Leeds City Lab Pilot Research Project - Workshop #1 ODI Leeds

Leeds City Lab Research Project (What could a city co-production lab be for Leeds?)

WORKSHOP 1: What is your experience of co-production at ODI Leeds?

ACTIVITY 1 a.) What is the most exciting thing about this space?

Serendipity and constructive encounters

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The space attracts interesting people and dialogue Brings multi sector reps together People with ideas Serendipity Ideas Connecting people/ideas Convergence Chance meetings Connect to new minds The people Constructive, new people, curiosity, randomness Know well connected people Being - Doing - Community Ones with a r’aison d’être Encourages different thinking and approaches ‘Style’ and culture and habits and relations

Physically removed from normal workplace

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It’s not (at) work Doesn’t have a corporate feel Quiet, break out Liberating from the constraints of the day job Getting out of office!

SAFE (neutral) and CREATIVE (fun, ties off)

Neutral - owned by everyone and no-one

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Able to be owned/inhabited by many Open, neutral, democratic Neutral with closed/open innovation About collaboration, rather than money focused - for collective GOOD!

Spatial qualities

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Well resourced, spacious, light, promotes creativity Permanency of a place to meet Hub

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You can see the city and who the work is for Views of the city and lots of light Light and airy Light New lease of life for old space

Flexibility

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Potential Open to different uses and possibilities Opposite! Anxiety due to stripped out, non-permanent environment

b.) What brought you to this space?

Provides a platform for changing Leeds

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To be involved in changing Leeds Interested in inventing futures Wanting something to happen Work - real projects It is a mirror to technical developments in the city New ways to engage with city and citizens Connecting with others for the good of Leeds

Get things done quicker

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Quicker, rapid, better, cheaper

Space reinforces chance to meet new people and new ideas

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The chance to work creatively across sectors Looking for collaborations and revelations People Ideas Excited by scope to work differently Curiosity Space to explore Learning Need to find new ideas Ideas Blank canvas Opportunity Learning from people with more experience of co-production Community Excitement of collaboration with like-minded people Focused participatory planning spaces Process - ‘space’ to have proper dialogue with colleagues Process, culture vulture, open space, event

Focus on Data theme

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Interest in the theme - use of data Research - University of Leeds and Data focus

Provides a more attractive alternative to usual workplace

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Awful NHS space It’s not corporate/council/usual

Membership/belonging

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CBMDC Founding Member Cheap/free to use so not exclusive I have bought in!

Personal commitment

c.) What other examples excite you?

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Other examples didn’t work so needed to make ODI better

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Duke Studios Inkwell Arts/Minds Centre and Garden Shine Harehills Unity Works Leeds Civic Trust The Tetley Leeds Acts!

Google Garage at Leeds Dock Re:centre - University of Bradford, various labs Amsterdam planning office Churches used as social centres Norwich Forum - glass, open (also Greek Forum) Hub Westminster Berlin, Rio, London, Leeds Place Custard Factory Birmingham Existing institutions and new builds vs cheaper refurbs Car-free development - new ways that work PhD Lab - work and socialising blended Pop ups/temporary neutral and civic spaces

ACTIVITY 2: A DAY IN THE LIFE OF OUR DREAM SPACE (ODI in 5-10 years time) General ideas Philosophy/ethos - Purpose/ethics/ethos (vs paying the bills/business model) - Activities/interventions in socio-economic-ecological joinery - civic lab, living lab >implicit/explicit - 135 for Leeds ~600 for West Yorkshire >1000 for the city region/bio region - with cross development - What is the CIVIC INTERFACE (physical, virtual, both?)

- “Hub’ and networked and energized

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The space is one which can nurture, feed and water the dandelions we need to grow and seed so that seeds are cast on wind of people’s movement and sharing. We may never see the next generation of flowers from these seeds until a carpet develops across the city. At that point we map them with GPS :) Support: where big CO’s help small Co’s personally (CRS) and vice versa - where different size CO’s can meet and help each other in a non-threatening environment - £2K is a lot for a sole practitioner but nothing for a big company Aspiration seems idealistic Trust that something good comes out of this - that that something better comes out of this (compared to ‘usual’ means Fun and parties- that is what most people want from co-production space.

