Thriving at Impact Hub Birmingham & supporting the community to thrive. Version 1. Open to edit, suggestions, improvement
Impact Hub Birmingham is‌ A community of people that are willing to dream, dare and have a heart for a better Birmingham. A home to collaborate and discuss, challenge and be challenged, provoke and be provoked. A place where paradox and contradictions can cohabit with ease. Impact Hub Birmingham is a network of amazing citizens, makers, doers, entrepreneurs, activists and dreamers committed to building a better Birmingham and a better world. Powered by a 6000 sq. ft. collaborative workshop, the Hub is an engine for passion, learning and outcomes where together, we can build a better city. At its core Impact Hub Birmingham is a platform, a resource and, above all, a community that exists for and because of you. As active members of the community, it is important that we understand that it is our collective responsibility to maintain, advance and grow the following basic principles:
Impact Hub Culture & Values Powered by openness, trust, transparency, humbleness, generosity, learning and passion. Over the last 2 years our team have come together, led by a mutual desire to create a culture that more closely resembles the world in which we wish to live. Prior to Impact Hub Birmingham opening we’ve drawn up a live document of the culture and core principles we want the Hub to embody. We fully anticipate that the contents of this document will continue to evolve organically over time and we warmly invite the community to contribute.
Humble Placemaking We don’t have all the answers, but lets build a safe, diverse and courageous community to seek them out. Whether we realise it or not, we all have a role to play in creating a welcoming, safe, inspiring and sustainable space at Impact Hub Birmingham. Acknowledge your role and the power of your actions as a member of an emerging community, and the positive or negative impact on others in the space we are sharing. None of us have all the answers but together we are stronger. By creating a community and space that looks after each other - a space which can hold contradictions and paradoxes, we can create a humble, resilient and powerful community driving change. Accept and embrace opposing views and become a bridging space for such views to co-exist and ultimately co-create.
Collaborative Effort Collaboration not competition, be generous with time, contacts and knowledge. Our community is based on the values of generosity, cooperation and collaboration. Choosing Impact Hub Birmingham as a community means you join a group of peers who want to grow, build and share ideas together. Harness the power of this community in your work. Embrace the Generosity paradox. Those who give, receive back in turn. By giving ourselves to others’ well-being, we enhance our own. In letting go of some of what we own, we better secure our own lives. By giving ourselves away, we ourselves flourish. This is not only philosophical and religious teaching, it is a sociological fact.
Respect & Openness By creating a community based on fairness, love and care, we ensure the vulnerability that comes with openness is positive. Ensure that Impact Hub Birmingham is a reflective, challenging yet safe space for diversity, ideas, inspiration and creativity. We believe in transparency and openness, where ideas are free to flow and everyone can benefit. We encourage sharing, open spaces and discussions. We take pride in opportunities to share our beliefs, strengths and failures honestly, using honesty and openness as a tool to help each other.
Be Curious, Proactive & Give More Than You Take We have an influencer structure, not a management structure. Act within these values and don’t wait for permission. We thrive on connections, generosity and mutual support. It is vital we all give as well as benefit from the strong community we are building together. Be proactive in making the community a better, fairer and more supportive place to be. Regularly seek out new ideas and share them with the community generously.
Choosing Optimism and Hope We believe in possibility. We are continually striving for a better, fairer, happier and more prosperous city and community. Better places are built on fundamental values of positivity, optimism, support, empathy and love. Steer away from complaining and move towards solutions, approaching things in a positive, open and optimistic way. Genuinely appreciating one another’s contributions, giving the benefit of doubt in all situations and acting with humanity towards our peers. Choosing safe, respectful ways to call out bad behaviour in a way that doesn’t shame others, but instead helps us all to grow.
Be an Encourager, Leave Ego at the Door. Be an encourager, the world already has enough cynics. As a team we are committed to not attaching our personal selves to ideas and want to share as much as we can to the collective good and progression of the community and city. Where possible strive to encourage, radically share and humbly support those around you to grow. Be suggestive about what they could do rather than instructive on what you think they should do, and avoid making assumptions. Listen by default and ask questions to gain clarity.
Gratitude and Joy ‘If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of giants’ - Isaac Newton. Show more gratitude than you need to, understand that often the smallest tasks can be a huge achievement sometimes. Approach each other with humility and the knowledge that it is a privilege to serve one another. Have gratitude for all those before us who generously shared, open sourced, supported and invested for us to even contemplate the possibility of Impact Hub Birmingham. Choose not to be jealous in moments of success for others, celebrate with them and know that in your time of success, those around you have helped propel you forward. Lets grow together, becoming better collectively.
Do The Right Thing & Forgive Do the right thing, fix the mistake, wash the extra mug - even when no-one will notice. Choose what is right for each other at every chance possible, strive for the best solution, fix the mistake or go the extra mile even if no one notices. Recognise the extra mile of everyone around you and be ready to forgive those around you quickly, understanding we are all on the same road and sometimes that road contains bumps. Strive to help each other have a better day, experience and journey even if it means helping one another to do the right thing, or sometimes even doing it for them. Use our hearts to make the right decision in everything we touch. In the face of most problems, ask yourself - will a hug make this a tad better? Don’t hesitate to try it out.
