case studies[1]

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Confidential Copyright © 2006 Monito r Company Group, L.P. ²Confidential ² XXX CAS-COD-Prez-Date-CTL 1 InnoCentive URL URL http://www.innocentive.com Governance Governance Board of Directors Size Size 82 Challenges and 90,000+ Scientists  Year Created  Year Created 2001 Membership Membership Researchers and Seeker Companies Network Structure Multi-Hub Network The InnoCe ntive site serves as the central hub and network weaver. However, the Inno Centive challenges serve as nodes that are also hubs for interested scientists. There are weak links between these hubs because researchers might be working to solve multiple challenges at once. Network Activity Open Innovation The network is actively working to generate new possibilities by utilizing a network of researchers that is m uch larger than otherwise available to the company. Under this model incentives are designed to promote open competition. What They Do: InnoCentive uses a web-based platform to match scientists and researchers to relevant R&D challenges that companies seek answ ers for. The platform provides an online forum enabling major companies to reward scientific innovation through financial incentives. Model: InnoCentive¶s business model is centered on its sales to seeker companies. Seeker companies pa y money to InnoCentive to securely host their challenge as well as retain scientists that can answer questions that solvers might have.

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Copyright © 2006 Monitor Company Group, L.P. ² Confidential ² XXXCAS-COD-Prez-Date-CTL 1

InnoCentive

URLURL http://www.innocentive.com

GovernanceGovernance Board of Directors

SizeSize 82 Challenges and 90,000+ Scientists  Year Created Year Created 2001

MembershipMembership Researchers and Seeker Companies

Network

Structure

Multi-Hub

Network

The InnoCentive site serves as the central hub and network weaver. However, the InnoCentive challenges serveas nodes that are also hubs for interested scientists. There are weak links between these hubs becauseresearchers might be working to solve multiple challenges at once.

Network

Activity

Open

Innovation

The network is actively working to generate new possibilities by utilizing a network of researchers that is muchlarger than otherwise available to the company.

Under this model incentives are designed to promote open competition.

What They Do:

InnoCentive uses a web-based platform to match scientists and researchers to relevant R&D challenges that

companies seek answers for. The platform provides an online forum enabling major companies to rewardscientific innovation through financial incentives.

Model:

InnoCentive¶s business model is centered on its sales to seeker companies. Seeker companies pay money toInnoCentive to securely host their challenge as well as retain scientists that can answer questions that solvers

might have.

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InnoCentive

Why They Are Interesting:

Was the first open innovation platform of its kind. Uses an open-contest model and distributes labor among manyresearchers who assume risk instead of R&D departments. The Rockefeller foundation plans on using the site for socialsector purposes

Success Factors:

For the company, it has been important to tap into the scientific community including both academic and non-academicresearchers. It has also been necessary to effectively market the site as a suitable analog to traditional R&D. Of equalimportance is the careful handling of security and intellectual property issues.

Pitfalls:

One notable pitfall is that the risk burden placed on individual solvers is very large. Solvers must be willing to conductresearch for many months and risk not winning the prize. Currently, there is no shared risk with the seeker companies. Another pitfall is the potential loss of intellectual property or the revealing of corporate strategy by making corporateproblems public.

Results:

The site has been quite successful, with over 30% of challenges solved. There have been many success stories of companies that saved millions of dollars in R&D costs by leveraging the distributed resources of InnoCentive. A USbiotechnology company assigned an internal team to create a DNA sequencing test method for use in unconventionalsettings. After months of research an internal team found the problem impossible. Management decided to put theproblem on InnoCentive and had an answer within 4 weeks from a Finnish research team in an entirely different field.

Important Resources:

Fast Company article on InnoCentive -- http://www.fastcompany.com/online/57/lilly.html

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URLURL http://www.wikipedia.com

GovernanceGovernanceVolunteer administrators &

Board of Directors

SizeSize1.5 million English articles (6 million

total), 67,000+ active contributors

 Year Created Year Created 2001

MembershipMembership Open to the public

Network

Structure

Core-

periphery

TheWikipedia website is the critical platform around which the network is structured. Volunteer administrators at thecore play an editorial /quality control role. Volunteer administrators are extremely activeWikipedia contributors whoare nominated and then elected by theWikipedia board. The periphery contains casual users who edit entries onlyoccasionally.

