76 THE OPEN BOOK OF SOCIAL INNOVATION
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This is a view of the Vauban development in Freiburg, Germany. It is one of the world’s leading ‘eco-towns’. In the early 1990s, the local government mandated that all new construction must be sustainable. Here, solar power is used to heat homes and provide electricity. The town is a showcase for low-energy, sustainable housing, attracting visitors and investors alike. Image courtesy of Rolf Disch, SolarArchitecture.
to consider how it could best present its work and its social purpose tangibly as if it were a gallery. 140) Open events to provide an opportunity for organisations to engage a wide variety of people in the work of the organization. They are an occasion for experiencing the venture’s culture. Events of this kind are much more important for social ventures than commercial ones. They allow a wider group to share in the spirit of the venture. 141) Open forms of intellectual property to maximise the spread and diffusion of the idea or service. Social ventures have an interest in adopting open forms of intellectual property. They stand to benefit from a shared commons of knowledge, both in what they receive back from a reciprocal economy of information, and in extending the value and impact of the knowledge they contribute. BioRegional (the social