Alice-marie Archer, Rong Fei and myself wrote a collaborative thesis on the potential of collaborative innovation networks (COINs) for sustainability. Here's a powerpoint presentation I gave on our behalf for the first annual conference on COINs.

1. Collaboration for Sustainability in a Networked World www.wordle.net -Rebecca Petzel Blekinge Institute of Technology

2. Outline Overview Background Sustainability & COINs Research Results Sustainability Assessment Barriers to Use Practitioner Recommendations Conclusions

3. Background The Sustainability Challenge 1987 U.N. Brundtland Report 1988 the Sustainability Principles 2002: "sustainable development simply calls for more collaboration since the changes needed exceed the capacity of individual actors."

4. Background In What ways can COINs be part of a movement towards a sustainable society? Harnessing Collective Intelligence The Framework for Strategic Sustainable Development

5. Research Research & Methodology Used creative tension of backcasting Surveys (32 people) Interviews (18 people) Participant Observation Feedback & Dialogue

6. Res Results: assessment Sustainability Assessment Bridging Ingenuity Gap Socially sustainable structures Self-organization, Diversity, Interdependence Low-impact Technology Resource inefficiencies Access Concerns Lack of systems perspective

7. Results: barriers 76.5 % of people globally lack Internet Access http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2053/2229752965_ae28533a0a_o.jpg

8. Results: barriers Digital Immigrants perceive technology a bit differently than digital natives http://seacreatures.deviantart.com/art/Old-People-14159737

9. Results: barriers From hierarchy to wirearchy is a tough transition http://www.jarche.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/wirearchy.jpg

10. Results: barriers http://www.lrdc.pitt.edu/schunn/sword/plagiarism.jpg Not everyone thinks of intellectual property the same way

11. Results: barriers http://nirel.deviantart.com/art/Scream-17026336 Sometimes technology is frustrating

12. Results: barriers Without the presence of face to face collaboration- dysfuntional argumentation can create roadblocks

13. Results: barriers http://digitalminds.deviantart.com/art/Pain-in-the-ass-101307904 Web collaborations can suffer from poor signal to noise ratios

14. Results: barriers The web presents new communication challenges: people say things on-line they wouldn’t say face to face http://auleaf.deviantart.com/art/Screw-You-127132471

15. Results: barriers Over-controlling leadership can stifle a collaboration http://altair4444.deviantart.com/art/Puppet-Not-15196569

16. Results: barriers Collaborations fail through lack of shared vision, trust or transparent communication: the pillars of successful COINs http://marthema.deviantart.com/art/Together-35327305

17. Results: barriers “The biggest challenge to harnessing the collective intelligence of the world to help solve some of the very serious problems we have around sustainability….has to do with people knowing not only how to use the software, but ideas around critical thinking and collaboration.” – Howard Rheingold

18. Results: recommendations How to collaborate? When to collaborate Perfect Invitation Collaborator experience design Lead by example Strategic considerations for COINs

19. Conclusions Sustainability & COINs COINs support social sustainability COINs CAN support environmental sustainability The FSSD & COINs Innovation!

20. Conclusions Validity & Further Research Time Concerns Emerging factors in rapidly developing field Detailed resource assessment of distributed working Collaboration Ninjas

21. Conclusions “the danger is not that we ask too much of the Internet, but too little…it could be a new platform for how we could organize ourselves, to find knowledge together, to work out what is true and to decide together what we should do about it” –Tim Berners-Lee

22. Appendix Framework for Strategic Sustainable Development (FSSD) Understand the system- the natural laws that define the biosphere and societies relationships with the earth. Interdependence, diversity, self-organization, laws of thermodynamics System Success on a principled level. The minimum requirements necessary for success. The sustainability principles are a minimum Success Strategic guidelines to guide decision making processes. Importantly backcasting as a strategic guideline and guidelines for socially sustainable processes of relating: transparency, cooperation, openness, inclusiveness, involvement Strategic Actions Prioritized steps put into action, following strategic guidelines for success in the system Appropriate tools including management techniques and monitoring processes to guide implementation of strategic tools Tools

23. Appendix The Sustainability Principles To become a sustainable society we must... eliminate our contribution to the progressive buildup of substances extracted from the Earth's crust (for example, heavy metals and fossil fuels) 2. eliminate our contribution to the progressive buildup of chemicals and compounds produced by society (for example, dioxins, PCBs, and DDT ) 3. eliminate our contribution to the progressive physical degradation and destruction of nature and natural processes (for example, over harvesting forests and paving over critical wildlife habitat); and 4. eliminate our contribution to conditions that undermine people’s capacity to meet their basic human needs (for example, unsafe working conditions and not enough pay to live on). v

24. Appendix Research Questions