can act heroically in war—that is very different from what war itself is. And yet in this country we glorify it in our history books. I think back to when I was a kid in school and how I learned about the history of the United States of America and it was through wars. One of the things I adore about PeaceJam is it is one of the few concrete ways that show young people how to create peace. Peace is different and peace can be made in many different ways whether it’s helping in your community or the world,” Williams said.

Williams is a grassroots peace activist at heart. Williams and the International Campaign to Ban Landmines, (ICBL) were co-awarded the Noble Peace Prize in 1997 for work in drawing up an international treaty banning landmines. The treaty was signed by 122 countries. Williams’ lifelong activist work covers civil rights, freedom and self-determination—all of which define human security. Williams gives the advice that working to provide human security takes persistence and commitment. Williams currently heads the Nobel Women's Initiative.

Colorado Gives Day 2011 Raises $12 Million For Charities

Issue: Resource Management Section: Collaboration Close Up

Quest for Excellence 2011

Colorado Gives Day is an initiative that was created by the Community First Foundation to increase philanthropy in the state of Colorado. On December 8th, 2010, in its inaugural year, Colorado Gives Day rallied over 12,500 individual donors to log in to its online platform GivingFirst.org to raise $8.4 million in just 24 hours for 529 nonprofits in Colorado. In its second year the organization exceeded the previous year’s total, raising $12 million for over 900 nonprofits in the state.

What is so unique about Colorado Gives Day is the platform, GivingFirst.org, that was created to ensure that 100 percent of each donation made on the site goes directly to the nonprofit of the donor’s choice. The site, which is sponsored by Community First Foundation, helps to simplify the donation process by grouping nonprofits into easy to find categories based on a donor’s interest, making it easy to visit one place and give.

Similar to last year, on Colorado Gives Day 2011 the processing fees associated with giving online were covered by Community First Foundation, FirstBank and 10 other Colorado foundations so that 100 percent of Colorado Gives Day donations went directly to the participating non-profits.

Offering additional support, FirstBank provided a financial incentive by committing a half million dollars in contributions, including a $300,000 Incentive Fund, which was proportionally allocated across all donations received, increasing each donation’s value. During an interview with Jim Reuter, Executive Vice President of FirstBank, he explained that, “In addition to that, we've pledged $140,000 to help cover credit card processing fees, $60,000 to reward nonprofits for their fundraising efforts.” Participating organizations built incredible momentum for Colorado Gives Day’s second successful year. With statewide support GivingFirst.org experienced high donor traffic causing technical issues, which extended the giving period from December 6th into the following day, allowing more donors to access the giving platform, bringing the event to an outrageously successful grand total of $12 million for those in need across the state.

“Because we exceeded our 2010 goal by such a staggering amount, we figured the sky was the limit for Colorado Gives Day 2011,” said Marla J. Williams, President and CEO of Community First Foundation. “We’re thrilled to see increases in the number of donors, donations and nonprofits benefiting from this period of charitable giving.”

Rocky Mountain Performance Excellence

Issue: Resource Management Section: Collaboration Close Up

Quest for Excellence 2011

I see the Baldrige process as a powerful set of mechanisms for disciplined people engaged in disciplined thought and taking disciplined action to create great organizations that produce exceptional results,” stated Jim Collins, author of Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap...and Others Don't.

Over two-hundred Colorado business leaders who are transforming their organizations found a rare opportunity to learn from the pros—the nation’s top executives and former recipients of the prestigious Malcolm Baldrige Award at the Rocky Mountain Performance Excellence (RMPEx) 2011 Quest for Excellence conference on November 4th, 2011.

The one-day RMPEx program was ideal for executives who:

• Want to implement the same successful processes used by high-performing organizations; • Are responsible for the success of their organization; they know the buck stops with them; • Demand proven, sustainable transformation for his/her company; and • Know the status quo is not an option.

Keynote speakers included Craig Deo, MHA, Research and Development Leader for Studer Group (2010 Baldrige Award Recipient), an international healthcare consulting firm based in Pensacola, Florida. Deo shared how to create a culture of accountability with engaged employees who provide world-class service.

Another keynoter was Michael Perich from Montgomery County Public Schools (2010 Baldrige Award Recipient). Perich revealed the elements of a successful transformation of one of the largest school systems in America, where focusing on student outcomes led to achieving one of the highest graduation rates in the country.

RMPEx also recognized its 2011 award recipients at the Quest event. Foothills level recipients were Thompson School District and RTD Fastracks Program. These two organizations have demonstrated systematic and mature approaches in many areas of their business. Three organizations were recognized at the Timberline level: Avista Adventist Hospital; Online Trading Academy of Colorado; and S.M. Stoller Legacy Management Project. These organizations demonstrated systematic and mature approaches, effective deployment, process learning, and process integration. For additional information on RMPEx, please visit the website RMPEx.org or contact Kim Griffiths, executive director at 303-893-2739.

The Global Commerce Forum

Energy Africa

In our turbulent and uncertain world, countries like China and India have emerged as nations leading the charge towards global economic growth and industrializing through fossil fuels. However, despite the emergence of these successful economies, energy poverty continues to be an issue for countries across Africa that lacks the infrastructure for even small-scale energy developments. And while the slate is clean for countries across Africa to explore the vast resources available to them, they also must address the challenges that those same resources pose.

For this reason, academics, researchers, engineers and business leaders came together to speak to those challenges and share ideas to help create a sustainable energy future—a platform for economic development in Africa. The Global Commerce Forum’s event held in Denver challenged participants to look at potential development based on clean energy complemented by natural gas.

Unlike other countries around the world, the nations of Africa lack the monetary resources and the infrastructure for such development. While Africa has lots of sun and wind that blows across the open plains, they do not have manufacturing facilities, concrete plants or transportation to service such large-scale green energy developments.

There are also huge reserves of undiscovered and unrecovered natural gas throughout the coastal basins, North-Central Africa, the Chad Basin and through the Nile Delta. Currently, there is a lack of sub-structure for recoverable reserves but these Pre-Cambrian, Devonian and Jurassic source rocks contain huge shale gas potential. This has of course already captured the attention of multi-nationals like Chevron, Swakor, Shell and Anadarko who operate across the continent in basins like Tindouf and Karoo that are comparable to the United States’ Barnett and Marcellus shales, respectively.

