Leeds co-production Lab Summary Report: Phase One March 2015
N8-ESRC Pilot project: ‘Realising the potential of coproduction’
1
Introduction This summary report was prepared by Paul Chatterton, Gary Dymski and Yun Wing Ng. It documents Phase One of the ‘Leeds co-production Lab’ project, which is a pilot project of the wider N8-ESRC funded programme: realising the potential of coproduction. This report is based upon our first project meeting held on 17 February, and subsequent work, and includes the following sections:
a summary of our initial understanding of the concept of coproduction, and our first attempt at a local definition a brief review of interesting examples gathered together by the project partners identification of the three prototype spaces and the associated planning of activities in each space for Phase Two. establishing a social media profile
1. What coproduction means to us At our first workshop on 17 February we undertook a participatory exercise to explore what the idea of coproduction meant to the project partners. A whole range of ideas were generated (see figure 1) and after some further analysis and deliberation they were clustered under five indicative headings: process – a range of ideas generated on the process of doing coproduction relating to issues of staging and sequencing, scale and timing, defining, sustaining, capacity building and depth. risk and uncertainty - several ideas were generated around the need to recognise that coproduction involves taking risk and acknowledging failure, as well as a level of disorganisation. equality and power - issues were raised about accessibility, responsibility, the role of leadership and ensuring equity of input, as well is the distribution of resources and acknowledging power relationships. ethics and emotions - a set of interesting ideas emerged around the need to embrace a wider emotional register such as vulnerability, compassion and generosity and intimacy as well as recognising the learning potential in being able to admit not knowing. crossing boundaries - an exciting and challenging set of ideas emerged around the need to explore, or indeed cross, borders and boundaries bringing in issues of skills, capacities, the ability to develop common interests and values and work across disciplines. There were two items that we could did not cluster as we felt they were crosscutting issues. First, was the idea of synergy where it was felt that the process of learning from coproduction could be understood as the whole being greater than the sum of the parts. Second, the intriguing idea of autopoiesis emerged which led us to explore the extent to which coproduction could lead to a dynamic which was capable of maintaining and reproducing itself. 2
From these ideas, we generated a short local definition which we could use as a starting point and interrogate as the project went on: Coproduction involves establishing a process in a time and place in which people who have some common stake in a project, idea, or place are willing to cross boundaries (organizational, disciplinary, spatial, power) that might normally divide them. These kinds of boundary crossings create potential to discuss issues that matter, uncertain of what will come out of this sharing. Participants put their own ideas at risk, committed to doing so in an egalitarian way that rejects the use of power, and instead commit to communicating with compassion, intimacy, and honesty - exposing vulnerabilities which can unearth the hidden strengths in shared understandings. 2. Examples of urban coproduction spaces In this first phase we also explored the range of examples of coproduction practice, but which specifically focused on coproduction within physical spaces within cities. A number of overlapping labels are often used to describe the spaces including city room, city lab, innovation lab, city incubator etc. All of these share a commitment to striking out in a novel direction, bringing together a range of people who may know each other but do not systematically worked together. What we found was that there is an overwhelming number of projects which could provide inspiration and learning opportunities for coproduction. Appendix 2 documents our initial list with a summary of the themes and some wider links. A number of themes emerged from these examples which will be useful for project partners to explore as we go forward. Early themes include: Organisation Across a range of examples, differences are evident along a spectrum from opportunistic to more programmed spaces. The opportunistic spaces are more open and user initiated and allow participants at many stages to input and adapt layouts and activities. In the more programmed spaces, even though there may be a wide variety of participants, activities emerge around particular (often funded) agendas such as service delivery programmes for identified end-users, and hence there is often feeling the activities of participants in more closed, or at least predefined. Equally, programmed spaces might emerge initially around one particular activity or brand (data, planning, the arts, culture, technology etc), and opportunistic spaces will continue to pull in a variety of activities, which may or may not be complimentary. Coherence Similarly, across a range of examples differences are evident along the spectrum from more focused to more diffuse spaces. Focused spaces tended to have greater coherence in terms of physical site and location, while diffuse spaces could be multisite or indeed be more purposefully mobile temporary. Novelty Differences are also evident in terms of whether spaces are new or build on what already exists. New spaces are usually less constrained to adopt innovative organisational forms, spatial layouts and visual identities and coalitions, and those which develop within 3
