The idea is that I could create a low cost service that could:

1. Model local food systems on several scales using some different open source software to create systems simulaiton models
2. Collect data, and when appropriate, combine with existing public data to create datamining models for projecting, finding patterns, and to augment decision making in local food systems

The data from models, and from data mining would be made public, released under an open license (even when people *pay* for the creation of models or datamining services).

Any custom software, scripts, etc that are generated would also be made public/open license.

An addendum to this idea is that an open resource/education space could be offered to explore non-open source software modeling and datamining options, especially when they lower the barrier of entry for people to employ them

Matt Mariola's recent post about a special edition of Local Environ journal, dedicated to local food systems, gave me an idea: I think there are several people around the world who might be very interested in being published in a peer-reviewed journal about Local Food Systems.

In order to get this off of the ground in an expedient manner, the journal could start out as an electric/online journal, using open source software designed to accomplish this see: http://pkp.sfu.ca/ojs/ and I have an exampel set up here http://www.socialsynergyweb.com/ojs/  "Opne Journal Systems" includes mechanisms for journal submission management, peer review, and extensive built-in documentation that really literally walks you through the process of getting it up and running.

Open Journal System also has all of this http://pkp.sfu.ca/ojs_plugins and used by several journals http://pkp.sfu.ca/ojs-screenshots

This article talks about the many different ways that OJS helps to broadcast info to open knowledge repositories about a journal that is hosted on the software http://pkp.sfu.ca/files/GettingFoundStayingFound.pdf

“Is it doable?” asked Steve Bosserman at the close of the latest of three blogs which established the conceptual groundwork for a local sustainable food system in his home neighborhood in Worthington Hills. The question necessarily moves us beyond the presence of the key elements – “local food systems that engender widespread participation, integrated modules, start at zero, and consider that competition is not a factor” – to the need for people to commit, organize, and act.  But acting is not enough.  How one acts habituates patterns of behavior which in turn structure the emerging organization, whether we are aware of it or not.

Therefore, to answer Steve’s question about Worthington Hills is to open up discussion about how similar cooperative efforts can create organizational sustainability by being mindful of how they do what they do.  I would propose that, in addition to the criteria Steve specifies for food and environmental sustainability, we consider questions of how one gets from being a fired-up individual to a part of a similar-minded committed group to being an active part of a  sustainable organization.  Organizational sustainability as I use the term here refers to the capacity of individuals to direct personal passion and commitment toward becoming an organized, thriving entity, capable of incorporating additional people’s talents and ideas, reinforcing the spirit of their core values, while adapting to forever changing circumstances.

Creating a local food system in Worthington Hills is in part an organization design problem.  How people act -- the processes, relationships, roles and expectations, all the patterns of behavior which emerge -- shape the organization structure.  In my work building educational coalitions and working with non-profit organizations, I have often worked on the problem of organizational sustainability: attending to the patterns being formed as people pursue everything from designing state-wide curriculum for training college level peer tutors to promoting the rule of law in countries ravaged by coups and outside interference.

I hope to add to the development of plans for Worthington Hills through a series of blogs which outline the process by which a committed group of individuals can move well through three developmental phases of organizational design: start up to build up to sustainable organization.  For each phase, I hope to map pathways and obstacles for programming, leadership and working relationships, organizational practices, and systems development. 

It is my hope that even though I am not based in Ohio, my experiences and perspectives may be of use for pursuing visions of sustainable local food systems such as that proposed for Worthington Hills.