Drumbeat/events/toronto/training/projects

How to move beyond the spectrogram to the "let's build this!" stage
(Malcolm, Ben and Heather)
The job of facilitators isn't just to execute an event, but to be a community leader. Part of this is seeing project ideas to the "build" phase.

Exposition: should we favor structural projects (Id provider, strengthening it) vs. strategic projects?
-Our job is to preserve and harness the chaos
-Drumbeat events help ideas get into the stream; we're focused on ideas before we're focused on projects

Drumbeat projects criteria review:
-participatory
-improve the open web
-merge various skills with education/development expertise

Projects: What makes them not work?

-cult of personality
-too many or too few requirements
-lack of resources
-lack of clarity/direction

We must create a document of best practices for "midwifing" projects.
Midwifing metaphor acknowledges health check, organic elements of project conception.

Best practices

0. Be a midwife to the people, not the technology

-don't get stuck in the mechanics

1. Build in a "conception point "

Maybe be a distinction between time for brainstorming, clear move to plan. Every event should have this fertile ground
How to incite ideas:
-Build something into the event structure that inspires project ideas
-Ask impactful questions to draw the "aha!" moments
-Do this midday, after groundwork has been laid.
-Get brain juices flowing. Examples:
-how would you communicate with people in brazil about the open web?
-what are the characteristics of the open web that we like?
-how do you deal with particular types of skillsets?
PROJECT BRAINSTORM EXERCISE: imagine the perfect internet - contrast the one that exists and the one that we idealize. Find intervention points. Make it a speak out/ drill out the folks who might not have talked well. Make it real time, round robin. you can skip, but make it fast.

2. Use community mechanisms to evaluate interest and worthiness of a project; conditions/tips; energy and skills involved

-take temperature, take notes on who is enthusiastic
-group evaluation of criteria to make a good drumbeat project
a. make web better
b. easy to involve, accessible.
c. open, participatory
d. pillars of open web: small groups, participatory, distinct
e, snap in volunteers, understand that volunteer's ability to contribute at different times/levels of skill
f. tech component, marketing component, how to engage projects
g. make them flexible, breakdown the tasks, resources,

3. Ask people to communicate the benefits of the project, along with the components

-break it down into discrete tasks (like the GTD system)
-make sure outside world understands

4. Capture good ideas and put them in the steam

-create a page at drumbeat.org
-preparation in real space, setting realistic next steps

5. Post-event follow-up

-"You say yeah, I say go"
-bring people the resources/connections they need

Attitude: you can contribute your awesome idea, and if you can't sustain the project, it's all good.
Keep the incubation, let the crowd decide. Your job is to help fully formed ideas get into the stream.