Here we are at the last podcast of season 2, episode #41. I finish up this season with a conversation that is really a continuation of the last episode where we talked about collaboration in the world of creating art. I am privileged to speak with Graeme Priddle and Carlie Starr on the gathering of kiwi and international artists at CollaboratioNZ in northern New Zealand. We explore what Collaboration New Zealand is all about, some of what Carlie and Graeme see as special about the gathering, and some insights into the creativity that comes in this unique collaborative setting. Please enjoy our conversation. 

Some links to some of the things we discuss during this episode: 

• Graeme Priddle
• Carlie Starr
• CollaborationNZ
• Emma Lake Collaboration
• Book: The Artist’s Way: A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity by Julia Cameron
• Book: A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson
• Book: Silent Sprint by Rachel Carson

Your host for the Cool Collaborations podcast is Scott Millar. Scott is the principle of dynamics.com/">Collaboration Dynamics, where he often works as a "peacemaker" by gathering people with different experiences and values and helping them navigate beyond their differences to tackle complex problems together. 

My guest today is Neville Parker, a sculptor from New Zealand and a keen supporter of a gathering of artists called CollaborationNZ. Today we talk about how he came into a collaborative mindset through CollaborationNZ, how art galleries work, and how Neville used a collaborative business model for his galleries. 

Some links to some of the things we discuss during this episode: 

• Neville Parker
• CollaborationNZ
• The Artwonk Podcast
• Book: Sarum: The Novel of England by Edward Rutherford

Your host for the Cool Collaborations podcast is Scott Millar. Scott is the principle of dynamics.com/">Collaboration Dynamics, where he often works as a "peacemaker" by gathering people with different experiences and values and helping them navigate beyond their differences to tackle complex problems together. 

It’s my privilege to speak with Sharon Fraser and Jennifer Chaplin, two of the three founding directors of an Australian consultancy called Clarion Call. Sharon brings her experience in the health system together and Jennifer brings experience from the service system. Both Jennifer and Sharon have a huge depth of experience and skill for creating spaces where community voices can be heard, and systems level change can occur. In our conversation, today we touch a little on what Sharon and Jennifer do, some of the key collaboration ingredients and examples, and then we spend some time unpacking the idea of collaborative governance. Please enjoy our conversation.

Some links to some of the things we discuss during this episode: 

• Sharon Fraser
• Jennifer Chaplyn
• Clarion Call
• Book: Rethinking the Fifth Discipline: Learning Within the Unknowable by Robert Louis Flood
• Book: Collaborating with the Enemy: How to Work with People You Don't Agree with or Like or Trust by Adam Kahane

Your host for the Cool Collaborations podcast is Scott Millar. Scott is the principle of dynamics.com/">Collaboration Dynamics, where he often works as a "peacemaker" by gathering people with different experiences and values and helping them navigate beyond their differences to tackle complex problems together. 

I happened across Tai Lake and the Hawaii Artists Collaboration by accident, and I am so grateful that I did. In this episode, Tai shares his perspectives on the creative power of collaboration and the ability to bring together masters of the craft to grow their skills and their vocabulary. I found his enthusiasm for collaboration more than a little infectious, and I am grateful that we were able to connect.

Our conversation makes me think about the kind of people we bring into collaborative work and the level of maturity or mastery in an area of expertise that they represent. Tai talks about leaving your ego out and coming together to raise the state of the craft overall. 

I’m sure you will enjoy this conversation with a master furniture builder on the Hawaii Artists Collaboration. Some links to some of the things we discuss during this episode: 

• Tai Lake Woodworking
• Hawaii Artists Collaboration
• Danish architectEero Saarinen:
  • "Always design a thing by considering it in its next larger context - a chair in a room, a room in a house, a house in an environment, an environment in a city plan" - Eero Saarinen.
• Emma Lake Collaboration
• CollaborationNZ
• Jake James - Blacksmith
• Henry Pomfret – There was no specific link for Henry, but I did find this link to a blacksmithing demonstration at the International Blacksmithing event in 2016.
• Lisa Geertsen - Blacksmith

 Your host for the Cool Collaborations podcast is Scott Millar. Scott is the principle of dynamics.com/">Collaboration Dynamics, where he often works as a "peacemaker" by gathering people with different experiences and values and helping them navigate beyond their differences to tackle complex problems together. 

I am speaking today with Thea Snow, Director with the Centre for Public Impact for Australia and New Zealand. Thea’s worked previously as a lawyer, a civil servant, and as part of the Nesta Innovation Foundation in the United Kingdom. In our conversation today, we talk about reimagining government and the role of collaboration in that reimagining, about storytelling, sense-making, and imagining, and about complexity in systems change. I’m sure you’ll enjoy our conversation. 

Some links to some of the things we discuss during this episode: 

• Thea Snow
• Nesta – The Innovation Foundation
• Centre for Public Impact
• Book: Thinking in Systems, A Primer by Donella H. Meadows
• Webinar: Reimagining Government 2022: An ANZOG and Centre for Public Impact Series
• Australia and New Zealand School of Government
• Australian Centre for Social Innovation
• Cassie Robinson
• Geoff Mulgan
• Octavia E. Butler
• Otto Scharmer
• Hand Up Malee - Collective Impact Initiative
• focusedevaluation.org/our-team">Michael Quinn Patton on focusedevaluation.org/">Utilization-Focused Evaluation
• Blog: The (il)logic of legibility - why governments should stop simplifying complex systems by Thea Snow
• Book: Seeing Like a State: How Certain Schemes to Improve the Human Condition Have Failed by James C. Scott
• Funding Program: Stronger Places, Stronger People
• Certainty Artifacts blog by Thea Snow
• Book: Radical Help by Hilary Cottam

Your host for the Cool Collaborations podcast is Scott Millar. Scott is the principle of dynamics.com/">Collaboration Dynamics, where he often works as a "peacemaker" by gathering people with different experiences and values and helping them navigate beyond their differences to tackle complex problems together. 

This is a solo episode. Just me answering a few questions I’ve received from listeners. I have a chance to share some of my thinking around collaboration, my background, and some of the overlap between good collaboration and good leadership. Please enjoy. 

Some links to some of the resources I mention during this episode: 

• Scott Millar
• Book: Beyond Reason: Using Emotions as You Negotiate by Roger Fisher and Dan Shapiro 
• Book: Principles: Life and Work by Ray Dalio
• Book: Never Split the Difference: Negotiating As If Your Life Depended On It by Chris Voss and Tahl Raz

Your host for the Cool Collaborations podcast is Scott Millar. Scott is the principle of dynamics.com/">Collaboration Dynamics, where he often works as a "peacemaker" by gathering people with different experiences and values and helping them navigate beyond their differences to tackle complex problems together. 

For this episode, I am speaking with Pradeep U.N., who is the Senior Director at Microsoft for Inclusive Innovation and Solutions. Pradeep is also the founder of Truths and Insights, which is a platform to enable good conversations, share our truths, and inform decisions. Our conversation today is focused on Truths and Insights, where there is so much rich ground to explore. We talk about biases, inclusion, storytelling and so much more. I’m sure you’ll enjoy our conversation. 

