Network Resource Planning

• See also: NRP-CAS for a specific case of NRP tooling. Do not redirect!

Description

1. Bob Haugen:

"NRP means Network Resource Planning. Its purpose is to coordinate economic networks.

A Supply Chain is an Economic Network, with a head, which is the agent producing end products for consumers, and a tail, which is a tree of agents that supply them with components. A value system also includes the demand chain, which includes all of the agents who distribute the products from the head of the supply chain to consumers. It's shaped, as you may imagine, like an X.

A Business Ecosystem is more complex, shaped like a directed graph. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Business_ecosystem

“An economic community supported by a foundation of interacting organizations and individuals—the organisms of the business world. The economic community produces goods and services of value to customers, who are themselves members of the ecosystem. The member organisms also include suppliers, lead producers, competitors, and other stakeholders. Over time, they coevolve their capabilities and roles, and tend to align themselves with the directions set by one or more central companies. Those companies holding leadership roles may change over time, but the function of ecosystem leader is valued by the community because it enables members to move toward shared visions to align their investments, and to find mutually supportive roles.”

Linux, Raspberry PI, and Android are examples of business ecosystems. Enspiral, Sensorica, and Fair Coop are examples of potential business-like ecosystems for a better economic system.

If Enspiral, Sensorica, and Fair Coop converged with the Mutual Aid Networks, the P2P Foundation, a permaculture community, and a small-to-medium-sized city or two, they could become an economic network.

Capitalism is an economic network.

NRP in its present state is only able to coordinate small economic networks. If the current convergence and refactoring project succeeds, it will be able to coordinate larger ones. If the Value Flows project succeeds, it will be able to coordinate economic networks of any size.

The next economic system will be an economic network."

(email, March 2017)

2. Apostolis Xekoukoulotakis:

"New software is emerging designed for OVNs producing material goods. One such application is Network Resource Planning (NRP), which is ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) for networks. NRP is being developed by a collaboration between Sensorica (described above), and some open-source software developers who have experience in “lean manufacturing” supply chains (http://mikorizal.org).

This is operational software, for running an open value network as an economic organization. It logs contributions, coordinates work, and distributes income to contributors. It also does multi-party accounting: that is, accounting reports for each participating person and organization, covering their activities within the network. It does not do ecommerce or social networking."

(http://commonsfest.info/en/2015/anichta-diktia-axias/)