2. What is Catalyst?
• £1.9M initiative on digital technologies for
social change
– Community-University partnerships
– University-wide
– Framework of projects
• Sprints (big)
• Launchpads (modest)
3. Goals
• Change cultures
– Promote academic/non-academic
collaborations
• In a way that…
– Tackles real issues,
– and leads to world-class research
Patchworks as an example: Research Sprint – 8 MonthsIs it possible to co-design, with homeless communities, a simple and cheap health monitoring and communication tool using the methods and materials of ‘personal manufacturing’ (DIY-Bio/garage science)? Working with Madlab & SignpostsWe briefly describe current Catalyst projects, to give a flavour of the research. #patchworks involves Lancaster’s School of Healthand Medicine, Lancaster Environment Centre, Signposts (a community resource centre in Morecambe), and MadLab, a Manchester-based not-for-profit community of hackers and innovators. In the project, Signposts volunteers are co-designing a prototype tool using cheap, open source technology that can help to improve support services for the homelessIntro to Patchworks and Ref to the SRA abstract ‘routine chaos’http://vimeo.com/43110132Good refs to Chaotic LivesCornes, M., Joly, L., Manthorpe, J., O'Halloran, S. and Smyth, R. (2011). Working Together to Address Multiple Exclusion Homelessness. Social Policy and Society, 10, pp 513-522 doi:10.1017/S1474746411000261Brown, P., Morris, G., Scullion, L. and Somerville, P. (2012) Losing and Finding a Home: Homelessness, Multiple Exclusion and Everyday Lives. University of Salford. Accessed via http://www.homelesspages.org.uk/node/24491Fitzpatrick, S., Johnsen, S. and White, M. (2011). Multiple Exclusion Homelessness in the UK: Key Patterns and Intersections. Social Policy and Society, 10, pp 501-512 doi:10.1017/S147474641100025X Rogers, R., (2009). The End of the Virtual: Digital Methods, Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press, 2009. Young, S. D. and Rice, E. (2011). Online Social Networking Technologies, HIV Knowledge, and Sexual Risk and Testing Behaviors Among Homeless Youth. AIDS and Behavior, 2011, Volume 15, Number 2, Pages 253-260
And there are many organisations that we have linked up with…
Morecatalystas! An ever growing network//no need to explain the tech details of this! Just say...extensive use of social network – fast growing community [if asked later: this is a snapshot of twitter conversation over two weeks between @catalystproj and its followers and tweeps – done in Nodexl]The extended community.... a healthy networkCatalyst has formed a network of academics and non-academics (or Catalystas) interested in citizen-led innovation. To date, Catalyst has involved over 10 academic departments and over 20 community organisations.Selection of Catalyst sub-projects is via an application process, mediated by procedures to match-make academics and non- academics. All projects must satisfy the Catalyst criteria: (i) the project must be genuinely citizen-led and address a problem identified by specific community group(s); (ii) the project must involve academics from multiple disciplines; (iii) the project must result in a digital innovation which addresses a real citizen need.