Even with these large-scale operations headed by powerful companies expressing interest, Africa still only has 52 land rigs, 26 off-shore rigs and only five new proposed facilities to produce conventional oil but not unconventional. The climate for new wells, however, looks slow to change especially with regulatory issues from geopolitical influences plaguing various areas, along with local concern for surface and ground water contamination. But even these challenges can be addressed with proper education regarding the existing technologiesy and techniques.

The real challenge is the water resource conundrum, especially as it pertains to hydraulic fracturing which requires huge amounts of water reserves as well as recycling. Because of the operation locations, there is limited access not just to water but water infrastructure and the availability of the markets that would access such gas. Add in the cost of transportation and the vision seems almost insurmountable.

“Natural gas isn’t the solution, it is the foundation,” said Paula Gant, VP of Regulatory Affairs for the American Gas Association. With the help of small-scale renewable solutions, cities and towns can experience some power where there was not any before, while large-scale traditional energy development by large multinationals advance the infrastructure through private funding. One thing is clear, without an energy policy of our own, advancing one for another continent does not seem logical. The people of Africa have shown that they are strong, they are resilient and they are proud. They do not need a handout, they need a hand up. “Africa needs investment and Africans need jobs. Jobs are created by business, not charity,” said John Coors, Chairman, President and CEO of CoorsTek. “If money was the issue for these people then the problem of poverty would have been solved.”

The shale is there. The demand is high. The people need work. The real question is how do we support businesses to create jobs and help to build the local African economy? Until then, according to the International Energy Agency, tonight when the sun goes down in Africa, roughly 587 million people will be left in the dark.

"Cut the cloth to fit the suit..."

By: Mike Wiesner Issue: Resource Management Section: Community

Microcredit Takes a Lesson from American Business

Is the economy continued to get worse and the effects of the current political crisis in Honduras took hold, our little NGO, the Adelante Foundation of Honduras, was in a fight for its life. In 2008, we lost $400,000. In 2009, we lost $150,000. In 2010, we made $50,000. In 2011, we are on pace to make $100,000 - $125,000. How does that happen in one of the worst global recessions in recent history coupled with a political crisis?

We had become very fat on other people’s money. In the early part of the decade, as microcredit gained in popularity among private donors and foundations, it felt like we couldn’t write a grant that didn’t get funded. It seemed as though money was “falling from the sky,” and at the rate we were going, we were helping a lot of poor people and spending an enormous amount of money doing it. This money was not concentrated in salaries or profiting any individuals of the organization, but the organization was constantly looking to expand with the notion that we would eventually reach sustainability if we could get to a scale that could support the operations. So Adelante opened two new offices in very poor parts of the country and continued to hire loan officers with an expectation that with more loan officers we could get more and more clients, and ultimately, this would get us to the scale we needed in order to be able to afford to pay them without fundraising. By the end of 2007, the organization had around 4,500 clients, six branch offices, and 65 employees. We were cookin’!

Then BOOM! The crash of 2008 hit like a ton of bricks. In our November board meeting of that year, we had to seriously discuss how we would fund our continued operations and growth with the reality of the fundraising climate in the United States. We were burning through money like nobody’s business, and it didn’t take a certified accountant to tell that we were headed for disaster. As one board member noted from his business experience, “Once you are out of cash, you are out business.” And even though we had the option of liquidating loans to stay afloat, it would have gone against what we were trying to do. So we knew we had to make some organizational changes and fast.

We had to “cut the cloth to fit the suit” because the grant money and private donations started to disappear. The foundations that we solicited told us that they had been hit hard, as many had and that they now had twice the applications with half the assets. And we got similar responses from some of our most dedicated donors. So we could either not count on them to fund our proposals or we could count on a lot less than what they had been able to do in the past.

The first step to fiscal responsibility was to look at our personnel—we had far too many people. We reduced our staff from 65 to 35 in a matter of two months. No department was left undisturbed—every department manager had to feel some pain by reducing their staffs and doing more with less.

Then again in 2009, another boom arrived! Then-President Mel Zelaya was deposed because he blatantly tried to unconstitutionally extend his term and dissolve the rest of the government, just as Hugo Chavez had done in Venezuela. As a result of the Honduran political crisis, the United States terminated a broad range of aid to Honduras totaling more than $31 million. Adelante had lost more than $300,000 in potential funding commitments for the next year as a result. The World Bank and Inter-American Development Bank cancelled all economic aid to Honduras for that year. It was estimated that Honduras’ $14.1 billion economy lost as much as $200 million in foreign investment since President Manuel Zelaya was removed from office on June 28, 2009.  Not only that, but Honduras was paralyzed economically for more than three months: schools were closed, the military enforced curfews, demonstrations occurred and the overall mobility around the country was seriously inhibited. This in turn had a terrible effect on our clients and their businesses, which impacted their ability to perform on their loans.

This all had a compounding effect. We, as an organization, faced very difficult decisions and at the rate that we were losing money, we could no longer sustain our operations as they were. We had to maximize organizational efficiency by getting a lot smarter about how we spent the little money that we had. This meant that we needed a new strategy. We had to “cut the cloth to fit the suit”—again. So we started with what would be required to end that year making money. We asked ourselves how much we would have to cut our budget to be able to reach sustainability in the last quarter of 2009. From there we developed several policies about growth and maximizing each employee’s performance. We created new incentives (and expectations) for our loan officers to make better loans to more clients with better customer service. In the back office we worked to mechanize processes that we had been doing manually for years, thus eliminating superfluous positions that were mainly people pushing paper.

Our response also had a compounding effect. We were better, faster, and stronger than we had ever been. Now, everyone values their job. We are more efficient at every level and are continuously looking to improve. Today we hire superior people and train them better. We are also able to give them more responsibility which results in a better product and better customer service.

