Interview and Conversation Research Backgrounder

Written by Betsey Merkel

Co-Founder and Director, I-Open
Updated July 2010

"The purpose of the video interviews is to post them on line so that

visions can be heard and resources can be shared. Maybe this is part
of bringing the healing and spiritual circles together (a.k.a.
Networking)." - Pam Fitch, Canton, Ohio

Introduction

I-Open publishes

• Individual interviews – the insights and innovations of business,

government, academic and civic leaders through the lens of
Open Source Economic Development (OSED)
o See: I-Open Civic Insight Library; Interview Inventory and
Publishing Matrix; I-Open Interview Questions; I-Open
Interview Transcriptions; How to Share Your Interview
Content; Civic Knowledge Cycle Map

• Conversations – open, guided broadcast conversations with

global dialogue (comment and chat) focused on powerful topics
affecting education, economic, and workforce development in
communities and regions

Copyright 2010 Betsey Merkel and I-Open. Creative Commons 3.0

Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works. Institute for Open Economic
Networks (I-Open) 4415 Euclid Ave 3rd Fl Cleveland, Ohio 44103 USA
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o See: Midtown Brews 2007-2009; Women’s Enterprise

Network 2008-2009; I-Open Broadcast Inventory; I-Open
Broadcast Transcriptions

Interviews
• Help people share ideas
• Inform public and private investment
• Build local to global connectivity
• Provide a systemic view of economic development from single
perspectives
• Interviews are foundation building to the I-Open Civic Forum
process

Contributors
• Discover new opportunities in Open Source Economic
Development
• Connect with like-minded leaders
• Gain new insights from alternate perspectives
• Learn about new discoveries from cross-disciplinary leaders
• Engage with leaders actively changing the world
• Are re-invigorated with a new sense of connectedness

Interview and conversation research

• Shares stories and descriptions of innovation in theoretical and
practical research
• Reports on priority needs of society by illuminating disparate,
but common "threads" of discovery Inventories a broad range of
indicators, from economic paradigm shifts to subtle insights
• Refines criteria, benchmark, and metrics for enterprise
development
• Advises investment of economic development resources
• Identifies emergent innovations for enterprise collaboration

Who is research data useful to?

• Business, government, academic and civic leaders
• Economic development professionals, entrepreneurs, students,
foundation leaders

Copyright 2010 Betsey Merkel and I-Open. Creative Commons 3.0

Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works. Institute for Open Economic
Networks (I-Open) 4415 Euclid Ave 3rd Fl Cleveland, Ohio 44103 USA
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• I-Open collaborative communities

How is research data collected, organized and published?

I-Open builds open networks of collaboration with

• Colleges, Universities and Libraries embedded in these
networks to access theoretical research
• Leaders in the "Civic Space" - everything outside the four walls
of any organization - to access practical research

How to get started

• A single civic entrepreneur or researcher, small group, or larger
group of civic entrepreneurs or researchers provide an
interview, conversation for taping
• The interview is created with I-Open. Individuals may
independently post their content to I-Open. To begin this
process contact I-Open. Content deliverables: a finished edited
video of less than10 min and/or an extended interview with a
document transcription. Additional creative media pieces may
be published inspired by and in support of the content.

Organization of content
• Information is organized by the Innovation Framework, a meta
filter for content and further organized by categories, topics and
tags to comprise an actionable research portfolio with practical
examples to guide economic development investment in fast
changing regional economies

• Interviews are organized by high-level concepts and topics.

From this data issue briefs may be published to guide citizens,
business, government and academic leaders of innovation and
economic development investment opportunities

Publishing
• Content is sorted by the Innovation Framework category, topic
and tag
• Listed on the I-Open Interview and Publishing Matrix
• Posted to http://www.livestream.com/iopen
Copyright 2010 Betsey Merkel and I-Open. Creative Commons 3.0
Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works. Institute for Open Economic
Networks (I-Open) 4415 Euclid Ave 3rd Fl Cleveland, Ohio 44103 USA
 4

• Transcribed and shared as a document

• Shared with other I-Open films to strengthen the value and
investments in Open Source Economic Development
• Posted on I-Open channels and media platforms; all content is
available for public viewing, comment and re-posting
• Content is contributed with permission and published under I-
Open’s Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No
Derivative Works 3.0 United States The Institute for Open
Economic Networks (I-Open) 4415 Euclid Ave Suite 301,
Cleveland, Ohio 44103 USA. Attribution is given to contributing
individual(s) and I-Open.

Background
About I-Open
http://www.scribd.com/doc/33985414/About-I-OPEN

Open Source Economic Development FAQ’s

http://www.scribd.com/doc/34568443/Open-Source-Economic-
Development-FAQ-s

I-Open Civic Insight Library

http://www.scribd.com/doc/34968529/I-Open-Civic-Insight-Library

I-Open Interview Questions

http://www.scribd.com/doc/34191594/I-Open-Interview-Questions

I-Open Interview and Conversation Research Backgrounder

http://www.scribd.com/doc/34985703/I-Open-Interview-Backgrounder

I-Open Interview Inventory and Publishing Matrix

http://www.scribd.com/doc/34968129/I-Open-Interview-Inventory-and-
Publishing-Matrix

Maps
Link to the Innovation Framework
http://www.scribd.com/doc/34241496/I-Open-Innovation-Framework

Copyright 2010 Betsey Merkel and I-Open. Creative Commons 3.0

Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works. Institute for Open Economic
Networks (I-Open) 4415 Euclid Ave 3rd Fl Cleveland, Ohio 44103 USA
 5

Link to Strategic Doing

http://www.scribd.com/doc/34242892/Strategic-Doing

Interview and conversation content is published to the following

I-Open communities

• I-Open
https://sites.google.com/site/instituteopeneconomicnetworks
• Facebook I-Open
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=35942064712&ref=ts
• Facebook The Institute for Open Economic Networks (I-Open)
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=35942064712&ref=ts
• Flickr
http://www.flickr.com/photos/iopen/sets/72157623351094216/
• Friendfeed http://friendfeed.com/iopen
• Livestream http://www.livestream.com/iopen/
• Posterous http://i-open.posterous.com/
• Scribd http://www.scribd.com/I-Open
• Slideshare http://www.slideshare.net/IOpen2
• Strategy-Nets http://i-open-2.strategy-nets.net
• Twitter http://twitter.com/iopen2
• Vimeo http://www.vimeo.com/user1999383
• You Tube http://www.youtube.com/user/IOpen2

For questions and suggestions e-mail info@i-open.org

Copyright 2010 Betsey Merkel and I-Open. Creative Commons 3.0

Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works. Institute for Open Economic
Networks (I-Open) 4415 Euclid Ave 3rd Fl Cleveland, Ohio 44103 USA