Putting Tools into Action: the Second PRADSA workshop - 3rd//4th Sept, Bristol
Putting Tools into Action: the Call for the Second PRADSA workshop - 3rd//4th Sept, Bristol
This workshop examines current initiatives in the social action world as a way of thinking about the issues involved in designing means and tools to support change. Focusing on the design and the politics of constructing an online learning environment and of producing an open space event, the two-day workshop will use these real examples to study how we can support social change through socio-technical means. The work builds on the first workshop in May in Loughborough that addressed "Designing the Techniques and Tools that Shape the Future - Social and Technical Challenges", but can be attended separately.
Come to the second PRADSA workshop on 3rd/4th Sept in Bristol, at the University of West England (UWE), and investigate how two very different approaches contribute to making an environment for change.
And for those of you who can manage an extra day:
Sat 1st September in London is "Transition Stepney", an open space event for people interested in transformational change, community ownership, control of public assets, and an appropriate response to Peak Oil and climate change. (more details will be sent to you if you request them…)
There is no need to attend the Transition Stepney event, though we will be using it as an example of designing social action. At the Bristol workshop, we will be working from captured footage of how the open space has been used and exploring its values and strengths. We will look at how it was established, its goals and the harnessing of emergence, the technology supporting it and what
outcomes might be expected.
In addition, we have another live project to examine and take forward.
Manchester Institute of Sport and Physical Activity is implementing a set of learning tools for a programme on leadership and management that combines a series of face-to-face workshops with online support. A team has been helping to develop the pilot resources and we will be examining the choices made and the way that interventions have impacted on the development of appropriate socio-technical systems.
By exploring the challenges, the context and the design story, we will ask questions of both projects that widen the discussion and make it relevant to many social action situations. And there will be a short introduction to the reflective action research style of the folk at UWE's Community Information Systems Centre, to inform our practice.
The workshop is for anyone working to enable social change by supporting the development of techniques and tools within or for organisations involved in empowering others. We have money to pay expenses, including your stay overnight in Bristol (and a limited budget to cover your absence from work– be that to your organisation or to you as a freelance operator), if you wish to attend this workshop and contribute.
So, please bring your know-how and experience and join us. You do not need to have attended any former workshops to participate now. To register interest, send a one-page profile of your work and interests to Kutoma Wakunuma at as soon as possible. She will also be the first port of call for any questions you have.
About PRADSA
PRADSA stands for "Practical Design for Social Action". The PRADSA
project's goal is to develop and extend the capability of social action organisations to creatively design new practices by appropriating and adapting ICTs. There are three strands to the project, of which the workshop series is one. The other two are:
To develop a new understanding of designing in social action settings, grounded in detailed contextual studies of design in practice.
To create a collection of practical resources to support the work of practitioners (and others) including workshop materials and easy-to-use (open-source) on-line community communications systems.
PRADSA is a project funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) as part of its Designing for the 21st Century programme.
If you would like to know more about the PRADSA project, please see:
http://www.technologyandsocialaction.org.
