We create mutually beneficial partnerships with a number of different types of organizations. Below we list many different types of partners. Some pay us for services. Others share equity in exchange for our efforts. We resell many of their products.

In each case, we work with people who share our values, and find ways to strengthen their business, while they do the same for us. We create new alliances across horizontal and vertical boundaries, unlocking the wealth that is created by collaboration. It’s really an informal keiretsu, as we help broker partnerships within the community.

Here’s a quick snapshot of some of the companies and groups we work with, and what we are accomplishing.

CURRENT

• Innovation Network for Communities (INC) is a unique non-profit consultancy. Founders and Partners John Cleveland and Pete Plastrik have been developing social system innovation for more than a collective 50 years. Although their work is currently focused on urban sustainability (with a focus on transportation innovation) and urban schools, their unique approach has established them as thought leaders in a wide range of fields including sustainability, climate change, education and more.
  • nuance has designed and deployed a digital media strategy for INC that leverages their existing network of advisors and specialists, while helping them establish a stronger voice as thought leaders in the discipline and rigor of innovation systems.

• Urban Sustainability Associates (USA) is a network of some of the leading consultants, thought leaders and social innovators in the field of urban sustainability.  Members include authors of the Chicago Climate Action Plan, Department of Housing and Urban Development transition plan for the Obama administration, advisors to the federal transportation strategy, coordinator of the Urban Sustainability Directors Network, as well as a former senior executive from Shorebank, and the former Mayor of Fort Wayne, Indiana, among others.
  • nuance designed and deployed a digital media strategy for USA that highlights the work of the community and individuals therein.

• Rural People Rural Policy Network (RPRP) is a community of policy-makers and non-profit organizations focused on serving the rural communities around the U.S.  The project is funded by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation.
  • nuance is developing a collaboration strategy for multiple sub-networks within RPRP
  • nuance is designing a comprehensive social media platform for the national community of people focused on doing rural policy work.

• The Adventure Rabbi is a nontraditional Jewish congregation based in Boulder, CO that helps people connect to their spirituality by harnessing the ‘awe-ful’ power of the outdoors.
  • Rachel does media relations for The Adventure Rabbi.

• MyST Technology builds the BMW of blogging tools, called Blogsite. To quote co-founder Bill French, “if you want to blog, go to Blogger, but if you want to harness the power of the blogosphere for the benefit of your company, then come to MyST. By maximizing find-ability, and leveraging searching and filtering of information, the MyST platform provides companies including Intel and Pfizer a way to track the many intranets, blogs and other communications channels their people are using. Think of it as an information management tool, not a blogging tool.
  • nuance is a value-added reseller for MyST and Blogsite, which is the company’s blogging platform.
  • MyST co-founder and CTO Bill French is an advisor to nuance and our clients.
• Africaid is a non-profit that supports girls’ education in Africa in order to provide young women with the opportunity to transform their own lives and the futures of their communities.
  • nuance provides Africaid with marketing communications consulting and media outreach.

FORMER

• Business Catapult, Entreprenurial Standards Forum and HUGE Consulting. These three organizations are part of a business ecology that is focused on strengthening the connection between entrepreneurs and angel investors, by collapsing transaction costs and improving transparency.
  • The Business Catapult is an online standards-based matching tool that connects entrepreneurs and angel investors in a more efficient marketplace. Greg is a partner and the CXO of Business Catapult, with a wide range of responsibilities on the market facing side of the business, including marketing, sales, communications, business development and product development.
  • The Entrepreneurial Standards Forum (ESF) is a non-profit provides a simple assessment (Benchmark Survey) and resulting report (Benchmark Report) comparing an entrepreneurial company to successful peer companies who have traveled the path to successful business growth. This gap analysis helps businesses become ‘unstuck’ in their pursuit of business success. Greg is the resident Evangelist for ESF, and is leading the development of a triple-bottom-line measurement framework.
  • HUGE Consulting works directly with companies who are making some type of business transition, like adding services, entering a new market or considering an acquisition. HUGE reviews the business organization, challenges business assumptions and cleans up capitalization tables and pro-formas in preparation to introduce the deal to our network of angel investors. Greg runs the HUGE Partner Network, finding topic-matter-experts who can help HUGE clients.

• AWhere provides software that allows people to make geographically accurate dynamic maps from business data, whether Excel, Access or other popular business databases. This ability to map data provides a third dimension to business analytics and marketing communications, not just providing flat maps, but the ability to review correlations and strategic assumptions on-the-fly and in presentations. Prior to their software release, an organization needed a PhD in GIS, along with a five-figure software license in order to make a map, let alone view the data dynamically. Now anyone with the mind of a business analyst or professional communicator can do it for $250.
  • nuance has developed a digital media strategy for AWhere, including a new blog, and online monitoring of vertical markets. We also advise on integrating web-based community tools into AWhere services, collaborate on new business connections and strive to increase the ‘awhere-ness’ of their product in relevant online discussions.

• eConscious Marketplace is building a new business model. As an e-commerce site, eCoMkt sells sustainably created and ecologically conscious goods. They then donate 50% of their profits to non-profit organizations.
  • nuance writes for the eCoTimes blog that highlights sustainable living choices, and advises the Founders and Board on community strategy, as well as provide networking services.
    

• Social Capital Networks is a connection of some of the leading thinkers in the theory, design and development of social capital.  Founded by Duncan Work, a social systems innovator and former Chief Scientist at LinkedIn, SocialCap quietly works with highly impactful groups, helping them best utilize their social captical.
  • nuance collaborates with SocialCap on projects and talks with Duncan on a regular basis, in the pursuit of new idea development.

  
  

• Value Mentors provides unparalleled services in organizational development that is based on major academic research in the correlation between individual values and team performance. Their services include document scans, which identify the gaps between your ‘talk’ and your ‘walk’ as well as deeper work to identify gaps in management team chemistry and leadership style.
  • nuance and Value Mentors have a rich collaboration to build a stronger brand around this work and more deeply integrating values into social networks, recognizing the contribution that values make to any accurate reputation. We have gained a much deeper understanding of the measurement of community activities as a result of our association with Gunther and Value Mentors.

• Targeted Currencies Network provides strategy and technology that helps communities manage value exchange, reputation and incentives. Local currencies, points systems and other methods to exchange value among people with similar values are all possible, using technology developed by Targeted Currencies co-founder Art Brock.
  • nuance collaborates with Targeted Currencies on community incentives and currency design, which is easy because Greg Berry is a co-founder of Targeted Currencies.

If you would like to become one of the projects listed here on this page, we’d love to hear from you. In order to avoid the spammers and bots, we’ll tell you that you can reach us at: contact-at-nuanceintelligence-dot-com.