So here we are in the last quarter of 2011, and we are one of the only microfinance organizations serving the rural areas in Honduras and one of but a few in Central America that is doing so with an average loan size under $150 without any form of guarantees. We have a 97 percent repayment rate and a 95 percent retention rate.

The future looks very bright; we have survived and are stronger for it. We have become true leaders in the microcredit industry in Central America. We have proven that our methodology works and that it is possible to focus on the poorest of the poor by providing them with business development and sustainable business services.

In the end, we learned that money being raised today is not guaranteed tomorrow. The only way to survive in these tough times is to be as efficient as possible, deliver a good product and take care of one’s customers, because without the success of the organization, there is very little hope for the success of our clients.

Looking For Jane Goodall

By: Tom Hobelman and Rebecca Saltman Issue: Resource Management Section: Community

A Call to Action from Pathfinder Solutions

The can argue that most people would like to make a difference in the world—an impact that doesn’t revolve around a promotion at work or the approval of family members. This vision can be as prosaic as enlisting friends in a fundraiser via Facebook, or as involved and far-reaching as establishing a nonprofit to tackle a particular shortfall of civil society. “You and I are created for goodness,” relates Archbishop Desmond Tutu in his preface to a seminal new work regarding nonprofit talent development entitled, Path With A Heart: An Invitation To Do Work That Matters. Tutu urges, “I invite you to dedicate your life to this goodness—to have an impact on the world. It will change your life and wipe the tears from God’s eyes.”

And why would God be weeping, you may well ask? Maybe because an indispensable component of society—the nonprofit sector—is in grave danger and most people don’t even know it. The millions of organizations that together stand up for the rights of humanity are losing visionary leaders who have been behind the most remarkable accomplishments in civil rights, education, basic health maintenance, and environmental stewardship. Who will follow in their footsteps?

Not-for-profit organizations have had an immense economic and cultural impact on the world. Witness the image of humongous National Football League players wearing pink shoes because the Brinker sisters at the helm of the Komen Foundation have entirely changed the way the world responds to breast cancer. Workers with nonprofit operations have been predominantly responsible for the rebuilding of New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, sitting at the bedside of the dying, sheltering the homeless, and addressing the healthcare needs of the uninsured. Nevertheless, most people don’t think of the humanitarian field as a legitimate career. The philanthropic sector stands passionately behind every celebrated cause, while remaining largely invisible and endemically undervalued.

Nonprofit employment includes more than 12.5 million jobs—10 percent of the U.S. population. There are currently 1.5 million nonprofits, paying $322 billion in wages. The combined assets of U.S. nonprofits make the sector the seventh largest economy in the world—larger than that of Brazil, Russia and Canada combined. In 2009, American charities reported $1.4 trillion in revenue and reported $2.6 trillion in assets. And, nonprofit workers outnumber the combined labor pool of the utility, wholesale trade, and construction industries. Twenty-six percent of Americans volunteer an estimated 50 hours each per year, totaling 8.1 billion hours of service.

Whether or not it is a down economy, there is an urgent need to fortify the philanthropic workforce, for success and sustainability of the sector depends not only on adequate financial resources, but also on solid human capital and quality leadership. Talent defines what is possible in any field, and this is as equally true, if not more profoundly true, of the nonprofit sector. The sector must learn to cultivate and keep the talent it has, as well as draw in new talent. And it is not enough to be outrageously passionate in this world—one must combine this passion with heavy doses of tactical strategy.

Dr. Jeffrey Pryor and Alexandra Mitchell have focused their attention on the issue of cultivating talent throughout the nonprofit sector and ardently urge others to do so as well. The book Path With A Heart is just one part of a larger effort of a Colorado-based nonprofit consulting group Pryor and Mitchell have co-founded, called Pathfinder Solutions. Pryor recently stepped down from 20 years as the executive director of the Anschutz Family Foundation, and he now dedicates his time as the CEO of Pathfinder Solution. He is also a professor, EMT, volunteer firefighter, and is considered by many to be a nonprofit sage. Pryor is joined at Pathfinders by Mitchell, a researcher, writer, teacher, trainer and wizard in organizational development. She is co-founder and president of the organization.

The mission of Pathfinders is to invite passionate and talented individuals to seek cause careers in the philanthropic workforce, as well as to provide cause-focused organizations, including nonprofits, foundations, international non-governmental organizations, and corporate citizenship programs, the tools and training they need to attain higher value, performance, and measurable impact. Pathfinders is made up of a specialized group of associates who have coached, trained, and consulted with a diverse range of multi-sector organizations. The team has expertise in every area of nonprofit management, with experience that literally spans the globe. Between them, they have worked with social leaders in a long list of countries and contexts, including Asia, Africa and Latin America. All are committed to a partnership approach in which their focus and role is definitively collaborative.

The problem with nonprofit organizations is that they are typically myopically fixated on a given circumstance or conflict facing a community, with operational concerns taking a back seat to mission priorities. The consequence of this perspective is a short-sighted fog. These organizations aren’t investing in their own futures, and therefore aren't remotely self-sustainable. There are missed opportunities for program growth and a concomitant decrease in quality of service and overall impact. Observing nonprofit organizations while parked at this untenable position has generated some startling statistics.

Two-thirds of nonprofit executive directors say they plan to leave their jobs in the next five years according to a recent Compass Point and Meyers Foundation report, yet no attention is focused on replacement plans. A recent study that Pathfinders conducted, collecting information from nearly 2,000 nonprofit respondents, shows that only 4 percent have formal succession plans in place. Furthermore, though multiple studies have shown that good leadership is the leading predictor of organizational sustainability (TCC Group, 2009), fewer than one in five nonprofit workers have a university degree or certificate related to nonprofit management, and two-thirds have never taken a single academic course related to the field (Pathfinder Solutions, 2011). Meanwhile, more than 65 percent of nonprofit executive directors say they are underpaid, and prevailing job descriptions are unappealing to the next generation (Young Nonprofit Professionals Network, 2007). Frustration is high over lack of mentorship and career paths: for-profits hire two-thirds of their senior management from within, while only a third of nonprofit leaders are internal hires (Bridgespan Group, 2006). And, the prime U.S. workforce, aged 34 to 54, expanded by 35 million between 1980 and 2000; from 2000-2020, this pool will grow by just three million. Essentially, the talent pool for nonprofits is evaporating and there isn't a “rainmaker” in sight.