Open to our responsibilities

Innovation - It requires to keep innovation going - LCC beginning to contribute to early stage innovation - ‘Pop –up’ not enough- innovation needs sustaining- different type of spaces required? Many community centres in Leeds Temporal - Flex to our body clocks - Shared meals, breakfast, lunches, evening meals Widening Inclusivity - Inclusive of all sorts of people in the city - Children’s presence and involvement ( + elders and associates) - Development workshops that can engage the public for projects for social good - Artists/artisans, creative folk, connecting people - Who is attracted by this space? Lots of Same-ies?

Physical improvements - Ground floor or better lift - Indoor garden/pedestrianised streets - As design for non ‘cubicle’ and pod desk working, fixed assets, fixed minds and tasks (redefine work and working) ‘third space (not home, not organisation per se) - PODS vs Less Noise, semi private, reconfigurable spaces, NOISE! - Floorspace/layout and/or stacked uses include workshops, events, exchange - Air conditioning, better roof Working process - Time to concentrate, time to share - Evaluation and reflection are important - 3M approach: 10% of time for own projects - A way of capturing wider ideas, stories, aspirations - Being able to leave something behind – traces of activity, who’s been there that you may have missed - Work hierarchy disappears How to harness digital advancement - Virtual and physical connections, 24/7 day - On desktop/phone all the time! An accessible virtual space that makes it real e.g. people not on twitter, whats going on when - Large maps, GIS on screens, 4D/ 3D models of Leeds, info about Leeds, very easily accessible, 3D printed and virtual resources

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Data > knowledge > intelligence - need to retain the idea that public participation output needs somehow to be filtered - not knee-jerk populist responses

What is the economy of the place?

- Viable ‘business model’, income outgoings and capitals and assets, maintenance/development + overheads _ ecological+ barter/ exchange - Earn ‘digital badges’ for civic engagement - Time banks are good idea - but they don't pay the mortgage - Circular economy - 24 hour use- for homeless?

DAY STRUCTURE Pre-morning - Open up to the cleaners, everyday people - INCLUSIVITY - VERY early morning creche - Breakfast drop-ins for partner organisations/people (so they see what they are up to) Morning - COFFEE - bumping into people - Weekly morning address (Q&A) by public city ‘leaders’ - Children’s session - visit by local school to look at how space works and get involved in a challenge/activity Lunchtime - Lunchtime celebration another successful neighbourhood plan developed (eco design - social - built environment) co produced with support from this space and its facilitations - Non-core hours becoming important to engaging those with standard hours e.g. before lunchtime and after work Afternoon - Mass citizen education program course - ‘Leeds Degree’ - Challenge announcement (based on gaps/challenges identified through ongoing activities) - Looking for eco-social entrepreneurs to…

- Hands-on practical workshop hosted by visiting inventor - Help to formulate and respond to on-going reinvention of the city at tea-time drop-in - bound to be loads of folk with whom to interact and shape up ideas - Live links to neighbourhood spaces - Blurring boundaries between work/life - capturing people in TRANSITIONS Late afternoon/ Early Evening - Help people wind down on the way home - ideas/ask of > Time Bank - Post work time (wind-down transition - Make your mark - leave something behind - Balance of social interaction space + private time - space Evening - Events: meetings, workshops, skill swapping, live art events, performance, space + bar, time bank - Installations: Giant performance, tank for mermaids, photo studio, gallery, spectacle! inspiring - FUN - PARTY - Mind wandering and then creative focus time - Multi-generational - Homelessness/multi and functional use - “Hostel” + 24/7 wise use, stacked support and signposting

ACTIVITY 3: WORLD CAFE a.) ACTIVITIES: Are places like this different to normal workplaces, and if so how?

