Whitepaper

The Open Partnership Education Network (OPEN), originally developed at the University of South Florida St. Petersburg, seeks to move a city’s best ideas, resources and people from silos of expertise and practice into a connected community of innovation and impact.  Since its inception, OPEN-facilitated partnerships have come to life in many shapes and forms, ranging from events and experiences to media and policy.  OPEN emerges today as an independent organization with gratitude for the heritage and relationships forged over time, and we are excited to continue our mission of supporting a smarter, better connected city, learning together.

This whitepaper is part chronicle and part roadmap–simply, a story of people and their dreams and how these can be woven into the fabric of a community’s businesses, civic, social and individual interests. Our protagonists are storytellers of the past and the future. They journey, both alone and together, on a path paved with a shared philosophy of inclusion that translates into verifiable values, clear principles and trusted relationships.