Pryor and Mitchell have been shouting this information from the mountaintops—literally when in Denver, a mile high above sea level—and yet their day-to-day experiences provide training in conference presentations and lecture hall meetings that evince a decided lack of awareness in the general populace. Volunteerism and working in social programs is considered sexy but hardly lucrative, and literally static in terms of career advancement. “According to our surveys, 100 percent of young people could identify Captain Morgan and Paris Hilton, but one quarter could not name a single nonprofit!” exclaims Dr. Pryor. “We’ve surveyed thousands of people, both young and old, and consistently find that while their desire to get involved is high, their knowledge and inspiration is low,” says Mitchell. “Jeff and I are co-teaching a couple of university classes at the University of Colorado-Boulder, for instance, and our freshmen students are a blank slate regarding civil society and understanding the breadth and depth of the nonprofit world.” These types of experiences have only enhanced the Pathfinder zeal for changing this paradigm, however.

For their book, Pryor and Mitchell have conducted over 300 interviews from across the globe with the likes of Jane Goodall, Rigoberta Menchu Tum, Sandra Day O’Conner, President Bill Clinton, Dave Matthews, Carlos Santana and scores of people involved in every aspect of nonprofit work, from the CEOs of the world’s largest organizations to the young workers who have just entered the field. In addition, working with over 50 graduate students, they have developed an extensive research database. Pathfinders employs both top-down and bottom-up strategies to build awareness, engage key players, test possibilities, capture data, and take best and “next practices” to scale. Programs and services center on providing capacity-building training and technical assistance services, conducting research and evaluation, and facilitating on-the-ground cross-sector projects for a multi-pronged approach to community impact.

Currently, they are also coordinating efforts in two states to help communities become more strategic in talent development and resource allocation for philanthropic endeavors. "We are partnering with the Colorado Nonprofit Association and the Louisiana Association of Nonprofit Organizations to strengthen the human capital development process within nonprofits," says Dr. Pryor. In collaboration with nonprofit associations and other powerful partners, he and Mitchell have also architected an impressive series of seminars, organizational models, and broad-ranging initiatives to take their message public in a big—and hopefully fruitful—way. Their approach is matter-of-fact, befitting their extensive background in research. “We are beginning conversations with other states and national organizations that are also interested in not only assessing the characteristics and challenges of their own nonprofit workforce, but also in building collaborative strategies to address how to build human capital,” Mitchell reports. “In addition, we have efforts underway to pilot this effort in two developing countries,” Pryor adds.

Heading off this very real human resource deficit is taking the authors in unexpected directions and into relatively uncharted territories. Pathfinder Solutions is making groups and communities aware of their weak talent development, but they find the enlightening process is easy when compared to the relentless effort needed to repair this oversight. Pryor’s recent work has streamlined his concerns to a succinct question. "Given that philanthropy is essential to the future of our world, that demographics are shifting, and that resources and leadership are the key bellwethers of success, why is it that we are not being more deliberate about developing a strong, diverse talent pool within the foundation and nonprofit/NGO workforce?" he asks. "We need to be developing coordinated, coherent strategies to both sweep new talent into the field and strengthen the sector’s ability to grow organizational capacity."

And so, Path With A Heart, initially inspired by Desmond Tutu, went from a burgeoning collection of ideas to a much broader work in progress. “We began to write a book of invitations from people all over the globe—a number of notables, but hundreds of everyday people in all types of organizations,” says Mitchell. “The goal is to inspire involvement and interest in pursuing cause careers.”

Both Pryor and Mitchell are hopeful their book's true stories and overarching vision will translate into inspiration among the readership. Yet, pure vernacular has its limits with regard to translating facts and figures into a call to action, and the authors are well aware of the rarified atmosphere in which they find themselves. They have adopted a bird's-eye view to keep long-term sustainability for the nonprofit sector on the horizon. But to keep that view alive, they are keeping their feet on the ground. Path With A Heart encapsulates their message, however there is more they aim to accomplish. The sooner the field can enact change as opposed to researching it, the better these varied organizations around the world will be able to stave off this encroaching leadership deficit and managerial decay.

As talent and organizational capacity define sustainability and impact, what will it take to build a diverse and robust talent pool to secure the future of the philanthropic sector? Cultivation of a high-caliber workforce and superb leadership is essential to support the important work that is already under way and address the challenges of tomorrow. As always, opening your heart to new paths is a great beginning; joining Pathfinder Solutions in advancing these endeavors could be the perfect first step on a truly global journey.

Tom Hobelman is a freelance writer based in Denver, Colorado. His work has been published in both local and national print media.

Rebecca Saltman is a social entrepreneur and the president and founder of an independent collaboration building firm designed to bridge business, government, nonprofits and academia.  www.foot-in-door.com.

The Greenhouse Project

By: Karen M. Radman Issue: Resource Management Section: Community

A Revolutionary Approach to International Development

A revolutionary approach to the way that international development nonprofits achieve their missions is making its way to the Mile High City. Shared resources, collaboration and economies of scale are the impetus for its creation. Between the climate of the global economy and the fact that there are over 19,000 public charities in the state of Colorado alone, nonprofit organizations must consider innovative and improved ways of conducting business in order to thrive—and survive. Rather than competing with each other for resources, progressive nonprofits are instead seeking ways to collaborate in order to best achieve their individual missions. Denver’s Greenhouse Project is the result of this kind of thinking.

Conceived in early 2011, by the international development organization, iDE, and former Colorado House speaker, Andrew Romanoff, the Greenhouse Project (Greenhouse) has quickly gained momentum. With over 100 internationally-focused nonprofits in Colorado, Romanoff started recruiting partners the old-fashioned way—by picking up the phone. Although predicated by iDE’s need to relocate its offices, the idea of forming an international development nonprofit center suggested many more opportunities than simply leasing a new office. Many of the organizations that Romanoff contacted recognized this potential. In only a few months, Romanoff was able to recruit 15 international development partners who plan to move in together, once the space is confirmed and renovated. Expected date for move-in is August 2012. Anticipated ways to share resources and maximize impact in the developing world is infinite.