(Think about activities that happen, the way people meet and work and how it looks and is laid out) -

Space for groups e.g. community ‘Workshops’ - friendly, safe - time bound - space for workshops - goes away at end - blank canvas

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Maintaining neutrality Randomness - New perspectives - Not formalised Needs - cumulative, capture, build/develop wisdom Civic interface - Link to neighbourhood plans - Proforma? Community stats

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Purpose - No single purpose - Open - Subject shifts - Sharing, ethos

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Extension - Third space - Coffee space - Conversation

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Equalizer - Humans - Leveller

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Place - X work - brings all people together - distracting

Common Equaliser, leveller, lots of different types of conversations happening, coffee, providing a break, brings people from many different sectors to meet, talk, discuss Surprising Benefits are surprises, you meet people you haven’t met before, you have conversations you weren’t expecting e.g. I’m not sure what that was about but that’s given me an idea that will help me with something else

Challenging Tension: this should be a blank canvas, completely clear, always on a crest of the wave, always new, always innovating versus don’t we need to accumulate knowledge, wisdom, don’t we need to build a picture, a kind of map that will help us negotiate this particular place which is Leeds, which has a history and a story and isn’t a blank canvas -

Maybe we need two spaces that need to work together – one is a blank canvas and one space where there’s an accumulating development map and wisdom of the city

b.) SOLUTIONS: Are solutions and ideas generated in places like this better for solving problems?

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Depends on ‘problem’ - But a co-production space could prevent problem from happening in the first place Not necessarily - but happens more frequently More efficient, opened up way of thinking Rare to find a space dedicated to just co-production People could be put off by ‘non-solution’ ending Instigates culture change and open thinking, new conversations OPENS UP QUESTIONS/ISSUES BEFORE SOLUTION Could smaller companies lose out to bigger companies on their own unique ideas, in a space like this?

Prototyping - ‘the smallest thing that allows you to experience a service’ Competition - external factors to consider like funding pots that stop teams from working more efficiently e.g. NHS Keep it not too formal Blockages to co-production e.g. Competition - Health Apps, learning materials - Everyone trying to sell their own product, each with their own funding pots, lots of reinventing the wheel Spaces like these good for bouncing ideas off each other STRENGTH OF THIS SPACE IS NOT IN SOLUTION > Problem focused space, i.e the step that comes before the solution

Common - Good place to test ideas among different types of people, diverse audience = diverse views - Exposes you to people with people you wouldn’t usually think of working with, stops you from being locked down to what you think the solution is – you may meet someone who will ‘flip’ what you think and make you think of a problem completely differently Surprising - Some ‘problems’ may not be appropriate to this scale of space, some problems may need a more intimate private setting because they are dealing with sensitive issues, think about whether the space has to be tailored to a certain audience - That this kind of space may feel be a bit overwhelming/ ‘whacky’/too loose and ‘free’, to people used to working in more structured/formal spaces Challenging - If small and large organisations work together – individuals/smaller organisations’ ideas might get ‘lost’ to the bigger more established company (challenging because co-production perceived as a very positive thing)

c.) IMPACTS: What kinds of direct impact can places like these have that benefit the public? Are these benefits different to what you would get in a normal workplace? What can be done to make sure these benefits increase?

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Making stuff happen Better process – DIRECT? Sharing solutions = Learning = Opportunities Better value – enhanced ‘smarter’ decision making (democratic, longer/shorter time horizons, transparency?, better/broader data, challenging the use of date?

Green infrastructure Better social connectivity – care/well being Challenge: Measurement of impact – ATTRIBUTION Better use by/of community assets ie hub Building experience of collaboration – confidence, skills to work together Counter-factual vs normal workplace Job swaps Stronger ethos – SHARING what goes on Investment based on NEED not locked in pathways of delivery > engaged citizens > leveraging citizen capacity Infiltrating the work space – using a ‘live’ stream interface that appears on screen of city lab activities Having direct impact very difficult – these spaces risk attracting ‘samies’

Challenging Struggling to know who are the public? Specific communities in need? People who are just not us?

