Mission:
To bring Minnesotans together to solve the state's most critical issues.

Background:
The Minnesota Community Foundation launched the Idea Open initiative with major funding from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation to help Minnesotans learn more about critical issues affecting the state, develop creative new solutions for addressing those issues, and act on those solutions. The Web site was created with Ashoka's Changemakers and can host several challenges at the same time.

Outstanding Web Features:
The Minnesota Idea Open Web site features information about the initiative's first "challenge" — obesity — including a competition timeline, submitted entries that visitors to the site can read and add to their "favorites" list, a discussion forum where Minnesotans age 12 or older can share ideas, information about contest sponsors and competition judges, and additional resources. Registered users of the site can also create or join existing groups around a particular issue and watch Idea Open videos via YouTube.