In Seattle, there is a pervasive narrative that the city is divided by the haves and have-nots; the rich and the poor. According to the narrative, tech employees are the haves and the working class, many of whom are union…
On August 28th, the members of Ion’s fourth cohort gathered at the Ionosphere, Impact Hub to showcase their final projects and celebrate their graduation from the program. This cohort was our first one designed with an external partner. We worked…
With each cohort of the WTIA Ion Collaborators, we’ve tweaked our requirements, refined our procedures, and experimented with different group dynamics. But with Cohort 5, we’re stepping out into completely uncharted territory—not just for WTIA, but for the greater Seattle…
This spring, some of Seattle’s brightest leaders began their journey as Cohort 4 of the WTIA Ion Collaborators. The program has undergone many evolutions since it was launched in June 2017, but its core mission remains the same: incubate cross-sector…
When we talk about cross-functional teams, we typically mean those that exist within a single department or organization. When we form cross-functional teams across different organizations, they are usually brought together around a particular challenge, like affordable housing or homelessness.…
The members of Ion’s third cohort have officially gained alumni status. After six months of collaborating, they said goodbye (or, in some cases, see you soon) to their projects and fellow collaborators on November 28 at the Ionosphere, Impact Hub.…
Would you expect a group of all-star athletes from different teams to make magic the first time they stepped on the court together? Imagine all the factors that might keep them from working seamlessly as a unit: conflicting communication styles,…
Have you ever been part of a group of well-meaning, passionate people who came together to solve a problem, but ended up getting nowhere? Maybe the group’s vision was too narrow because its members all shared the same ideas and…
Now more than ever, we need cross-sector collaboration to solve the complex civic problems that affect our region. That’s exactly the mission of our Ion Program, which is now in its second year and has facilitated a fresh batch of…
When we kicked off Cohort 3 of the WTIA Ion Collaborators on June 20, I asked everyone to write down the words to express their state of mind on the first day of their experiment in collaboration. My word was…