Thought we could have a thread for idea generating/co-operative
dreaming. Maybe don't critique other's ideas here but just let them sit
for a while, to be picked up if others like them.
My first idea I didn't get into our meeting was:
Festival of left tech
IRL/online hybrid event hosted at SPACE4 in London. Invite everyone
working in this field e.g. CoTech, cool orgs, redecentralise etc etc
Networking and Lightning talks etc. Fun, weird and social. Influenced by
Chaos Congress, EMF etc but tiny.
Make it explicitly left.
Use it to build energy and enthusiasm in this bubble which kinda fizzled
out due to the pandemic and accompanying wildness.
In solidarity
Lai
Hello friends,
Nice to meet you!
I'm Oliver. I'm a researcher, designer and facilitator from fractals coop (
https://fractals.coop/). We're four people who before fractals we're doing
tech or tech adjacent design and research work. We aren't really doing any
of that at the moment as we've been mostly doing consultancy gigs working
with charities and campaigning organisations to do strategy work and as a
learning and evaluation partner.
3.5 days a week I'm employed as a contract researcher at Lancaster
University (https://www.research.lancs.ac.uk/portal/en/people/oliver-bates).
My work is where people, tech, and just and sustainable futures meet. I'm
part critical designer, part tech critic, part user researcher, part game
maker. I made a card game called Meal Deal (
https://crankandfile.co.uk/meal-deal) that came from research and design
workshops with gig economy couriers about their experiences of the platform
and working on their bikes. I'm moving my work more into facilitating
challenging conversations and building community that is on a
shared journey to a future through decaying and collapsing systems, using
games and creative activities:)
Kim invited me today after conversations we've been having about escaping
big tech, capitalism and the work we want to be doing towards just and
sustainable futures.
If you want to dive in or connect I am on linkedIn here:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/batesoliver/
My email is oliver(a)fractals.coop
Looking forward to meeting you all soon.
Thanks,
Oliver
extremely dissapointing news. im gonna get into it with her for sure - the
stuff mentioned feels like details theyve misunderstood (or we've not
communicated properly) that the tech partners are also community partners.
this feels like the strongest proposal ive coordinated so im very suprised
to not get through tbh!
will post again when i process a little bit,
kim
---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Nadine Salter <nadine.salter(a)tnlcommunityfund.org.uk>
Date: Wed, 27 Nov 2024 at 11:09
Subject: We cannot take your application for the UK Fund any further
To: kim(a)gfsc.studio <kim(a)gfsc.studio>
Cc: s.white(a)mmu.ac.uk <s.white(a)mmu.ac.uk>
Hello Kim and Stefan,
We appreciate the time you have taken to tell us about your idea. We have
reviewed your application in line with our programme aims and priorities.
It was decided that although it clearly has the potential to impact
positively on the communities you work with, the fit with UK Fund aims and
criteria is not as strong as other proposals we are considering for further
review. For this reason we will not be taking the idea further. We
appreciate that developing a full application is time consuming, therefore
we only ask organisations we’re likely to fund to invest this valuable time
and resource.
It was also considered that the scaling plans seemed unclear and that the
planned budget allocation for tech partners to receive more funding than
community partners does not align with the aims of the Fund. The proposal
also seemed less developed than others in measuring impact to date and
through this project going forward.
I know that this will be disappointing news and I should say that our
decision is no reflection on the value of work. Exceptionally strong demand
for the funding is necessitating some difficult decisions around the best
fit with the programme, projects already funded and ideas in the pipeline.
Thank you for the time and effort you have put into the proposal, and I
wish you success in sourcing alternative funding for your work. If it would
be helpful to have a brief chat about this e-mail, do let us know.
You might find it helpful to look at the advice and information on our
website about other funding. <https://www.tnlcommunityfund.org.uk/funding>
With best wishes,
Nadine
Nadine Salter
*Swyddog Portffolio – Portffolio’r DU *| *Portfolio Officer – UK Portfolio*
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*Working hours: Mon-Wed 10-5pm.*
Geeks For Social Change <https://gfsc.studio/>
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thanks to lai for excellent minutes today!
sent invite for next meeting - jan 21st @ 12:30 lemme know if you didnt get
it
https://pad.gfsc.studio/58znJk20QCafXTjwv5d0Ow#
--
Dr Kim Foale (they/she <https://name.pn/kim-foale>)
*Working hours: Mon-Wed 10-5pm.*
Geeks For Social Change <https://gfsc.studio/>
- Support our mission of a fairer world using technology & join our email
list <https://gfsc.studio/mailing-list>
- Project: The Trans Dimension, a new space for trans community enabled by
technology and collaboration.
