Blog entries

Be a Speaker at Retrofitting for Resilience: Cities

Newcommons Superadmin — Thu, 16 May 2013 21:48:57 +0100

Retrofitting for Resilience: Cities – will again be a track at the Northeast Sustainable Energy Association’s, Building Energy Conference, to be held March 4 to 6, 2014 in Boston.

Like last year, it would be a track with an integrated curriculum with the track chairs alternating being the session chair. Last year we used a whole systems approach in which we featured: planning, buildings, codes, energy efficiency, preservation, renewable energy and energy systems. We will use whole sys...

Admin Assistant for Living Rite

Newcommons Superadmin — Wed, 10 Apr 2013 23:26:08 +0100

Wanted: contract-based Administrative Assistant for a start-up team whose aim is to create a disruptive innovation around how people with developmental disabilities are served. You work directly for the executive director. This is a long-term, self-employment contract position with no benefits, requiring a candidate who is highly organized and able to respond to rapid changes. 28 hours per week. Deadline for submission is 4-25-13. Please s...

Highlights from the Building Energy 2013 Conference

Newcommons Superadmin — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 19:19:54 +0100

We just finished writing up the highlights from this year's 2013 Building Engery Conference in Boston. Check them out by downloading the summary below.

This 4 year old electronic magazine is provoking us to embrace the fact that cities are the natural incubator, accelerator and laboratory for the next economy. For $1.49 per month, you will be expos...

Steve Jobs: Walking, Talking, Technology and Art

Robert J. Leaver — Fri, 11 Jan 2013 19:03:27 +0100

Read the book, Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson

In 2011, my dear friend Massimo Stark gave me this book for Christmas. I let it sit for a year (and I can't say why). At Christmas 2012 we were getting ready to visit Pittsburgh with my wife, Michelle (and son Diego) to spend time, with her sister, Gabriella and family. I decided to...

The Rebirth of Manufacturing

Robert J. Leaver — Thu, 10 Jan 2013 00:38:42 +0100

The rebirth of manufacturing in the US is everywhere. The recent issue of the Atlantic has a great piece. And Apple has announced it will start making some products in the US.

Closer to home, Kevin Hively of Ninigrit partners in Providence, RI gave an earlier version of this presentation at the APA Southern New England conference in September, 2012 which I attended (PDF). The next evolution of manufacturing is about using high technology and embedding lots of knowledge in made ...

The Next Economy: Welcome

Robert J. Leaver — Wed, 09 Jan 2013 23:42:01 +0100

We are in the next economy. It is not a new economy (as some economists call it) because we are building upon four economic cornerstones that already exist: growing food, making things, serving people, and creating experiences. The next economy is a convergence of these four cornerstones rooted in place - geography and local character - and space - "up there" using the internet.

The Next Economy web page at is a resource of ideas and practices that can help you unfold the next econo...

Next Economy

Robert J. Leaver — Thu, 08 Nov 2012 05:00:00 +0100

HOW THIS SITE WORKS

Our conversation on the economy has 4 parts:

A call to unfold the next economy
Projects executed by New Commons

Recent resources produced by New Commons
Links and other resources on shaping the next economy

Regarding the next economy...

New Commons is a Business Cooperative!

Michelle Gonzalez — Sun, 22 Apr 2012 00:11:59 +0100

On January 1, 2012 we officially converted our company from a single owned (S-Corp) to a business cooperative. What this means: each worker can own a share but no one person can own more than 1 share. According to the National Cooperative Business Association there are several types of cooperatives; we are a worker-owned business cooperativ...

Call for Designers

Michelle Gonzalez — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 03:11:51 +0100

Wanted: a professional graphic designer to communicate solutions to shape the next economy 3/15/12

The Challenge

To grow its next economy, Rhode Island needs fresh ideas that change the game. We believe the game changing ideas will come from many people in Rhode Island and beyond its borders. Please review the short set of presentation slides included with this call for designers.

The process ...

NESEA Conference is a Great Way to Experience Whole Systems in Action

Robert J. Leaver — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 01:17:48 +0100

I have been working with the Northeast Sustainable Energy Association (NESEA) off and on since 1993. Yet, 5 years ago New Commons decided to go deep and get more involved with NESEA as a member organization and to lead into the 21st century with a new conference...

Transformational Economic Development

Robert J. Leaver — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 21:21:28 +0100

Transformational Economic Development

The profession of economic development was born in the 70’s to develop methods for attracting companies and jobs to a municipality or state. Times and conditions have changed and the profession has not.

This manifesto is a call, among economic development professionals, for the use of a fresh set of ideas and practices to guide...

A New Website for New Commons

Michelle Girasole — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 20:56:03 +0100

New Commons launches book series, simplifies navigation and facilitates conversations online.

Making complex things simple is what clients hire New Commons to do, and that's just what we've done with our new website. Visitors will notice storytelling videos, simpler navigation, indexed projects as well as a redesigned blog with social media sharing. These are just some of the improvements the marketing team at New Commons worked on over the summer.

"This is our 9th iteratio...

Slippery Slopes of Social Enterprise

Don Gregory — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 23:19:17 +0100

Many organizational scholars have debated their visions of the near infinite points on the Social Enterprise continuum of organizational impetus. The increasing global fascination with “Social Enterprise” has spurred thousands of organizations (profits, non-profits, and civic) to self-identify their motives and methods to be in balance at the top of “Mount Social Enterprise”.

“Something is happening here, what it is ain’t exactly clear”

At the end of each century, the myths, stories and structure that supported it go away. The past does not leave gently. Many forces holding the past try mightily to keep it in place. But wh...