Strategic Doing – Strategic Doing Institute

Pioneering Collaboration: Celebrating 30 Years of Strategic Doing Innovation

Founded by Ed Morrison, Strategic Doing provides protocols to generate – and implement -- solutions to complex challenges. By following Strategic Doing’s set of simple rules, participants form collaborations quickly, move them toward measurable outcomes, and make adjustments as they learn by doing. Strategic Doing Networks encompasses a growing global network of practitioners -- over 2,000 of whom have been introduced to the ten core skills of Strategic Doing through both in person and online programs.

About Strategic Doing Institute

Strategic Doing is the most effective methodology we know for addressing the complex, wicked challenges the world faces today. It is a peer-reviewed, scientifically grounded practice that teaches the discipline of collaboration and strategy in open networks. Developed in the United States, it is now used around the globe.

Our Mission

We believe so deeply in the potential of Strategic Doing to make positive change in the world that we established the Strategic Doing Institute (SDI) to ensure that the discipline of Strategic Doing is accessible to all who are addressing complex challenges around the world.

OUR FOUNDER

Ed Morrison, co-author of the book “Strategic Doing – Ten Skills for Agile Leadership”, a #1 Amazon New Release in 6 categories. Ed is a leading expert in developing network-based models for strategy in open, loosely connected networks.

With over 25 years of experience, Ed is a pioneer in emphasizing the strategic importance of collaboration and innovation in today’s global economy. As the mastermind behind the innovative discipline of Strategic Doing, Ed has spearheaded collaborations across the United States, gaining recognition internationally.

His commitment to advancing this discipline is evident through Agile Strategy Labs at the University of North Alabama, the University of Puerto Rico, and Purdue University. Before his work in Strategic Doing, Ed Morrison honed his skills as a consultant at Telesis, working with esteemed clients such as Ford Motor Company, Volvo, and General Electric.

Strategic Doing Institute Credo

Four beliefs drive our work:

1) We have a responsibility to build a prosperous, sustainable future for ourselves and for future generations.

2) No individual, organization, or place can build that future alone.

3) Open, honest, focused, and caring collaboration among diverse participants is the path to accomplishing clear, valuable, shared outcomes.

4) Doing must accompany talking, and our behavior must be aligned with our beliefs.

What we do?

The Strategic Doing Institute serves as the core team supporting Strategic Doing practitioners, communities, and projects around the world.

We provide training and credentialing. Strategic Doing is a shared practice that is simple but not easy. Practitioners learn and practice the skills through virtual and in-person training. The SDI is the definitive source of the curriculum and standards for teaching Strategic Doing. We continuously update and improve our training curriculum. We connect learners with qualified instructors. We award credentials to those who meet rigorous requirements, including Fellows and Certified Workshop Leaders.

We connect the global community of Strategic Doing practitioners, collaborators, and innovators. Through our global digital partner CONNECTS, we support a wide range of communities of practice, such as entrepreneurial ecosystems, university systems, rural communities, and corporations engaged in adaptive innovation management strategies. These communities of practice are addressing pressing and complex challenges in areas ranging from climate change to advanced manufacturing. We convene practitioners and experts online. We offer continuing education and training opportunities. We amplify the work, learning, and innovation taking place around the world for the benefit of the rest of our community.

We support research to advance the understanding and application of Strategic Doing. Strategic Doing was developed over three decades. The body of research evidence that now supports each element of the discipline allows us to understand what makes Strategic Doing so effective. The SDI is dedicated to supporting research focused on maximizing the impact of Strategic Doing in addressing the world’s most wicked problems and on expanding the ways in which Strategic Doing may be applied.

History of our Discipline

1993-1999: Forward Oklahoma City and the Birth of Strategic Doing

Ed Morrison began a large scale experiment to transform a regional economy through collaboration and networks. Clay Bennett, a venture capitalist, led Forward Oklahoma City, a privately-led, publicly supported investment strategy. Led by the Chamber of Commerce, Forward Oklahoma City complemented a publicly-led, privately-supported strategy, MAPS (Metropolitan Area Projects), led by the mayor Ron Norrick, a serial entrepreneur.

1997: Data Confirmed Oklahoma City Breakthrough

An outside firm assessed Morrison's experiment and verifies that it produces dramatically higher productivity levels than traditional economic development strategies. Net present value of a ten year return on a $10 million investment estimated at $1.35 billion.

