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People interacting and activating value by embracing common purpose and principles.
The interface between people, places, policies, practices, processes and programs.
More about "process" than "place" not a build it and they will come exercise but an "if its
useful, they will build it" one. It's about a shared experience of meaningful results.
A "container" (like a relation-ship) whose boundaries are transparent yet consists of the collective heart,
mind, body and soul of the participants.
Other Labels for Community
- Collaborations (or collaboratives)
- Communities of Practice (CoP's)
- Value Chains
- Value Webs
- e-marketplaces
- Social Networks
- Channels (in the distribution context)
- Learning Organizations
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Are you happy with the level of trust you have with your associates, employees, business partners or customers? Do you find it increasingly
difficult to have an open
conversation with them? Would you agree that nearly every man-made institutional structure has proven to be increasingly ineffective at tapping into the human spirit? Then we need to ask ourselves what we can do about it!
Through integrating and interweaving Community within every aspect of your work, you can:
- Enhance the experience for you and your constituents
- Optimize relationships with all participants (your staff, business partners, community organizations, vendors, citizens)
- Receive increasing returns everyone benefits through increasing participation
- Activate shared resources minimizing duplication and overlaps
- Obtain feedback loops that yield improved services/value, a win-win internally and externally
- Create widening differentiation from competing organizations and individuals
- Engage, transact and fulfill "customer" needs across the entire lifecycle
- Enhance increasing revenue from Community syndication, sponsorship, programs and services
- Innovate the core for a new digital economy distribution system for your content, programs and partnerships
- Create a strong brand for your community practices
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 The 3C's Model for Community provides a manageable framework for developing, launching and growing communities of shared purpose and principles. The
"connectors" for this system comprise the infrastructure for "values-based" practices that serve to create a meaningful experience conducive to the growth of the community.
Social practices and norms enabled through technical tools focus the community process on achieving the business requirements framed within the communities purpose and principles. This community
development model can be viewed as a phased approach supporting the value creation among all participants integrating an ongoing feedback mechanism for high value content,
communications and services to become activated (a model for "increasing returns").
The Phases are defined as:
Phase I: Content (stimulate the conversation)
All relationships begin with "content", a sharing of information about
ourselves, our affiliations, our needs and aspirations. . Business partnerships begin with the exchange of business cards, eBay sales are facilitated through product descriptions and member profiles (and
ratings!) and collaborations emerge out of programs that act as a driver for working together. Have you ever attended a conference to hear a speakers "presentation" and be motivated to meet him/her to
further the "conversation"?
Does YOUR content encourage conversations?
Phase II: Collaboration (nurture the connections in relationships)
Content alone can certainly educate and inform but needs to encourage and induce collaboration for meaningful action.
Collaborative applications significantly extend the value for "connecting" all participants into inter-activity. Phase II serves to enlist participant input to content development and the free flow of
knowledge (information, programs and services). Through the integration of collaborative applications (see Free Tools ) significant
value can be activated across all community participants. Even the best of these tools will require human support and guidance for them to be effective. This is the true beginning of the dynamic Community
System. By drawing from the numerous Discussion Posts, Email Listservs contributions and Chat Transcripts, you create an ongoing "source" for new content available to the community. And you
promote the value for free flow exchange.
What relationships among individuals and organizations are you overlapping in pursuit of your purpose?
Phase III: Commerce (aka Interactions of VALUE Exchange)
Through the feedback potential of the Collaborative applications
coupled with transaction based systems, the cycle of community development can be further activated and sustained. Keep in mind that "Commerce" in the broader sense defines any exchange of value
among participants and includes (but is not limited to):
Exchanging profile information
Sharing information on programs, policies and services
Developing programs and services in collaboration with others
Registering for an event
Collecting money for programs, products and services
What "transaction systems" do you employ (or could use) to encourage community exchanges?
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 Defining Purpose
We begin by guiding you towards defining your community’s
Purpose, Principles, Participants, Processes, Policies and Practices.
- Let’s define your key Business Requirements
- What priorities must be the key focus in achieving your business requirements?
- Let’s put into practice the initial community infrastructure
that will serve to guide the development process and activate the initial participants.
 Discovery
We’ll ask the right questions and know there are many right answers.
- Define process and question set(s) framed in the context
of your business requirements (current and future)
- What is the organizational climate, readiness and capacity to change?
- Explore needs, aspirations and gaps
- Priorities and Impacts (short, medium, long term)
- Metrics and Feedback systems (quantifiable and qualifiable)
 Synthesis & Analysis
We’ll synthesize the information gathered and
present recommendations from it’s analysis.
- Situational assessment
- Gap Analysis
- Social and Technical architecture recommendations
- Resource Map of existing technology in your organization; it's use, value and limitations
- Map of current Workflow (Business) Processes
 Prototype Models
.Our philosophy follows a pilot, learn and adapt
approach to protoyping workable solutions to your community infrastructure needs.
- Map of proposed Workflow (Business) Processes
- Information (Content) Mapping
- Technology Standards recommendations
- Network Topologies
- Content and Knowledge Management Systems
- Communication and Collaboration Systems and Applications
- Healing, Training & FUN Recommendations
 Production
Best practices proven through prototype models can now be implemented.
- Implementation Plan (schedule phases)
- Organizational support infrastructure
- Costing Data and ROI
Conditions for a successful community
- A clear and shared sense of crisis or opportunity
- Champions to activate the effort
- Dedicated working group(s)
- Broad communication and engagement (expanding participation)
- Resources (time, tools, access, attention, financial)
- Openness, curiosity, imagination
- A will to succeed and the grace to compromise
- An interplay of design and practice (pilot, learn and adapt)
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