In June 2010 we held a workshop to help us develop a vision for the Portland Works campaign, which would respect the way the building operates, and reflect people's aspirations for its future in terms of social and cultural aims. It was facilitated by a £10k knowledge transfer grant from The University of Sheffield.
The workshop brought together tenants, campaigners, and other advisors from diverse backgrounds and organisations, including: the creative industries, business advice, cooperative support, local government, social enterprise, heritage, arts, regional development, architecture, conservation, and community development.
The opportunity to bring this broad range people together in one place allowed us to both debate the vision for Portland Works, and explore how this might be realised through every aspect of the project plan we conceived, including: governance, approach to conservation, networking, and education. People attending were able to see how they might offer help in the future to the campaign and fully understand the context and collective desires for the future.
The workshop was structured around three sessions. The first was a brainstormng session, which enabled us to understand the different priorities held by our various stakeholders, and what would make the project a success in their eyes. In the second session a team of researchers presented a series of case studies, which detailed the difficulties faced and opportunities presented by similar projects within Sheffield and further afield. The final session of the day explored the potential management and ownership structures the project could adopt, and we began to develop a business plan, which would enable us to achieve our goals.
Below are a series of documents produced after the event, which we hope will enable you to learn more about the Portland Works project, and inspire new community ventures of this type. A final report and photo diary of the workshop is available for download, as well as all case studies presented during the second session of the day.
Enjoy!
P.S. Don't forget to look at our e-Book, which is available on our Resources page! It documents aspects of this workshop, and much more...