The United States’ First Collaborative Center for International Development

According to its website, “the Greenhouse Project (www.greenhousefund.org) will be the nation’s first collaborative center for international development with a common goal to produce more innovative, effective, and sustainable solutions to global poverty.” By bringing together like-minded organizations whose missions complement one another, the Greenhouse Project intends to become a resource itself—by acting as an incubator for new business ventures for the developing world. Serving the global community, the geographic span of the work of the Greenhouse’s current 15 partners ranges from the Navajo Nation of the U.S. to Latin America to Africa to Asia. The focus of the work covers the fields of agriculture, education, health, microfinance, water and sanitation, girls’/women’s empowerment, infrastructure and technology—directly impacting many of the Millennium Development Goals set forth by the United Nations. By utilizing the skills and ingenuity of its partners, the Greenhouse aims to become known as an informational hub on international development, where ideas, best practices, and more, are shared. The facility itself will be designed to allow for the hosting of lectures, workshops, educational programs and community events—with the goal to draw acclaimed speakers and experts in the field of international development. “We also intend to generate new sustainable ventures—advising entrepreneurs on the viability of their plans, developing business models, providing field trials, etc.,” commented Romanoff. Numerous intersections between the programmatic work of its partners will open up many new opportunities for the individual organizations—but more importantly, opportunities will also increase for the people of the developing world who are being served by the Greenhouse partners.

As a nonprofit center, the Greenhouse will offer its partners office space, based on the individual needs of each organization, as well as shared conference rooms, kitchen, office equipment and services, all of which should reduce operating costs and increase capacity. The possibilities for shared back office services include phone, internet, IT support, printing, training, legal assistance, billing, data management, PR/marketing, design and more. Not uncommon with other nonprofit centers throughout North America, the Greenhouse will house not only nonprofit organizations but also private sector companies whose products or services are synergistic with the work of the nonprofit partners. To this end, there are several service providers that plan to sign on as tenants and three for-profit companies that offer low-cost products or economic opportunities designed for and targeted at the developing world who have joined as partners.

A 21st Century Approach to Capacity-Building

According to a first-ever study conducted this year by Nonprofit Centers Network (NCN), there are 212 operating centers in the U.S. and Canada and many more in the developmental phase. Since nonprofits are judged by the percentage of each dollar they spend on program work, administrative costs and fundraising, the increasing trend in the development of nonprofit centers is understandable. Every nonprofit strives to decrease overhead costs in order to apply more of its revenue towards advancing its mission. By collaborating with other organizations to share resources, nonprofits can cut back on overhead costs, while also building capacity that they may not otherwise have had. The organizations that have signed on as Greenhouse partners recognize this potential. As Robyn Long, Bridges to Prosperity’s director of operations commented, “Bridges to Prosperity is excited to join a collaborative space both for gained efficiencies of scale and to learn from other similarly-focused organizations’ experiences."

The NCN study demonstrates that the benefits that center partners experience are numerous, including: an increase in awareness and credibility of the organization, enhanced staff morale, higher visibility to funders, greater accessibility for clients and overall collaboration. Through integrating services and systems and eliminating duplication, nonprofits participating in a joint venture, such as the Greenhouse, are able to increase their organizational efficiency. Small organizations have access to resources that they would not normally have. Staff has access to a larger pool of volunteers, as well as peers with whom they can share ideas. Economies of scale are achieved, offering increased visibility of the individual organizations, as well as a unified voice and greater influence in society, business, government and public policy. Organizations gain the capacity to expand their programming and geographic reach. And, important to the sustainability of nonprofits, collaborations tend to attract more funders. Due to the role that philanthropic foundations have played in promoting collaboration amongst their grantees, proposals from collaborations have a higher potential to receive funding than from organizations operating in isolation. In fact, taking the lead from the Lodestar Foundation in Arizona, a group of prominent Colorado foundations joined together this year to create the Colorado Collaboration Award, which offers a $50,000 annual award to the most successful collaboration in Colorado. When nonprofits share ideas, work together and avoid duplication of services, the benefits are far more-reaching than to the individual organizations alone—they directly impact the communities they serve.

For the partners of the Greenhouse Project, these added benefits are already being realized. From the process of simply meeting to make the Greenhouse a reality, many of the organizations are already having discussions about how they can work together to advance their missions. The Greenhouse Project is evolving every day, and its partners are taking a strategic, deliberate and thoughtful approach to its evolution. Although still in the development phase, the partners are excited about the possibilities that the collaboration will bring. More than simply shared space, the Greenhouse Project is a 21st Century solution to not only a resource shortage but it will also create lasting change in the lives of impoverished people worldwide. Keep on the lookout as the Greenhouse Project evolves and occupies space—not only in Denver but also as a pioneer in the field of international development.

Karen M. Radman has 20 years of experience working in the nonprofit sector and currently serves as the development director at the international nonprofit, Friendship Bridge. She has a Master’s in Nonprofit Management from Regis University, where she focused her research on the strategic re-alignment and collaboration of nonprofit organizations.

Two Worlds Colliding

By: Paul Suter Issue: Resource Management Section: Community

The Center for Immigrants & Immigration Services

Nine years ago, Augustin Niamkey came to Colorado from the Ivory Coast on a church mission. In the midst of his journey, word came that war had broken out in his homeland and that he would not be able to return to his country. It was devastating news, but Niamkey accepted the challenge and focused on making a new life in Colorado.

Niamkey’s story is not uncommon. In fact, every year scores of African immigrants—many of whom have survived torture, rape, war trauma, human trafficking, and other forms of human rights abuses—find asylum in Colorado. They come here with little more than the clothes on their backs and the hope of being able to establish a new life in the modern world. For some, that prospect can be as overwhelming and as frightening as the conditions they escaped in their native countries.

Fortunately, these African immigrants are not alone. A local organization, the Center for Immigrants and Immigration Services (CIIS), is helping to make the transition from third world conditions into the 21st century easier for these immigrants and is finding incredible support from the local community along the way. Individuals, companies and organizations have become familiar with the work of CIIS and have donated time, money and resources to CIIS’s important and life-saving work.

