Collaboration at New Places of Production: a European View on Procedural Policy Making for Maker Spaces

Abstract

The paper sheds light on a university-led cross-innovation approach where the focus is on so-called “Makers” as a distinctive local group. We introduce the format of a policy clinic—comparable to policy innovation labs—as a method to bring different stakeholders from various local contexts under a given thematic topic temporarily together to learn how to initiate new policies for maker spaces. The key thematic interest is to focus on city challenges and approaching so-called “wicked problems.” This requires wide stakeholder engagement by others not present at the event of the policy clinic. The clinic is a temporary trans-local event but is framed by wider participation involvement that starts earlier and is accompanied by a number of approaches before the Policy Clinic event takes place. The paper sheds light on a university-led cross-innovation approach where the focus is on so-called "Makers" as a distinctive local group. We introduce the format of a policy clinic—comparable to policy innovation labs—as a method to bring different stakeholders from various local contexts under a given thematic topic temporarily together to learn how to initiate new policies for maker spaces. The key thematic interest is to focus on city challenges and approaching so-called “wicked problems.” This requires wide stakeholder engagement by others not present at the event of the policy clinic. The clinic is a temporary trans-local event but is framed by wider participation involvement that starts earlier and is accompanied by a number of approaches before the Policy Clinic event takes place.

Keywords

• policy clinic
• translocal
• policy making
• collaboration