Makers + Fixers @ UCA Event

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About:

Makers & Fixers @ UCA Event
Circular Economy & Grassroots Innovation
3rd June 2014
Farnham
Surrey

Background

Makers and Fixers: Circular Economy & Grassroots Innovation will explore the emergence of new decentralised, grassroots approaches to making and fixing products. New places are emerging to help individuals experiment, make and fix products. These include tech shops, fab labs, makerspaces focused on makers, and hacklabs and repair cafés focused on fixers. A number of these maker places are starting to explore more sustainable production methods eg the use of 3D printing using recycled plastics. Within hacklabs and repair cafés inventors, entrepreneurs, designers, engineers and hobbyists appear to be coming together to collaborate with a view to extending the life of products through repair and/or changing product functions, therefore extending the use of materials. In addition, a number of companies and social enterprises are emerging to help consumers and users repair or fix a range of products. The emergence of Makers and Fixers has significant implications for the sustainable production and consumption of materials and could contribute significantly to the drive towards a more circular economy.

Makers and Fixers are represented in a diverse collection of organisations, non-profit and profit-generating businesses and subcultures. The Centre for Sustainable Design® is undertaking research to develop a classification of different types of Makers and Fixers based on a range of criteria and will be identifying potential environmental and social benefits of their activities. Furthermore, the research will seek to identify how businesses and other organisations can learn from these groups to innovate, upscale and where appropriate commercialise activities.

Makers & Fixers: Circular Economy & Grassroots Innovation will present findings from new research and will include invited presentations, innovative processes and provide excellent networking opportunities.

Agenda

08:30

Registration

09.15 Welcome

Professor Martin Charter, Director, The Centre for Sustainable Design ®, UK

09.20 Circular Economy

Judith Merkies, Member of European Parliament

09.30 Circular Economy & Grassroots Innovation

Professor Martin Charter, Director, The Centre for Sustainable Design ®, UK

09.45 Grassroots Innovation

Dr Adrian Smith, SPRU, University of Sussex

10.15 Survey Results: Global Repair Cafés & Hackspaces

Professor Martin Charter & Scott Keiller, Director & Project Manager – FUSION, The Centre for Sustainable Design ®, UCA, UK

10.45 Coffee & Networking

11.45 Case Studies – Makers & Fixers

RDM Makerspace Jurjen Lengkeek, Co-Founder, RDM Makerspace

Hackspace*

Brighton Repair Café Victoria Jackson & Samantha Jarman, Co-Founders, Brighton Repair Café

Remakery Rob Maslin, Director, We All Design

12.15 Panel

13.00 Lunch

14.00 Case Studies – Fixing Businesses

iameco Paul Maher, Managing Director, Micropro Ltd

IFixit Kiel Wiens, CEO & Founder, IFixit

The Restart Project Janet Gunter, Co-Founder, Restart

Goldfinger Rob Maslin, Director, We All Design

15.00 Fixing: World Cafés

Table 1: New Business Models

Chair: Professor Martin Charter, Director, The Centre for Sustainable Design ®, UCA

Table 2: Consumer Behaviour

Chair: Scott Keiller, Project Manager – FUSION, The Centre for Sustainable Design ®, UCA

Table 3: Product Life Extension

Chair: Dr Debra Lilley, Senior Lecturer – Design & Co-ordinator, CLEVER Project, Loughborough University

Table 4: Consumer Electronics

Chair: Gerrard Fisher, Electronics Expert, WRAP

Table 5: Clothing & Apparel

Chair: Professor Ulrich Lehmann, School of Fashion, University for the Creative Arts

16.15 Report-Back & Discussion

16.50 Summing up

Professor Martin Charter, Director, The Centre for Sustainable Design ®, UCA, UK

17.00 Networking

17.30 Close

Fees & Registration

There was no charge for this event.

Map & Directions

Please refer to the map at ucreative.ac.uk/farnham/map

For any further enquiries please contact:

Ros Carruthers

The Centre for Sustainable Design ®

University for the Creative Arts,

Tel: +44 (0) 1252 892772

Email: rcarruthers.t1@ucreative.ac.uk

Social networking

Use the social networking share buttons at the top to tell your colleagues and networks about the opportunity. If you’re tweeting you may want to copy in the following: @mcharter1

For more information email mcharter@ucreative.ac.uk and see cfsd.org.uk/sids for current activities.

Funders’ Websites

interreg4a-2mers.eu ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/index_en.cfm

This document reflects the author’s views. The INTERREG IVA 2 Seas Programme Authorities are not liable for any use that may be made of the information contained therein.