existing ventures work with existing layouts, identities and networks, but can also morph and mutate as projects progress. Leadership Differences exist in terms of whether spaces are initiated, managed and curated by individuals who are strongly associated with a particular institution or profession, or those who have a more diffuse and less institutionally based profile. Equally, differences exist in terms of whether project leadership remains open or closes down - a commitment to involve a broad cross-section of participants or whether it is led by individuals identified as professional or experts. 3. Plans for Phase Two At our February meeting we finalised a working plan for Phase Two based around engagement with three prototype spaces. Engagement with these spaces will include a learning workshop to address the overall project question ‘what could a Leeds coproduction lab be?’ We have decided that there will be a further focus question to engage the interest of the wider cluster of people at that space, and help attract them to the learning workshop. All project partners and their wider networks are encouraged to attend as many as possible of the three learning workshops listed below. The three spaces are as follows: a. The Open Data Institute Leeds The first learning cluster will be based at the ODI Leeds with Paul Connell acting as the facilitator of this cluster of participants. The cluster includes actual members of ODI Leeds, SME projects, events and their challenge team which identifies problems of interest to work on. There are a range of activities at ODI including seminars, hack labs, data jams, workshops as well as evening events and parties. Given the ODI Leeds is now established, the unique focus of this space within our pilot project will be more about the review of activities to date and how they can be further amplified, connected and sustained. The learning workshop at ODI Leeds associated with this project will take place on Friday 24 April starting in the afternoon with a seminar presentation and a world cafe style discussion which will explore the project questions, and then ending with an early evening party. It was suggested by Paul Connell that we could use the one year anniversary of the starting ODI Leeds as a platform for our learning workshop. The initial idea for the overall framing question for the ODI Leeds workshop which will allow us to explore coproduction in a way that is meaningful to the users of that space is: ‘how can data be used to benefit our city and help meet the challenges it faces?’ b. The Tetley ‘city room’ The second learning cluster will be based at the recently established Tetley arts centre in the south of the city centre. Cath Follin, Head of Strategic Projects in the City Development of Leeds City Council, is currently in negotiations with the Tetley to establish a ‘city room’ in rooms on the top floor. It is likely that the focus for this space will be 4
planning and design issues building on the city room space developed by former city architect John Thorpe in a temporary structure on the MEPC site in the western business district of the city centre. The unique feature of our engagement with the Tetley space is that it will be established and developed during the course of this pilot project, and hence a focus of our engagement will be more about how space is initiated, conceived and implemented. The learning workshop at the Tetley associated with this project will take place on the afternoon of Friday 1 May. It is anticipated that it will take a similar form as the learning workshop at the ODI and will end with a less formal party in the early evening. The initial idea for the overall framing question for the Tetley learning workshop which will allow us to explore coproduction is: ‘how do we want to use the space to generate ideas to future proof Leeds?’ c. Barca, New Wortley Site The third learning cluster will be based around Barca-Leeds a third sector organisation based in Bramley that provides specialist services to children, young people and adults that address social deprivation. This cluster emerge from conversations between members of Leeds ACTS at the University of Leeds and third sector partners in the city. Conversations are still underway as to the exact nature of the engagement, format of the learning workshop and the framing question. Early conversation suggest that there are interesting learning opportunities to discuss issues of what exactly defines the third sector and who is involved. The learning workshop is planned for Friday 8 May. Note that there were some early plans to have a prototype space on the University of Leeds campus. However, it was not possible to establish this space within the timescales of this pilot project and therefore we will encourage those people interested in the idea of a Leeds coproduction lab to engage with the other three prototype spaces. 4. Establishing a social media profile We have joined up with an existing blog run by Sheffield University entitled ‘coproducing knowledge’, and we are planning to make monthly interventions in the form of blog posts on a series of topics. The first topic we are asking project partners to write some reflections about is titled ‘coproducing a beginning’. The web address for this blog is https://coproducingknowledge.wordpress.com/leeds-co-production-lab/ We have also set up a Twitter account and we encourage project partners to tag posts with it: @leedscitylab
5
Appendix 1. Initial Coproduction ideas
6
The first workshop
7
Appendix 2. Coproduction space example summary (note this list is incomplete and ongoing)
PROJECT/ INITIATIVE The Decorators
‘Scaling up CoDesign’
TYPE OF DOCUMENT
LOCATION
WHO
Summary
THEMES/KEY IDEAS
LINK
Website
East London
Numerous London based creative discplines
Architects, psychologists, landscape, interior and graphic designers experimenting with a space. Collective of professionals/organisati ons who ‘assemble’ when there is a challenge and they provide a solution/intervention.
