Home
OPEN 09 - Creative futures and dynamic change.
Sandbox is helping to organise a 2 day event in Preston on November 16th and 17th called OPEN 09.
OPEN 09 breaks with the normal conference model and creates a new participatory experience to explore, inform and create change in the Digital and Creative sectors.
Sessions will include open discussions alongside world class speakers, workshops and networking events.
OPEN 09 is for designers, developers, musicians, artists, photographers, journalists and gamers – in fact it’s for anyone working in the creative industries – so whether you’re a coder, strategist, information architect fashion designer, user experience professional or gallery curator, you’ll feel at home at OPEN 09.
And in the true spirit of social media, the content of the sessions will be decided by the delegates contributing to what will happen on the day via the OPEN 09 blogs. The blogs are the virtual spaces where the themes for sessions – we’re calling them ‘Turtles’ – will be debated and decided. We’ll be adding more Turtles that focus on particular areas of the creative industries.
So, if you want to find like minded people to talk about the things you’re interested in go to the dedicated website at http://open09.com.
Dual Diagnosis - co-creating the future of the service through collaboration
Sandbox is currently working on a one year project with the NHS in the area of dual diagnosis provision.
Dual diagnosis is arguably one of the most complex issues currently being tackled by mental health services across Lancashire. As its name suggests, dual diagnosis clients are people diagnosed with multiple problems, a combination of mental health problems and alcohol or drugs related issues.
Because of the nature of the condition, a dual diagnosed client needs to be supported by several services and agencies. The danger with this is that all too often the person ends up being bounced around from service to service, which only serves to worsen their condition. For the agencies providing the service, the situation is not an easy one. Data is not shared across services and agencies; very often they don't know where to refer patients, who to call, who to ask. In addition, who wants to admit that they don't know, who wants to do anything that can leave a negative impression on their professional standing? Also, if nobody else seems to be interested in collaborating, why should they?
The complexity of nurturing a collaborative culture within these agencies is at the heart of the work we are doing.
We live in an age of ever-increasing information overload, emails, guidelines, strategies, frameworks, pathways. We seem to be so confused with everything we have to deal with. We think it is acceptable to have poor communication with each other. We have more “communication” devices and technology than ever before; however we feel more and more isolated and lost than ever before. Have we forgotten the basic human skill of collaboration? How can we re-learn the skills and benefits of collaboration in an increasingly complex world? Why should we do it? Who will be affected if we don't?
Using a number of creative tools such as Lego, serious play, and open space technology, we are, for the first time, inviting all stakeholders, managers, link workers, carers, patients into an space of co-creation and collaboration to work together to find solutions for the challenges they are all facing. Top-down directives are unlikely to generate longer-term attitude shifts; we are helping participants to think and work creatively in order to generate solutions based upon a spirit of genuine collaboration.
As opposed to a “client-centred” approach, we think of what we do as a human-centred approach. It not only has to work and benefit the client, it has to make sense for the mental health and substance misuse workers, the managers, the carers, the liaison workers; the change has to come from them if it has any chance of surviving.
As Rosabeth Moss Kanter (Professor of Business at Harvard Business School) once said, "change is disturbing when it's done too us, exhilarating when it's done by us".
Merseyside Police
Officers from Merseyside Police Force were recent guests of Sandbox. Following initial meetings with senior managers in the police force at the Liverpool HQ, Sandbox were asked to run a pilot workshop with 20 officers. Although very much a ‘what can Sandbox offer’ workshop, the themes were very real.
In a culture of measurement and targets, the people and community element side of the officer role can at times be neglected. There seems to be a genuine desire from Merseyside Police managers to work on changing this culture – to move to a more consultative operational style that engages local communities and delivers a professional service that meets the needs and expectations of victims and witnesses.
The Sandbox design for this particular workshop focused on using and Appreciative Inquiry approach.
Organisations were originally created to meet a challenge or satisfy a societal need. Appreciative inquiry philosophy comes from the standpoint that organisations are not (at their core) problems to be solved. Re-connecting to those original needs / challenges and the original motivation for joining the organisation are powerful ways of initiating change conversations. It is an approach that seeks to uncover the best in people and involves a systematic discovery of what gives life to an organisation. It is an approach where intervention gives way to inquiry, imagination and innovation and involves the art of asking positive questions to heighten positive potential.
Further conversations between Sandbox and Merseyside police are planned to establish the next steps in this change project.
European Think Tank
The think tank is comprised of select members from various European organisations that support and stimulate growth for regional SME’s and promote international collaboration and thinking.
Sandbox hosted their December meeting and created a engaging and target oriented workshop. Challenges, solutions and strategies were actively explored and the results will be used to address European ICT Policy and Strategy.
Attendees:
- Irina Blomqvist (Chair), Culminatum Innovation, Finland
- Marta Ysern, Business Development Director, Barcelona Media - Centre d’Innovacio, Spain
- Marina Zago, Digital Media Cluster, Venice, Italy
- Iain Bennett, Sector Leader, Digital & Creative, NWDA, UK
- Esa Blomberg, Programme Director, Forum Virium Helsinki, Finland
- Jean-Baptiste Soufron, Pôle de compétitivité CAP DIGITAL, Paris, France
- Andrew Bullen, Independent Consultant (for IIP/Create, Dutch Creative Industries Platform), Netherlands
- Bill Boffin, Strategic Sector Champion (Digital), Yorkshire Forward, UK
- John Joughin, Dean and pro-Vice Chancellor, UCLAN, UK
Creative and Innovative Diffusion of Knowledge
Sandbox presented at the “Creative and Innovative Diffusion of Knowledge”
On November 18th Sandbox presented at the conference which took place at the Lancashire Brussels office and was attended by a wide range of representatives from both regional offices from across the European Union and companies.