Network

Activity

³Open

Source´

Collaboration

Similar to the open source model, wri ting and editing onWikipedia is done by distributing the labor among thousandsof users, using a platform that allows for users to improve upon one another¶s contributions

What They Do:

Wikipedia is the largest reference website on the Internet. The content of Wikipedia is free and is written

collaboratively by people around the world.W

ikipedia is based on a wiki, which means that anyone withaccess to an Internet-connected computer can add, delete, or edit information throughout the encyclopedia.

Model:

JimmyWales,Wikipedia¶s founder, was impressed by the Internet as a means of production that couldcoordinate many people. He had been influenced by of Friedrich Hayek, who believed that truth was achievedwhen knowledge was pooled in markets. Because writing an encyclopedia was an exercise in knowledgepooling,Wales thought that the work should be opened to the public.

Wikipedia

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Wikipedia

Why They Are Interesting:

W

ikipedia popularized the use of wikis, which have subsequently been applied to hundred of uses. Reaching incrediblepopularity within only a few years, the website redefined the traditional concept of information storage.

Success Factors:

Key toWikipedia¶s success is access to a broad base of users, who can build on one another¶s contributions. As theencyclopedia has grown, network effects have increased the user base, enabling a Darwinian-like process to perfect articles.

Pitfalls:

Because anyone has the ability to edit articles, there is the potential for inaccuracy. It is assumed that inaccurate articles willeventually be corrected, implying that at some point in time many articles will contain faulty information. Jaron Lanier arguesthat another weakness is the loss of voice because articles are cobbled together from many different authors.

Results:

Wikipedia has become the largest reference encyclopedia in the world and one of the most highly trafficked websites. Whilemany question the content and structure of articles, at least one study (Nature 2005) shows that the accuracy of content is notsignificantly different from traditional encyclopedias. The study found that the average number of inaccuracies in aWikipediaarticle was 4 as compared to 3 in Encyclopedia Britannica. Wikipedia¶s breadth and update speed have helped make it thereference of choice for tens of thousands of Internet users.

Important Resources:

Harvard Business School case onWikipedia -- http://courseware.hbs.edu/public/cases/wikipedia/

NatureWikipedia Study -- http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v438/n7070/full/438900a.html

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URLURL http://www.myelinrepair.org

GovernanceGovernanceBoard of Directors (with input

from Scientific Advisory Board)

SizeSize 5 Principal Investigators  Year Created Year Created 2002

MembershipMembership 5 PIs¶ Research Teams

Network

Structure

Core-

Periphery

The 5 leading researchers recruited by the Myelin Repair Foundation (MRF) form the core of the network, witheach connected to one another. The MRF serves as a weaver and supporter of the network, but does not aspireto be a hub itself.

Network

Activity

Collaborative

Research;

Open

Innovation

The network infrastructure and management support that the MRF provides allows the 5 PIs to collaborate, shareresults, and accelerate the discovery of new treatments in a way that would have otherwise been impossible.

Myelin Repair Foundation

What They Do:

The MRF developed a new collaborative research process to accelerate innovation in MS by creating an environment in whichdisparate scientists can work together on a shared research plan. The five teams develop research plans in coordination with one

another. The plans are then vetted by a scientific advisory board and ratified by the MRF board of directors. The MRF providessupport through funding, infrastructure, and coordination.

Model:

MRF is based on the theory that collaboration will accelerate the development of treatments in a way not possible throughindividual efforts. MRF aligns researchers from diverse disciplines toward the goal of developing MS treatments and connectsthem with pharmaceutical and biotechnology developers. Researchers are compensated by upfront funding for their projects andthere is potential for royalties from commercial applications.

