Innovation drives productivity and prosperity. Increasingly, innovation depends on relationships that form outside of the four walls of any organization.

The term, "open innovation" has moved center stage in our drive to stimulate innovation.

I-Open believes that regional civic leaders can nurture innovation through conversations. As Willliam Page, founder of Verifone has said, "Most really useful information comes from conversations."

But these conversations are not haphazard or disjointed. Nurturing regional innovation takes reliable civic processes that involve both open participation and leadership direction. Civic leaders need to guide conversations quickly into action, because it is through action that we build trust. And it is through higher levels of trust that we build speed.