One of the more significant challenges for CIIS and the incredible survivors it supports is the ability to adapt to modern society and understand the technology that fills most of our daily lives. While searching the internet, finding friends on Facebook, enjoying YouTube videos, or getting LinkedIn is commonplace for many of us, the immigrants who come to CIIS sometimes don’t know the difference between a television screen and a computer monitor. They are decades behind the technology revolution.

According to Frederick Jayweh, an immigrant from Liberia who established CIIS in Colorado in 2009, it is critical for the immigrants to learn about modern technology for many reasons, including everything from finding a job to avoiding the scams that are rampant across the internet. “Many of the immigrants who come to CIIS don’t know how to turn on a computer, much less how to use technology to its full capacity,” said Jayweh, who was a practicing attorney in Liberia before coming to the United States. “They want to learn the very basics so they can complete job applications online and better adapt to modern society. Our greatest challenge was finding a person or group who could provide the essential technology training to the people who so desperately want to learn.”

In December 2010, Jayweh submitted a request for a grant from the Rose Community Foundation’s Roots & Branches Program. As part of the process, he and some of the staff of CIIS were interviewed by a review committee that was charged with the responsibility of awarding the available grants. One of the committee members was a gentleman named Yosh Eisbart, a technology expert and co-founder, along with his business partner Michael Pytel, of the fast growing, Denver-based tech company, NIMBL.

Jayweh continued, "Following the review process, we were awarded the grant, and a few days later, I received a call from Eisbart saying that he wanted to help us with our technology needs,” said Jayweh. “It was like the frosting on the cake to get that call!"

“Before I knew it, Pytel, Eisbart, and the NIMBL team had established a new database for us and had recruited the help of Evolution Marketing Group to create a new website for CIIS. They also committed their technology experts to come to CIIS twice a month and instruct computer classes. We feel very fortunate and are incredibly grateful.”

“We deal with very complex technology issues on a daily basis, so this is a great way to not only help people, but also return to, and appreciate the very basics of what technology can do for all people,” explains Eisbart, whose company helps small businesses, as well as Fortune 100 companies maximize their business operations via technology. “Our team includes some of the world’s brightest tech minds, and yet they all love the opportunity to teach these courses and explain how to double-click on an icon, attach a document or search Craig’s List. It’s somewhat of an escape for them, but they also appreciate being able to help these new students of technology.”

So far, Niamkey has attended about a dozen classes at CIIS. He started his own janitorial services business a few years ago, and wanted to learn more about technology and how he could apply it to his business. He also wanted to avoid internet scams, like the one he had previously fallen victim to.

“My countrymen were in need of automobiles to transport war refugees from the Ivory Coast border to refugee camps in Ghana,” Niamkey begins his story. “I was here in the United States, and worked to find cars that could be purchased and delivered to my friends in Ghana. We found three cars on the internet that were perfect for our needs and paid a total of $12,300 for all of them. They arrived safely in Ghana, but when my friends tried to start the cars, nothing happened. They opened the hoods, and there weren’t any engines!” Niamkey smiles about the mistake, but also points out that many people—immigrants and longtime U.S. citizens alike—still get taken by unscrupulous characters who victimize people via the internet.

“I want to learn about and better prepare myself for the dangers of the internet,” he says since he fell victim to a fraudulent check scam not too long ago. “I’m trying to learn as much as I can.”

The technology classes at CIIS began in early summer of 2011, and so far nearly three dozen immigrants have been attending on a regular basis. All of the individuals have experienced extreme hardship and welcome their new home in Colorado and the world of technology with open arms. One of the students who recently arrived from Libya has already learned how to use Skype. He made it a priority, as his wife and three young children are still in Libya and hope to soon join their father in Colorado. In the meantime, they can still enjoy an attachment to one another thanks to another amazing advancement in technology.

“The work that the NIMBL team is doing is highly essential to the integration and settlement process for the immigrants,” said Jayweh. “The immigrants have as few as nine months to prove that they have the skills necessary to find work in the United States, and computer skills are obviously high on that list. Because of these classes, they are learning how to create Word documents, network, develop resumes and generally become computer literate. Many of these people are the survivors of terrible atrocities and are thankful for the opportunities in the United States. The work of the CIIS and of NIMBL is helping them to discover an entirely new world for themselves and their families.”

Niamkey has already learned a great deal at the computer classes, and on a recent snowy day was settling in to better understand Excel. However, he freely admits he is not the most advanced computer student, even in his own family. His two children, Fidele (8) and Emmanuel (14), have been taking computer classes of their own at school, and like almost any parent, he is finding that his children are much more adept at computers than he is.

“They’re more advanced than me! I’m not sure I can keep up with them anymore!”

About CIIS

The Center for Immigrants and Immigration Services was established on October 1, 2009 to provide curative and rehabilitative services to all immigrants and their families in Colorado who are survivors of torture, asylum seekers, war trauma survivors, and victims of other forms of human rights abuses including human trafficking victims. CIIS works with those who have treatment options or recuperative centers to help them recover and heal from the wounds of torture. CIIS provides immigration and legal services, social support and community resources, health care, mental and counseling, and research and multicultural training services. Please visit the new CIIS website at www.ciisdenver.org.

About NIMBL

NIMBL is a leading SAP consulting firm focused on nimble delivery and SAP specialized solutions. NIMBL's business- driven initiatives provide recognizable ROI for their clients and best-in-class SAP services. With expert consulting focused on enhancing customers' SAP platform, companies across the United States are actively seeking engagement with NIMBL. Founded in 2009 and headquartered in Denver with offices in L.A. and Chicago, NIMBL serves both Fortune 500 organizations and the small to mid-sized marketplace. Privately held with annual growth of over 400 percent, NIMBL has quickly become one of the industry's hot new SAP stars. For more information regarding NIMBL, visit www.benimbl.com.