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Myelin Repair Foundation

Why They Are Interesting

The MRF¶s collaborative approach overcomes traditional barriers that academic researchers face. These barriers include

inefficient communication processes (publication is the only major way to communicate results), intense competition for funding, lack of disease specialization, and no organized approach to researching diseases. By overcoming these barriers,the MRF believes that researchers will be able to discover new treatment targets in 5 years instead of 15-20 years under thecurrent system.

Success Factors:

In addition to being leaders in their fields, the researchers selected by the MRF are also known to be good collaborators. Theycome from different disciplines and are able to bring a diverse set of perspectives to a common problem.

MRF plays an important coordination and funding role -- managing the progress of work, supporting and coordinatingresearch teams, and providing incentives by allowing scientists to retain intellectual property rights and receive royalties fromdiscoveries.

Pitfalls:

Given the chaotic nature of academic research, coordination between teams and maintenance of work plans is potentiallydifficult. Another potential pitfall is that teams are widely dispersed geographically and can¶t benefit from in-person scientificcollaboration. There might also be complexities around the way that intellectual property is allocated and revenue is shared.

Results:

The network has been quite successful so far. Research results published in the fall of 2006 show that since research beganin July of 2004, 10 biological processes that could improve myelin repair and 3 therapeutic candidates have been identified.There have also been 11 new research methods developed and shared by scientists that have enabled more effectiveresearch in the area. To date, the MRF has filed for 9 patent applications.

Important Resources:

MRF BackgroundWhite Paper -- http://www.myelinrepair.org/pdfs/MRF_Background_ WhitePaper_12.09.03.pdf 

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NASA Clickworkers

URLURL http://clickworkers.arc.nasa.gov

GovernanceGovernance NASA Researchers

SizeSize85,000+ contributors, 1.9 million+

entries submitted

 Year Created Year Created 2000

MembershipMembership Open to the public

Network

Structure

Hub and

Spoke The Clickworkers site serves as the hub and users as the nodes connected to the hub.

Network

Activity

Collaborative

Action;

Volunteer 

Mobilization

The Clickworkers model distributes an otherwise daunting workload among thousands of online volunteers anduses a ³wisdom of crowds´ approach to develop an analysis by mass aggregation of input that results inaccuracy similar to experts.

What They Do:

NASA Clickworkers is an experimental project that uses public volunteers to accomplish scientific tasks that

require human perception and common sense, but not a great degree of scientific training. The initialproject identified craters from orbiter data and subsequent projects have involved more difficult tasks, suchas landform cataloging.

Model:

The Clickworkers model takes work normally done by experts or research assistants and distributes itamong non-experts. The project relies on the assumption that people are interested in volunteering their 

free time to do routine work and able to produce accurate results for scientifically important tasks.

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NASA Clickworkers

Why They Are Interesting:

The Clickworkers project shows that there is a large group of Internet users willing to spend time doing things that most would

consider mundane and boring. Because the cost of participation is low and the NASA¶s profile high, the Clickworkers project is ableto distribute work that would otherwise be highly time consuming for a much smaller group of individuals.

Success Factors:

In order to be successful, the site relies mass online volunteer engagement.

Redundancy of ³clicking´ is important; multiple online volunteers work on each image so that the results can be averaged in order to remove any outliers and sloppiness.

Pitfalls:

There is the potential for users to use the site for other than the intended purpose and subsequently submit inaccurate input, whichis impossible to detect using the site¶s software.

There is also the potential that even if all responses are averaged, non-experts still would not be able to classify data as well asexperts due to lack of experience.

Results:

The quantity of response has been outstanding, with over 85,000 people accessing the site over the initial 6 month period. In thisperiod of time, nearly 2 million entries were submitted and every crater in the database was marked at least a dozen times. Thequality of response was high, with the automatically computed consensus of Clickworkers found to be virtually indistinguishablefrom the inputs of an expert geologist. Even frivolous inputs were easily weeded out through the system of redundant coverage.The success of the site is also evident from the numerous ways in which NASA has replicated the original Clickworkers experimentand the way in which other researchers have adopted similar approaches to classifying data. One new project adopting thisapproach is Stardust@Home, which is run by the University of California at Berkeley.

