Open Space Technology is a simple, effective way of bringing people together to get important things done. Several people who trained in the practice of Open Space Technology meet on the third Tuesday of each month.
If you would like to find out more about Open Space, you are cordially invited to join us on March 16th at 6:00pm in the Belle Community Center which is located at 104 Maryland Street.
This is a Public presentation of the results of the RIT Design studio on the Broadway Market!
One of the first open space meetings was conducted on the Broadway Market at the Matt Urban Center.
Date/Time/Location:
Broadway Market
999 Broadway
Buffalo, New York
February 17, 2010
3:00 pm
RSVP:
http://tinyurl.com/broadwaymarket2010
Questions
broadwaymarketstudio@gmail.com
Dear Trained Open Space Facilitators:
Mayor Brown is asking for your help in putting your facilitation skills to work for him and President Obama. He has been asked by the President’s office to conduct a forum next week on Jobs and Economic Growth in Buffalo. It will be held at the Buffalo Niagara Convention Center Wednesday, December 9th from 4 - 6:30 pm.
The room will be set up for tables of 8. Participants will discuss each of 3 questions at their tables and at then end of the discussion, we need your help to moderate the group to choose its top issues to be noted on a summary form you complete for them and get it entered into a computer at the head of the room.
This task is important because the White House will be getting tens of thousands of responses and we need ours from Buffalo efficiently packaged and communicated.
IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN HELPING MODERATE A TABLE AT THIS MAYOR’S FORUM,
PLEASE REPLY TO DAVID GRANVILLE BY TUESDAY AT NOON.
DO NOT RSVP AS A REGULAR ATTENDEE.
Questions? 851-4296. David will send a brief moderator’s guide and perhaps even a web link to a short orientation video to be sure you’re prepared.
Please try to arrive by 3:30 the day of the event.
We also believe this forum will lead to a meeting in open space on the same topic sometime in January–more about that soon–a chance to put your open space training to a great use.
Sincerely,
Brian
_____________________________
Brian Reilly
Economic Development Commissioner
for Mayor Byron W. Brown
After Dennis Galucki asked me to do a lunchtime presentation on the topic “Imagining Buffalo Niagara in the 21st Century,” we wondered what might result if we tried a slightly different model than a formal lecture?
After all, everyone in the room will already be in Buffalo in the 21st century. What do they think about the future they’ll be helping create?
If it’s true what the Spanish poet Antonio Machado says, that “We make the road by walking,” then
And since we’re a Great Lakes city… what if we asked others in similar cites to join in?
So, we want to do an experiment. We are calling on people from a range of places, people who are living in Buffalo Niagara and beyond, who are thinking about the futures of such Great Lakes cities and people who are doing things right now to build that future to address:
How might what you are doing today influence our “Imagining Buffalo in the 21st century?”
To start the dialogue you can join the discussion I started on Facebook or respond to my call for tweets on Twitter.
You can also email me at brianreilly14 at gmail.com, comment on my blog, call me at 716.851.4972, fax me at 716.851.4242. Whatever works for you.
If you’re going to express yourself on the internet, try using the hashtag #imagineBuffalo21 so your contributions can be easily searched for online.
With everything I receive by December 4th, I will try to compile a presentation that reflects what people are doing and what that might say for where Buffalo seems to be going in the 21st century just a decade into it.
I encourage you to join us in person as well
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Noon
@ Buffalo and Erie County Downtown Public Library
Organized by the Center for the Study of Art, Architecture, History and Nature, as part of its Fall and Winter Lecture Series
You are invited to help connect places in…
Broadway-Fillmore, Broadway Market Village, Historic Polonia, The Terminal District.
Do you want to turn this area around?
However you define it, this area is one of Buffalo-Niagara’s more challenged neighborhoods
from a residential perspective, but also one if its most attractive, culturally.
If you care about the opportunity to strengthen this area by making connections among its cultural
and business resources, please come to this meeting!
If you have a PASSION for this neighborhood, come join us in a public meeting convened by
Broadway Market, Corpus Christi, Dave Franczyk, City of Buffalo, Central Terminal
Restoration Corporation, Lower East Side Weed & Seed, Adam Mickiewicz Library,
Broadway Fillmore Alive, Dyngus Day Buffalo, Forgotten Buffalo, East Buffalo GNPA,
and Lombard St. Block Club.
Lunch is available by reservation only. Reserve your lunch by October 1st by calling 851-4296.
Saturday, October 3, 2009. 9:00am to 4:00 pm. at Central Terminal.
NOTE CHANGE OF DATE!!