Direct impact to the public is a real, very difficult direct challenge – very difficult to crack, issues around how do we measure, how does this relatively small initiative impact on larger issues? E.g. Social inclusions, green, big long term ambitions – how do we connect the impacts of this to such big issues?

Common Strength/benefit: Learning to share and collaborate, but need to capture this in a better way, capture learning and solutions that aren’t generated here in a better way e.g. universities could help capture this Surprising Judgment of benefit and value – different people/organizations have different ideas, need a common language that cuts its way through what we mean by that, there is a better value of working collaboratively stops us from getting stuck in silos, -

Not necessarily coming up with smarter solutions, but coming up with solutions in a smarter way

d.) APPLICATION: How can this model be adapted for micro, SME and large organisations?

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Bottom up solution – not top down

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Users need the adaptation! > Back the office focus

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By stealth or…

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Transplanting > Creating the environment in a workplace (big organizations)

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Hub of ideas for tech and creative – doing things differently

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Still a luxury for staff to come here

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Cost model would work anywhere o Cheap (subsidized) o Accessible o Create new models?

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Changing ‘work’ expectations away from ‘traditional’ to this model o This model a ‘safe space’ (anywhere) o A new breed of entrepreneurs (very young and older)

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Flexibility of space – this is positive and negative o Some (amount?) of control > transitionary in life of organizations

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Should it be adapted for large organizations? o Might push out smaller organizations o Should be a space for large organizations to meet smaller organizations

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Convivial spaces challenge, not threat Limited by ‘life’ – time, £££, physical access ‘Third space’ idea

Common Flexibility of space, and flexibility about the way people are working now and in the future Pros and cons about this - limitations– transplanting ideas in different places and seeing how it feels Surprising Changing work expectations e.g. young people not wanting to go into bog standard jobs, wanting to be self, employed, wanting to work when they want to work, some are nocturnal – how would they use this space in 5 years time?

Increasing population of older people – setting up their own businesses, not wanting to work forever, not wanting to work 9-5, future opportunities in accessing this demographic Challenging Divergent views about adaptation - should it be adapted for larger organizations ? Would it push out smaller organizations?

Versus a convivial space for larger organizations to meet smaller organizations – these meetings might not happen otherwise

CO-PRODUCTION SPATIAL/BEHAVIOURAL OBSERVATIONS General Spatial Great variety of arrangements - good props, plenty of space, truth rug Generous and sunny space Acoustics- noise from outside, internal acoustics difficult at times – having to shout to the group, noise from kitchen area, kettle etc Good natural ventilation but means noise from outside Potential for overheating from roof lights in future- also direct sun, but cold when it isn’t a sunny day/winter Reliance on lift to access top floor which also needs a code – poses visual and psychological barrier to convenient, more wider spread accessibility – lift was broken on day of workshop

Mingling activity Most people already had vested interest in co-production either because they were working with it or were sent by their line managers.

A number of people spoke about the importance of location- city centre to enable access for participants but also instant access to the public for prototyping tests.

A number of people talked about need for space that invites different way of thinking and assists contact.

All seemed to be already ‘converted’ Most had a secondary reason for being there- relevant to their interest area or work

Paired Listening & World Café activity – patterns of arrangement/body language -

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Tabletop flipcharts provide a natural ‘nucleus’ for each table – accumulates ideas and prompts discussions Generally people have to huddle but within that huddle there are different levels of engagement o Fully engaged – the person moves their entire body/chair to face person they’re talking to o Medium engaged – they don’t turn to face the person but focus instead at the flipchart/table host o Not engaged – people sat back completely- why do people become disengaged? Needing quiet/alone time to process ideas/discussions? Lacking confidence in the topic being discussed?

Boredom? Being talked over by louder voices?

Some table hosts stood up, some remained sat down – those who stood up talked more When joining a new table, people rarely space themselves out evenly around the table – they huddle in a curve