Important Resources:

Clickworkers results analysis -- http://clickworkers.arc.nasa.gov/documents/crater-marking.pdf 

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Nevada Community Foundation Community Investment Process

URLURL http://www.nevadacf.org

GovernanceGovernanceCommunity Members Make

Grant Decisions

SizeSize 18 community members  Year Created Year Created 2005

MembershipMembershipPre-selected community members

reflective of the community at large

Network

Structure

Core-

Periphery The community members selected to be engaged in the process comprise the core of the network, with the

recipients of funding and other community members comprising the periphery.

Network

Activity

Collaborative

Decision-

making

The network is being used to build community and catalyze change. Within the community investment process,the network of community members has the power to decide where funding goes.

What They Do:

 After convening a ³Community Conference´ of citizens that reflected the demographics of the region, the NCF decided tomake investments that encourage a broader sense of community through grantmaking. The outcome of the conference was acommunity-advised funding system in which local citizens can submit ³idea letters´ to request funding and CommunityConference members decide which proposals are be funded. Under this model, the network of community stakeholdersdistributed funds to projects that they feel are valuable.

Model:

The theory is that by allowing small groups of citizens to submit their ideas and have them funded by other citizens, the needsof the Las Vegas community will be heard, and citizens will be stimulated to think in new ways, and feel a greater sense of unity in the community. With this community investment process, the NCF is working to incorporate community building into

the existing activities of citizens.

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Nevada Community Foundation Community Investment Process

Why They Are Interesting:

The NCF is unique in that they give decision making ability to average citizens. The community investmentprocess allows average citizens access to funding that is to be distributed by their peers, rather thanfoundation officials. The intention is therefore to improve community relationships as part of the grant-making process.

Success Factors:

To be successful, the process requires active and serious participation on the part of the community

conference members as well as participation on the part of local citizens.

Pitfalls:

The process relies on the community foundation as the hub and is not a self-standing network.

Results:

The NCF¶s community investment process is in its infant stages, but has already received many idea lettersfrom community members.

Important Resources:

Community Investment Process Information -- http://www.nevadacf.org/grantmaking2.htm

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Digg

URLURL http://www.digg.com

GovernanceGovernance Executive Staff 

SizeSize 500,000+ users  Year Created Year Created 2004

MembershipMembership Open to the public

Network

Structure

Hub and

Spoke The digg.com website serves as the hub through which users add new content or  digg/bury preexisting content.

Users are nodes that surround the hub and are connected to it through their interactions with the site.

Network

Activity

Collaborative

aggregation

& collective

filtering

The Digg community works together to add, digg , or bury content on the site in order to elevate the best contentto the top. The result is a user generated news site created by aggregation of content from across the web.

What They Do:

Content is submitted by the community, and can be dugg or promoted by other users. Highly promoted items gain a more

prominent status on the site. Types of content on the website include news articles, blog postings, and websites related totechnology, science, entertainment, and any other content area that users find interesting. News articles can also bediscussed by users.

Model:

The business is based on a basic advertising model in which the Digg gains revenue from click-through advertisements. Thetheory behind Digg itself is that users searching the web find interesting content, share the content either through a link on atraditional media website (many online newspapers and magazines already link to Digg ), or through Digg itself. Users arethus able to self-generate ranked content by nominating what is most interesting.

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Digg

Why They Are Interesting:

Digg takes a task that was once difficult (finding interesting news and content that is buried in the dark alleys of the Internet) anddistributes the work among the Internet¶s large user base so that content of greatest interest to the public rises to the top. Bycreating a common site for content aggregation and making collective judgment visible, Digg becomes a media source of itsown.

Success Factors:

The most important success factor is a high level of participation -- a large user base that is actively seeking out content to post,as well as using the site to digg or bury content that has already been added.