Some links to some of the things we discuss during this episode: 

• Pradeep U.N.
• Book: The Adventures of Asterix written by René Goscinny and illustrated by Albert Uderzo

Your host for the Cool Collaborations podcast is Scott Millar. Scott is the principle of dynamics.com/">Collaboration Dynamics, where he often works as a "peacemaker" by gathering people with different experiences and values and helping them navigate beyond their differences to tackle complex problems together. 

The conversation today is with Oliver Brandes on collaboration and modern water management. Oliver is an economist and lawyer by training and what he would call a trans-disciplinarian by design. He serves as Co-Director of the POLIS Project on Ecological Governance, based at the University of Victoria’s Centre for Global Studies (CFGS), where he leads the award-winning POLIS Water Sustainability Project. He focuses on water sustainability, sound resource management, public policy development, and ecologically based legal and institutional reform.

In our conversation, we talk about the role of collaboration in managing water, concepts of collaborative consent, and the importance of good leadership. Please enjoy our conversation.

Some links to some of the things we discuss during this episode: 

• Oliver Brandes
• Polis Project on Ecological Governance, University of Victoria
• Cowichan Watershed Board
• Nicola Watershed Pilot Memorandum of Understanding
• Book: Denying the Source: The Crisis of First Nations Water Rights by Merrell-Ann S. Phare
• Book: Water: The Fate of Our Most Precious Resource by Marq de Villiers

Your host for the Cool Collaborations podcast is Scott Millar. Scott is the principle of dynamics.com/">Collaboration Dynamics, where he often works as a "peacemaker" by gathering people with different experiences and values and helping them navigate beyond their differences to tackle complex problems together. 

In this repost of a season 1 episode, I’m joined by Kerry Graham, one of the co-founders of Collaboration for Impact which is an Australian organization working to support systems-level change on important issues like youth incarceration, social issues, health, and more. This is incredibly interesting work, because it's dealing with issues that are often created by the system itself – about making change that is bigger than any one organization or group. Kerry and her co-founder Liz Skelton have just passed the reins for Collaboration for Impact to Anna Powell, and I wanted to reflect on Kerry's insights and experiences. I think you’ll enjoy this look at collaboration from a system perspective and hearing some of the stories of this type of collaboration. 

Some links to some of the things we discuss during this episode: 

• Kerry Graham
• Collaboration for Impact
• Platform C
• Book: Humankind – A Hopeful History by Rutger Bregman

Your host for the Cool Collaborations podcast is Scott Millar. Scott is the principle of dynamics.com/">Collaboration Dynamics, where he often works as a "peacemaker" by gathering people with different experiences and values and helping them navigate beyond their differences to tackle complex problems together. 

Time for a fantastic conversation with Peter Fisk on how collaboration plays an important role in the success of business. Peter Fisk is a global thought leader, award-winning author and expert advisor, on the future of business, on leadership and strategy, as well as innovation and marketing. He leads GeniusWorks, a strategic innovation accelerator based in London. He is a professor of leadership, strategy and innovation at IE Business School in Madrid. Peter is a Global Director of Thinkers50 and founder of the European Business Forum. Peter’s written 8 books in 35 languages, his latest being Business Decoded: Have the Courage to Create a Better Future. 

In our conversation, we talk about the strategies used by successful modern business and how collaboration is such a critical approach to unlocking success. Please enjoy our conversation.

Some links to some of the things we discuss during this episode: 

• Peter Fisk
• Free Download: Recoded-eSample.pdf">First chapter of Business Recoded 
• Book: Business Recoded: Have the Courage to Create a Better Future for Yourself and Your Business
• Book: No Rules Rules: Netflix and the Culture of Reinvention by Reed Hastings and Erin Meyer
• Gary Hamel
• group.com/en/about/profile/">Adidas 
• Book: Humanocracy: Creating Organizations as Amazing as the People Inside Them by Gary Hamel and Michele Zanini
• Book: Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals by Oliver Burkeman 

Your host for the Cool Collaborations podcast is Scott Millar. Scott is the principle of dynamics.com/">Collaboration Dynamics, where he often works as a "peacemaker" by gathering people with different experiences and values and helping them navigate beyond their differences to tackle complex problems together. 

I’ve always had an interest in design and design thinking, although I’ve never pursued that interest in much depth. Cameron Norman, my guest on this episode of the Cool Collaborations podcast, is a professional designer, psychologist, evaluator, and educator with a great interest in the science and practice of innovation. He runs a consultancy called Censemaking and he is an adjunct professor in the Dalla Lana School of Public Health at the University of Toronto.

In our conversation, we talk about what Cameron’s calls Design for Humans and how the concepts and approaches of design and of collaboration are closely linked. Please enjoy our conversation.

Some links to some of the things we discuss during this episode: 

• Cameron Norman
• Cense 
• Seth Godin
• Intersectionality
• Book: Organisational Aesthetics: Developing beautiful organisations by Steven de Groot 
• Pareto Principle
• Book: World Enough & Time: On Creativity and Slowing Down by Christian McEwen

Your host for the Cool Collaborations podcast is Scott Millar. Scott is the principle of dynamics.com/">Collaboration Dynamics, where he often works as a "peacemaker" by gathering people with different experiences and values and helping them navigate beyond their differences to tackle complex problems together. 

Time to have some fun. Michael Kerr is my guest for a great conversation on the connections between humor in the workplace and collaboration. Michael is a researcher, writer, and Canadian Hall of Fame Speaker on inspiring workplace cultures and businesses that leverage their humor resources to drive outrageous results. His ideas on building better workplace cultures have been featured in hundreds of publications worldwide, his Inspiring Workplaces blog is internationally recognized and he’s authored 8 books, including, “The Jerk-Free Workplace,” “The Humor Advantage,” and “Hire, Inspire, and Fuel Their Fire.”

In our conversation, we connect the ideas of humor, culture, and the ability to collaborate as well as shed some light on the many benefits to incorporating humor into our workplaces and our collaborative endeavors. Please enjoy our conversation.

Some links to some of the things we discuss during this episode: 

• Michael Kerr and Humor at Work
• Zappos – Core Values
• Book: A Higher Loyalty: Truth, Lies, and Leadership by James Comey
• Book: The Checklist Manifesto by Atul Gawande
• Book: The Humor Advantage by Michael Kerr
• Book: You Can’t Be Serious: Putting Humor to Work by Michael Kerr
• Book: Why is Everyone Smiling? By Paul Spiegelman

Your host for the Cool Collaborations podcast is Scott Millar. Scott is the principle of dynamics.com/">Collaboration Dynamics, where he often works as a "peacemaker" by gathering people with different experiences and values and helping them navigate beyond their differences to tackle complex problems together. 

Episode #29 is a repost of one of the fantastic conversations from the first season on the Cool Collaborations podcast. For this episode, I tried something a little different. I was joined by both Anthony Boxshall and Max Hardy, from Australia, for a dive into Authentic Co-design. We explore the stories of Authentic Co-design came from and some of the different angles on how, when, and why you would use a co-design process. In our conversation, Max brings the engagement expertise while Anth brings the leadership, scientist, and government expertise. They are quite the team and I very much enjoyed having this conversation with them.   

