How Collective Vision Transforms Communities

my name is adrian b haynes and i am a

community advocate

entrepreneur and attorney the truth is

2020 isn’t turning out like many of us

envisioned that it would

we’ve had great loss we’re facing

complex issues at scale

and we have an opportunity to grow

together or continue to grow apart

for us to begin recovery and rebuild as

a global community

it’s going to take much more than one

election or one regional policy shift

today i’d like to share a model i found

that when implemented

can help us begin to create systemic

solutions and strategies

at a neighborhood level using collective

vision

innovation and

relationship before i became an attorney

my original career

goals were to be a camp director and

community center

in college i was fortunate to find camp

kobugani

a residential camp that was focused on

the development of skills and values

such as

respect and appreciation for diversity

communication and conflict resolution

and economic literacy for young women

the most memorable moments from camp

came from the first and last days

on opening night after everyone moved in

i had the privilege of helping welcome

girls into our community and share our

vision for how we wanted the next few

weeks to look

standing in a circle on the top field we

joined hands with girls from all over

the world and shared with them

ladies we’re here so that girls of

varied backgrounds and ethnicities

can spend time together and learn from

each other

the best ways to develop friendship or

interest are to work

live and play together in a safe

environment where there’s space and

grace to learn the skills that we need

the experience was going to be full of

lessons and sometimes challenges

but that camp would help provide the

tools and tools and resources that we

needed to reach our individual and

collective potential

and finally that we had an opportunity

at camp to be our best selves and to be

our most authentic selves

and create and participate in the

version of the world that we wanted to

see

now of course there is just something

about the green the green grass the air

on your face and a few days unplugged

that can really bring out the best in

any of us

you’d see the stress start to leave

their faces their shoulders relax

and their laughs get a little louder our

girls were stepping up to leadership

opportunities and really beginning those

lifelong friendships

and by collecting under that common

vision we were able to have an operating

standard

it gave us something to orient towards

and helped us contribute to the whole

by the time we reached our closing

circle you could almost feel a palpable

change

what was the circle of strangers just a

few days ago was now a circle of camp

family

by leaning into that collective vision

we were able to learn and lead together

deepen our relationships and leave

changed

since my time at camp the focus of my

work has been to aid in the creation of

sustainable business and transferable

wealth strategies

for historically underestimated

communities i’m fortunate to do this

work through seed law

my business law firm and seed collective

a consultancy

i have continued to witness the

transformative power of a clear vision

and working with entrepreneurs

incubators and ecosystems

as well as now neighborhoods and

place-based communities

the definition of vision is the ability

to think about or plan the future with

imagination or wisdom

a clear vision can help a company grow

from a small business

into a major employer it can help a

non-profit organization effectively

stand in the gap

and provide consistent services to those

most in need

a clear vision can help a whole city

unite in a quest to take care of those

who are most vulnerable

redefine complex issues like policing or

strive to become the most

entrepreneurial and inclusive city in

the country

when activated at a neighborhood level

this collective vision has the power to

transform

entire regions over the last three years

i’ve been fortunate to work with

organizers and leaders to co-develop

a model that allows us to activate and

organize around local voice and culture

better identify a region’s strengths

capitals and opportunities

host and creatively engage with both

internal and external partners

and outline an actionable plan for

development and reinvestment

through an innovator in residence

fellowship at the kauffman foundation

my colleagues and i were invited to

explore develop

and test uncommon solutions that could

reduce barriers to entrepreneurship so

that

everyone regardless of background could

more easily take risks

achieve success and give back to their

communities

well with the community work i had done

in the past i knew that with this charge

whatever i could or might propose

wouldn’t be nearly as powerful as what

communities might propose for themselves

author and investor bradfeld reminds us

of this in startup communities

where he reminds us that in order for an

ecosystem to be successful long term

the vision and the leadership must come

from the community being served

and more importantly he emphasizes a

necessary commitment

a 20-year commitment every day to the

execution of that vision and to the

fruition of that work

i believe that the same wisdom applies

to community and economic development

strategies

and sometimes we miss this very critical

element of local voice and leadership

when we’re making plans for our

communities even innovation districts

miss this

according to the brookings institute an

innovation district is a geographic