1995-2003: Visual Language for Strategic Doing Developed

Strategy in open networks involves forming and guiding complex hidden networks. Understanding these networks involves developing a visual language, much like molecular biology. Morrison worked with Kim Mitchell, and architect and planner, to develop the initial set of drawings that are used to communicate and teach Strategic Doing.

1996-1999: Globalization Challenges Met Across Kentucky

Morrison designed a version of his model for the State of Kentucky, focusing on 22 rural counties. Each county faced devastating impacts from globalization. Independent assessment verified 18 of 22 counties make "measurable progress" using this approach. Through the 1990s, Morrison works with Kim Mitchell to develop a visual language for the model.

2001: Charleston Digital Corridor Launched

Morrison taught his model of network-based development to Ernest Andrade, the founder of the Charleston Digital Corridor. The Corridor went on to become a leading hub for digital technology companies.

2003: Lowe Foundation Supported First Strategic Doing Training

The Edward Lowe Foundation, which focuses on entrepreneurship, invited Morrison to experiment with teaching Strategic Doing for the first time.

2005: Purdue Testbeds Launched

Morrison brings the Strategic Doing model to Purdue and Purdue agreed to support the continued development of the model. Vice Provost Vic Lechtenberg agreed to "open-source" the intellectual property of Strategic Doing, if the model proved successful. Morrison and Scott Hutcheson, and Peggy Hosea form the initial core team for the development of Strategic Doing. They launched the initial Purdue testbed, a $15 million initiative to transform the regional workforce system. Testbeds continued with Purdue with NASA, Lockheed, New Jersey Institute of Technology, Fraunhofer IAO, and faculty at Purdue.

2005-2008: Purdue Demonstrated Power of Strategic Doing with Workforce Development Collaborations

Purdue's initial testbed for Strategic Doing was designed by Scott Hutcheson and Ed Morrison. The experiment produced dramatic results. With $15 million -- 8% of the money awarded nationally -- Purdue produced 40% of the national metrics on improved workforce performance.

2008: Global Water Hub Launched

Milwaukee civic leaders asked Purdue to help launch a global water hub in Milwaukee. Within the first three years, The Water Council established itself as a global water hub. Another privately-led, publicly supported investment initiative, the Water Council was led by Paul Jones, CEO of A.O. Smith, and Rich Meeusen, CEO of Badger Meter.

2010: Oklahoma City Recognized as a National Model

The national recognition of Oklahoma City's economic transformation grew, as a culture of collaboration took hold in Oklahoma City. Data continued to accumulate that Strategic Doing delivered exceptional levels of improved productivity.

2010: Translation of Strategic Doing into Practical Skills Began

Models cannot be replicated and scaled unless they are translated into skills that can be taught. Morrison isolated ten skills required to apply the model. Morrison and Hutcheson began formulating a curriculum to teach these skills. A core team of Strategic Doing practitioners provided advice and guidance.

2011: Strategic Doing Credo Drafted

At a core team meeting, Strategic Doing practitioners from across the U.S. gathered at a state pare in Indiana. They drafted the Strategic Doing Credo that guides the development and deployment of Strategic Doing.

2012: Strategic Doing Training Launched

Strategic Doing Training introduces the learner to the skills needed to enable people to form action-oriented collaborations quickly, move them toward measurable outcomes, and make adjustments along the way. It yields replicable, scalable, and sustainable collaborations based on simple rules.

2014: Flint Testbed Began

A small team in Flint, Michigan launched a bold experiment to reduce teenage homicides with Strategic Doing. Bob Brown, from Michigan State University, Tendaji Ganges from the University of Michigan, and Kenyetta Dotson, a community leader, formed a core team to guide the deployment of Strategic Doing. Teams have worked on a variety of complex issues beyond reducing teenage violence. The Flint core team provided the Institute with insights into how core teams function.

2014-2017: Stanford Transforms Engineering Education

Under a National Science Foundation grant, Stanford turned to Purdue to deploy Strategic Doing. The project reached across 50 university teams, each seeking to transform undergraduate engineering education. Over 50 university teams launched over 500 collaborations.

2014-2021: University of the Sunshine Coast Began Experimenting with Strategic Doing

The University of the Sunshine Coast is located in an entrepreneurial hotbed north of Brisbane in Australia. Professor Mike Hefferan learned of Strategic Doing from Paul Collits, President of the Australia-New Zealand Regional Science Association. Hefferan invited Morrison and Hutcheson to share what they were learning. This Engagment led to Morrison completing a Ph.D. in Economics to explain why Strategic Doing works.