Pitfalls:

Potential problems include the vulnerability of the site to spammers, a homogeneous user base (94% of users are male andmore than half are in their 20s and 30s), and the a number of competitors in the news aggregation space (Del.icio.us, Technorati,Reddit, Newsvine, and now even Facebook).

Results:

Digg is currently the 19th most popular website in the US, more popular than the New York Times. Many well-established news

sites (such as the Washington Post, New York Times, and Wired) have links to Digg on their news articles so that users can diggcontent.

Important Resources:

BusinessWeek article on Digg -- http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/06_33/b3997001.htm

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GlobalGiving

URLURL http://www.globalgiving.com

GovernanceGovernance Board of Directors

SizeSize416 projects and 2,000+ unique

donors Year Created Year Created 2002

MembershipMembership Open to the public

Network

Structure

Hub and

Spoke The GlobalGiving website serves as a hub that connects donors with projects that they want to f inance.

Network

Activity

Connectivity/

Matching

Resources

GlobalGiving allows donors and grantees to come together and foster change on an international scale. The sitetakes two groups that already exist and connects them using an online platform.

What They Do:

GlobalGiving is an online marketplace for international giving. Potential donors can browse and select from a wide offering of 

projects, organized by geography or by themes such as health care, the environment, and education. Donors can contribute anyamount to projects and can give on behalf of themselves or others in the form of a gift.

Model:

The GlobalGiving model is a platform that donors can use to find and contribute to projects that suit their interests. The theory isthat if the wisdom of crowds´ theory holds, the best projects will get the most funding from donors. Another important element of the model is that the site is also set up so that donations can be given as gifts. The site maintains a gift registry and sends giftcards when to recipients of GlobalGiving gifts. DennisWhittle, the CEO and chairman of GlobalGiving, believes that an Internet-based model is important because consumers value online convenience.

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GlobalGiving

Why They Are Interesting:

GlobalGiving connects donors with grass roots charity projects by using an Internet based platform. This website, along with websites in similar vein (Donors Choose), enable non-profits, charities, and other organizations that are leading social sector projects to easily gain access to thelarge amount of potential donors that exist on the Internet. Rather than build a network on the ground, GlobalGiving uses existing localresources to develop beneficial and lasting relationships.

Success Factors:

The site depends on project leaders submitting interesting project proposals and on donors to fund those projects. By emphasizing the giftgiving aspect of the site, GlobalGiving has differentiated itself somewhat from traditional charity or philanthropy. Additionally, by using anInternet platform it is able to maintain a more diverse portfolio of projects that enables donors to give money to projects that closely match their interests.

Pitfalls:

Because GlobalGiving does not employ staff within each of the areas that projects are developed, there are some risks related to monitoringand evaluation.

Results:

GlobalGiving has been quite successful in building a solid user base among project managers and potential donors. Volume quadrupled in2005 and more than 2,000 donors have given $3.1 million to projects around the world. The theoretical model itself also appears to be

successful. The site conducted an experiment in 2004 that compared the rankings of development projects generated by site visitors with theevaluations done by a small group of aid experts. Nine out of the twelve projects chosen by experts were the same.

Important Resources:

Washington Post article on Global Giving ±

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/07/12/AR2005071201699.html

Report, Philanthropy Marketplaces: Inventing the Future of Community Philanthropy --http://www.communityphilanthropy.org/downloads/fm3_9sept06_withlinks.pdf 

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Microfinance Information Exchange Market

URLURL http://www.mixmarket.org

GovernanceGovernance Board of Directors

SizeSize858 microfinance institutions, 86

investors, and 147 partners Year Created Year Created 2002

MembershipMembership Open to the microfinance community

Network

Structure

Hub and

Spoke

The Microfinance Information Exchange Market (MIX Market) website acts as a hub that facilitates informationexchange between microfinance institutions (MFIs) and other interested parties that act as nodes connected tothe hub. As a hub, MIX Market centralizes data enables stakeholders to set up profiles.