Communication, Art, and Resources

By: Maria E. Luna Issue: Resource Management Section: Business

Creating a Deeper Meaning

Art as a means of communication between artists and viewers is basically about the experience. It serves as a method to grow one’s spirit. Today’s art content and form tends to be glazed over by most viewers. The popular perception of beauty takes art back to the days of painted seashores, Parisian boulevards and umbrellas at outdoor cafes. Or perhaps, one might recall the Pop Art genre of Lichtenstein—fragmented musical instruments or comic-book-like paintings. However, today’s modern artist is likely to bring discarded objects into acknowledgement as a means of social awakening or as a way to comment on social irresponsibility.

The role of art has become a social adventure—more than one of aesthetics. And, the most important resource an artist uses is an art journal to guide their work. The journal becomes a tool to the artist as it records the art process. The process of using a journal in conjunction with creating art can increase the benefits for the artist, as well as give the viewer a more expressive artwork to view. There are reflective exercises an artist can follow to help produce work which fully develops ideas.

In society, artists have many roles and thusly, their work can be considered as a perspective into and of society. They are known as inventors, creators and maintainers of culture, said Kathryn Grushka, Ph.D. and senior art and design lecturer at the University of Newcastle. Artists can create work, and once an audience sees the work, it becomes an expression of the artist’s life. And, it can go beyond creative expression and be a method for healing or growth. If art is used in this way, it can change lives.

Art work often reflects four different areas of an artist’s life—individual, family, society, and world. The art work may represent these areas by metaphor or other modes of expression. What makes the difference is the artist taking note of the process. By taking note, the artist is able to make a record of successes, failures, and ideas. These notes will help the artist grow by giving the artist a basis for later reflection—and later inform understandings of truth.

Often, the artwork becomes a statement of the artist’s life—an example of their social, personal and cultural stances. And, the audience validates the work. Art can be used to express oneself and serves as a language between people. In some circumstances, speaking an expression or opinion can be difficult, painful or too emotional to verbally express. In addition, physical disabilities can also limit verbal expression, and art can become a device for expressing complex thoughts. “Art is a language unto itself helping us say the things we don’t have words for,” said Jeanie Lerche Davis of WebMD. If someone has a limited vocabulary, art can be used as an alternative means of expression. By using artwork to say something, the artist can express ideas with some self-reflection. Self-reflection can be done by taking note of the process in a journal.

The recording cycle process

Participating in any of the arts helps the artist find their voice and way. When done within a journal to track voice and way, meaning is created. The expression then becomes communication between two or more people. The process is the initial thoughts that form an idea of an artwork to the final stage of the audience’s reaction. This can be done through journal techniques geared towards art-making. There are many techniques to use, three of which will be mentioned later. Writings about a possible idea are the beginning thoughts in forming an artwork. The artist should keep in mind the journal is being used as an idea and development journal.

Creating art is receptive. It increases self-awareness and confidence in the creator. In addition, it can help heal physical and mental illnesses. In one case, a depressed patient found creating artwork released emotions and focused thoughts. The depression gradually lifted. In another case, a teenager learned to control impulses when he began to learn how to draw. Creating art was a form of meditation for the patient. The patient also experienced increased focus, quieter impulses and learned control. In other cases, creating art increased self-esteem; it became a way to release anger, gave focus, decreased stress and created happiness. Creating art as a way to heal is about expression and not skill. The work created for the purpose of well-being can be done at any skill level. “Art allows people to express those things for which they have never had words, but which currently affect their lives,” said Davis. If someone is an artist and can use their skill to increase well-being, then their ability has touched their individual, family, society and world areas of life. It touches the individual by physically increasing healing. It touches the family by mentally settling their lives by knowing a person they care for is healing. It touches society by the artist being able to create work for viewing. It touches the world by becoming communication possibly between multitudes of global viewers.

Creating art has benefits for the creator by providing a link to past and present experiences. By exploring past experiences, the artist can introspectively build on strengths. Artwork can serve as life’s review which can create significance in one’s life by honoring the artist’s life experiences.

An artist’s education and skill makes a better artist. Creating a journal can teach an artist to have a deeper connection to their artwork. The journal can be a teacher to the artist. The artist will find the journal will refresh “creative foundations because one is alive to the process, risk taking and the power of choices and mistakes; provoke deeper questions of oneself and art-making; circumvent cynicism because of fostering and witnessing, awe, wonder and the raw power of artistic engagement on a regular basis,” said Eric Booth in the Teaching Artist Journal. Combining the art process and reflection will refine an artist.

Artists are not the only ones to benefit from art-making. In fact, art plays a role in society and the world by being part of “the fields of education, community revitalization, health and healing, urban design and creating sustainable environments,” says Debra Ingram in Why Invest in Creativity.

The following three exercises aid the process. An icebreaker warm-up can be done before each exercise.

The classic method of gaining focus is finding a comfortable place, closing one’s eyes, taking a slow, deep breath and holding it—and releasing it; then the person repeats the process until completely relaxed and focused on the exercise.

Exercise One

Create a time capsule by adding embellishments to a journal. Each embellishment adds to creating a cohesive story. Depending on how many embellishments are added, they can become an entire collection of works. Think of artist Bruce Conner’s piece Looking Glass, 1964—a sculpture piece comprised of mannequin arms, a dried blowfish, magazine photographs, a shoe and other seemingly unrelated objects. It’s important to date the adding of embellishment. To add writing to the embellishment, the writer can note the emotions, people, places, time of life, atmosphere, colors and perspectives associated with the object. Adding embellishments enhances a journal through adding tangible objects, making the journal more factual and more than a one person perspective. Embellishments add a sense of bringing the journal to life and three dimensional.

Exercise Two

One technique in journal writing that can help an artist is prompts. This technique can help an artist get past creative blocks and develop ideas. The following exercises can be used in a journal and carry over into an artwork. An artist can ask themselves questions in a journal. These questions can be about any event the artist can remember. Possible questions include: What are my visual memories of the event? What colors are standing out in my particular memory? What shapes are present? What are my overall impressions of the topic?

An artist can also assist another person by asking the questions to someone who will want an event recorded. The event can be recorded by any medium with which the artist is comfortable.