2015: Strategic Doing Started in the Netherlands

Through a partnership between Purdue and Human Insight in The Hague, Morrison and Hutcheson bring Strategic Doing to the Netherlands. The practice continues to grow. Workshops are conducted in Dutch.

2015: University of North Alabama Launched Shoals Shift

The University of North Alabama became an early adopter of Strategic Doing to build entrepreneurial ecosystems with the guidance of Janyce Fadden. UNA has positioned the university as a leading "workforce development Unviersity". UNA launched Shoals Shift, a regional ecosystem. Shoals Shift went on to win multiple grants and awards for its innovation.

2016: Strategic Doing Institute Formed

With the growing interest in Strategic Doing led Morrison to form a nonprofit organization to hold the core intellectual property of Strategic Doing. Upon coming to Purdue in 2005, Morrison reached an agreement with Vic Lechtenberg, Vice Provost for Engagement. If Strategic Doing proved successful, Morrison and Lechtenberg agreed that the core intellectual property would be transferred to a nonprofit to facilitate the diffusion of the model.

2016: Mississippi State's Stennis Institute Adopted Strategic Doing

The Stennis Institute at Mississippi State adopted Strategic Doing as a way to engage rural communities in complex economic transformations. Under the leadership of Dr. Joe Fratesi, the Stennis Institute guides rural communities in the transformation of their economy.

2016-2019: Purdue Established the Agile Strategy Lab

The Purdue Office of Engagement, the Purdue Polytechnic, and Purdue Discovery Park established the Agile Strategy Lab to continue the development and deployment of Strategic Doing. Morrison, director of the Lab, retired from Purdue in 2019. He moved the operations of the Lab to the University of North Alabama to leverage that university's expertise in online education.

2016: NASA Testbed Completed

Elizabeth Taylor, a NASA engineer, formed a team to form collaborations among life scientists at NASA. A Purdue team designed a two day workshop to define opportunities to collaborate. The workshop, held at Ames Research Center in California, involved over 60 NASA life scientists from research centers across the country. The workshop generated practical projects on which scientists could collaborate.

2017: Strategic Doing Moves to the University of Oregon

Scholars and practitioners at the University of Oregon received training in Strategic Doing. The practice has been embraced in various locations across campus. Three Institute Fellows at the University Of Oregon continue to develop the practice.

2017

2017: Lockheed Ecosystem Delivered

Lockheed presented a challenge: Design a technology roadmap for the deployment of condition-based maintenance across the Navy's Aegis destroyer fleet. In 6 months we delivered by developing an ecosystem for Lockheed with 20 outside companies.

2018: University of Puerto Rico Looked to Strategic Doing to Recover from Maria

University of Puerto Rico partnered with Purdue and the Puerto Rico Science, Technology and Research Trust to bring Strategic Doing to the island after hurricane Maria. Over 40 scholars and practitioners participated in training and then moved into communities to accelerate the rebuilding process.

2018: Indiana University Center for Rural Engagement Trained Staff

The staff of the Indiana University Center for Rural Engagement embraced Strategic Doing and trained staff members in the discipline. Jane Rogan with the Center has become a Fellow of the Institute.

2018: Yo-Yo Ma Invited Strategic Doing to Youngstown

As part of his national Bach tour, Yo-Yo Ma sponsored a series of community forums. He invited Morrison to lead a workshop. As he explained in the Foreword to our book, "I was a witness to and participant in this approach when I met Ed Morrison in Youngstown, Ohio, working with a group of socially committed citizens, each determined to work to reinvigorate a once thriving community. In one short hour he had us each identify and unlock our assets, come up with a plausible group plan, and determine a course of action moving forward, agreeing to meet again 30 days from that moment."

2018: Iowa City Committed to Strategic Doing

With multiple trainings beginning in 2016, the Iowa City Area Development Corporation became a hub for Strategic Doing practitioners.

2019: Strategic Doing Book Published

Purdue President Martin Jischke provided vital support at Purdue beginning in 2005. The book received strong reviews from both scholars and practitioners. Yo-Yo Ma wrote the Foreword. It reads in part, ""I've been waiting for this book all my life...Strategic Doing is precisely what we need at this moment. In a fast-changing world, filled with disruption, with institutions not equipped to absorb or deal with the pace of change, here is a way of thinking and acting, here is an agile strategy that makes collaboration take place at the necessary speed for social good."

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2020: Oklahoma City Celebrated 25 Years of Success with Forward Oklahoma City

Forward Oklahoma City, the strategy that Morrison designed in 1993, launched its 6th five year investment cycle in 2020. Over 25 years, average wages increased 111% and bank deposits increased by $24.3 billion.