How do we know as a community that we are progressing toward our shared community vision?
The city of Buffalo has a community vision, yet progress indicators have not been linked to it. This open space meeting is opened to help develop a mutual understanding of what is considered important by members of the community that indicate that we are improving the quality of life for Buffalo citizens.
Questions to be addressed for this open space meeting are:
• What is an effective community driven process to engage different sectors uniting under this vision?
• Who needs to be on a steering committee to make this effort successful?
Questions for further exploration:
What indicators related to the city exist already in:
• The environmental sector?
• The social sector?
• The economic sector?
• The already built sector?
• What is missing?
If you have an impact in the future of the city, please join us for a meeting convened by Aaron Gilbee, City of Buffalo, and the Wellness Institute.
Time: 10:00 am on Saturday, August 22.
Place: Room 235, Chase Hall, Buffalo State College
Map of Location: http://www.buffalostate.edu/tour/index.asp?sectid=chas
The vision can be located in the city’s comprehensive plan at:
http://www.ci.buffalo.ny.us/files/1_2_1/Mayor/COB_Comprehensive_Plan/chapter_92.html
Please forward this to those you believe will be interested in this. Please invite your friends.
As one of the nation’s oldest and most celebrated inland ports, spanning over two centuries of history, Buffalo is a unique waterfront city full of emerging ideas. This opportunity to reshape our waterfront is a special partnership between the City of Buffalo, local business, and the community. Join us to share, hear about and participate in ideas that are shaping the image of downtown and the waterfront.
Wednesday, August 12, 2009 from 6 to 9 PM at the
Pearl Street Grill & Brewery, The Pan American Room, Second Floor
76 Pearl St., Buffalo, NY 14202
If you are interested in becoming active in this Buffalo Waterfront Initiative come join us in a public meeting convened by;
WHEN: 11:30 AM. August 11, 2009
WHERE: 78 Pearl Street
WHO: Mayor Brown
Commissioner Reilly
Earl Ketry of Pearl St. Grill and Brewery
Rocco Termini
Julie Padak
WHAT: Mayor Brown will personally thank Earl Ketry of Pearl St. Grill and Brewery for improving the area surrounding his business in Downtown Buffalo.
With help from the City, Ketry has planted trees, cleaned city property, and installed meters on Seneca Street.
Mr. Ketry’s upcoming waterfront planning meeting (scheduled from 6-9pm on August 12th) will also be discussed.
You Are Invited to Help Connect Places in . . .
Broadway-Fillmore — Broadway Market Village — Historic Polonia — The Terminal District.
This area — however you define it — is one of Buffalo-Niagara’s more challenged neighborhoods from a residential perspective but also one of its most attractive culturally. If you care about the opportunity to strengthen this area by making connections among its cultural places, come to this meeting.
To be discussed:
• What has happened?
• What are the problems?
• What’s important to you?
• What are the plans?
• What are the solutions?
• What should be done first?
• Who is going to do it?
• Who is currently involved?
If you have a passion for this neighborhood, come join us at a public meeting convened by [LIST
OF CONVENERS].
Saturday, August [DATE], 2009, at 9:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m. (with lunch by reservation only), at
[LOCATION], Buffalo. Reserve your lunch by August 10th by sending your name and contact
information to connectin2009@[HOST.COM]
Wednesday, July 15, 2009, at 6:00 p.m.,
in McKinley High School cafeteria,
1500 Elmwood Avenue, Buffalo.
Historic Preservation in Buffalo: Issues and Opportunities for Preservation Leaders, Neighborhood Associations, and Individuals
You are invited to help develop planning and action steps to create a community plan for the benefit of our city as we prepare for the 2011 National Trust for Historic Preservation Conference to be held in Buffalo including…
Join preservation leaders, activists, block club and neighborhood association leaders, and others concerned and passionate individuals who care about historic preservation in Buffalo and would like to join together to accomplish preservation successes as Buffalo prepares to showcase itself to thousands of preservation leaders, professionals and enthusiasts at the 2011 National Trust for Historic Preservation Conference.
Please Join Us…
Date TBD
Time TBD
Place TBD
RSVP: Space is limited, so please reply by (TBD) to the Buffalo Preservation Board Office (716) 851-5029.
Organized by: City of Buffalo Office of Strategic Planning, Preservation Buffalo Niagara, and (co-conveners).
—————————–
*EMERGING INVITATION DOCUMENT
You are Invited to Help Buffalo become Stronger Faster …by coming part of an ongoing Practice Group that will learn and work together, to host community meetings and invite community action, on all of the issues critical to the future of Buffalo, as local leaders in the practice of Open Space Technology.