Network

Activity

Knowledge

Sharing The MIX allows microfinance stakeholders to share data, enabling them to work together to improve performance

and increase public and private investment.

What They Do:

The MIX is an online information marketplace that promotes knowledge sharing between microfinance institutions and

prospective investors and clients. Improving transparency decreases risks associated with uncertainty and potentially buildsinvestments in microfinance as a whole. The objectives of MIX are to lead benchmarking activities, increase standardizedreporting, improve performance and transparency among MFIs, and boost investment in microfinance.

Model:

The MIX operates on a information sharing model in which the site serves as a platform that facilitates the centralization andtransparency of microfinance data. Membership is free and any MFI, fund, or partner (market facilitator) can create a profile.The MIX market is sponsored by the Consultative Group to Assist the Poor, which is affiliated with the World Bank, and ispartnered by a number of other foundations including Citigroup Foundation and Deutsche Bank Foundation.

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Microfinance Information Exchange Market

Why They Are Interesting:

For many years, the microfinance sector lacked the transparency necessary for investors to compare thestrength and performance of microfinance institutions. The MIX responded to this problem by centralizing andmaking public large amounts of microfinance data. The centralization of this data has been of greatassistance to MFIs because it increases investor confidence, attracts new investors, and allows for improvedbenchmarking.

Success Factors:

The site depends on the contributions of microfinance stakeholders, including MFIs, investors, and marketfacilitators that provide organizational support. To ensure the data is legible, the MIX employs a quality controlsystem to make sure that data is coherently presented and contributed by an individual that suitablyrepresents their institution.

Pitfalls:

The MIX does not guarantee the reliability or accuracy of information posted on the website, so it depends on

contributors to submit valid information.

Results:

Since the website was made available in September 2002, The MIX has attracted a large number of MFIs,funds, and market facilitators that have agreed to add profiles to the site and submit data and reports. Theavailability of this data has allowed for benchmarking and improved transparency within the microfinancecommunity.

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Ashoka Changemakers

URLURL http://www.changemakers.net/

GovernanceGovernance Board of Directors

SizeSize3 active and 4 upcoming

competitions (average of 90 entrants) Year Created Year Created 2002

MembershipMembershipOpen to social entrepreneurs to enter 

and the public to discuss/vote

Network

Structure

Core-

Periphery

The open-source competition structure essentially creates a core-periphery network of collaborators. The core iscomposed of competition entrants and the periphery is composed of other interested contributors that discussand vote on proposals.

Network

Activity

Open SourcingSocial Solutions

(OpenInnovation)

The Changemakers model relies on the open source collaboration of the public to refine and vote on proposalsdeveloped by social entrepreneurs to solve social problems.

What They Do:

Changemakers is an initiative of Ashoka that focuses on the promotion of social innovation by building an online open source

community that works to identify the best social solutions and then refine, enrich, and implement those solutions.Changemakers sponsors collaborative competitions in which social entrepreneurs submit proposals relating to the challenge¶sproblem area. These proposals are then discussed and voted on by the general public.

Model:

 Ashoka Changemakers is based on an ³open sourcing social solutions´ model that takes social issues traditionally analyzed bya small group of people and brings them in front of a broader, more complete set of stakeholders. In doing so, theChangemakers model creates a platform around each issue area that engages stakeholders to effectively create a communityof both practitioners and investors that can innovate beyond conventional approaches to problems.

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Ashoka Changemakers

Why They Are Interesting:

The Changemakers model essentially adopts the same open source model that has been adopted for manyother uses. This widens the scope of possibilities and distributes the work burden among many more peoplethan is possible under a non-open source model.

Success Factors:

 Ashoka Changemakers depends on social entrepreneurs to submit proposals for each competition and relieson the input of the public to comment and vote on each competition. Changemakers has also been successful

because it has been able to use Ashoka¶s reputation with social entrepreneurs to developed a communitywithin Changemakers.