2020: Online Training Connected a Global Audience

The University of North Alabama, a leading regional university in online education, launched online Strategic Doing training through its Agile Strategy Lab in the Sanders College of Business and Technology. The online course enabled Strategic Doing to reach a global audience.

2021: Strategic Doing Deployed Across Ecuador

Julio Jose Prado, Ph.D., a cluster expert came to Purdue in 2017 to learn Strategic Doing. "We know a lot about what clusters are, but Strategic Doing provides the only method for how to develop clusters," according to Julio. .He returned to Ecuador and deployed Strategic Doing in the banking sector. When he was appointed as Minister of Production and Trade in Ecuador, he created the platform to deploy Strategic Doing across 22 clusters in Ecuador.

2021: Doctoral Dissertation Explained Why Strategic Doing Works

Morrison completed a Ph.D. in economics to explain why Strategic Doing works. Based on pragmatism and action research, the dissertation explains how Strategic Doing evolved over 20 years of strategy practice in open, loosely-honed networks. The dissertation also explains how multiple streams of research across different disciplines that support the ten basic rules of the model.

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2021: Platform Calgary Engaged Strategic Doing

With its launch, Platform Calgary, supported by the provincial innovation agency Alberta Innovates, trained over 40 leaders in Strategic Doing. Calgary’s tech and innovation ecosystem is working towards the common goal of tripling the size of our city’s tech sector in the next ten years. “While Strategic Doing training is an invaluable tool for Calgary’s tech and innovation community, I see it as an important evolution for the pan-Alberta Innovation Network and a framework for the entrepreneurial system,” said Terry Rachwalski, Executive Director of Alberta Innovates.

2021: Kauffman Foundation Supported Strategic Doing to Accelerate Entrepreneurial Ecosystems

The Kauffman Foundation provided funding for an exploratory project: Could we develop a platform for using Strategic Doing as an operating system to celebrate the development of entrepreneurial ecosystems? The research led to a design concept -- Zebra -- to provide a replicable, scalable, and sustainable platform.

2022: Ohio University Began Forming a Strategic Doing Hub

The Voinovich Academy for Excellence in Public Service at Ohio University has begun to form a hub for teaching Strategic Doing.

2023: The Ohio State Univeristy Starts to Develop a Strategic Doing Hub

The Ohio State University, led by Institute Fellow Jeff Agnoli, senior liaison in theOffice of Corporate Partnerships and Steve Gavazzi, professor in the College of Education and Human Ecology, began to establish a Strategic Doing Hub at the university.

2023: Strategic Doing Networks Launched

Strategic Doing is going global. We now have interested professionals all over the world who are exploring and taking classes in this open-source discipline. We have launched Strategic Doing Networks; combining the methods and disciplines of Strategic Doing and Performance-Driven Change. To support our global growth, what is now Strategic Doing Networks—CONNECTS has partnered with Strategic Doing Institute to form global communities of practitioners. These communities are taking on our most daunting challenges. The communities will enable practitioners to learn faster, assemble teams faster, and do more together.

Strategic Doing Networks

What People Say About Us

Strategic Doing is precisely what we need at this moment.

American cellist Yo Yo Ma

If you’re talking about collaboration, Strategic Doing provides a foundation.

Chief Innovation Officer Ben Amaba

IBM

I've worked with other large companies trying to do open innovation, but this process is unique. This is the most clear and concise open innovation process I've seen.

Mark Scotland

4.0 Analytics

Implementing Strategic Doing helps organizations collectively develop new habits that foster a culture of innovation and create enhanced engagement within teams.

Jennifer Horn-Frasier

Bluebird Sky Solutions

Strategic Doing is like rocket fuel for complex collaborations, quickly propelling teams from ideas to action plans.

Jennifer Hunter

Gensyn Design

Using Strategic Doing, groups chart an equitable and swift pathway to collaborate, co-create, and innovate.

Jane Rogan

Before I knew what Strategic Doing was, the process, principles, and humanistic spirit was already a part of my daily life. After becoming more acquainted, and incorporating the practice into my life, things became even clearer.

Director of Community-Based Implementation and Engagement Kenyetta Dotson

MSU, Flint, MI

Integrating SD into my work and vocabulary has reshaped my approach to community development. It isn’t always easy, but it helps me bring more energy, hope, and meaningful collaboration to the people I serve in rural Oregon and beyond.

Principal Nancy Franklin

Franklin Solutions

Pioneering Collaboration: Celebrating 30 Years of Strategic Doing Innovation​