We’ll kick off this special applied training on:
Friday, May 29th, 6PM to 9PM,
Saturday, May 30th, 8AM to 5PM and
Sunday, May 31st, 2pm to 6pm
This $1,000 course is being provided, for a small group of local leaders, by the Mayor’s Offices of Strategic Planning and Citizen Services and the Community Foundation of Greater Buffalo. Some pre-course study and a commitment to all three days is required.
Open Space Has Worked in Buffalo
Open Space is a simple, effective way of bringing people together to get important things done. We’ve tried out this meeting method 5 times in Buffalo and people universally agreed it was one of the best ways to get work done in communities. The working notes from these conversations are posted at www.InvitingBuffalo.com.
Let’s make more of this happen on all of the issues critical to Buffalo’s future. To launch this work, we’ve brought in an internationally recognized leader in the practice of Open Space. NOW, we want to develop a group of local practitioners and do it for ourselves.
Do you care about the future of economic development, the quality of neighborhoods, our impact on environment, kids and schools, arts & culture? Do you want to meet and partner with people who share your passion? Do you want more skills and support for bringing people together to address these issues? That’s what this Practice Group is for. Please join us!
Whether you want to learn to organize any community action in this simple, powerful way, or you want to invite and energize work on one or more specific issues, you are invited to join this group, take the training, and begin this work together.
Registration is required. Contact David Granville at 851-4296 or dgranville@city-buffalo.com not later than Friday, May 15th.
Improving the Quality of Life in Buffalo:
Issues and Opportunities for Block Clubs, Other Groups, and
Individuals Working on Neighborhood-Level Improvement
You are invited to help develop planning and action steps for 2009, related to…
• Join neighborhood activists, block club leaders, and other concerned and passionate residents who are about revitalizing Buffalo and ready to get together to get things done in the short term.
• Share ideas about initiatives that are working now and design even stronger, more flexible procedures and programs that might yield more value to Buffalo neighborhoods in the near future.
• Be part of a diverse community of implementers and doers working throughout the City.
Please Join Us…
Saturday, April 18, 2009
9:00 am to 3:00 pm
Buffalo Employment and Training Center
RSVP: Space is limited, so please reply by April 12, 2009 to the Mayor’s Call and Resolution Center by dialing 311 or (716) 851-4890. Complimentary lunch is provided.
The City of Buffalo is committed to:
• Helping committed groups develop neighborhood implementation plans for 2009-2010
• Sharing insight and gathering input on local grant opportunities and their community impact
• Compiling lists of Community Assets you identify
• Helping you organize the follow-up in your neighborhood so you can get work done faster
Organized by: City of Buffalo Office of Strategic Planning and Department of Citizens Services, with support from the Mayor’s Office and the Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo.
Thanks to Gloria Simpson for posting this invitation to other business leaders who attended the Commercial District Networking session earlier this month. New members welcome…
This is the meeting reminder for developing and promoting business stability and strenghthening our prospective communities within the city of Buffalo. This would be part two coming from the meeting that we had with Michael Herman on October 8, 2008. We were going to hold the meeting at the Merriweather Library, but I thought Khalil said he would secure the Apollo theater. He is out of town, but if the location changes from the info below, I will email all on Friday. Hope to see you all there.
October 27, 2008 at 1:00 PM — Apollo Theater
Questions? mailto:info@buffalofirst.org (Amy Kedron)
This was the invitation shared last week with Market tenants and the new Task Force group…
What can we do together right now to strengthen the Broadway Market? What are the issues and opportunities for the future of the Market?
You are invited… because you have the experience, connections, resources and passion we need to strengthen the Broadway Market and/or its environs.
We’re longtime market tenants and more recently interested “civic entrepreneurs,“ people with old connections to the market and those with new ideas for it.
The City’s temporary takeover of the Market presents new opportunities we’ve not had in years to keep what’s working, drop what’s not and create new elements to take the market into the 21st century. Let’s shape what the future might look like, and define what each of us can do to make it happen.
This two day workshop is meant to be an action session for participants to accelerate their work agendas by sharing information, identifying possible collaborations and defining efforts people are willing to act on.
It’s a chance to get real work done, and make plans and proposals quicker than working alone.
It’s a meeting method that asks of each participant: “what do you most care about related to the question above, and what are you willing to do about it?”
When: October 21st & 22nd, 5:30-8:00pm
Where: Matt Urban Center, 1081 Broadway
Come with your experience, resources, connections, & ideas you are willing to take responsibility for.