Pitfalls:

Because many of the results are unknown, there is always for the potential for a particular competition to bedeadlocked or fraught with disagreement rather than solutions. Also, there are also potential conflicts of interest among those who participate and contribute.

Results:

 Ashoka has had a number of successful competitions, and has seen many unexpected outcomes that turnedout to be very beneficial. For examples, competitions have produced new partnerships between India¶slargest bank and one of India¶s largest rural women¶s programs, connected thousands of rural farmers to low-cost health care providers, and produced the scaling of a Thai affordable housing solution by the world¶slargest cement manufacturer.

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Backfence.com

URLURL http://www.backfence.com/

GovernanceGovernanceBoard of Directors (users

manage quality of content)

SizeSize13 communities with hundreds of 

users each Year Created Year Created 2005

MembershipMembershipCommunities in MA, VA, CA, and IL.

New communities can be requested.

Network

Structure

Core-

Periphery The core is composed of the most highly active users, including those who have blogs or who are registered

users that post news articles, pictures, etc. The periphery is composed of readers and users that are less active.

Network

Activity

Strengthening

Community The network activity is social connection among users that live in specific geographic areas. The site empowers

users to tell and share their stories with other users.

What They Do:

Backfence provides a highly localized Web sites that enable members of local communities to post news,

share events within their neighborhoods, and connect with others who have similar interests.

Model:

Backfence is based on an a model of open source journalism. The site relies on residents of specificcommunities to post news and information. The website creates a platform and environment that makes iteasy for users to share stories with others.

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Backfence.com

Why They Are Interesting:

The site essentially employs open-source or participatory journalism to cover news and events that would not be covered in anylocal newspaper. The open source model applied to journalism is interesting both because it distributes the among many usersand because it enables access to a more diverse set of writers that can cover local news in a more comprehensive manner.

Success Factors:

Backfence relies on community support for each of the city-based sites that it sponsors. Because Backfence has a very smallsupport staff, nearly all of the content must be posted and moderated by community members. The site relies on word of mouthand support from local community organizations such as PTAs, churches, sports leagues, local governments, and other important stakeholders.

Pitfalls:

There is a risk that people will post offending items, or utilize the site for unintended purposes. There is also a risk thatadvertisers will post on the site masquerading as residents.

Results:

The site is increasing in popularity and has gone from the 2 to 13 neighborhoods since it launched less than 2 years ago.

Internet traffic has also steadily increased since the site was launched.

Important Resources:

Washington Post article on Backfence -- http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A60249-2004Dec12.html

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Global Action Networks Net (GAN-Net)

URLURL http://www.gan-net.net

GovernanceGovernance Board of Directors

SizeSize 29 member GANs  Year Created Year Created 2003

MembershipMembership GAN members, open to new GANs

Network

Structure

Hub and

Spoke

GAN-Net serves as a hub that connects networks of stakeholder organizations together in order to cultivatepartnerships and collaboration. GAN-Net also uses its power as a hub to advance the influence of globalnetworks in general.

Network

Activity

Collaborative

Action GAN-Net works to strengthen the capacity of global networks by coordinating among these networks to promote

learning and innovation.

What They Do:

 A GAN is a network that is formed by diverse stakeholders who are interested in a common issue and who agree to work

together to achieve a specific result. GAN-Net is a community of researchers, funders and other stakeholders who arecommitted to developing global action networks that serve the public good. Participants learn and work together to build thecapacity of GANs to cultivate partnerships, steward initiatives, and achieve results.

Model:

The GAN-Net model intends to improve the development of learning and innovation within GANs and to develop the field as awhole. This model reflects the fact that alone, GANs do not have the time or energy to work on developing their competencies.It also reflects the need to build the GAN field. Given the complex nature of GANs, work needs to be done to help measuretheir impact and finance their activities in a sustainable manner.

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Global Action Networks Net (GAN-Net)

Why They Are Interesting:

GAN-Net has realized the importance of ³networks of networks´ and the power that lies in serving as the node that sits betweentwo diverse networks.