Lots of different skills from private creative companies/individuals – tailor made teams to the problem and produce a creative/visual solution.
http://www.thedecorators.net/
Pamphlet summarising a co-production research project aiming to define what ‘scaling up’ would mean in coproduction context, using a series of pilot projects to test meaning.
DEFINITION, SCALABILITY, IMPLEMENTATION
Pamphlet online and hardcopy
None
Blackwood Foundation Brunel University Flossie Fossbox Northumbria University One Westminster Sheffield Hallam University (Prof. Andy Dearden) Silent Cities The Glass-House Community Led Design The Open University
Opportunistic/in the interests of those who make up the whole. – Networking, job getting
Cottrell House – Meanwhile space + decorators, refurbished by volunteers from Meanwhile Space Coming Soon Club
http://www.theglas shouse.org.uk/scali ng-up-co-design/
Cross-pollination implemented through projects Four breakthroughs: 1. Defining meanings of scaling up 2. Defining project objectives 3. Agreeing code of practice based on shared values and ethics – 4 key principles 4. How to scale up co-design – cross pollination projects.
Co-design outcomes isn’t always everyone’s perfect solution but a solution that suits everybody’s needs. A single designer can’t do it by themselves, not one controlling interest, come to together to produce a more satisfying solution. Participants become empowered to enable other co-
8
production projects
Certain conditions support scaling up: 1. Openess 2. SAFE SPACE 3. Capacitybuilding Shared values SAFE SPACE: somewhere partners can experiment in new ways, question their own and each other’s understanding of concepts, feel trust and mutual respect, have fun. Time Banking & Co-production
Website resource
National and international
Organisation that acts as mechanism/broker between individuals (likely to be in a local community), individuals and agency, or agencies and agencies, that need additional services/human resources/skills measured on an hour by hour basis. Time ‘marketplace’ set up for ‘exchanges’ of services/skills.
Practical and very direct application of ‘coproduction.’
PRACTICAL IMPLEMENTATION OF CO-PRODUCTION (scalable)
http://www.timeba nking.org/what-istimebanking/whatis-timebanking/
Time as currency. An hour of work you put in means an hour of work you receive from someone else when you need help. Timebanking types: person-person, person-agency, agency-agency
Timebanks are mechanisms for achieving coproduction. The co-production principle asserts that there is more capacity in an economic system than that simply defined by the market. High value placed on defined expert made solutions, low value placed on things that are universally available, but become scarce further down the line in an expert driven solution eg. Care, socialising, raising children, offering help to neighbours.
Co-production is about elevating the status of this second, informal, economy, so that we utilise these abundant assets more effectively- make little go far – mutliplier effect. Timebanking is a means of exchange build for abundance – for the assets that lie dormant in
9
people and organisations. Minimising the ‘no resources, overstretched capacity effect.’
In the same way that teaching is more effective when the learner is engaged, services provided are more successful when the people being served are also involved in the process. - See more at: http://www.timebanking.org/what-istimebanking/what-is-timebanking/co-production-andtimebanking/#sthash.1qo0e7sT.dpuf
Particularly effective for care services/volunteering sector – elderly and disabled
Neighbourhoods initiatives foundation ‘Power in our hands’
PDF booklet
Guidance BOOK for neighbourhood planning methods
Leeds Club
webiste
Albion Place, Leeds
Privately run Events venue
Formerly private members (gentlemen’s club)
Toronto 3D Massing
Website
Toronto, Canada
City of Toronto (council)
Release of Open Data on the city’s buildings into public domain. City Planning department are developing user friendly apps that will allow public to test things like new developments on proposed sites.
