RECHARGE stemmed out from an urgency: understanding how business models can be developed that fit the cultural heritage sector, to help CH institutions shape their activities and plans to retain their central role for the social and cultural life of global and local communities. For that to happen, the concept of ‘business model’ needed to be understood and embraced.As we started brainstorming, the conversations within the consortium and also with other professionals in the sector made clear how…

As we reported on this diary a few weeks ago, on March 15, The Museo del Tessuto di Prato held its very first co-creation workshop in the context of RECHARGE Living Labs.To document the workshop, the MdT team produced a video, which we are thrilled to present as one of the outcomes the Prato Living Lab. The video offers a sneak-peak of the mythologies we are using to engage communities and stakeholders and produce something meaningful together. Moreover, and very importantly, the video allows ev…

As we have reported in our RECHARGE Diary, during the co-creation workshop on the 10th February at The Hunt three ideas were discussed. The one that has become the most feasible for the Living Lab is related to the use of green spaces in Limerick City and County, including the Hunt Museum Garden, to create sustainable sculptures made from native Irish Willow, which will enhance local biodiversity and serve as pollinators. This is how the project Weaving Willow; Get Your Weave On! was born. With …

At the turn of February and March 2023, Centrum Cyfrowe Foundation, in cooperation with the three Living Labs carried out 6 focus group interviews to investigate and analyse key motivations behind participatory involvement in Cultural Heritage Institutions’ activities, making a case to better understand their potential to constitute relations and partnerships with relevant stakeholders.The RECHARGE project is vastly focused on the participatory models and as such it was our imperative to not onl…

On March 20th, a team from Centrum Cyfrowe in Poland visited The Hunt Museum to meet the community in Limerick and learn about participation.The fifteen participants came from different backgrounds and age groups: museum docents and museum interns; corporate partners involved with the RECHARGE Living Lab; corporates who have not worked directly with the museum before; artists that have worked/collaborated with the museum before and representatives of the local community who regularly collaborate…

On March 15, The Museo del Tessuto di Prato held its very first co-creation workshop in the context of RECHARGE Living Labs.The workshop saw more than 30 people participating, from museum professionals, artists and craftspeople, educational institutions, and representatives of all the professional communities relevant for the museum’s Participatory Business Model, which is constantly updated according to the institution’s needs and considerations.After an introduction on the project and explanat…

Co-creation of value starts from meeting up, sharing practices and being honest about the needs different institutions and stakeholders in general, might have, to come up with a plan to reach common goals. Understanding the importance of working together is at the basis of what we do in our Living Labs. So, we asked members of the corporates that took part in the Co-Creation workshop at the Hunt Museum on February 10. Here is what they fed back to us:EDCThe Recharge workshop was a great opportun…

Living Labs are at the core of the RECHARGE project, where cultural heritage institutions experiment and co-create with their network of stakeholders. Within the context of RECHARGE, we plan to have 9 museums setting up Living Labs to engage with different communities and innovate their business models in order to create and capture value, collaborating with the different stakeholders involved in their ecosystem.Mapping out the scholarship related to collaborative practices in the CH sector, we …

A guest post by Humanli, social impact company based in Limerick, reflecting on the first co-creation workshop developed with The Hunt Museum in the context of RECHARGE. On the 10th of February 2023, The Hunt Museum, organised a co-creation workshop to kick off the activities of the Living Labs connected to the RECHARGE project. Humanli was approached by Jill Cousins, CEO and Director of the Hunt Museum, to assist with the enrolment of corporates and businesses for the project. Humanli's experti…

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, …