Some links to some of the things we discuss during this episode: 

• Max Hardy at Max Hardy Consulting
• Anthony Boxshall at Science Into Action 
• Authentic Co-design
• Book: New Power: How Power Works in our Hyperconnected World, and How to Make it Work for You by Jeremy Heimans and Henry Timms 
• Book: Collaboration Design: A Step-by-Step Guide to Successful Collaboration by Mark Elliott
• Book: Sapiens – A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari  

Your host for the Cool Collaborations podcast is Scott Millar. Scott is the principle of dynamics.com/">Collaboration Dynamics, where he often works as a "peacemaker" by gathering people with different experiences and values and helping them navigate beyond their differences to tackle complex problems together. 

Alex Ryan is my guest for episode #28. Alex helps governments and corporate partners innovate at MaRS Discovery District, in Toronto, Ontario with work in electricity, smart cities, community health. And what really attracted my attention, was Alex’s thinking in systemic design, complex thinking and innovation. While that’s pretty impressive, he’s also written on smart cities, data governance, policy innovation and social innovation and been published in the World Economic Forum, Fast Company, Axios, Stanford Social Innovation Review, and Complexity.

We discuss the connections between collaboration and innovation, some of their common ingredients, and the importance of location on innovation. Enjoy our conversation.  

Some links to some of the things we discuss during this episode: 

• Alex Ryan 
• MaRS Discovery District
• Place Matters – at MaRS Discovery District
• Mission from MaRS – Climate Impact Challenge
• The CRANE Tool – assess the emissions reduction potential of climate technologies
• McConnell Foundation
• ABSI Connect - Alberta Social Innovation Connect
• Polarization to Progress: Lessons from the City of Edmonton's social innovation experiment, RECOVER
• When Individuals are More Innovative Than Teams
• Ten Types of Innovation - The Discipline of Building Breakthroughs
• Book: Educating the Reflective Practitioner: Toward a New Design for Teaching and Learning in the Professions by Donald A. Schon
• Book: Growing Wings on the Way by Rosalind Armson

Your host for the Cool Collaborations podcast is Scott Millar. Scott is the principle of dynamics.com/">Collaboration Dynamics, where he often works as a "peacemaker" by gathering people with different experiences and values and helping them navigate beyond their differences to tackle complex problems together. 

It’s #27 and I’m joined by two guests for this episode. Jen Beardsley is the Prize Competitions Program Administrator for the United States Bureau of Reclamation and Taylor Gilliland is the Senior Advisor for Innovation Programs at the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering. For this episode we are again talking about crowdsourcing, but this time from the perspective of two people who routinely use crowdsourcing methods to solve problems inside their own agencies. We talk about how crowdsourcing and open innovation methods have been used to advance the work in invasive species, protective masks, and pipeline leaks, before exploring how agencies could consider these types of approaches in their own work.

Please enjoy my conversation with Jen and Taylor. 

Some links to some of the things we discuss during this episode: 

• Bureau of Reclamation
• Prize Competitions, Research and Development Office, Bureau of Reclamation
• C. Taylor Gilliland
• National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB)
• National Institutes of Health
• Check out U.S. Government Crowdsource challenges at Challenge.gov
• Book: Where do Where Good Ideas Come From: The Natural History of Innovation by Steven Johnson

Your host for the Cool Collaborations podcast is Scott Millar. Scott is the principle of dynamics.com/">Collaboration Dynamics, where he often works as a "peacemaker" by gathering people with different experiences and values and helping them navigate beyond their differences to tackle complex problems together. 

For episode #26, I have the distinct pleasure of a conversation with Adam Kahane about his most recent book Facilitating Breakthrough: How to Remove Obstacles, Bridge Differences, and Move Forward Together. We discuss what Adam calls transformative facilitation and how its set of ‘shifts’ fit within collaboration.  

Adam has published several books describing his thinking, approaches, and experiences from collaborating on significant issues all over the world. He is the Director of REOS Partners which is an “international social enterprise that helps people move forward together on their most important and intractable issues”.

Enjoy my conversation with Adam. 

Some links to some of the things we discuss during this episode: 

• Adam Kahane
• Reos Partners
• Book: Facilitating Breakthrough: How to Remove Obstacles, Bridge Differences, and Move Forward Together

Other Books by Adam Kahane: 

• Collaborating with the Enemy 
• Transformative Scenario Planning: Working Together to Change the Future
• Power and Love: A Theory and Practice of Social Change
• Solving Tough Problems

 Adam Kahane and the others at Reos Partners do some interesting and amazing work. Check out their website for more information. 

Your host for the Cool Collaborations podcast is Scott Millar. Scott is the principle of dynamics.com/">Collaboration Dynamics, where he often works as a "peacemaker" by gathering people with different experiences and values and helping them navigate beyond their differences to tackle complex problems together. 

Andrew Mangan joins me for episode #25 of the podcast. At the time we recorded the episode, Andrew was the Executive Director of the United States Business Council for Sustainable Development. Andy has recently stepped out of the Executive Director position and continues to serve on the Board for the US BCSD. Andrew Mangan founded the council in 1992 and developed it into a globally recognized leader in sustainable development solutions, collaboration, and innovation. In our conversation, we talk about how businesses that might normally never work together have found ways to collaborate to reduce waste and cost and improve their sustainability, the role of experimentation in sustainability, and how the growing drive for sustainable practices needs more collaboration. 

Some links to some of the things we discuss during this episode: 

• Andrew Mangan
• United States Business Council for Sustainable Development (US BCSD)
• collaborative.org/">Gulf Coast Carbon Collaborative
• collaborative.org/">Great Lakes Carbon Collaborative
• Heliogen is a renewable energy technology company unlocking the power of sunlight to replace fossil fuels.
• ArcelorMittal is a steel manufacturer.
• Book: Treasure of the Sierra Madre by B. Travern

Check out more on the United Stated Business Council on Sustainable Development to see what kinds of collaborative work is happening in sustainable business and development. 

Your host for the Cool Collaborations podcast is Scott Millar. Scott is the principle of dynamics.com/">Collaboration Dynamics, where he often works as a "peacemaker" by gathering people with different experiences and values and helping them navigate beyond their differences to tackle complex problems together. 

For episode #24, my guest is Kim Hyshka, the Principal of Dialogue Partners and a civic and public engagement expert based in Sherwood Park, Alberta. Kim is all about building capacity in people and communities so they can have meaningful dialogue and be able to work better together. It’s always a lot of fun to talk to Kim, because she carries such positive energy in the conversation. Today we talk about creating opportunities to bring people together, the quality of our conversations, failing and being vulnerable, and having good virtual conversations. 

Here’s some links to more information on some of the things we discuss during this episode: 

• Kim Hyshka
• Dialogue Partners
• Book: Crucial Conversations Tools for Talking When Stakes Are High by Kerry Patterson, Joseph Grenny, Ron McMillan, Al Switzler, and Stephen R. Covey (Foreword)
• Book: Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In by Roger Fisher, William Ury, and Bruce Patton.

As you can hear in this conversation, Kim believes that ‘life moves in the direction of the conversation we’re having’ and she has embodied that sentiment as she helps people and organizations have better and more productive conversations.  You can get in touch with Kim through Dialogue Partners.

Your host for the Cool Collaborations podcast is Scott Millar. Scott is the principle of dynamics.com/">Collaboration Dynamics, where he often works as a "peacemaker" by gathering people with different experiences and values and helping them navigate beyond their differences to tackle complex problems together. 