Can upload PDF of handbook to dropbox if PC or GD have time to flick through
Is this the same as ‘The Community Planning Handbook’?
http://www.leedscl ub.com/ DATA AS OPEN TOOL
Inclusion and transparency – giving over of data/assets that are usually in the private domain. Empowering citizen users with a practical tool.
http://torontoist.co m/2015/01/toronto -now-in-glorious3d/
10
Open Co
Urban Prototyping (UP)Festival
Fab Labs
Website atlas
Website/Ev ent
Website and place
Worldwide (but London based)
San Francisco
Global
The Open Movement and British Council
Gray Area Foundation for the Arts, (501c non profit organisation supporting art and technology for the social good), San Francisco Mayor’s Office of Civic Innovation, City Planning Department, 5M Project, Rebar, Adobe Foundation, Ideo, Intersection for the Arts
MIT
Interactive atlas of all open data/resource initiatives across the world. Projects are organised into location and also categorised into different themes. Also suggests similar/relatedprojects if you click on single project.
NETWORK and RESOURCE
Urban Prototyping is a global movement exploring how participatory design, art, and technology can improve cities.
EXPERIMENTATION, PHYSICAL PROTOTYPING AND TESTING, INNOVATIVE SOLUTIONS
Tactical urbanism: using small-scale, often temporary interventions in public space to drive longerterm conversations and changes in a city
Fab labs are a global network of small scale local workshops, enabling invention by providing access to tools for digital fabrication
Powerful but simple tool for people wanting to link up with others doing similar things, and for providing people with a tangible sense of established network for those with a new idea.
www.open.co
(Need to sign up for access)
You can do more together than on your own. Visualisation of quantity and interconnectedness – inherent quality of co-production orientated work. First point of call type resource. http://grayarea.org /initiative/urbanprototyping-sanfrancisco-3/
Prototyping – testing phase, brainstorming design solutions for issues in the urban realm, e.g. chain link fences could be used as a framework for growing things, physical testing and prototyping on site with public users Replication – is the idea scalable? How can it be adapted for other contexts, how can prototype be improved Adoption – Appraisal of prototype projects for formal adoption in city public realm
TOOL/PLATFORM - More user orientated means of getting an idea prototyped- ‘shortcut’ that challenges the traditional ways something is procured? Allowing normal people to access professional equipment e.g. 3D printer, CNC, laser cutter and workshop environment and assitance. People get to use their expanded set of skills. OPPORTUNISTIC FOR USERS– but not so much co-
http://manchesterf ablab.manufacturin ginstitute.co.uk/#fa b-academy
http://www.tellusst uff.co.uk/fablab/
11
production – not delivery of a service together with user and expert.
If you are trying to jump start a fab lab there are few more things we’ve found that are helpful when trying to start a lab: 1. Identify a host agency to host and take ownership of the Fab Lab. 2. Identify the right champion to lead this Fab Lab. 3. Finalize partnership/ contractual agreements Contracts and agreements-including if appropriate Fab Foundation/ MIT, local partners, funders, service providers need to be put in place. 4. Secure funding for this Fab Lab. 5. Identify and prepare site. 6. Procure, install and commission the Fab Lab. 7.Train the trainers (technical and management) 8. Identify projects. Starting with local problem solving, 9. Launch the Fab Lab. Impact Hub
Places/ website
Global
Impact Hub Association (members of all impact hubs across the world)
Large work spaces used by ‘members’ – usually open plan in places, with informal and comfortable working layouts and socialising/working spaces. Interior architecture is usually very distinctive, colourful and nicely designed - reuse of existing buildings with high quality technology, services and
CO-WORKING SPACES AND LARGER NETWORKS, PLACE SPECIFIC
http://www.impact hub.net/
Part innovation lab, part business incubator, and part community center, we offer our members a unique ecosystem of resources, inspiration, and collaboration opportunities to grow impact.
Impact Hubs made up of following: 1. Community of members around each Hub acting as co-peers and cross pollinators 2. Provides inspiration and discourse for members through events, innovation labs,
12
connection. 3.
learning spaces, incubation and facilitated conversation. Provides a physical ‘highly functional’ and flexible space for doing 1 and 2.
‘While every Impact Hub offers a collaborative space and supportive working environment, each has its own unique local flavor.’
