You are invited to join a WG1 initiative. We are collecting accounts of ‘making social change happen’ that are multidisciplinary and innovative. We have also planned a programme of collaboration culminating in a WG meeting in Jerusalem and the production of a high-quality academic journal article. Email Dr. Nick Spencer if you want me to be involved!
As a network part of our strength is diversity; national, cultural, and disciplinary. As a contribution to our COST objectives we are seeking to use this diversity to produce and examine case studies of social change. We invite you to contribute to this initiative in a number of different ways:
(1) produce a ‘social change account’;
(2) engage in the discussion and analysis of accounts to co-develop case studies of social change;
(3) collaborate to develop written outputs (for academic and general audiences).
What sort of accounts are we looking for?
In the broadest sense we are interested in accounts that demonstrate the complexities and challenges of making social change happen. Or trying to make social change happen! Accounts should be triple or quadruple helix in their arrangement and should highlight a number of the following characteristics:
- An urgent social need
- A contested social situation
- A novel approach to responding to the social situation
- Application of design (or creative) approaches
- A novel response as an outcome of multidisciplinary collaboration
- Significant in their impact of the social situation.
Is there an example of a ‘social change account’?
There are three examples:
Example 1
Example 2
Example 3
There is also a blank template for you to use.
What will we do with these social change accounts?
The purpose of collecting these accounts is three-fold. Firstly, as a collection they will hold value in demonstrating different understandings, approaches and outcomes of social engaged collaboration that our network members are associated with. Secondly, the collection of accounts will provide base material for an analysis about unravelling and re-knitting social complexities. Finally, using a number of theoretical and critical lenses it is our intention to develop a small set of rich studies utilising the accounts. We will be targeting a high quality academic journal with these studies.
What is the timeline and what are the deadlines?
- Deadline to express intention to contribute: December 17th (email nick.spencer@northumbria.ac.uk)
- Deadline social change accounts: January 13th (email nick.spencer@northumbria.ac.uk)
- Seminar (1) Exploring the accounts and their contexts: February 24th (0930-1200 GMT) MS Teams
- Seminar (2) Developing case study themes: March 24th (0930-1200 GMT) MS Teams
- Seminar (3) Exploring sustainment of change: April 28th (0930-1200 GMT) MS Teams
- WG1 Meeting – reviewing developed case studies and co-producing research output materials May 29-30th Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design, Jerusalem
- Finalise written contributions – submitted for peer review: July 28th
Details about each seminar will be sent out to everyone who has expressed an interest in contributing 2 weeks in advance. This is to allow some preparation before seminars to maximise contribution and the value of our work together.
How do I apply to attend the WG meeting in Jerusalem?
There are 10 available spaces for the WG meeting in Jerusalem, which will be held on May 29th & 30th. The expectation is that those who attend are committed and active in contributing to the study described above. Please email nick.spencer@northumbria.ac.uk by January 13th if you would like to attend the WG meeting. The hope is that before the end of January we have a confirmed WG meeting participant list.
*This initiative has been developed in collaboration, following the WG1 meeting in Newcastle, with Romi Mikulinski and Jana Kostalova.