region where anchor institutions such as

banks

hospitals or universities might partner

in office in close proximity with

startups

accelerators and other corporate

partners

the benefit of this collaboration

includes things like economic activity

for the region

procurement and job creation contracting

opportunities

job opportunities and even revenue

creation for the region

the brookings institute research also

shows us that almost 50 percent of these

districts are located in or near

distressed communities

but the hindsight reports say that local

residents remain largely disconnected

from the opportunities that an

innovation district might create

what might happen in our communities if

we equip our most

invested stakeholders those who are

already there

to develop the vision for where we want

to be 5 10 or 20 years from now

how much more impactful might a regional

innovation strategy be

in pursuit of this curiosity i’ve been

fortunate to work with three communities

to develop a community innovation model

washington wheatley a neighborhood on

the east side of kansas city

along the independence avenue corridor

and partnership with the northeast

kansas city chamber of commerce

and the independence avenue community

improvement district

which is a region of about seven

neighborhoods and actually is the most

diverse business district in the kansas

city area

with over 50 languages spoken in the

schools and business owners representing

countries from around the world

and finally in partnership with the

groundwork northeast revitalization

group

a neighborhood business revitalization

organization in wyandotte county

that is a collective of about 13

neighborhoods

now all three of these regions could be

considered distressed by external

parties

but when we work with existing residents

and owners

we can mitigate the challenges that

traditional innovation districts and

these economic models face

around inclusion and equity and we can

make sure that that 20-year commitment

is made

if we can measure innovation by the

strength and the depth of our

relationships

the flow of capital knowledge and ideas

the mobility of talent

and the movement of goods and services

then this model in action has resulted

in several key advances

first it starts with residents and

owners becoming neighbors and leaders

in each of these communities we curated

leadership teams comprised of those that

work

live own play or worship in that

district

and by coming together we could bring

all of our perspectives and experiences

into the work

and minimize the silos that naturally

happen in community

so what started as a circle of strangers

quickly became a neighborhood family

and for over a year we did life together

and really developed those foundations

around trust

friendship and respect and discussing

the

you know healthy indicators for a

thriving community

community council member and now

neighborhood association president chris

really emphasized the importance of this

meaningful connectedness

to be so connected to your neighbors

that if you had a bad day

and you were standing out on your front

porch someone might see you

and inquire after you these tenets of

genuine connection

neighborly compassion and individual and

social capital

became integral in our model with these

tenants at our foundation it’s easier

for us to embody the principles and

kaufman’s

and declaration of interdependence and

to really ask and apply that lasting

livelihoods test

which asks how can this economic

development strategy be altered so that

everyone

including those on the margins may not

only benefit from it but participate in

its design

and just like at camp with this

collective vision

individuals and families are able to

deepen relationships

learn and lead together and effectively

model the kind of world that we want to

see

it looks like communities owning and

sharing their own story and data

renowned ted speaker brene brown says

that stories are just data with soul

well something powerful happens when

communities are able to tell their own

story and author their own data

instead of being given this information

or labels from external parties

inspired by the aspen institute’s eight

capitals of wealth analysis

we mapped 10 different capitals present

in each of our communities

and really began to ask what do we have

and what do we want

together we highlighted over 2500

different capitals in our region

and we included things like community

art exhibits

secret peach orchards and green space

vacant lots in a neighborhood

and all of the active businesses in a

district

we mapped this information using

geography information systems

and collected this information using the

institutional and cultural knowledge of

our community council members

as well as observations from our block

by block walking and driving tours

with this knowledge and intentionality

neighborhood priorities

and voices can begin to emerge and their

priorities elevated

one of our participating urban planners

after reviewing the data that we had

collected

said they’ll never be able to tell us

that there’s nothing to do here or we

don’t have anything

ever again it looks like active

and inclusive leadership in regional

planning with research and relationships

neighborhoods and leaders are better

equipped to not only interact with but

become

key decision makers in their

neighborhood and washington wheatley

for over a year we gathered around a

family’s dinner table

kids and elders alike and hosted

business owners policy makers and

experts in each of our capital