Success Factors:

The success of GAN-Net depends its ability to have an impact on individual GANs and the GAN community at large. To have animpact, GAN-Net must ensure that the activities and work it sponsors increases the capacities of GANs in a number of differentdomains. In order to be successful, GAN-Net must also have measurable impact on the perception of GANs within importantconstituencies. On a more practical level, GAN-Net also must be able to achieve sustainability in funding and be able togenerate revenues.

Pitfalls:

Because the network is effectively hub and spoke, until the governance of GAN-Net becomes more decentralized, the hubnature of GAN-Net is a major potential risk. GAN-Net also depends greatly on the cooperation of GANs and their willingness tospend time attending GAN-Net events and collaborating with other GANs. The sustainability of GAN-Net¶s financial model isanother potential risk.

Results:

GAN-Net has already completed a number of successful projects. A project in South Africa worked with the Global ReportingInitiative to develop a network that worked to improve transparency, accountability, and reporting. GAN-Net also worked inpartnership with Oxfam America and Civicus to investigate the potential for creating a global civil society action network torespond to the challenge and opportunity posed by business and private capital for socially equitable development. Another project worked to identify and explore potential synergies between 8 GANs active in Guatemala.

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MoveOn

URLURL http://www.moveon.org

GovernanceGovernance Board of Directors

SizeSize Over 3.3 million members  Year Created Year Created 1998

MembershipMembership Open to the public

Network

Structure

Core-

Periphery

The most active members that volunteer and work to organize events and campaigns compose the core of MoveOn. The periphery is composed of other members of MoveOn¶s that receive e-mails, information, signpetitions, and occasionally participate in events.

Network

Activity

Coordinating

Action MoveOn works to align members around specific campaigns and foster collaborative action to achieve a

preferred outcome.

What They Do:

MoveOn is a progressive political group composed of two organizations, MoveOn.org Civic Action and MoveOn.org Political Action. Civic Action is a 501(c)(4) organization that focuses on education and advocacy on national issues. Political Action is afederal political action committee that supports candidates friendly to MoveOn. Both MoveOn organizations work to align andfoster action among concerned citizens.

Model:

MoveOn utilizes a large base of members to engage civic and political action within specific campaigns that MoveOn sponsors.The actions that these campaigns intend to engage varies, but a typical campaign will collect signatures for a petition, ask for users to create and submit advertisements, or work to organize activists to demonstrate in support of a common cause either in person or through phone calls or letter writing campaigns. The MoveOn PAC also solicits donations from members to

support candidates that are aligned with MoveOn¶s values.

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MoveOn

Why They Are Interesting:

MoveOn was one of the first and has become one of the most successful political organizations involved in organizing civic action.The organizing methodology that they use has had a major effect on the political landscape =

Success Factors:

MoveOn¶s success is related to its large base of members that receive e-mails from MoveOn and participate in campaigns thatinterest them. With this large community of members, MoveOn is able to launch ³flash campaigns´ that engage thousands of volunteers to organize around a specific issue. MoveOn is also able to develop ad campaigns based on user submissions rather than utilizing more expensive and time consuming methods.

Pitfalls:

One major pitfall is that because any Internet user can submit materials or post on discussion boards, MoveOn has often facedcriticism from other groups for controversial content. Another problem is that online communications do not carry great weight in thelegislative arena. A study has shown that half of congressional staff does not trust online petitions (US News and World Reports).

Results:

MoveOn has been cited to be ³arguably the largest and more forceful voice in digital-era politics´ (CNN).W

ith a large membershipand nearly 700,000 donors contributing millions of dollars to its PAC, MoveOn has become a vital element of the progressivemovement in today¶s political landscape. Their website boasts of dozens of success stories in which MoveOn played a pivotal rolein catalyzing change. MoveOn¶s success has also been made evident by the wave of copycat groups (such as Vanguard.com) thatare trying to apply MoveOn¶s model to conservative causes.

Important Resources:

CNN Article -- http://www.cnn.com/2004/TECH/internet/01/12/moveon.org.ap/