Sustainable Colorado Alliance Centre
Place/
Techshop
Places/ website
Senseable City Laboratory
Website/ intiative
Living Labs
Places/ website
(together form the European Network of Living Labs)
Denver, Colorado
Very similar to impact hub, has a tenantpartner membership system to rent out spaces. Has sustainable building focus.
CO-WORKING SPACE
USA
Very similar to FabLabs.
RAPID PROTOTYPING OF AN INDIVIDUAL’S IDEA
http://www.techsh op.ws/
MIT, USA
MIT Research initiative covering various project that look at how data can be used and visualised to analyse usually intangible phenomena in cities e.g. using taxi data to map popular routes across NYC
RESOURCE & OPEN DATA
senseable.mit.edu/
Pro-active and experimental ‘think tank’(?) that convenes under a certain challenge area, e.g. Manchester Living Lab addresses how to help local people in East Manchester develop the skills to participate
A Living Lab is a real-life test and experimentation environment where users and producers co-create innovations. Living Labs have been characterised by the European Commission as Public-Private-People Partnerships (PPPP) for user-driven open innovation. A Living Lab employs four main activities:
Website
A single co-working space.
www.sustainablecol orado.org/alliancec enter/
- making data open to all to be experimented with and made useful in innovative ways
http://www.openliv inglabs.eu/
1. Co-Creation: co-design by users and producers
13
fully in the emerging information society
1. Co-create – bring together technology, data and identify demand/challenge, coproduce ideas/innovations to address the challenge
2. Exploration: discovering emerging usages, behaviours and market opportunities 3. Experimentation: implementing live scenarios within communities of users Evaluation: assessment of concepts, products and services according to socio-ergonomic, socio-cognitive and socio-economic criteria.
2. Explore: Test idea/prototype by engaging stakeholders and end user communities 3. Experiment: develop idea/prototype to test with large numbers of people, collect data 4. Evaluation Civic Data Design Lab
Initiative/ website
University Innovation and Enterprise Centre @ Leeds uni
Press release
Leeds ACTS!
Organisatio n /website
USA based, but some of the projects are international
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Leeds Uni campus
Leeds Uni
Department of Urban Studies + Planning partnering with other international universities on various projects
Interpretation and analysis of big data to help address emerging needs and interests of citizens.
EXPERIMENTAL AND INNOVATIVE: Innovative prototyping using digitial data together with design to develop tools/projects that answer some sort of social need.
ÂŁ42m high tech start up incubator
5 year partnership project to promote and
http://www.civicda tadesignlab.org/
http://www.leeds.a c.uk/news/article/3 658/university_inno vation_and_enterpr ise_centre_receives _3m_boost Co-production principles in action but hasn’t come under umbrella of co-production term yet.
http://doinggoodle eds.org.uk/leeds-
14
support closer relationships between HE institutions and third sector organisations. – networking, events, acting as agency between voluntary sector and HE Leeds Sustainable Development Group
Organisatio n /website
Individuals network
Forum of individuals with interest in Leeds city planning
Creative Suburbs
Initiative /website
Places / projects/ website
Global
Melbourne, Australia
Network of furniture designers
City of Melbourne Council, City of Port Phillip Council Melbourne Water, RMIT University Sustainable Living Festival
A project like this would be a perfect ‘user’ of a Leeds City Lab – what kind of space would they need? And where?
Enabling individuals and voluntary groups to organise themselves physically and spatially – have a venue/base to meet at and grow from there – could a Leeds City Lab provide this infrastructure?
http://leedssdg.com
Site bringing together furniture/product designers– a product files can be downloaded by anyone around the world and made locally by digital fabrication (CNC, 3D printing, laser cutting)
Cutting out complicated supply chain.
https://www.opend esk.cc
Online platform/agency that supports individuals with ideas on how to improve their neighbourhoods to steer and deliver their projects.
Simple methodology: Initiate our own ideas Influence existing projects Inspire change in our cities
And development. Open Desk
acts.html
Designer – maker – end user. No need for specific shipping of a particular product. Rapid physical prototyping environment.
http://creativesubu rbs.com
Bypassing formal procurement methods – drawing citizen skills/capacity out
Metro State Government Victoria
AGENCY – do these type of groups need places to meet and work?
