A day in a Living Labs: RECHARGE Co-Creation Workshop at The Hunt

On February 10th, the Captain’s room at The Hunt Museum hosted the very first onsite Co-Creation Workshop for RECHARGE, with the aim to further develop the model with identified local CHIs and Corporate partners. 

A long and fruitful day kicked off with an introduction on the RECHARGE project, clarifying the role The Hunt and Humanli play in the consortium, illustrating examples of co-creative actions to inspire and let the creative juices flow. After the introduction, the actual workshop began, with participants divided in break-out groups to ideate Living Labs projects, followed by discussion on how these new models could be implemented, involving communities and developing them into actual business models.

The workshop was guided by Úna Hussey, Jill Cousins, Simon Thompson, Emma Twomey from The Hunt Museum, and Karl Daly and Fiona Craughan from Humanli. Ragnar Siil from CLab was also part of the organising team - and of the wider RECHARGE consortium. 7 participants from relevant Cultural Heritage institutions were invited:Photo Museum Ireland; Donegal Railway Museum; Independence Museum; Irish Emigration Museum; National Print Museum; Archimedes Discovery Centre; National Council of Ireland; as well as 8 corporate partners: Earnst & Young; Holmes O’Malley Sexton; EDC; Engineers; Takumi; Optel Group; Arup; Cook Medical; Apple.

The overarching themes explored during the session were:

• Businesses give time and commitment, companies often have a number of days or hours per year that employees can give to Corporate Social Rerponsability work - this can include giving back their learned skills and expertise, not necessarily money. 
• Businesses give employees back their curiosity about their workplace and job satisfaction by seeing the impact they can have, seeing the outcome of CSR work, and getting excited and enriching their work-life causing increased employee engagement.
• Businesses can give skills/tech/knowledge/materials/equipment/manufacture
• There is a certain need for matchmaking the right project to the right company
• Museums bring skills of storytelling/exhibiting & curating/ability to encourage discourse on tough subjects 
• Museums have education & outreach programmes/community links eg visually impaired, artists, designers, and minority groups leading to a broader audience reach
• Museums bring access to history through unique Collections / unique cultural spaces

Once this exercise was complete the participants were asked to contemplate the challenge of antisocial behavior in public spaces. The group then tried to discuss strategies, and in particular the need to understand the WHY - is this due to a lack of ownership of the space? disengaged community in need of expression?

It was agreed that CHIs have to identify the right stakeholders to connect together and embed solutions in the design of the public space: design and lighting design to foster engagement, making spaces safer and engaging the community in problem-solving, creating a sense of pride and ownership of the space and inviting new groups to the area.

After lunch, the participants were given examples of collaborations in the past between Hunt and two companies Arup and Takumi. The presentation included information on the Hunt Museum business plan and the focus on Climate Action. Using the below tool the groups set about to ideate specifically for the Hunt Museum.

The ideas that emerged from this discussion that followed - aimed at developing new activities and ideas - had to do with the use of the garden space in a sustainable manner to enrich the community and benefit locals: an Edible & Sensory garden or compost from families or local businesses, to produce food for local charities or organise cooking classes held at museum; an exploration of historical food of Limerick, and of historical growing practice; and then: rain buckets, river water, sensory garden, fishing in the river, developing the flood space with a winter greenhouse. 

The target groups for these activities were also individuated, all embedded in the local social scenario: transition year school children, local small businesses, homeless charities, addiction centres, youth clubs, retirement groups, people with invisible disabilities, people with accessibility needs, and in general those that would benefit from sensory gardens. 

What would the businesses and museums involved gain? For once: more footfall, as more people would visit the city centre and therefore the museum; fostering the development of living skills for the next generations (such as using technical skills to use tidal cycle and solar cycle for power to the garden. The museum would become a creative hub for education, and a safe space to foster a mindful environment.