Mapping Professional Networks in Oklahoma

Background: Economic Professional Networks and Why They Matter to Oklahoma

Perhaps you have heard of the term, social capital. It refers to the relationships within a
community. If the pattern of relationships is particularly dense, the community has a
high level of social capital. If people are isolated and the level of civic activity is low, the
community has depleted its social capital.

Civic networks provide another way of thinking about this dimension of our communi-
ties. Social capital really represents a network of civic relationships. These relation-
ships are becoming increasingly important to communities and regions because of
the shifting nature of economic development.

In the past, we thought of economic development as narrowly limited to the activity of

recruiting factories to a community. Now, we know that economic development in-
cludes the activities that support education, innovation and entrepreneurship -- build-
ing wealth from within. Economic development also embraces physical development:
building quality, connected places in which people choose to live and work.

In addition, economic development activities increasingly cross political boundaries.

Regions have become important, because few communities have the resources to com-
pete globally. To compete globally, we need to learn to collaborate regionally.

These new forms of economic development take place in a "civic space", outside the
four walls of any one organization. That's where networks come in. In this civic space,
no one can tell anyone else what to do. The mayor can't tell the school board what to do.
The school board can't tell the chamber of commerce what to do. The chamber of com-
merce can tell the city council what to do. The only way we can accomplish anything
is with collaboration through our networks. Connections lead to conversations, and
focused conversations can lead to commitments and collaboration.

Civic Networks as a Competitive Advantage

In today's economy, regions with thick civic networks have a clear competitive advan-
tage. In a world of continuous change, they can learn faster by sharing information. By
learning faster, they can spot opportunities faster. As they spot opportunities, they can
align their resources and make decisions faster. So, if Oklahoma is to be more prosper-
ous, we must work hard to build our civic relationships.

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In recent years, software engineers have made significant progress in developing useful
tools to map our civic networks. Using these software tools, we can visualize our civic
networks and take practical steps to strengthen these networks.

The first step in mapping these networks involves encouraging people to share their
civic networks. As we compile these civic networks, patterns emerge, and we start to
see the connections within the region. Equally important, we see gaps and missing
links.

Note that we ask people to share their civic networks, not their personal, family or
business networks. We are only concerned with building the networks that help us
build our community.

Closing Triangles
We will keep adding to our civic network map. Every so often, we will produce a new
map of our civic networks in Oklahoma. You can then see where you are and how you
are connected. Equally important, you'll be able to see how you can help build our civic
networks in Oklahoma by "closing triangles".

We close triangles this way: Suppose you know Jane and you know Bill, but Bill and
Jane don't know each other. You close the triangle when you introduce Bill to Jane. In
this way you make a new connection and open the door to possible new collaborations
among Bill, Jane and their networks.

Participate in Building our Civic Networks in North Central Indiana

Our civic network maps will help us frame productive conversations both within a re-
gion and within the state. These maps help us think and act more practically to find
productive collaborations and useful partnerships. We invite you to participate.

To participate, all you need to do is share information on your civic networks with us.
To help you think about your networks, we'll ask you a series of three questions. In an-
swering these questions, think about your professional life as an economic developer.

For each question, provide up to three names. (They can be the same three names for
each of the three questions, or they can be different names for each question.) When you
write the names, use first and last names. To help us with contact information, please
provide e-mail addresses and telephone numbers where you can.

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Charting Your Civic Network with Three Questions
First, we need to identify you on the map. Please give us your name, telephone number
and e-mail:

Your Name Telephone e-mail

Now let’s turn to the questions about your civic networks:

Question 1 (Getting Help): If you are trying to get something done in your job as an
economic developer, like get a project off the ground, who are three people you would
call for help? To whom do you turn to get stuff done?

Full Name Telephone e-mail

(if you know it) (if you know it)

Question 2 (Getting advice): When you have a challenging problem -- for example, the
board on which you sit has some trouble with the executive director -- and you are un-
sure what to do, which three people would you turn to for advice?

Full Name Telephone e-mail

(if you know it) (if you know it)

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Question 3 (Giving advice): Now think about the advice you give. Can you name three
people to whom you give advice and guidance? When you think of sharing what you
know with people -- passing the torch -- who comes to mind? To whom would you
reach out? Who are our “next generation leaders” in your network?

Full Name Telephone e-mail

(if you know it) (if you know it)

Thank you for your participation.

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