Welcome to episode #23 of the Cool Collaborations podcast. My guest today is Paul Thagard, PhD, a is a philosopher, cognitive scientist, and author. He is a Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Philosophy at the University of Waterloo and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada. He has been awarded the Molson Prize (2007) and a Killam Prize (2013) by the Canada Council for the Arts.

Our conversation covers a lot of ground as we explore collaboration in the world of people, animals, and artificial intelligence, in line with the work in Paul’s new book Bots and Beasts: What Makes Machines, Animals, and People Smart? We speak about recursive thinking, empathy, complex problem solving, and creativity in the three worlds of bots, beasts, and humans. 

Here’s a few links to Paul Thagard’s latest book and some of the other things we discuss during the episode: 

• Paul Thagard, PhD
• Bots and Beasts: What Makes Machines, Animals, and People Smart?
• Richard Nisbett, Theodore M. Newcomb Distinguished University Professor, College of Literature, Science and the Arts, University of Michigan
• Keith Holyoak, Distinguished Professor, Stanford University
• Ocean’s Eleven
• Litt, Abninder & Eliasmith, Chris & Kroon, Frederick & Weinstein, Steven & Thagard, Paul. (2006). Is the brain a quantum computer?. Cognitive science. 30. 593-603. 10.1207/s15516709cog0000_59.
• Distributed Artificial Intelligence or Multiagent systems
• Deep Mind by Google
• IBM Watson
• AlphaGo – DeepMind playing the game Go.
• The concept of Emergence

Paul Thagard’s new book Bots and Beasts: What Makes Machines, Animals, and People Smart? It comes out on October 19, 2021.  And, be sure to subscribe to the Cool Collaborations podcast with your podcast provider and share it with a friend you think would enjoy listening. 

Your host for the Cool Collaborations podcast is Scott Millar. Scott is the principle of dynamics.com/">Collaboration Dynamics, where he often works as a "peacemaker" by gathering people with different experiences and values and helping them navigate beyond their differences to tackle complex problems together. 

Here's the second part of my conversation with Ryon Stewart and Christine Jenkins from NASA’s Center of Excellence for Collaborative Innovation. As Challenge Coordinators at NASA, Ryon and Christine  bring crowdsourcing methods and expertise so that it can be a source of solutions for  problems facing NASA and agencies across the United States. In the conclusion of our conversation, Ryon and Christine talk about the problems that can be crowdsourced, how good ideas are recognized, and more. 

To find out more about the Center of Excellence and crowdsourcing projects at NASA, here’s a few links you might find interesting. 

• Center of Excellence for Collaborative Innovation 
• NASA Tournament Lab
• Ryon Stewart, Open Innovation Development
• Christine Ragno Jenkins, Business & Technical Integration
• Be part of future NASA Challenges by subscribing to the NASA Crowdsourcing Listserv
• Challenge.gov

 Be sure to subscribe to the Cool Collaborations podcast with your podcast provider and share it with a friend you think would enjoy listening. 

Your host for the Cool Collaborations podcast is Scott Millar. Scott is the principle of dynamics.com/">Collaboration Dynamics, where he often works as a "peacemaker" by gathering people with different experiences and values and helping them navigate beyond their differences to tackle complex problems together. 

Welcome back to Cool Collaborations for Season 2. To kick things off with a bang, I’m joined by Ryon Stewart and Christine Jenkins from NASA’s Center of Excellence for Collaborative Innovation. Both Ryon and Christine are Challenge Coordinators at NASA, which means they bring crowdsourcing methods and expertise to bear on problems facing NASA and agencies across the United States. In this first part of our conversation, Ryon and Christine talk about their backgrounds and how they came to be Challenge Coordinators, how the Center of Excellence for Collaborative Innovation has enabled the used of crowdsourcing, and then we dig into crowdsourcing itself with examples of what kinds of solutions have come from the crowd. 

To find out more about the Center of Excellence and crowdsourcing projects at NASA, here’s a few links you might find interesting. 

• Center of Excellence for Collaborative Innovation 
• NASA Tournament Lab
• Ryon Stewart, Open Innovation Development
• Christine Ragno Jenkins, Business & Technical Integration
• Be part of future NASA Challenges by subscribing to the NASA Crowdsourcing Listserv

Tune in for Part 2 of the conversation with Ryon and Christine in the next episode coming out in only two weeks. Be sure to subscribe to the Cool Collaborations podcast with your podcast provider and share it with a friend you think would enjoy listening. 

Your host for the Cool Collaborations podcast is Scott Millar. Scott is the principle of dynamics.com/">Collaboration Dynamics, where he often works as a "peacemaker" by gathering people with different experiences and values and helping them navigate beyond their differences to tackle complex problems together. 

Introduction

During this episode we discuss:

• Defining purpose in collaboration 
• Connecting people and building trust
• Harnessing creativity for novel solutions

Resources mentioned in this episode:

• dynamics.com/">Collaboration Dynamics 

Now it’s your turn

Introduction

In this episode, we talk through insights into effective collaboration and how our leadership within both collaboration and hard, emotional conversations should be how we all show up in these spaces.

Often, we involve people in our process with the aim of achieving something, of getting to a ‘result’. My conversation with Chief Storm Rider Stephani Roy-McCallum points to a more effective approach; one where people come first, and the issue comes second. 

Stephani is an expert in creating space where people can build the relationships that lead to trust and then results and solutions. 

During this episode we discuss:

• Getting to know Stephani
• People’s motivation to collaboration
• An exploration of the meaning of collaboration
• Getting the right people in the room
• Leadership in collaboration 
• Facilitating vs. Leadership
• Defining courage
• Putting down the collaborative space
• Creating a successful collaboration 
• People who have and are influencing Stephani

Resources mentioned in this episode:

• Author and consultant – Harrison Owen 
• Author and speaker – Otto Sharmer
• Author and speaker – Parker Palmer
• Buddhist teacher, author, nun and mother – Pema Chödrön
• Researcher and author – Peter Coleman
• New Zealand Prime Minister – Jacindra Ardern
• Governor of New York – Andrew M. Cuomo
• Mayor of Victoria, British Columbia – Lisa Helps
• Book by Parker Palmer - Healing the Heart of Democracy
• Book by Robin DiAngelo – White Fragility 

Now it’s your turn

Find out more about Stephani at Bravely Lead and look into her Brave Spark Leadership program.

Be sure to subscribe to the podcast so you don’t miss any of the cool collaboration content and then share with your friends and colleagues. Don’t forget to sign up for other interesting collaboration tidbits at dynamics.com/">Collaboration Dynamics.

I’d love to hear your stories about collaboration success. Drop a comment in below to tell all about the highs (and the lows) you’ve encountered in crafting a collaborative conversation.

Introduction

For episode 18, I’m joined by Gordon Lambert, retired from Suncor and from a 16-month long assignment as interim CEO of the Alberta Energy Regulator. We’ve been having some great conversations recently and I’m looking forward to hearing about what it takes to set up the Canada’s Oil Sands Innovation Alliance, the first energy industry collaboration that included the sharing of intellectual property. Please enjoy our conversation. 

