FORUM WORKGROUP REPORTS Belgrade, Serbia September 23 rd 2016
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HOW WORK WORKS Workgroup: SPACE Facilitator: Marko Radenković (Nova Iskra / RS) Participants: Helen Teeling (Taktal / UK) Frederico Mancellos (Todos / PT) Meta Štular (Roglab / SI) Christine James (Blick Studios / UK) Kai Huotari (Kaapelitehdas / FI) Ivan Lopez Garrido (Republikken / DK) 3
HOW WORK WORKS Workgroup: SPACE Creative Hubs are important local catalysts of change, with a powerful potential to influence social and local development through their communities. In the past 10 years, we have seen development of different models and forms of creative hubs, but one thing can still be found as a common value space. Having in mind that all creative hubs intend to become centres for specific local communities, physical space is needed in order to create a safe enviroment where people can share ideas, collaborate, and work together. Different ownership models Private ownership in lease or owned space; Public-private partnership cooperation with local municipality or city level authorities; Public ownership initiated and financed by public sector on different levels. 4
HOW WORK WORKS Workgroup: SPACE In order to become a self-sustainable and influential local actor, there are several details which are important to consider from the start: Hubs are most likely developed in central locations / urban spots, even though there are great examples in rural and remote areas. Also it is important that Hubs manage to obtain low rent having in mind the pressure of covering monthly fixed costs. Diverse offer within the space is needed, so besides having a workspace and event space, it is important to establish a communal space where people can meet and collaborate. Depending on different focus within their spaces, hub managers develop variety a of services and offers in order to maximize space usage. 5 Space as a source of income Coworking: Hot and dedicated desks, Private offices, Meeting rooms; Event space: Commercial events, Educational and community programs etc; Bar / Restaurant; Accomodation: residency programs; Specific use spaces: Foto/Film studios, FabLabs, Workshops, etc; Pop-up stores; Partnerships with private companies: sponsorhips and joint ventures.
HOW WORK WORKS Workgroup: SPACE One of the best investments is actually to invest in the design of the space it is the first thing people see and the one thing people experience all the time. In past few years, there is an increase in the number of commercial coworking workspaces which are being developed by real-estate companies and ventures with no added value aside from making profit. There is an identified challenge that it is important to communicate the main differences between us and them, so that creative hubs can remain open and find qualitative means of engaging with local communities. 6
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HOW WORK WORKS Workgroup: COMMUNITY Facilitator: Paul Currion (UK/RS) Participants: Rosalie Hoskins (The Fusebox / UK) David Wibbeler (Frappant / DE) Vukašin Stojkov (Startit.rs / RS) Barbara Andreatta (MOB / ES) Gillian Eason (Creative Dundee / UK) Luka Piškorić (Poligon / SI) Atilim Sahin (Atoyle / TK) 8
HOW WORK WORKS Workgroup: COMMUNITY Coworking is not about the space, it s about the community, and specifically about the connections that the community builds. Managing the community is essential, although it may be more useful to think of the community as a garden something organic that needs to be grown, rather than managed. The role of a full-time community manager can therefore be critical. In some ways it is the most important position, since it is the focal point for the community and a unique selling point for your hub. Community management is a full-time job, but it should involve as many other stakeholders as possible, including other staff, community members, interns, etc. The primary role of a community manager is to create interactions between people. The community manager should be able to demonstrate the value of the community going beyond social events to show how personal connections can open up professional connections. Monetisation should follow connection not the other way around. There is a fairly standard toolkit for facilitating social engagement, which is used by most hubs. This included happy hours, film screenings, experience sharing, sometimes educational programmes delivered by members themselves, etc. These types of community events are necessary for creating community, but they are not enough by themselves. 9
HOW WORK WORKS Workgroup: COMMUNITY Hubs face two types of issues in creating communities: Clock issues practical issues concerning the space, such as getting the temperature right, making sure the wifi works, ensuring the coffee is decent, etc. Cloud issues cultural issues such as creating the right working culture, maintaining the philosophy of the space, building trust both internally and externally, etc. Having a physical space is not essential for building community. Two complementary strategies were described: Having an actively curated online community platform, using the web to give concrete examples of collaboration and innovation happening outside the mainstream. Using different spaces to host pop-up co-working spaces, then creating links between those spaces. This approach is more agile and helps to avoid being pigeonholed. 10 A key part of successful community management is getting the right balance between: the individual and the community disciplines working in the hub genders, age groups and ethnicities national and international members long-term and short-term members top-down and bottom-up strategies
HOW WORK WORKS Workgroup: COMMUNITY The criteria for joining the community should be transparent. Process and criteria for joining should be clear, and clearly explained during the application process, if there is one including providing feedback on why an application was unsuccessful. However a critical factor in the decision is often simply whether the applicant is the right fit for the existing community. The type of community that will develop depends on the type of hub, and therefore the best approach to community management will depend on the type of hub. A wide range of factors need to be considered, including the size of the hub, the membership policy, the types of business using the facilities, location and accessibility, business model and funding streams, etc. 11
