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
categories
we met with artists and business owners
bankers and investors
librarians educators and spiritual
leaders
we met with real estate development
professionals to understand how we could
restore
and rebuild after years of blight or
activate incentives like
opportunity zones we talked about
generational wealth planning using
estate planning tools
and we met with elected officials and
staff at a city
state and federal level to understand
how policy could reinforce a
neighborhood’s vision for innovation
elected officials on both sides of the
aisle sat down with us for dinner
shoulder to shoulder with their
constituents
shared information and reviewed our data
these are the kind of relationships that
can help redistribute neighborhood
revenue
increase property and business ownership
and create economic opportunity
over time this model in action looks
like communities transformed
we know that with the right mix of tools
access relationship and research
our neighborhoods can generate the most
sustainable solutions to even our most
complex issues this model allows formal
and informal leaders to develop the core
competencies necessary to be a systems
leader
one the ability to see the larger system
two the capacity to foster reflection
and more generative conversation
and three the ability to shift from
reactive problem solving
to co-creation of the future this is
going to be critical for us going
forward
when our world slowed at the news of
coronavirus
neighborhoods that had already been
working together were able to quickly
activate
developing food banks and bartering
programs planting victory and
persistence gardens
and supporting by bodega campaigns to
help local small businesses stay open
they made sure people knew where to vote
organized learning pods and made sure
that everyone from our students
to our seniors were taken care of and
making the switch to online grocery
delivery okay
i’m happy to report that in our initial
three communities the unique solutions
proposed
are still helping to connect leaders and
advance innovation
and now we’ll be working with another
five communities to help them articulate
their clear vision for community driven
development
as a global village this time in our
world gives us another opportunity to
plan for
imagine and participate in a more
equitable way forward
together it takes a village to raise a
child and this time
has emphasized how complex and how much
time and effort that really takes
and if we begin to employ strategic
models now at a neighborhood level
we can change the tide for generations
of children
as one of our participating leaders said
it may not be us walking the streets of
our neighborhood 20 years from now
it will be our children the truth is
this is going to take time a concerted
effort and much more than one passionate
group to lead our recovery
it will take all of us in a focused and
concerted effort
but be encouraged the best ways to
develop friendship and trust
are to work live and play together in an
environment where we give each other the
space and the grace
to learn the skills that we need this
experience is going to be full of
lessons and even challenges but together
we can maximize our individual and
communal potential
and lastly we are world changers and we
have an
opportunity now to really model how we
want to operate in the world and how we
want our neighborhoods and communities
to look
where there is no vision the people
perish
but where there is a vision the village
can thrive
thank you
you