Ideas Commons and collaboration platform
Open problems where volunteers give their thinking, skills and time, not money.
Some of the best help for a child will come from people who have never met them: an engineer, a student, a grandmother with an idea. The Commons gives that goodwill somewhere to go.
What it is
A place where the foundation publishes clearly defined problems faced by children who learn differently and their families. Anyone can add an idea, build on someone else's, or say they can help. Over time the strongest ideas become small projects.
Who it serves
Volunteers, parents, teachers, students and professionals who want to help with more than money.
How it could work
The foundation writes each problem in plain words, with what we are looking for
People add ideas and say what they can help with
Every few months we pick one or two ideas to try with a small group of families
We share what worked and what didn't, and the problem stays open
- A good problem statement is narrow enough to act on and wide enough to invite new thinking
- Volunteers should share ideas and experience, never medical or diagnostic advice
- Who owns an idea? We intend to share what we make openly so others can use it
- Ideas need someone to carry them forward, or the commons becomes a wall of notes
Open questions
- Which problems should come first?
- How do we thank and credit contributors well?
- Could colleges and companies adopt a problem as a project?
Your next step
A seed needs hands. Yours could be the next.