HOW WORK WORKS Workgroup: COMMUNITY Communities are wider than just hub members, but building diverse communities is a challenge. In many hubs, members come from similar educational and demographic backgrounds; depending on what type of social impact is intended, hubs need to be more active in order to build more diverse communities for example, by including people from different generations, young and senior. The key metric for the health of a community is attendance both in the working space and at community events. If members do not pay for the space, they may not value it (and may even be suspicious of a free lunch!) so making a contribution is a key part of creating a community. Next steps might include measuring the level of voluntary collaboration between members. Education is a critical activity in order to help potential members and partners to understand coworking. People may assume that coworking space means shared office space, rather than community. They may believe that coworking is for hippies, not for normal businesses, or that coworking is only for young people. In the words of one participant: You have to see it to be it! Free coworking spaces can risk damaging the business model of commercial coworking spaces, by providing the same services for free. Free services may increase accessibility, but do not guarantee that a community will form around that space. Commercial coworking spaces can often out-perform governmentprovided spaces, because they must deliver community as a service. 12
HOW WORK WORKS Workgroup: COMMUNITY The sense of community emerges from the members themselves and successfully coworking emerges from that sense of community. This is something that seems to distinguish true coworking hubs from e.g. government incubators or shared offices, where relations tend to be more transactional. It is important to avoid the community becoming a creative bubble, especially if the hub itself is focused on a specific sector. Create opportunities to connect to other sectors (such as life sciences, healthcare, food and drink, etc) in order to create new connections, grow the community, and address wider social and economic challenges. What added-value do you bring to your city? The group conclusion was that your community defines your hub, and that community management requires investment. It is an art, rather than a science, to grow and maintain a community. Although each hub will require its own approach to successfully grow its community, examples of good practice can be identified, and some are described in this report. 13
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HOW WORK WORKS Workgroup: BUSINESS MODELS Facilitator: Đorđe Krivokapić (Share Foundation / RS) Participants: Andrea Burns (The Roco / UK) Will Mercer (The Trampery / UK) Žana Grubišić (Nest71 / BA) Adrian Sneeuw (Makerversity / NL) Lieza Dessein (Smart / BE) Rob Morrison (Taktal / UK) Fatene ben Hamza (Hivos / TN) 15
HOW WORK WORKS Workgroup: BUSINESS MODELS Creative hubs have grown at remarkable pace over the last 10 years because of changes in technology, economics and audiences and have become much more than just shared workspaces. Not only do creative hubs help to empower their members through collaboration and networking, but these environments inspire creation, innovation and the exchange of knowledge and talent, whilst offering valuable cultural exhibition and event space. Hubs are beginning to be recognized for their economic and social value but there is still much to be done to fully understand and support their potential. There are several types of business models and financial structures which are appropriate for creative hubs: The Business Model should be determined according to the types of stakeholders who are interested in supporting the hub financially, and the ways in which the hub will generate revenue. Hubs can generate revenue by: 1. Redefining and re-zoning space: 2. Retail and services to users and general public: Rent of tables / co-working Rent of rooms / co-living Memberships by community and users in respect to the use of facilities General services within the space (printing, personal assistant services, coffee, food etc.) Sale of goods within the space (arts, design ware etc.) For Profit Corporation (LLC) Entrepreneurs 3. Professional services: Consulting Project management Contests & Innovation programs (open innovation) Non Profit Association Foundation 4. Events: Renting space for the corporate events Organizing events with business plan Mixed Forms Collaboratives Social Enterprises More entities which form group with different tasks for each member 5. Education programs For youth (high school & students) For young professionals For full professionals and corporate sector 16 6. Other: Crowdfunding Online platform / non-physical space Financial investments Sponsorships
HOW WORK WORKS Workgroup: BUSINESS MODELS From the perspective of the stakeholders, sources of income can be divided in the following manner: Users/Community International donors 1. Services 2. Membership for use of services 3. Membership to the collaborative or corporation 4. Donations 1. Donations Universities Corporate Sector State institutions Consumers 1. Investments 2. Services 1. Donations 2. Services 3. Investments 1. Donations 2. Services 1. Services 17
HOW WORK WORKS Workgroup: BUSINESS MODELS FINANCING MODEL * In the following example you can see that the most revenue comes from Education Platform (52% of total revenue), whereas Co-working demands the highest expenses (50% of revenue distribution toward fixed costs). From this example we can conclude that at the moment it is easier to fundraise for education than to sell co-working and other services. 34% Coworking 52% Education Platform TOTAL REVENUE JAN - AUG 2016 14% Studio 30% 50% Coworking Education Platform REVENUE DISTRIBUTION TOWARD FIXED COSTS JAN - AUG 2016 20% Studio * The finance model of Nova Iskra 18
HOW WORK WORKS Workgroup: BUSINESS MODELS It is common that hubs are organized in mixed form, where more entities set up groups with different tasks for each member, based on the source and the type of income, in order to optimize management, liability and tax issues: Non profit LTD Donations Membership & Services In order to keep the Hub developing and growing, it is very important to implement an adequate management and decision making structure from the start. It should always be kept in mind that there is a difference between the decisions that should be made by the top management and those that should be made by staff and community. 19
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FORUM www.creativehubs.eu www.facebook.com/creativehubseu @CreativehubsEU ECHN partners Realised with the support of