We’re viable!!

Something magical happened for the Open Forum Foundation at the Politics Online Conference (yes, I know that was April 19th and 20th – I’ve been neglectful with the sharing of exciting news and am trying to make up for it). We moved from the continuous process of ‘selling’ what we’re doing – trying to meet all the right people, hoping for acceptance, working hard for every connection – to being viable. We know the right people now. We have the skeleton of the solution defined, as well as a realistic plan for its development and implementation. If we were fully funded, we could be developing the platform at this point.

One clear example of this comes from Daniel Bennett. Daniel is well-known on the Hill and is primarily responsible for developing the current communication system that is used there (which was top-notch in the late 90s). At the beginning of the conference, I suggested to Daniel that he and I grab lunch and discuss the projects that we’re working on. He, in his characteristically direct manner, explained to me, “You’re not ready.” However, only two days later, at the end of the conference, he opened a conversation to let me know that the following week would be a good time to grab lunch if I was interested. The lunch went very well.

There is so much complexity in this city. Juggling the technical, cultural, political, and monetary issues at the same time is quite an act, and one that we are making excellent progress towards managing successfully. Next up? Fundraising!

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Wayne Moses Burke
June 10th, 2009 5:00 pm
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