What is it about?
Innovation is key to economic freedom, but community-level innovation faces challenges. Makerspaces and fab labs boost innovation, education, and entrepreneurship, yet their closures harm communities. Our novel framework for these centers reveals why some succeed and others fail, highlighting their potential for economic and social growth and emphasizing the importance of community interaction and integrated support systems for sustainability.
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Why is it important?
An innovation center’s infrastructure is crucial for maintaining its core functions. Sustainable financial models are essential, including fair compensation for founders and sufficient revenue from memberships, services, donations, and grants. Securing affordable or free long-term rentals with local authorities or community entities enhances resilience if locations remain accessible and secure. Effective management fosters an innovation culture, values volunteer contributions, and includes diverse leadership. Processes for member retention and diversity ensure structured engagement, prevent burnout, optimize onboarding, and manage growth sustainably. A balanced infrastructure provides financial stability, accessible spaces, community engagement, and an inclusive culture.
Perspectives
Innovation is crucial for economic freedom, but community-level innovation faces challenges. Makerspaces and fab labs boost innovation, education, and entrepreneurship. However, their premature closure negatively impacts communities. Our study develops a sustainability framework for these centers, identifying factors for success and failure. The framework highlights the importance of financial stability, accessible spaces, effective management, and inclusive processes to foster community engagement and ensure long-term sustainability.
Mizan Rahman
Georgia Institute of Technology
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Sustainability of Makerspaces: Developing a Framework for Sustainable Community Innovation Centers, ACM Journal on Computing and Sustainable Societies, June 2024, ACM (Association for Computing Machinery),
DOI: 10.1145/3675761.
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