During this episode we discuss

• Gord’s background
• A view of collaboration
• COSIA (Canada’s Oil Sands Innovation Alliance)
• Collaboration and acceleration
• Collaboration and sustainability
• Alberta’s culture of collaboration
• A book suggestion

Resources mentioned in this episode

• Gord Lambert
• Canadian Oil Sands Innovation Alliance (COSIA)
• Oil Sands Community Alliance (OSCA)
• common-future.pdf">Brundtland Commission – Our Common Future
• COSIA Carbon XPrize
• Clean Resource Innovation Network (CRIN)
• Clean Air Strategic Alliance
• Book: The Dance of Change: The challenges to sustaining momentum in a learning organization by Peter M. Senge

Now it's your turn

Gordon Lambert is retired, but you might still be able to connect with him through his LinkedIn profile. 

Your comments and ratings in Apple Podcasts and other providers are really important, so be sure to subscribe to the podcast. Most importantly, suggest to your friends that they subscribe and share as well. Don’t forget to sign up for other interesting collaboration tidbits at dynamics.com/">Collaboration Dynamics.

Introduction:

My guest today is Andrew O’Keeffe, author of Hardwired Humans and The Boss. Coming from a background in human resources, he began to see patterns in the kind of behavior he was seeing in organizations undergoing change. He was inspired to understand the links between our human instincts and the implications for leadership in our modern, office-based world. 

For our conversation today, we touch on the nine human instincts from Hardwired Humans, but then peel back some of the layers on a few of those instincts most influential when we collaborate. Andrew talks about chimpanzees, elephant seals, humans, and so much more. Please enjoy our conversation. 

During this episode we discuss:

• The nine instincts
• Social belonging and collaboration
• Factors beyond grooming
• Loss aversion
• Instincts and creativity
• A book to share
• A Dr. Goodall anecdote

Resources mentioned in this episode:

• Andrew O’Keeffe at Hardwired Humans
• Book: Hardwired Humans, Successful Leadership Using Human Instincts by Andrew O’Keeffe
• Professor Nigel Nicholson 
• How Hardwired Is Human Behavior? – Harvard Business Review article by Nigel Nicholson
• Dr. Jane Goodall, primatologist – The Jane Goodall Institute
• Inner Work Life – Harvard Business Review article by Teresa M. Amabile and Steven J. Kramer
• Book: The Progress Principle: Using Small Wins to Ignite Joy, Engagement, and Creativity at Work by Teresa M. Amabile and Steven J. Kramer
• Author: Anthony Trollope

Now it's your turn

Andrew can be reached through his website, Hardwired Humans. Be sure to check out the leadership training and other information he provides on the website, but also his two books Hardwired Humans and The Boss. 

Please subscribe to the podcast. It is the one thing you can do to keep my conversations with interesting collaborators going. Feel free to suggest to your friends that they subscribe and share as well. Don’t forget to sign up for other interesting collaboration tidbits at dynamics.com/">Collaboration Dynamics.

Introduction:

Catrin Owen, Deputy City Manager of Communication and Engagement for the City of Edmonton is my guest today on Episode 16 of the podcast. Ever since I met Catrin through a meeting of the Guiding Coalition for Public Engagement on which I am a volunteer, I’ve wanted to ask her about how collaboration fits into the kinds of public engagement and city building work she and her team lead for the City of Edmonton. And so, here is the episode where I get to do just that. Please enjoy our conversation.

During this episode we discuss

• Catrin Owen on being a Deputy City Manager
• Listen, Learn, Lead
• Municipal questions suited to a collaborative approach
• Examples of Edmonton collaboration
• Going virtual – digital engagement
• A book to share

Resources mentioned in this episode

• Catrin Owen
• engagement.aspx">City of Edmonton – Public Engagement and
• Connect Edmonton: Edmonton’s Strategic Plan
• plan.aspx">The City Plan
• insight-community.aspx">The Edmonton Insight Community
• ward-naming-knowledge-committee.aspx">iyiniw iskwewak wihtwawin (Committee of Indigenous Matriarchs)
• Book: Machines Like Me by Ian McEwan
• Author: Malcolm Gladwell
• President Barack Obama

Now it's your turn

If you want to get in touch with Deputy City Manager, Catrin Owen, she can be reached through the City of Edmonton website. Be sure to look her up and some of the resources she mentioned. 

Your comments and ratings in Apple Podcasts and other providers are really important, so be sure to subscribe to the podcast. Most importantly, suggest to your friends that they subscribe and share as well. Don’t forget to sign up for other interesting collaboration tidbits at dynamics.com/">Collaboration Dynamics.

Introduction

Have you ever wondered how collaboration is taught in University? Here on episode #15, I’m joined by Dr. Janet Moore, Professor or Professional Practice at Simon Fraser University. Dr. Moore co-creates, co-designs, and co-teaches the Semester in Dialogue program at Simon Fraser. In this episode, we explore dialogue, connections between dialogue and collaboration, and how all of this carries into the Semester in Dialogue and teaching students about dialogue and collaboration. 

During this episode we discuss

• Dr. Moore introduces herself
• Dialogue and collaboration
• Sustainability and collaboration 
• Surprises from dialogue
• Semester in Dialogue
• Virtual delivery
• A book to share

Resources mentioned in this episode

• moore.html">Dr. Janet Moore
• Semester in Dialogue at Simon Fraser University
• The SFU Morris J. Wosk Centre for Dialogue
• Dr. William Rees, Professor Emeritus, University of British Columbia
• Dr. John Robinson, Professor, University of Toronto
• Georgia Basin Futures Project
• Pema Chödrön – The Pema Chödrön Foundation
• Book: The Courage to Teach by Parker Palmer
• Center for Courage and Renewal

Now it's your turn

Please check out the Semester in Dialogue and connect through Simon Fraser University if you’d like to get in touch with moore.html">Dr. Janet Moore.

Your comments and ratings in Apple Podcasts and other providers are really important, so be sure to subscribe to the podcast. Most importantly, suggest to your friends that they subscribe and share as well. Don’t forget to sign up for other interesting collaboration tidbits at dynamics.com/">Collaboration Dynamics.

Introduction:

Liz Weaver is the Co-CEO of the Tamarack Institute and the Strategic Leader of the Tamarack Learning Centre, and I have the great privilege of have a conversation with Liz for episode 14 of the podcast. You might have noted from some of my earlier episodes that I feel collaboration is an important means with which to make big changes in the world. And so, I have been looking forward to this discussion with Liz because she and the Tamarack Institute are thought leaders in the area of community change. Many of my earlier guests have mentioned Liz as someone with whom I should connect. Well, it’s taken until episode 14, but here we are. Please enjoy our conversation. 

During this episode we discuss:

• Introducing the Tamarack Institute 
• A little bit about Liz Weaver
• How does collaboration show up?
• Collective Impact
• Examples of Collective Impact
• Collaborative Leadership
• Contrasting forms of leadership
• Books to share

Resources mentioned in this episode:

• Tamarack Institute
• The Forum for Youth Investment
• Hamilton Roundtable for Poverty Reduction 
• Fair Fares Calgary
• Book: The Collaborative Leadership Fieldbook: A Guide for Citizens and Civic Leaders by David D. Chrislip
• Collective Impact
• Book: Community Conversations: Mobilizing the Ideas, Skills, and Passion of Community Organizations, Governments, Businesses and People by Paul Born
• Book: Power: A User’s Guide by Julie Diamond

Now it’s your turn. 

