Feedback

[Todd Sundsted]

I'm still trying to tune the message so I'm interested in your
feedback. It is clear what we're trying to do?

Todd

[Matt Genovese]

Matt here from door64. I'm intested in what your doing with
InnovationCamp. The very high-level message is understood
("harnessing innovation"), but diving deeper I'm not sure I follow
what types of topics will be addressed, what you want to do with the
camp, what results you might anticipate after it's over, etc.

So where are you at with the planning? Has IC been done anywhere else
before? I know about BarCamp (though I haven't been able to make one
yet...<sigh>). How would you compare your idea of IC with
StartupWeekend? Sometimes it helps to compare and contrast against
something that already exists.

Thanks for bearing with my 20 questions :)

Matt
--

[Todd Sundsted]

Thanks for the questions!

I'll start by explaining how it's different.

BarCamp is an unconference in the way it is managed operationally, but
it is still a conference. Most sessions are presentations, panels,
demos, or occasionally round-table discussions. The goal, however, is
not to walk away having done something tangible (unless you run a
session). While InnovationCamp many have a presentation, panel, demo
track, the primary focus of the event is on actual hands-on work (more
about the work later).

StartupWeekend is about building a startup in a weekend. As an
example, it's a great demonstration of how *much* a group of people
can get done in a short period of time, on the right problem using the
right technologies. This difference is one of intent. In
StartupWeekend, the intent is to launch a business. In
InnovationCamp, the intent is to explore and learn, in a hands-on way,
how to design and implement innovation solutions to hard problems.
Most StartupWeekend startups that I'm aware of seem to be variations
on existing themes and the challenge is implementing those patterns
quickly--it's a production problem. In InnovationCamp, we want to
look at the other side--the research and discovery problem.

The format of a problem/solution session will be to start with a hard
problem (how do you create a block-by-block map of how "healthy" an
urban center is) and then to work on a solution. There aren't many
rules because no one knows the perfect formula, but we encourage/
require peer based participation (no observers, no hierarchy, no
appeals to your authority or title), no hoarding (if you have an idea
you must speak up and share), argue from facts instead of opinions,
propose and conduct experiments to answer questions and remove
uncertainty, and doing instead of managing.

In the process, I hope to 1) inculcate innovative culture into
existing big business and government, 2) identify opportunities for
entrepreneurism and intrepreneurism, and 3) create an interface
between the two groups. In fact, InnovationCamp itself started as an
"experiment" itself--will a mashup like BarCamp, involving a mix of
people and backgrounds, and focused on innovation help us understand
and do #1, #2, and #3?

Make sense?

Todd