Exercise Three

To reveal one’s true nature, the artist must reflect on their values. An exercise using photography is taking four values and writing a reaction to those values. One example of this is taking the value of faith and photographing religious buildings. Start this exercise with the following prompts: My values are…, Values I would like to have are…, I think values are…, I get my values from…, and I use my values by carrying out…

Then, the journalist numbers a paper from one to 100. A list of 100 thoughts related to this list is created. The values can repeat themselves. The writing of thoughts must be done quickly so that the writer does not think too long on any one value. After making the list, the writer reviews the values and picks four that stand out the most. Those four values will become the basis for the next art project. The values can be photographed, drawn, painted of sculpted. The artist may want to select more than four values and representations of those values.

To achieve a balanced life, an artist can use a journal to combine their life and art-making. There are many ways to go about writing in a journal, and there are just as many ways to use a journal to express the self. Journals are often thought of as a tool for a writer, but it can be a tool for developing art work. Art work is the final product. However, the artist has many benefits to using a journal that goes beyond creating artwork. Using the aforementioned process, artists can oftentimes bring their work to a new level. It will do this by giving the artist the opportunity to develop original ideas of the self. Many times artwork is developed from a thought without an awareness of how the artist’s background and values played into the process. The process of using a journal creates the background, thus giving the artwork a deeper meaning.

Information Technology

By: Stan Sellner and Darryl WatsonIssue: Resource Management Section: Business

The Systems Aren’t the Only Resource

Corporate and organizational technology groups are not typically viewed as a source of supply or support, as it relates to resources. Instead, the information technology (IT) groups in many organizations are seen as very expensive cost centers, a detriment to budgets and even as black holes with a life of their own. However, as companies learn how to foster cooperation and collaboration with the IT department, the likelihood of attaining the company’s goals increases proportionately.

Usually when technology groups are referenced, IT is the first type of group that comes to mind. The reality is that most companies have multiple departments that utilize or have an element of IT within them, making the group the de facto center for defining collaborative solutions. These IT groups also play various key roles in the continued viability of their companies, assisting company leadership by helping to define solutions as they are presented within departments.

As the state of the economy continues to fluctuate, technology groups have been tasked with assisting business leadership in laying out a coherent and actionable strategy that leverages increasingly scarce resources. Therefore, doing more with less has also become a constant challenge for the leadership of every company and the IT groups that support them. And, as this business climate continues to evolve and adapt, leaders will begin to recognize that their technology groups are truly valuable resources that can help the company to achieve better market advantage. To be effective though, the direction and focus of these groups needs to be in alignment with the company’s overarching business strategy and goals. Once specific business goals have been identified, the strategy to attain these goals becomes a joint responsibility across the entire company. This represents a call to action for the technology group to collaborate with others to define the potential business focused technology solutions that support the organization and move the business plan forward. The IT team then becomes a significant resource, helping a company achieve its goals, contributing to its success and creating the intellectual capital to sustain and grow its endeavor.

The New Frontline of Information Technology

Today’s business environment is substantially different than it was 10 years ago. While salary is still a motivator, it is job satisfaction, team successes, and a stimulating working environment that now figures prominently in growing human capital. The original top-down style of command and control, which presumes that employees are obedient, regimented and focused on their narrow roles, fails to consider the advantages of employees who form collaborative, independent teams. A team that is dynamic, adaptable, and easily re-directed may seem chaotic to the unversed, but this new regimen has proven to be a hallmark of success for pioneering teams.

This type of collaborative environment has become a cornerstone in building the intellectual capital needed to deliver innovative solutions that separate one company from another within the marketplace. No matter how much is invested in technology, the greatest influence on the effectiveness of any IT resources is its people. Managers who encourage and foster collaboration between departments tend to build better teams and enhance the ability to use IT as a resource for the organization.

An encouraging byproduct of collaboration is that it has the possibility to uncover disparate talents and hobbies that each of its team members possess that may not fall within the realm of their daily responsibilities. These talents can also be leveraged to help provide support for the business' goals. By fostering a culture of innovative ideas, efficient work processes, honest communications, team collaboration, realistic expectations, and an ethic of high quality, a company has the ability to maximize the effectiveness and contributions of its technology teams. Concurrently, these same employees can then develop a sense of ownership to the overarching business objectives of the company by providing their own unique contribution to successfully accomplish those goals.

Within most organizations, managers have traditionally viewed IT’s hardware, software and personnel as overhead or expenses rather than as key assets or resources. While systems are expensive to acquire, customize, develop, implement and maintain properly, they become even more expensive, wasting valuable resources when they do not help fulfill a stated company goal or strategy. When the IT group is engaged in building and deploying the best value solution to align with a company’s defined business requirements, it leverages the IT systems investment as a resource.

As companies assess their businesses processes, it is important to take a structured approach that will allow the IT group to understand what the individual system’s needs really are. This is vital because the proper system's solution leads to business intelligence insights that help foster collaboration across the organization, which in turn shortens the feedback and correction lifecycle that results in a more nimble and successful company.

But in many cases, once a solution has been deployed, companies make the erroneous assumption that it will run unattended. As automation continues to grow and businesses rely more heavily on IT, the proper tuning and systems adjustments are essential to the life of the business if they intend to remain focused on their goals. A nimble IT platform that can function as a delivery resource necessary to help meet a business' next market challenge is the product of a collaborative and engaged technology team.

As the costs of data acquisition and retention continue to fall, IT departments end up holding and managing vast amounts of uncategorized data. And as the emerging business intelligence sector has demonstrated, this data can be used both to measure past successes as well as to drive new activities. Therefore, information such as customer needs, preferences and location gathered via a company’s business system is another major asset housed within the IT arena.

While much of the data is relevant to the current business environment, it can also be relevant for future business initiatives. Collaboration and sharing business objectives between the business units and IT can result in capturing previously untapped business intelligence from the collection of information. Additionally, the data collected can be retained to provide insights about product successes and to refine the business strategy and goals.

As with any endeavor that first maps out its direction, strategy and goals before deciding on a technology solution set, companies that are in a better position to achieve success are using technology as a resource to actively leverage their full potential.