Be sure to check out the Tamarack Institute’s website, because it is chock full of great information, tools, training, and the ability to connect with others. As Liz mentioned, it’s intended to be an open-source resource for community change practitioners. 

Your comments and ratings in Apple Podcasts and other providers are really important, so be sure to subscribe to the podcast. Most importantly, suggest to your friends that they subscribe and share as well. Don’t forget to sign up for other interesting collaboration tidbits at dynamics.com/">Collaboration Dynamics.

Introduction:

For this episode, I tried something a little different. I was joined by both Anthony Boxshall and Max Hardy, from Australia, for a dive into Authentic Co-design. We explore the stories of Authentic Co-design came from and some of the different angles on how, when, and why you would use a co-design process. In our conversation, Max brings the engagement expertise while Anth brings the leadership, scientist, and government expertise. They are quite the team and I very much enjoyed having this conversation with them. 

During this episode we discuss

• Introductions to Max and Anth
• Authentic Co-design in action 
• Emergencies and co-design
• Leadership and co-design
• Books to share

Resources mentioned in this episode

• Max Hardy at Max Hardy Consulting
• Anthony Boxshall at Science Into Action 
• Authentic Co-design
• Book: New Power: How Power Works in our Hyperconnected World, and How to Make it Work for You by Jeremy Heimans and Henry Timms 
• Book: Collaboration Design: A Step-by-Step Guide to Successful Collaboration by Mark Elliott
• Book: Sapiens – A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari 

Now its your turn

It’s hard not to get excited about the insights offered by Max Hardy and Anthony Boxshall. If you enjoyed this conversation, Max and Anthony can be reached through the Authentic Co-design website. Don’t forget they offer a couple of different packages for training that you should check out. 

Your comments and ratings in Apple Podcasts and other providers are really important, so be sure to subscribe to the podcast. Most importantly, suggest to your friends that they subscribe and share as well. Don’t forget to sign up for other interesting collaboration tidbits at dynamics.com/">Collaboration Dynamics.

Introduction

I’m joined by Kerry Graham, one of the co-founders of Collaboration for Impact which is an Australian organization which is working to support systems-level change on important issues like youth incarceration, social issues, health, and more. This is incredibly interesting work, because its dealing with issues that are often created by the system itself – about making change that is bigger than any one organization or group. I think you’ll enjoy this look at collaboration from a system perspective and hearing some of the stories of this type of collaboration. 

During this episode we discuss

• A little about Kerry
• Collaboration for Impact
• The Maranguka Project, New South Wales
• Hands Up Mallee in Mildura, Victoria
• Leadership in a system’s change 
• Power dynamics
• A book to share

Resources mentioned in this episode

• Kerry Graham
• Collaboration for Impact
• Platform C
• Book: Humankind – A Hopeful History by Rutger Bregman 

Now it's your turn

If you want to get in touch with Kerry Graham, she can be reached through the Collaboration for Impact website. Be sure to look her up and some of the resources she mentioned. 

Your comments and ratings in Apple Podcasts and other providers are really important, so be sure to subscribe to the podcast. Most importantly, suggest to your friends that they subscribe and share as well. Don’t forget to sign up for other interesting collaboration tidbits at dynamics.com/">Collaboration Dynamics.

Introduction:

Dr. Rebecca Sutherns graciously agreed to be a guest for this episode. When I first connected with Rebecca to chat about being on the podcase, we ended up have a complete conversation about business and a number of other things before we even got to talk about her being a guest. Which gives you a good idea the kind of person Rebecca is, generous, willing to share, and willing to build others up.

So, it won’t be a surprise when you hear about how deeply Rebecca has thought about the different aspects of collaboration, and how she puts them into practice. She is certainly a thought leader in this space, and I hope you enjoy our conversation. 

During this episode we discuss

• Who is Dr. Rebecca Sutherns?
• How collaboration shows up
• Relational currency
• Crisis collaboration
• Creativity
• A book to share

Resources mentioned in this episode

• Dr. Rebecca Sutherns
• Book: What The Hell Do We Do Now?: An enterprise guide to COVID-19 and beyond by Alex Hagan, Mary Butler, Brent Hodgson with 15 others.
• Book: From What Is to What If, Unleashing the Power of Imagination to Create the Future We Want by Rob Hopkins
• Book: Sightline by Dr. Rebecca Sutherns

Now it's your turn.

If you want to get in touch with Dr. Rebecca Sutherns, she can be reached through her website. Be sure to look her up and some of the resources she mentioned. 

Your comments and ratings in Apple Podcasts and other providers are really important, so be sure to subscribe to the podcast. Most importantly, suggest to your friends that they subscribe and share as well. Don’t forget to sign up for other interesting collaboration tidbits at dynamics.com/">Collaboration Dynamics.

Introduction:

Here we are on Episode 10 of the podcast. For this conversation, I had the privilege of speaking with Lisa Helps, the Mayor of the City of Victoria in British Columbia. As you can imagine, the Mayor of a major city has a few things on the go, so our conversation today is quite short. But we cover a lot of ground. 

I ask Mayor Helps about how collaboration plays into her role as a politician and how collaborative relationships work at a municipal level and among partners with the municipality.

During this episode we discuss:

• Taking on the role of mayor
• Translating collaboration to political success
• A concrete example of success
• Victoria 3.0
• Working between municipalities
• Cross-cultural collaboration in a municipality
• A book to share

Resources mentioned in this episode:

• lisa-helps.html">Mayor Lisa Helps
• City of Victoria, BC
• The City of Victoria’s work on Reconciliation
• Victoria 3.0
• Book: Urban Magnets: How Activity Subcultures Can Be a Catalyst for Rejuvenating Cities by Bruce Haden, Mark Holland, and Bruce Irvine

Now it's your turn

If you want to get in touch with Mayor Helps, she can be reached through her office at the City of Victoria at mayor@victoria.ca. Be sure to look up the other resources on the City of Victoria. as well. 

Your comments and ratings in Apple Podcasts and other providers are really important, so be sure to subscribe to the podcast. Most importantly, suggest to your friends that they subscribe and share as well. Don’t forget to sign up for other interesting collaboration tidbits at dynamics.com/">Collaboration Dynamics.

Introduction:

For this episode, I’m joined by Gay Robinson, owner of Gay Robinson Consulting. In our conversation, we journey through snippets of Gay’s experience in the field of public engagement and training with examples of “collaboration gone right”. Her deep involvement and commitment to a principled engagement approach shines through, as well as her advocacy for the guidance provided by the International Association for Public Participation (IAP2).

As Gay describes collaboration throughout our conversation, you will get an understanding of how purpose, people, process, and belief come together to make a space for collaboration. Gay points to some of the ways might navigate the challenges that come with the vocabulary of collaboration and share authority among the people participating in collaboration.

There’s a lot to learn and take away from this conversation. Please enjoy.

During this episode we discuss:

• Some background on Gay
• Prescribed versus principled engagement
• Experience from the training world
• How does Gay see collaboration?
• Stories of collaboration gone right
• Experimental mindset
• Other lessons
• Getting more people to the magic
• Take away lessons
• Book or resource

Resources mentioned in this episode:

• Gay Robinson Consulting
• International Association for Public Participation (IAP2)
• The Health Canada Public Involvement Continuum as part of canada-policy-toolkit-public-involvement-decision-making.html">The Health Canada Policy Toolkit for Public Involvement in Decision Making
• Book: 21 Things You May Not Know About the Indian Act: Helping Canadians Make Reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples a Reality by Bob Joseph
• Morris J. Wosk Centre for Dialogue at the Simon Fraser University

Now it's  your turn.If you want to get in touch with Gay, you should check out her page on LinkedIn. Be sure to look up the other resources Gay mentioned as well. 

