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Citizen uptake to date has been, however less than was hoped. Part of it is the normal delay in innovation uptake, and part is linked to poor internet penetration and low connectivity in aid intensive countries. But the time has come to analyze more closely the reasons for this tepid demand side response or its lack of sustainability after an initial peak of interest. What may well be missing is the human element and the ability of people potentially interested in using this information to work together in conducive venues where they could exchange ideas, develop joint approaches, and train citizens and CSO organizations.

Whether we are struggling to generate fresh ideas or staring at problems with no solutions in sight, the spark of creative genius often seems out of reach. In this audio lecture from Stanford Social Innovation Review's Nonprofit Management Institute, Stanford Professor Tina Seelig discusses how we can unlock our creative genius through a set of tools and conditions we each have in our control-our "innovation engine." Based on real-world examples and a dozen years of experience teaching courses on creativity and entrepreneurship in the Stanford School of Engineering, Seelig challenges traditional assumptions about creativity to show us how we can seek out the right resources and environment to fuel our innovation engines. She contends that just as the scientific method demystifies the process of discovery, there is a formal process for unlocking the pathway to innovation.

On April 5, 2012 the Crowdfund Act of 2012 The best solution payday loans was approved. This groundbreaking legislation enables start-ups and existing businesses an opportunity to raise funds for their companies directly from the public who can invest small amounts of money in return for shares in the company. Americans will be allowed to invest in ways that have historically been reserved only for the wealthy. Together, America's entrepreneurs and investors will launch the next great ideas of our time!

CommunityMatters prepares communities to re-create themselves. Many people are already speaking up, reaching out and acting on their ideas, and those efforts need support. We offer the tools, resources and expertise that communities need, when they need them. Whether you're interested in building consensus for a school budget, using values to drive local decisions, or identifying technology to facilitate conversation, we stand ready to help.

Cristina Ampatzidou, editor-in-chief of Amateur Cities, a "city-making" publishing platform in Rotterdam: "It is often said that great cities survived great empires. So it is not unrealistic to think of cities as discrete entities that compete and collaborate with each other, independently from the states to which they belong."

The 50 State Solution was conceived in early 2016 by California Forward (CA Fwd) as a transpartisan effort to build supportive infrastructure--and a platform for sharing information and ideas--among those working on political reform at the state level. While CA Fwd has served as the initiator and early catalyst of the effort, the vision for 50 State Solution is that it becomes an ongoing effort with shared leadership from the political reform community. The goal of the effort is explicitly not to make sure every organization is doing the same work or working on the same issue. Instead, the goal is create a learning community where reformers can share stories of success and failure, find allies, create coalitions and build community.

WHAT IF WE BUILT OUR COMMUNITIES AROUND PLACES? As both an overarching idea and a hands-on approach for improving a neighborhood, city, or region, Placemaking inspires people to collectively reimagine and reinvent public spaces as the heart of every community. Strengthening the connection between people and the places they share, Placemaking refers to a collaborative process by which we can shape our public realm in order to maximize shared value. More than just promoting better urban design, Placemaking facilitates creative patterns of use, paying particular attention to the physical, cultural, and social identities that define a place and support its ongoing evolution.

Tech entrepreneurs are using innovation to tackle some of the world's biggest challenges. We invest in teams with bold ideas that create lasting global impact.

Nesta is an independent charity with a mission to help people and organisations bring great ideas to life. We do this by providing investments and grants and mobilising research, networks and skills. Nesta doesn't work alone. We rely on the strength of the partnerships we form with other innovators, community organisations, educators and investors too. We're in the very lucky position of gaining greater independence and freedom at a time when many organisations face severe constraints.

Californians know that the time to fix our state's economy is now. People from every region are standing up and demanding change. We must create real and intelligent remedies that will attract capital, generate jobs and encourage sustainable communities all over California.

Popularise is the online platform that shares the power to build new places in your neighborhood with local residents like you How often have you thought, "Why doesn't someone turn that vacant building down the street into a bakery, bar, or restaurant?" Now you have the ability to be directly involved in transforming your neighborhood, rather than waiting for someone else to do it. By joining other people in your area on Popularise, you can create the kind of cool, authentic places you want in D.C. Submit your own ideas, and vote for what to build on projects posted by real estate developers and local business operators.

This Rebels at Work community is for corporate rebels to share experiences, insights and advice with other rebels and aspiring rebels. By rebels we're talking about those people who feel compelled to create ways to improve, change, and innovate. They are brave (or foolhardy) enough to stand against the prevailing mindset of the organization and argue for a better way. The hope is that rebels can find courage and ideas to be more successful, and executives can see why their success depends on encouraging rebels.

Urban planning in the 20th century sprang from that horrified perception of 19th-century cities. Oddly, it began with Ebenezer Howard. In a slim book, self-published in 1898, the man who spent his days transcribing the ideas of others articulated his own vision for how humanity ought to live-a vision so compelling that half a century later Lewis Mumford, the great American architecture critic, said it had "laid the foundation for a new cycle in urban civilization."

Using everything from modern technologies like the web and social media to traditional grassroots communication we intend to reach people on a worldwide scale. We will ask everyone, at every level of society, to submit their visions for a positive future. From solutions addressing poverty and injustice to strategies for creating sustainable and environmentally responsible communities, we will gather ideas internationally. But we won't stop here.

Heartland Democracy engages directly with Midwestern youth, independent thinkers, centrists, and folks who are uninvolved in their community and politics.  Using shared values and critical issues as the bases and sparks for discussion, Heartland Democracy targets specific participants, institutions, demographic segments, and geographic areas for exchanges in which we weave together a coherent set of values, stories, history, facts, and ideas to reach the emotional factors so decisive in the shaping of mindsets. 

The Small Towns, Big Ideas project began in mid-2006, when the UNC School of Government partnered with the North Carolina Rural Economic Development Center to identify and document fifty small towns that were implementing successful or innovative approaches to community economic development.

The idea is a simple one- that people who Do things can inspire the rest of us to go and Do things, too. So each year we invite a set of people down here to come and tell us what they Do. They can be small Do's or big Do's or just extraordinary Do's. But when you listen to their stories, they light a fire in your belly to go and Do your thing, your passion, the thing that sits in the back of your head each day, just waiting, and waiting for you to follow your heart.

e-Deliberation™ is a collaborative platform for decision making and strategy building. It is used by teams and communities to resolve multi-stakeholder & multifaceted challenges and problems. Your team has the ideas and experience needed to solve almost any problem or challenge. The difficulty lies in making these ideas emerge and weave them into great decisions, policies, and strategies. e-Deliberation makes this easy. Use the e‑Deliberation™ online platform to support your people achieve a meeting of the minds. Way beyond just consulting people or getting feedback, this is collaborative deliberation.

The Community Tool Box is a free, online resource for those working to build healthier communities and bring about social change. Our mission is to promote community health and development by connecting people, ideas, and resources.

E.F. Schumacher (author of Small is Beautiful) offered timeless advice about how to boost our communities, "Perhaps we cannot raise the wind. But each of us can put up the sail, so that when the wind comes we can catch it." Here's a handy list of ways you can capture the breeze in the place you call home. And we're sure you'll discover more ideas of your own.