Idea Throwdown: The Future of Service in a Connected Society
It is time to shift our thinking and approach. This coming Monday during the 2011 National Conference on Volunteering and Service, Brian Reich and I are bringing together a diverse group of leaders to create a new framework for how organizations who are focused on supporting service – companies, media, nonprofits, government – can better address the challenges that exist today.
Our discussion will focus on: What do we STOP doing?
This is the beginning of an important conversation — and we want to encourage, and make it possible, for as many people to participate as possible. You have two opportunities to participate in this important conversation:
- Join Us in New Orleans – We have a limited number of seats left and expect to reach capacity very soon. If you are planning to attend NCVS and will be in New Orleans on Monday morning, we hope you join us. Register here today.
- Submit Your Ideas Today – We have created a Google form that challenges you to offer as many ideas as you care – as long as they are less than 100 words. You can submit as many ideas as you like – there isn’t one answer, or even one right answer, to this challenge. You can submit your answers here now.
We look forward to documenting this spirited conversation and sharing what comes from it with you later.
Scott – I’ve got this on my NOLA calendar, and it should be interesting. Question: Didn’t you guys also convene a session at SXSW a few years back to “shift” hunger in the US and end starvation? Not to be a pest, but what came out of that work, and how does it inform what you intend to do here? Also, where does this fit in with the Re-imagining Service discussions that have been going on for the last few years? Do you or Brian sit in on that, and if so how how is this different? If not, are you planning to join that group of ALREADY convened thought leaders, many of whom are on the RSVP list for this?
Thanks,
Robert (Twitter: @volmatch)
Yes, we hosted the CauseLab about hunger at SXSW 2010 as part of the WeCanEndThis.com initiative. You can find the outcomes and learnings at http://wecanendthis.com/causelab).
We’ve also hosted two other events since then: #BeyondCM, which challenged attendees to think of new ways organizations can engage individuals in solving social issues, and “Why Not? Crisis and Media”, which focused on the relationship of media and humanitarian crisis. (Outcomes here http://rallythecause.com/category/causeshift-events/)
All three gatherings were not designed to spawn new organizations, rather they were to gather leaders from a variety of organizations who had a shared interest in the topic and challenge them to create new ideas and perspectives for how to solve the issue.
These experiences have helped us shape our thinking and approach for this Idea Throwdown. With the leaders gathering in New Orleans, we saw a need and opportunity to bring them together for this conversation. Our goal is shift thinking not to create new structure.
We’re looking forward to seeing you there and sharing what comes of it.
Wish I could join you in New Orleans! I am a certified educator in the Chicago suburbs who badly wants to transition to a nonprofit, societally beneficial career. Anything being launched in this area? It would be a great time, with a new, forward-looking mayor in Chicago.
Scott – Did you or Brian take notes or photograph the bulletin boards at the event? I didn’t see any follow up on this. Thanks.
Wish I could come to New Orleans… one thing I think needs to be addressed is the idea that there is so many organizations focused on the same causes. Is there a way we can use social media to collaborate/combine causes to attain a bigger impact? I know if this a potentially bigger issue, and is not so easy to solve…but just food for thought.