Your comments and ratings in Apple Podcasts and other providers are really important, so be sure to subscribe to the podcast. Most importantly, suggest to your friends that they subscribe and share as well. Don’t forget to sign up for other interesting collaboration tidbits at dynamics.com/">Collaboration Dynamics.

Introduction:

Courtney Breese is the Executive Director of the National Coalition for Dialogue and Deliberation. So, if you were going to talk to someone about collaboration, Courtney would be the right person. She’s been steeped in the world of collaboration since university and now helps businesses and organizations across America collaborate to succeed. 

After getting a bit of Courtney’s background and digging into how she came to be a collaborative expert, we switch to talk more about some of the deeper collaborative skills where we try to uncover and understand our collective values, and then into how to get more people into collaboration. 

This was a fun conversation. Please enjoy.

During this episode we discuss

• Getting to know Courtney
• Conceptualizing dialogue, deliberation, collaboration
• Forest Futures Visioning 
• Building capability in others
• The shift to virtual delivery
• Favourite books and app’s

Resources mentioned in this episode

• National Coalition for Dialogue and Deliberation
• Massachusetts Office of Collaboration 
• Book: Difficult Conversations by Douglas Stone, Bruce Patton, and Sheila Heen
• Application: Zoom
• Application: Evernote
• Application: Jamboard
• Application: Poll Everywhere 

Now it's your turn

You should absolutely check out the National Coalition for Dialogue and Deliberation webpage if you’re looking for helpful resources to support your project and your collaboration. 

Your comments and ratings in Apple Podcasts and other providers are really important, so be sure to subscribe to the podcast. Most importantly, suggest to your friends that they subscribe and share as well. Don’t forget to sign up for other interesting collaboration tidbits at dynamics.com/">Collaboration Dynamics.

Introduction:

I happened across Tai Lake and the Hawaii Artists Collaboration by accident, and I am so grateful that I did. In this episode, Tai shares his perspectives on the creative power of collaboration and the ability to bring together masters of the craft to grow their skills and their vocabulary. I found his enthusiasm for collaboration more than a little infectious, and I am grateful that we were able to connect.

Our conversation makes me think about the kind of people we bring into collaborative work and the level of maturity or mastery in an area of expertise that they represent. Tai talks about leaving your ego out and coming together to raise the state of the craft overall. 

I’m sure you will enjoy this conversation with a master furniture builder on the Hawaii Artists Collaboration.

During this episode we discuss:

• Getting to know Tai and his craft
• Collaboration and creativity
• Origins of the Hawaii Artists Collaboration
• Who comes to a Colab?
• Cross-pollinating across Colabs
• The changing scene for artists
• Last thoughts - one thing to know about collaboration

Resources mentioned in this episode:

• Tai Lake Woodworking
• Hawaii Artists Collaboration
• Danish architect Eero Saarinen:
  • "Always design a thing by considering it in its next larger context - a chair in a room, a room in a house, a house in an environment, an environment in a city plan" - Eero Saarinen.
• Emma Lake Collaboration
• CollaborationNZ
• Jake James - Blacksmith
• Henry Pomfret – There was no specific link for Henry, but I did find this link to a blacksmithing demonstration at the International Blacksmithing event in 2016.
• Lisa Geertsen - Blacksmith

Now it's your turn:

You should absolutely check out the Hawaii Artists Collaboration webpage and book mark it so you can check back from time to time. At the time I published this, the links to the various studio and artists tours that Tai mentioned had not yet been posted. I am looking forward to seeing the stories behind some of works these Colabs and artists put together. 

Your comments and ratings in Apple Podcasts and other providers is really important, so be sure to subscribe to the podcast. Most importantly, suggest to your friends that they subscribe and share as well. Don’t forget to sign up for other interesting collaboration tidbits at dynamics.com/">Collaboration Dynamics.

Introduction:

This episode is with Jorgé Avilés, a cross-cultural ambassador currently working with Canada West Land in Calgary, Alberta. It doesn’t take us long to get deep into a conversation about the roots and the philosophy of collaboration. It’s a place where culture becomes one of many identifiers and sources of perspective for collaboration. 

As Jorgé describes his thinking, it becomes clear that underlying all of our interactions, all of our collaboration, is a commonality that is our humanness. We are all more than any label and there is more that makes us alike than makes us different.

During this episode we discuss:

• Getting to know Jorgé  - an engineer who repented
• Identity through similarities
• Asking the right questions
• Commonalities within collaborations
• Ambassadors for collaboration
• How common is the mindset?
• Moving beyond solutions
• Labels on people
• Last thoughts 

Resources mentioned in this episode:

• Canada West Land (mentioned as CWL in the episode)
• Book: Leading with Cultural Intelligence by David Livermore

Now it’s your turn

I mentioned Canada West Land, where Jorgé works, in the Resources section. Check them out. They do some great stuff. 

Your comments and ratings in Apple Podcasts and other providers is really important, so be sure to subscribe to the podcast. Most importantly, suggest to your friends that they subscribe and share as well. Don’t forget to sign up for other interesting collaboration tidbits at dynamics.com/">Collaboration Dynamics.

Introduction:

For a change of pace from some of the collaboration-focused conversations I’ve been having so far on the podcast, this episode dives into the arena of deliberative democracy with Dr. Lyn Carson. ‘Carson’ is currently the research director at the newDemocracy Foundation and a former professor in applied politics at the University of Sydney Business School. We explore some of the important aspects of deliberative democratic process with an eye to how they connect to collaboration I’ve been highlighting throughout the various episodes. 

It often seems that the political systems we have in place to represent our voice in policy and decision making are falling short, but Carson points to another path that has been shown to be effective all over the world. She is an expert in the deliberative approaches that give citizens a voice in decision making, which makes this conversation one to listen to.  

During this episode we discuss:

• Introducing Carson
• Examples of deliberative democracy 
• Which came first – trials or theory
• Collaboration versus deliberation
• Bragging about success
• Random selection
• Interrogating expert knowledge
• Good books 

Resources mentioned in this episode:

• Citizen’s Assembly in British Columbia
• Australian Citizens’ Parliament
• Carson’s podcast – Facilitating Public Deliberations
• UK Citizen’s Assembly
• Democracy R&D
• newDemocracy Foundation
• newDemocracy Foundation project: City of Melbourne People’s Panel (2014)
• newDemocracy Foundation project: Local Government Victoria – Democracy in Geelong (2016)
• The Irish Citizens’ Assembly 
• Book by Benjamin R. Teitelbaum - War for Eternity: Inside Bannon's Far-Right Circle of Global Power
• Book by David Van Reybrouck – Against Elections, The Case for Democracy
• New Zealand Prime Minister – Jacindra Ardern
• Quote: Be the change you wish to see in the world. Mahatma Ghandi

Now it’s your turn

Absolutely look up the newDemocracy Foundation, where Carson is a research director, and read through some of the fascinating projects and research they’ve undertaken. 

