The Innovation Expedition Inc. is a new kind of organization—a virtual cluster.

In refining our organizational structure, we have been committed to modeling some of the approaches we are advocating to our clients.

Thus, the Innovation Expedition is incorporated as a Network Cluster with a facilitating, coordinating core Hub Unit. Key to the cluster is our Hub Network consistinig of Donald G. Simpson, Stephen Murgatroyd, R. Keith Jones and Dawn Ralph. These four individuals, through their individual consulting companies, are the shareholders in the Expedition—they own the business and are responsible for its development.

This Cluster also includes a group of Affiliates who are connected through their companies in a proactive community of practice organized in a flexible network arrangement free of complex legal arrrangements, rigid participation requirements or geographic constraints. They co-brand their operations with the Innovation Expedition, draw on the Expedition's Knowledge Bank for resources, utilize Affiliates on their projects and participate when appropriate in major change projects organized by the Hub Unit.

The Innovation Expedition is also closely associated, as founding Director, of three other organizations:

• The Energy Futures Network—dedicated to promoting an understanding of integrated energy technologies and systems and promoting their adoption world-wide.

• The International Institute for Applied Innovation and Strategic Management—an initiative developed by Sprott Shaw Community College in association with the Innovation Expedition to promote education, training and communities of practice on issues which will impact our future.

• The International Institute for Innovation (Triple i)—a not-for-profit corporation charged with the task of attracting creative philanthropists to invest in performance-based public good innovations.

This new model has been an immediate success and has attracted a diverse group of highly qualified individuals in North America, Europe, Russia and Africa with a strong commitment to the Expedition's values and strategic intentions. Affiliates are trained and resourced in the use of the Challenge Dialogue System™ and profit-share some of that income with the Innovation Expedition in a Development Fund that benefits everyone in the Network.

Each individual Affiliate seeks their own profits. Innovation Expedition Inc. is a creative mechanism for organizing seed capital for new product development, new market development and new service opportunities. The owners use the pooled assets of Innovation Expedition Inc. to invest in the future of the virtual network for the benefit of all network participants and their clients.

Other people write about collaborative innovation networks. We have created one that works.

Note: In addition to its network of affiliates, the Expedition can draw on a number of organizations with which strategic alliances have been developed and working relationships with an informal network of leading innovators nurtured over the years by the founder and Chief Explorer of IE Inc.