The QUILT is the national association of regional IT collaboratives, including our clients OSHEAN, MAGPI and MCNC.

We are currently engaged in Phase Two of Planning and Organizational Development. The focus is on planning, organization building and executive leadership development.

The Quilt is the national association of regional IT collaboratives, including our clients OSHEAN, MAGPI and MCNC. 

The Quilt seeks to be a dynamic forum where leaders from throughout the advanced research and education network community build on the intellectual capital and best practices of network service providers worldwide.

In this project, The Quilt, wanted to move forward on several strategic and organizational fronts. The primary focus of this effort was to implement a strategic action plan to transition to organization from an interim executive director to a permanent hire. Our role was to facilitate, coach and help manage the process.

Outcomes desired are:

• Creating a strategic plan as a living document
• An outline of a yearly planning cycle with a focus in guiding implementation

Our process to achieve this was:

• Ongoing planning with the Board/Executive Committee
• Collaboration with Executive Director to Produce the Plan
• Design and execute Staff Planning Workshops: New Commons engaged the staff to develop two elements of the plan: draft conditions analysis and first cut of possible strategic initiatives for considering including in the matrix.

New Commons was honored to have been selected to facilitate this crucially important project. The project included two initial phases with the third still under consideration.

Phase One involved a comprehensive process of multiple stakeholder meetings to develop core input. Foundational work completed at an earlier roundtable event identified four "acceleration initiatives" and New Commons organized and facilitated workshops for each. We also facilitated follow-up sessions that dug deep into areas of overlap, producing a set of "meta-projects" that are currently under way (comprehensive energy strategy, access to capital for green companies, workforce development).

Phase Two involved an extensive drafting and editing process to create the actual roadmap, both the summary version and the full, 20-page verion. This included a graphical layout with the addition of some images. 

Phase Three is currently evolving a network of partners to develop capabilities and take 'ownership' of specific projects.

Based in part on our ongoing work with OSHEAN here in RI, its counterpart in the Philadelphia region, MAGPI, held its first “Member Advisory Meeting” on March 22, 2010.

New Commons produced three deliverables for the meeting:
• Define the role of the MAGPI advisory
• Assessment of value provided by MAGPI
• A visual representation of mutual dependencies and potential collaboration opportunities among the MAGPI member segments

In 1992, New Commons helped the Providence Foundation convene a series of workshops to create a vision of Providence in the year 2010. In 2009, Providence Foundation again convened a series of workshops to envision a future Providence. This time, the foundation invited young and emerging leaders to share their thoughts on what Providence could be in 2030.

Participants came from large and small businesses, non-profit and advocacy organizations, and from within city government. In late July, the emerging leaders presented their vision document to the Providence Foundation's Board of Directors. The vision was subsequently presented at Pecha Kucha Night: Providence. At present, the visioning process is in transition to become a network that can begin to implement some aspects of the vision. 

Creative Providence Cultural plan will:

• Be the result of a broadly inclusive, city-wide process;
• Attempt to integrate arts, culture, and creativity into all aspects of city life by making specific, realistic recommendations for action;
• Aim to stimulate economic development, strengthen the creative economy, education, and civic engagement, and, enhance the quality of life in the City of Providence;
• Serve as a catalyst for metro and statewide conversations about the evolution of arts, culture, and creativity in Providence;
• Recognize artists, arts administrators, and cultural institutions as leaders already shaping the 21st century environment; and
• Provide emerging arts leaders and experienced professionals a collaborative platform to explore innovative and creative strategies for enriching arts, culture, and creativity in the capital city.

An orchestrated and facilitated workshop series, held among residents, to look at the villages parking issues and develop recommendations.

Currently, New Commons serves on a four-person consulting team with Donald Powers, Cornish Associates, and Sandy Sorlein, to develop design guidelines, form-based code, and a pattern-book to guide the development of the village of Jamestown.