<https://gfsc.studio/2021/12/14/enter-trans-dimension.html>
- Article: "Why is it so hard to do nice things, that make a difference,
with other people?"
<https://gfsc.studio/2022/06/30/why-is-it-so-hard-to-do-nice-things.html>
If anything about this email is confusing or unclear please let me know. I
am happy to provide information in different ways such as clearer language,
over a phone call, with a voice note, or in plain text. Please don't feel
the need to ever apologise for responding to my emails at your own pace.
*Those who do not move, do not notice their chains.*
Heya all just a reminder we have a meeting in tomorrow at noon - zoom here
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/84708264008?pwd=iaMMhdtol3bTbWibenAZho1avKHAwl.1
I have a question for you all which is about how we go for work. So
currently we are prob all tendering for the same jobs (if we are tendering
at all) and are very reliant on the left economy at large to be producing
enough work for us collectively (which is getting more and more iffy huh).
Maybe theres better times for us to intervene in designing and delivering
work together.
This is confidential (i.e. please don't share off list) but I've been doing
an intro consult with the Trans Learning Partnership and in the last
session we boiled it down to 3 main user stories:
[image: Screenshot 2024-11-18 at 15.44.05.png]
Our goal is to get to something that can go directly in a funding bid.
If I'm gonna shift GFSC more into this left-infrastructure role, I'm now
realising maybe this is the time it would be good to involve other
perspectives/ideas? Or at least open the door to anyone interested? Like
maybe GFSC is now less interested in the build and more interested in
helping shepherd these projects in and the relationship is less just
studio-client and more about getting the balance right between engaging in
existing political movements and doing the work? Not sure.
Thoughts welcome either on this list or tomorrow. I can't pay you but if
anyone did want to come to the final session next week with them where we
are doing some "how might wes" against this do let me know, it's 1-4 next
tue.
(Obviously in this case its a trans group so I would prob want to partner
with trans-led or trans-involving studios but I'm talking about the general
principle here of how to put together a more community-oriented build team
than this specific job as well!)
Kim
--
Dr Kim Foale (they/she <https://name.pn/kim-foale>)
*Working hours: Mon-Wed 10-5pm.*
Geeks For Social Change <https://gfsc.studio/>
- Support our mission of a fairer world using technology & join our email
list <https://gfsc.studio/mailing-list>
- Project: The Trans Dimension, a new space for trans community enabled by
technology and collaboration.
<https://gfsc.studio/2021/12/14/enter-trans-dimension.html>
- Article: "Why is it so hard to do nice things, that make a difference,
with other people?"
<https://gfsc.studio/2022/06/30/why-is-it-so-hard-to-do-nice-things.html>
If anything about this email is confusing or unclear please let me know. I
am happy to provide information in different ways such as clearer language,
over a phone call, with a voice note, or in plain text. Please don't feel
the need to ever apologise for responding to my emails at your own pace.
*Those who do not move, do not notice their chains.*
https://www.100ximpact.org/what-we-offer
i may go for this for PlaceCal depending on how i feel later in the year -
deadline is 6th jan
main confusing one for us is what they count as an end user
kim
--
Dr Kim Foale (they/she <https://name.pn/kim-foale>)
*Working hours: Mon-Wed 10-5pm.*
Geeks For Social Change <https://gfsc.studio/>
- Support our mission of a fairer world using technology & join our email
list <https://gfsc.studio/mailing-list>
- Project: The Trans Dimension, a new space for trans community enabled by
technology and collaboration.
<https://gfsc.studio/2021/12/14/enter-trans-dimension.html>
- Article: "Why is it so hard to do nice things, that make a difference,
with other people?"
<https://gfsc.studio/2022/06/30/why-is-it-so-hard-to-do-nice-things.html>
If anything about this email is confusing or unclear please let me know. I
am happy to provide information in different ways such as clearer language,
over a phone call, with a voice note, or in plain text. Please don't feel
the need to ever apologise for responding to my emails at your own pace.
*Those who do not move, do not notice their chains.*
