Value Network Model

From UpliftWiki

This is a discussion of the[Value Network Model the Uplift Academy envisions creating. It describes some of the architectural elements to support the Six Billion Project

It is based on tools of Value Network Analysis and terminology collected over a series of GivingSpace Workshops over the years.

Some of the key elements of the model are:

1 Roles and Flows
2 Mapping Roles and Flows
3 Tools for Flow
4 Linking Value Models and Reputation Systems
5 Links

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Roles and Flows

Doers - People who are doing the uplift activities. This is a distinction from the more traditional term "recipient" and allows the network to focus on uplift patterns of activities independent of specific transactional or monetized value. (see Helping People Help Themselves by David Ellerman.

Helpers - People who help others with a given uplift pattern. This is a distinction from the more traditional term "donor" and allows the network to focus on uplift patterns of activities independent of specific transactional or monetized value. (see Helping People Help Themselves by David Ellerman.

Network Animator - an individual who has access to the Internet and is able to assist in the formation and support of Uplift Clusters These are people who are the Boundary Spanners between the electronic network and the face-to-face networks of people on the ground. (This name was adopted from the work of Jeffrey Ashe in Savings For Change)

Groups of Doers - groups of individuals, possibly in the poorest and most areas of the world, who come together in a group to participate in Uplift Activites. They may be assisted by a Network Animator, who is able to bring them information from the network, as well as feedback information to the network. This information may be in the form of audio, video, or paper. Clusters may have a Subscription to an arbitrary number of Better World Network Channels. These channels allow the cluster to learn from and feedback information to other groups and clusters.

Pattern Gardeners - People who tend to the patterns used by the network. This may include, editing the text of the pattern in a wiki, managing the subscription channels around the pattern, and distilling feedback from the activities in the various Uplift Patterns in use. These are general descriptions of activities, which serve as both a stimulus for action as well as "container" for learning about how the pattern works, and in which contexts. Patterns are stored in the Uplift Wiki and edited in a manner similar to WikiPedia. This provides a "many eyeballs" model of knowledge development and refinement.

Network Weaver - these are people who maintain the network linkages, in both the electronic and physical forms. See Krebs and Holley, Building Smart Communities through Network Weaving

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Mapping Roles and Flows

Here is a Bubble/Flow Diagram] of the network:

The bubbles show the roles in the network, while the arrows show the flows. This is the Source information for this diagram, which is generated with the Graphviz toolkit.

Note that the formal description of the flows and roles may provide a way of further modeling and understanding the behavior of the network. For example: roles are defined for the graph with their properties with the following:

helpers      [label = Helpers];
net          [label = "Helper/Doer Network"];
weavers      [label = "Network weavers", ]

and the flows between them are defined as:

helpers -> net      [label = "Sense of Community"];
helpers -> net      [label = "Pay Attention"];
weavers -> net      [label = "Map Network"];
weavers -> net      [label = "Create Strategic Links"];

We could imagine adding some additional parameters to the definition. For example, we might add a flow parameter to allow an attention stream processor on the Pay Attention Link, and a Philo Complementary Currency exchange on the "Create Strategic Links" link:

helpers -> net      [label = "Pay Attention", flow = "http://upliftacademy.org/attention"];
weavers -> net      [label = "Create Strategic Links", flow = "Philo"];

The attention stream processor would allow helpers to pay attention to what is working as they browse the web, which the network would then feed back as "what's interesting" information. The Philo flow would allow weavers to be rewarded for their network weaving activities in Philos.

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Tools for Flow

Complementary Currency such as the Philo - a complementary currency designed to support the activities of the Uplift Academy.

Subscription Tree - is a two-way method of linking clusters and people and ideas, allowing them to subscribe to channels linking them all together. The basic unit of communication is the episode, using podcast and RSS technology. This allows the rapid, low cost dissemination of global information as well as local ones. For example, a women's group in Nepal may subscribe to a local Nepalese channel to communicate with their local neighbors in Nepales using audio podcasts. They might also subscribe to a global channel for news about NanoFinance activities and lessons learned about accounting systems. They might also subscribe to an Nepal-wide channel, specializing in export/sales of local handicrafts, learning the latest market conditions and opportunities for their handicrafts. People can subscribe to a pattern located on the Uplift Wiki, so that they are kept informed of the latest developments, and are able to feedback their comments and suggestions to refine the pattern.

Drumcasting may be one way of communicating stories and information via podcasts. For example, UNESCO has proclaimed the Garifuna Language, Music and Dance a "Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity." Capturing their drumming for transmission over the internet is a way of preserving and communicating this heritage, making it tangible.

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