Ag ideas City of Yarra Council
15
Mondragon Cooperative
Organisatio n / website
Mondragon, Spain
Mondragon Corporation, a network of 120 worker co-operatives
Co-operative/business association structured into four activity areasfinance, industry, retail and knowledge. Not linked to government in any way.
Co-Designing Space_ A Primer
Book /
UK
Tilt Architects & Designers
Introduction to codesign with essays from contributors setting theory of co-design, describes techniques of how users were engaged in design process, as well as finished projects, from Tilt’s work to date.
Process and Product are equally important. Process is extremely varied and playful although there is not much description as to how these techniques can be adapted.
(Hard copy provided by Irena Bauman.)
NESTA reports on co-production
Website / PDF docs
Suite of reports by NESTA:
The Challenge of Co-Production:
http://www.nesta.o rg.uk
company
People Powered Health Co-Production Catalogue
http://www.mondr agoncorporation.com
What Co-production is What co-production isn’t How Co-production works
The Challenge of Coproduction Co-Production: Right Here, Right Now On Co-production and City Transformation Permaculture Design
Organisatio n / website
Global
Amsterdam Gemeente
Website
Amsterdam, Netherlands
UK based website in Leeds
City of Amsterdam Council
Holistic design methodology for sustainable futures https://www.perma culture.org.uk/ The work of the City of Amsterdam's department of Urban Planning and
Commitment to bottom up thinking
http://www.amster dam.nl/gemeente/o rganisatie/ruimteeconomie/ruimte-
16
Sustainability integrates the higher levels of regional and long term planning into to the details of public space design. We search for new approaches and stimulate bottum up processes to integrate solutions in the field of urbanisation, mobility and water management in multidisciplinary teams. Philadelphia Shopfront Experiment
Website / Place
CUSP (Center for Urban Science and Progress)
Website / institute
Planning for Real
Organisatio n/service / website
Co-Producing Knowledge
Website
Brewery town neighbourhood, Philadelphia, USA
Temporary space for office working, events and exhibitions.
duurzaamheid/ruim teduurzaamheid/maki ng-amsterdam/
Having a prototype space to help a group organised themselves – spatial infrastructure/homebase to reinforce actions
Big data used to understand usually intangible urban phenomena in New York City (informatics) Based in Midlands but work across UK
Sciences Switzerland
nextcity.org/d aily/entry/closi ng-thestorefront-forurbaninnovationbrewerytown http://cusp.nyu.edu /
Nationally recognised community development process and professional service.
Provides tailored support and training in initial stages, and supports community planning through later stages – usually uses creative and tactile methods, e.g. big site model, suggestion cards and other 2D visual media
http://www.plannin gforreal.org.uk/abo ut-us/vision-andmission/
Compilation of methods that support experts of
TOOLKIT for co-production techniques
http://www.naturw issenschaften.ch/to
17
different disciplines and other societal sectors to jointly produce knowledge. In addition it connects to similar collections from around the world. Co-Producing health – a briefing by Becky Malby
Leeds
University of Leeds Centre for innovation in health management
Useful introduction to co-production
The Story of CoProducing Leeds
Leeds
University of Leeds Centre for innovation in health management
Summary of coproduction projects in Leeds to date
The Building Hero Project
Project/ website
Philadelphia, USA
Focus on young people
Residents of Philadelphia encouraged to participate in making items that can contribute to community improvements
R-urban and how to co-produce a resilient city
Article / website
Paris
The Why Factory
website
Delft
pics/coproducing_knowled ge/about
Core values, principles of co-production, how to do it, difference between co-production and co-design, DON’T DO COPRODUCTION IF....
Dropbox and email
DO COPRODUCTION IF....
a network of citizen projects and grassroots organisations around a series of self-managed collective facilities hosting economic and cultural activities and everyday practices Mainly University
It explores possibilities for the development of our cities by focusing
Tries to evidence results when people and services are coproducers in health service delivery
Dropbox and email
http://m.fastcompa ny.com/3042780/w orld-changingideas/in-thebuilding-heroproject-phillyresidents-learnhow-to-designbette http://www.ephem erajournal.org/cont ribution/r-urban-orhow-co-produceresilient-city
http://thewhyfactor y.com/
18
on the production of models and visualisations for cities of the future.
19