Be sure to subscribe to the podcast so you don’t miss any of the cool collaboration content and then share with your friends and colleagues. Don’t forget to sign up for other interesting collaboration tidbits at dynamics.com/">Collaboration Dynamics.

I’d love to hear your stories about collaboration success. Send me a note at scott.millar@collaboration-dynamics.com">scott.millar@collaboration-dynamics.com.

Introduction

Here’s episode #4 and today’s conversation is with Judy Stewart who is a community collaborator here in Alberta. I’ve had the pleasure of working with Judy on a couple of projects over the years, and you’ll hear her passion for environmental issues in our discussion. For Judy, collaboration is very much a coming together of language and ideas. Her experience earlier experience as a lawyer and municipal politician contrasts sharply with her current focus on collaborative practice and collaborative governance.

Judy’s deep involvement in organizations like the Alberta Water Council speaks to her willingness to contribute to hard conversations, and she relates how leadership, humour, and contribution help those conversations grow to be collaborative. 

During this episode we discuss

• From lawyer to collaborator
• Human networks
• The language of collaboration
• Working with Alberta irrigators
• Shifting away from a person-to-person conflict
• Reflexive law and bridging organizations

Resources mentioned in this episode

• Alberta Irrigation Districts Association
• Alberta Water Council
• Clean Air Strategic Alliance
• Calgary Regional Airshed Zone
• Enabling Partnerships - Water for Life Strategy, Government of Alberta 
• Gilles Paquet - past Professor Emeritus at the Telfer School of Management, University of Ottawa

Now it's your turn

In her retirement, Judy still works on projects that interest her. 

Be sure to subscribe to the podcast so you don’t miss any of the cool collaboration content and then share with your friends and colleagues. Don’t forget to sign up for other interesting collaboration tidbits at dynamics.com/">Collaboration Dynamics.

I’d love to hear your stories about collaboration success. Contact me at scott.millar@collaboration-dynamics.com">scott.millar@collaboration-dynamics.com and tell all about the highs (and the lows) you’ve encountered in crafting a collaborative conversation.

Introduction

For this episode’s collaboration conversation, I’m joined by Vivien Twyford, a collaboration specialist based in New South Wales, Australia. The sentiment running through our conversation is the design of a collaborative process that does things with people, instead of doing things to people. 

Vivien gives insights into some of her more memorable project and shares her thoughts on the importance of all the steps that come before actually working on a solution to a problem. 

Vivian is certainly an expert in collaboration, with extensive experience from all over the world and also deep reflection on what makes collaboration work. 

During this episode we discuss

• Getting to know Vivien
• Uncovering the subtext
• Transitioning to collaboration
• Traffic problem collaboration
• Do clients become believers?
• Complexity
• The Power of Co.
• Most surprising thing
• A few quick answer questions

Resources mentioned in this episode

• International Association for Public Participation (IAP2) – Canadian chapter
• 5 day training in public participation – Foundations in Public Participation
• Book by Vivien Twyford, Stuart Waters, and Max Hardy - Beyond Public Meetings; Connecting Community Engagement with Decision-Making
• Book by Twyfords - The Power of Co
• Appreciative Inquiry
• Book by Hugh Mackay – Why Don’t People Listen
• Quote: Margaret Mead
  • Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has.
• Quote: Rosabeth Moss Kanter
  • Change is disturbing when it is done to us, exhilarating when it is done by us.

Now it's your turn

While Vivien Twyford is not practicing any longer, the firm she helped establish continues. Connect at Twyfords Collaboration. 

Be sure to subscribe to the podcast so you don’t miss any of the cool collaboration content and then share with your friends and colleagues. Don’t forget to sign up for other interesting collaboration tidbits at dynamics.com/">Collaboration Dynamics.

I’d love to hear your stories about collaboration success and the highs (and the lows) you’ve encountered in crafting a collaborative conversation.

Introduction:

In this episode, Andre Asselin speaks to the world of multi-stakeholder collaboration and consensus in the context of the complex world of environmental management. Our conversation mixes the language of government policy with the engagement concepts of relationships, trust, and empathy. 

Andre is very skilled at navigating the different perspectives, interests, and positions that come with any broad discussion on water or air management, and he shares some of what makes collaboration possible in that space. 

During this episode we discuss:

• Getting to know Andre
• Water Conservations, Efficiency, and Productivity
• The Stick or the Carrot
• Putting yourself in another’s shoes
• Collaboration vs. consensus
• Is collaboration hard?
• Emotional IQ
• Facilitator skills in everyone
• One thing about collaboration
• Influences

Resources mentioned in this episode:

• Alberta Water Council
• Clean Air Strategic Alliance
• Alberta Water Council project team - Water Conservation, Efficiency, and Productivity final report
• Emotional Intelligence 
• Book by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry – The Little Prince
• Book by Patrick Rothfuss – Name of the Wind
• Book by D'Arcy Jenish - Indian Fall: The Last Great Days of the Plains Cree and the Blackfoot Confederacy

Now it’s your turn

Get in touch with Andre through the Alberta Water Council or Clean Air Strategic Alliance websites. 

Be sure to subscribe to the podcast so you don’t miss any of the cool collaboration content and then share with your friends and colleagues. Don’t forget to sign up for other interesting collaboration tidbits at dynamics.com/">Collaboration Dynamics.

I’d love to hear your stories about collaboration success and the highs (and the lows) you’ve encountered in crafting a collaborative conversation.

Introduction

In this episode, we talk through insights into effective collaboration and how our leadership within both collaboration and hard, emotional conversations should be how we all show up in these spaces.

Often, we involve people in our process with the aim of achieving something, of getting to a ‘result’. My conversation with Chief Storm Rider Stephani Roy McCallum points to a more effective approach; one where people come first, and the issue comes second. 

Stephani is an expert in creating space where people can build the relationships that lead to trust and then results and solutions. 

During this episode we discuss:

• Getting to know Stephani
• People’s motivation to collaboration
• An exploration of the meaning of collaboration
• Getting the right people in the room
• Leadership in collaboration
• Facilitating vs. Leadership
• Defining courage
• Putting down the collaborative space
• Creating a successful collaboration
• People who have and are influencing Stephani

Resources mentioned in this episode:

• Author and consultant – Harrison Owen 
• Author and speaker – Otto Sharmer
• Author and speaker – Parker Palmer
• Buddhist teacher, author, nun and mother – Pema Chödrön
• Researcher and author – Peter Coleman
• New Zealand Prime Minister – Jacindra Ardern
• Governor of New York – Andrew M. Cuomo
• Mayor of Victoria, British Columbia – Lisa Helps
• Book by Parker Palmer - Healing the Heart of Democracy
• Book by Robin DiAngelo – White Fragility 

Now it's your turn:

Find out more about Stephani at Bravely Lead and look into her Brave Spark Leadership program.

Be sure to subscribe to the podcast so you don’t miss any of the cool collaboration content and then share with your friends and colleagues. Don’t forget to sign up for other interesting collaboration tidbits at dynamics.com/">Collaboration Dynamics.

I’d love to hear your stories about collaboration success. Drop a comment in below to tell all about the highs (and the lows) you’ve encountered in crafting a collaborative conversation. 

Credits

Thanks to Jack at Vital Mastering for editing on this program.Cover photo by Leonardo Yip on Unsplash.