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Table of Contents
Connecting Londoners in a Networked City
Connecting Londoners is a group leading the Networked City exploration:
We are exploring three linked challenges as services and funding are cut, and the ways that people communicate are changing rapidly:
- how will Londoners in future find out where to get help for themselves or their families in times of need; find local activities that interest them; share or sell items or services; find opportunities to volunteer; campaign for or against change in their community … and organise projects?
- how can individuals, groups and organisations make use of the Internet - together with other methods - to cooperate and collaborate more effectively?
- how can we ensure that those most in need, and most vulnerable, are not excluded by these changes?
Collaborators
David Wilcox and Drew Mackie have developed ideas, projects and events with Matt Scott and, at various stages, these key collaborators:
- JustMap: an ongoing collaborative map developed through public workshops organised at neighbourhood festivals or specific community events. Its goal is to highlight communities resources and projects, connect actors campaigning for a fairer London and identify strategic cooperations.
- Interests.me: an innovative, easy to use, online tool for local community groups, which helps them communicate in many ways (web publishing, email, mailing lists, social media and print) and also links groups with other groups in their locality using networked community websites, noticeboards and emails.
- CommunityConnect which is a digital solution that joins up information about services in a local area. It has been adopted by the London Borough of Dagenham and Barking as BanD Together.
- Together Tools - a group for anyone who sees the value in collaborating, connecting and sharing and who “holds the space” in group activities.
- Superhighways We worked with London's main community tech organisation in providing mapping and technology support to community groups and community builders engaged in asset based community development.
We are not a formally constituted group, and collaborators do not bear responsibility for all ideas and recommendations. These are principally the work of David and Drew, and others where credited.
Events 2017-18
Development of Networked City began in November 2016 with a commission from the London Council for Voluntary Service.
Events in 2017
Our key events during 2017
London as a #networkedcity gains support at first event. Now here's the plan
Launch event for Networked City at Newspeak House
Videos from our Networked City event including an interview with Harold Jarche - @hjarche #netwcity
Report from event with network learning specialist Harold Jarche
Moving London from digital divide to digital connect - generating Networked City ideas for the Deputy Mayor @rydermc #netwcity
Connecting Londoners collaborators presented to the Deputy Mayor
Joining up the dots to show #OurWayAhead
We supported Our Way Ahead at the first major event
Join us to discuss how Londoners can connect and influence development of the city
A conversation cafe with David Gurteen
Event with Deputy Mayor @rydermc and #reclaimourspaces opens door to co-designing community engagement … but with whom?
Presenting ideas to the Deputy Mayor with Reclaim our Spaces
Pitching Connecting Londoners and co-design of civil society communications to an #RSAideas session
Presentation at RSA event
Why we need a Community of Practice for networking London civil society
Report of a our Hub game simulation at London Metropolitan University with Our Way Ahead. Full details here.
Events in 2018
Connecting Londoners and JustMap organised an event with Matt Scott, hosted by Newspeak House on March 27 2018 around the theme of Smart City meets Networked City. We ran afternoon workshop discussions about learning, engagement, organising, data, networks and mapping. In the evening we heard about Smart London, and discussed ideas for a community of practice.
Report here on the March event
On March 28 Nicolas Fonty, Barbara Brayshay, Drew Mackie and David Wilcox presented at an event at Space4, Outlandish on Mapping for Social and Political Change
Living Lab
Slipham Living Lab
We developed our workshop playing through how to use digital tech and other methods to help connect people and organisations in the fictitious borough of Slipham
Mapping
Mapping London networks
Report of the network mapping exercise undertaken by Drew Mackie at the Our Way Ahead event on July 21 2017
Hub for London
In November 2017 the City Bridge Trust announced first year funding of £350,000 for the Hub, which will be run by Greater London Volunteering.
David Wilcox was a member of the Hub advisory group, and Connecting Londoners and Our Way Ahead have made the case to the Hub advisory group for extending the work of the Hub - with associated projects - to include development of local and pan-London networks.
We based proposals for extending the Hub on Steve Wyler's report, and other working group reports, as well as our own work. In November 2017 we ran a “Hub game” simulation event at London Metropolitan University to play through the recommendations in the Wyler report. Following the event we proposed a Community of Practice to support extending the Hub.
Our proposals for network support have been included in the job description for a Networks Partner.
More here about the Hub for London - now called London Plus - and contribution.
Other reports
Exploring how London can be a more Networked City
A background paper for our launch event on January 10 2017, including a summary of The Way Ahead initiative, models for cooperation and collaboration in the networked age, the development process for our exploration.
Supporting co-production
A note for The Way Ahead group on co-production, covering models for engagement, cooperation and collaboration, and the idea of local ecosystems.
Connecting Citizens
A paper summarising an approach to using digital technology, network thinking and self-organising to address three linked challenges: how people can find opportunities and services, and develop new relationships in their local communities; how to develop civic infrastructure when existing systems are reducing and new approaches are needed; supporting community connectors in their role of making connections and building relationship in local communities, and online
Contacts
- David Wilcox david@socialreporter.com @davidwilcox 07970 621606
- Matt Scott matt@lvsc.org.uk @ourwayahead
- Drew Mackie [drew@drewmackie.co.uk](mailto:drew@drewmackie.co.uk0 @admaque