Impact Hub Birmingham House Rules Some basic house rules. Please refer to your contract for further details.
In using the amenities and common spaces of Impact Hub Birmingham we expect members to behave in a way that fits with the following principles. The house rules exist to remind us what it means to be a good neighbour and that if we collectively don’t look after the space, we will struggle to remain sustainable. Impact Hub Birmingham has been built by and for the community of makers who inhabit it. If there are rules that you think should be altered, added or omitted - please share your thoughts via Yammer or at our monthly Town Hall meetings.
Design, Care & Sharing of the Space • Participate in creating the space, seek ways to contribute and make the community and space better when you are present. Leave the area where you work in better condition than when you found it. • Take note as to how people are using different spaces. The space is designed for a variety of uses - to foster collaboration, enhance creativity and accelerate productivity depending on where you are located. Look for cues on how others are using the space as to whether it’s a quiet, loud or social area. The more aware you are of your surroundings, the more quickly you can integrate, participate and enjoy the Impact Hub Birmingham community. If there is anything you aren’t sure of, just ask. • Apart from the anchor desks which are the responsibility of the tenants, all other spaces, open or bookable, are common spaces; this includes the kitchen, toilets, workspaces and meeting rooms. Please do your best as you use these spaces to keep them clean, inviting and ready for people to use them after you.
Meeting Booths • Up to 2 hours a day can be booked on the day, or before 5pm the night before free of charge. • Pets, Bikes and Children: some of Impact Hub Birmingham’s most prized beings and possessions! Whilst we love pets, unfortunately building regulations mean we cannot permit pets within the premises. Bikes are not allowed into the Hub space, however there are bike racks across the space so please see a host to know all of the available locations. Please note any bikes locked to anything other than a rack can be removed by the building management. Impact Hub Birmingham is committed to building a supportive environment for families and children. We are learning and prototyping ways in which we actively become a child friendly space. If you find yourself needing to bring children with you for short periods of time please remember Impact Hub Birmingham is a workspace first. Please ensure a productive environment for all members.
Communication Respect, safety and good, open, honest communication are important to Impact Hub Birmingham and we believe they are essential ingredients to a healthy community. If you feel you encounter behaviour that feels outside of these principles we would like to know. We respect and encourage this feedback and will address any issues. However, we do ask for your help with the following: • First try to deal with any misunderstanding or conflict yourselves using your most respectful and empathetic communication skills, seeking understanding and a mutually beneficial solution before it escalates. • Rumours, gossip and careless chatter are not welcome. Any attempt to harm another member of the community intentionally is taken very seriously by Impact Hub Birmingham and could lead to termination of contract.
Tidyness One of the biggest ways to help keep the team behind Impact Hub Birmingham sane and productive! Help us ensure time, energy, money and enthusiasm is reinvested into our vibrant and thriving community - rather than in tidying up after members or spending an excessive amount on cleaners. • Please respect the space and leave it better than you find it. If you move things around, return them to their original location and please tidy up after yourself when finished. • Please, please, please wash up for after yourself or put your dirty dishes into the dishwasher. Return your member mugs to the mug wall. • When tidying up, please reuse, recycle, and compost using the appropriately marked bin. DIY Kitchen • At the heart of every community is the kitchen - and at the heart of every kitchen is the kettle. Our kitchen is DIY - which means we supply the tea coffee and other bits and bobs for you to use and we all work together to keep it clean and tidy. This means doing your washing up (and other people’s if you’d like, it’s a great way to make friends!), keeping the surfaces clean and putting your rubbish in the correct bins. How can we even think about making the world a better place, if we can’t collectively keep a kitchen clean! We have a members fridge which you are welcome to use.
• Please label your food with your name and the date. Unlabelled food will be thrown away every Friday evening. Please don’t leave things to go stinky and mouldy, people are working pretty nearby! We have a second ‘SHARING’ fridge, put things in there, that you happily want to share with the rest of the community. Cereal Bar • We know breakfast is a pretty important part of the day. The cereal bar operates on a self service basis, its survival is based on your honesty! Hub Coffee Shop • This is looked after by the Hub Barista host, please don’t use this area as a kitchen, the fridge in this area is for barista host use only. Library • The library is for reference use only, please use respectfully.
Noise Impact Hub Birmingham is an open environment shared by many different people and organisations. Anything said should be expected to be heard by others. Please note that given this dynamic you are responsible for ensuring appropriate confidentiality of your business or personal information. While all members are expected to respect the privacy and confidentiality of others, Impact Hub Birmingham bears no responsibility in this matter. • Beware of noise levels when you have conversations with others and when on the phone. • If you need to take a private call or are a loud talker, please use a phone booth, reserve a meeting room, or take the call in an outdoor space. • If you want to work collaboratively in a small team, we recommend you work in the noisier spaces or book a meeting room instead of the quiet spaces more suited to individual work. • • The maker space and the cafe are usually the noisiest areas, the studio has a much more heads down type area. When the upstairs events space is not booked out you will be able to access it for quiet working. Please see the notice board to know about space bookings for the day. Please see your member contract for details on our Guest Policy, Use of Impact Hub Birmingham, Security and other details of your membership.