As a result of this George Dimitrov from the European Commission will be visiting Sandbox.
Picnic 2008
Sandbox are presenting at Picnic 2008 in Amsterdam
More information can be found on the events page:
http://www.picnicnetwork.org/page/22301/en
You can also track our team as they carry around GPS enabled mobile phones which enable them to upload images and sound they encounter in the Venice of the north. Their wanderings are here.
Hyphen: Joined-up thinking
June 20, 2008
Stimulating, inspiring, provocative, Hyphen is a chain of interactive events designed to help creative businesses exploit new technologies
In the time it takes you to read this sentence, the future of your business has been rewritten...three times. The unrelenting pace of technological change is redefining the way we do business, whipping up a storm of opportunity and threat as it goes.
Through three highly interactive events, the Hyphen series will demonstrate the unprecedented opportunities that emerge when things get connected: ideas with applications; creativity with commerce, the present with the future, people with people.
one: brand opportunity
Speakers:
Sean Singleton / Skive
Stuart Nolan / Hex Induction
Dom Raban / Corporation Pop
Louise Lynch / Libra TV (Chair)
2nd July / Sandbox / 6pm
two: digital-reach
Speakers:
Femke Wolting / Submarine
Jonnie Turpie / Maverick TV
Margaret Bourke / UKTI NW (Chair)
Further speakers TBC
23 September / Sandbox / 6pm
three: innovation-cash
Speakers:
Edward French / Enterprise Ventures
John Burns / Halliwells
Louise Lynch / Libra TV (Chair)
Further speakers TBC
19 November / Sandbox / 6pm
The revolution is now - join-up, join-in.
Booking: places at Hyphen events are completely free, but strictly limited. For further information or to secure your place call 0800 977 6027 or email events@creativelancashire.org
Meld Pathfinder
May 29, 2008
Meld Pathfinder is an innovative collaboration between uclan’s Department of Journalism, Sandbox and journalists from the BBC, Sky News, the Times, the Independent, Haymarket Media, Johnston Press and Trinity Mirror. Editors, designers, reporters and filmmakers are turning their attention to what the media landscape might look like in a decade - and to the skills journalists will need to work in this new world.
2 days have already been spent in Sandbox hearing from Guerilla News Network’s creative director, Stephen Marshall, whose organisation is working to expose people to global issues through guerrilla programming, and investigative reports (GNN www.guerrillanews.com/). Also Howard Rhiengold, writer, critic and leading thinker on the cultural, social and political significance of contemporary media and communications, spoke at the opening event from a newly commissioned Meld Stage in 2nd Life (http://secondlife.com/). His focus on the purpose of journalism in a complex media landscape raises a number of questions about how best to maintain rigorous and credible journalism that’s inclusive and which re-engages audiences currently abandoning factual content.
The inaugural 2 day Sandbox event drew out common themes such as TV, radio, print and online journalism, and attendees enjoyed a series of workshops and exercises focusing on the purpose of journalism before exploring the likely social, political, economic and technological changes over the next decade and beginning to think about how this might impact on the types of skills journalists will need in 2020.
Project leader Paul Egglestone is pleased with progress so far; “We’ve got an amazing group of people from a broad spectrum of the industry, who have all recognized that things won’t stay as they are. If things are going to change, then together we need to work out how they’ll change and what we can all do to best equip those who are committed to quality journalism as they face an evolving media landscape”.
The 12 month project, funded by North West Universities Association, will produce three training packages for current and future journalists. The content is being decided by the Meld Pathfinder industry delegates and the materials will be produced by Department of Journalism lecturers Paul Egglestone and Andy Dickinson.
Andy has been training print journalists to shoot and edit video for a number of years, and he’s enthusiastic about the project; “The great thing about Meld is its commitment to people who make things. People who tell stories and who are keen to learn new ways of doing this, while connecting with others who want to do this too”.
You can learn more about the project at www.meldonline.org
Call for innovative new projects
January 21, 2008
Sandbox is pleased to announce its call for innovative new projects for 2008.
We are particularly interested in projects that bring together a number of disciplines, and that have real impact and benefit to a broader user base. All proposals will be seen as a collaboration or partnership with Sandbox.
We are especially interested in projects that:
- Benefit the wider community
- Engage and look at user-generated content
- Make use of the creative facilitation space at Sandbox
- Are exploratory in nature with real outcomes
- Bring together a number of individuals and partners
We would be happy to discuss any potential projects prior to application. You can download the application form below. Deadline is March 31st 2008.
Download the application form as a word document
Download the application form as a PDF
Moved in at last
January 11, 2008
Sandbox has now occupied the top floor of the Media factory at UClan! It's been a long time coming but both the creative facilitation space and the R & D area are fully operational. If you would like to drop by send through an email!
MELD
January 11, 2008
The residential workshop developing seven new project ideas with teams of journalists and interactive media practioners was a great success. During the week of December 10th seven project groups went through an intensive workshop at Sandbox. The final ideas were pitched to Haymarket, Sky and Johnston Press, for more info see http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/digitalcontent/2008/02/the_university_of_central_lanc.html or http://meldonline.org/meldblogs/
Sandbox is a dynamic new initiative from the University of Central Lancashire that brings together a wide range of skills and expertise to enable innovative and collaborative ways of working.
The hybrid Sandbox centre is both a creative facilitation space and a digital media R&D lab, with opportunities for academic and industry partnerships across all of the centre’s activities. Our interdisciplinary staff welcomes the opportunity to rise to your particular challenge.