Co-Conveners (so far, as of Oct 15th) are people and organizations who believe this is an important question, have agreed to show up, and will actively invite others they think should be there, too:
*Add yourself or your organization and pass on this invite to others you think would be interested.
Buffalo First will welcome Laury Hammel to Buffalo on November 10-11 to speak about the importance of local living economies and sustainable business. You are invited to attend!
Hammel is the co-founder of the 20,000 member Business Alliance for Local Living Economies (BALLE) he is also the owner and president of The Longfellow Clubs, four health and recreation clubs in New England. He is an enthusiastic, powerful and positive speaker who we hope will give area businesses a renewed sense of purpose and vision.
On November 10 he will be speaking at a PPG forum at 2pm and at Daemen College’s Social Entrepreneur forum at 6pm.
BuffaloFirst has over 200 local business members and is working to building a Local, Green and Fair Economy in Buffalo. Search local businesses at http://buffalofirst.org/marketplace
BuffaloFirst will distribute a Local Coupon Book mid-November. The book’s purpose is to root more dollars in the local economy (one dollar spent locally gets re-spent three times more than if it were spent at a chain), make local purchasing more affordable and educate the public about making more responsible purchasing decisions.
We are in the midst of an economic downturn that is adversely affecting New York State. It is important for us to pull together and think of positive ways to stimulate Buffalo’s economy from the ground up. These books have been a big hit in other cities like Bellingham, Washington for years, so we are adopting a model that works.
Over eight diverse community and business associations are working together to promote this book, which wholesales for $7 and retails for $10. Local independent businesses get a free coupon listed in the book for either if they agree to sell ten books or they may purchase a coupon listing for $50. This ensures that even the smallest retailer, restaurant or service provider can participate.
BuffaloFirst has over 200 local business members and is working to building a Local, Green and Fair Economy in Buffalo. Search local businesses at http://buffalofirst.org/marketplace
How Can We Maximize the Local Economic and Social Capital Impacts of Buffalo’s Vacant and Abandoned Residential Properties? Issues and opportunities for supporting the future of Buffalo’s housing and creating value in our neighborhoods.
You are invited… because you have the experience, connections, resources and passion we need to change this city and create new housing value for the future of buffalo. We are a diverse community of implementers and doers. Please join us!
The city is committed to demolishing 5,000 of the worst houses in 5 years—Now, which are in the worst shape or worst locations? After demolition. Then what? What are the issues and opportunities for choosing which homes to demolish, which properties for the city to gain ownership, and then who will bring new uses to them? What are the procedures? Whose help will be needed and how can we invite them to join? What are the projects and how should we measure our collective success?
What do we have to start with and what do you want to happen next? This is what we want to find out in these first two meetings, focusing first on the area…one of Buffalo’s housing priority areas from approximately Main St. to Jefferson Ave.; Best St. to Kensington Ave……
Come with your experience, resources, connections, & ideas. Understand existing residential and vacant land policies and practices as they are today. Shape those that are working now and design even stronger more flexible procedures and systems that might yield more value to Buffalo neighborhoods in the future.
And in the process…become part of (or make connections to) a diverse community of implementers and doers in one of Buffalo’s housing priority areas from approximately Main St. to Jefferson Ave.; Best St. to Kensington Ave.
Orientation session: What exists today?
When: October 7, 2008 - drop in between 6 and 8pm
Location: Belmont Shelter Corporation, 1195 Main Street
At your convenience, browse poster sessions about current government and non profit policies, practices and planned 2008-9 projects. This information will ensure everyone is up to speed and ready to dig deep at the 3 hour working session.
Working session: What do you want to do next?
When: October 9, 2008 - 6-9pm; full 3 hr meeting session
Where: Belmont Shelter Corporation, 1195 Main Street
Bring your knowledge of what is now. Identify what works and what could work better. Consider how you want to strengthen what is now— into better, stronger, more flexible procedures and systems or what project you want to undertake next.
Who should come? Those who care about the issues above and are ready to do something about them as part of their day job, or those who contribute significant volunteer time on implementing solutions and actions on these issues.
Co-Conveners (people and organizations who have agreed that this is an important question, and will invite others they think would be interested)
Mayor Byron Brown • Belmont Shelter Corporation • City of Buffalo, Economic Development Department • Homefront, Inc. • Buffalo Niagara Association of Realtors • Fillmore Leroy Area Residents (FLARE) • Western New York Law Center • Bethesda Community Development Corp. • Local Initiatives Support Corp. (LISC) • Ellicott District Community Development, Inc.