The HUB comes to Ottawa

Re-posted from: http://hubottawa.wordpress.com

Part of Hub World – a global ecosystem of 5000+ social entrepreneurs and innovators, the Hub (will be) Ottawa’s interdisciplinary social innovation studio.

Hub Ottawa will be a creative and curated environment for individuals and groups to work together in evolving imaginative ideas into viable initiatives and enterprises that address complex problems we face – from youth homelessness to climate change.

It will be a place to brainstorm, meet, work, connect and innovate. Individuals and groups find the inspiration they need to kick-start an idea, find the support they need to reach their goals faster, surrounded by a community that makes everyone smarter and more effective.

In the same way that an ecosystem is about the interaction of living things with their environment, the Hub is about the power of inspiring places where new connections, relationships and initiatives can evolve, adapt and thrive.

Check out their next event:  Hub & Spoke Accelerating Change on April 20th

New Free Co-working Space for Entrepreneurs

Check out this posting from Start-up Ottawa about Mercury Grove: a shelter for aspiring entrepreneurs.  To use the space is free!  The focus is on high-tech entrepreneurs, but sounds like there could be some interesting cross-over for those who are looking for space.

 

The *Spark

I was introduced to the Cdn Non-Profit Innovators Network through OCVO (Ottawa’s Chamber of Voluntary Organizations).  The site http://www.sparkinginnovation.ca is part of a national ‘innovation highway’ that HRSDC is funding to allow non-profits to share experiences around innovation.  The site showcases what is happening across the country including webinars about creating a culture of innovation in Newfoundland and a Nonprofit Innovation Campin Vancouver.

The Ottawa node is connected to OCVO who hosted a consultation meeting in regards to their own research through the Nonprofit Innovators Network.  OCVO is looking at the role of co-location in sparking innovation in nonprofits.  There were a variety of people at the meeting including consultants who work on co-location as well as a number of non-profits who are currently co-located.

Some key take-away’s included the differences between renting space and buying space together, and some of the pitfalls of co-location that can include increased interruptions and a drain of resources when a lot of time is spent in ‘community meetings’.  There were also a lot of good experiences shared including huge cost savings in the case of 1Community Place, and increased collaboration in the case of the OCLF and the Causeway Work Centre.

For more information about OCVO’s research please contact Brenda Gallagher at info@ocvo-cobo.ca.

 

Designing for Collaboration

More and more attention is being drawn to the importance of office design in fostering innovation and collaboration.

On the recommendation from I friend I went to check out Oxfam’s newly renovated offices in Vanier and saw an amazing example of an organizati

on who has taken office design very seriously.  Not only have they created a workspace that is a beautiful place to work, they have also given a lot of attention on how to make that work space as green as possible.  With their new renovations their building is now LEED Gold certified.

Interestingly enough, many of the choices they made for environmental reasons have had a positive impact on their level of collaboration.  One example is the focus on sunlight – the Oxfam offices have used glass walls whenever possible, opened up skylights, and created an open concept office to maximize sunlight so they can keep their lights off.  This open concept style has also increased the number of ‘water cooler’ conversations directly increasing collaboration.

 

Similar to CSI, the Oxfam office also had a number of ‘telephone booth’ style glassed-in rooms which still allow private conversations to take place.  They each have built in white boards – and who doesn’t love dreamin’ & schemin’ on white boards?!

Other notable features include a cork border on the walls around each meeting room so that paper can go up without damaging the LEED gold paint, a large and beautiful lunch room and outdoor patio, recycled fibre carpet, and mostly re-used furniture (that looks surprisingly professional!).

Although some of these renovations are pricey, many of them can be done with minimal cost.  A little intention into office design can go a long way – for the planet and for fostering collaboration.

Thanks for inspiring tour Anne!

 

 

Les Soeurs Convent

There certainly has been a lot of talk surrounding the planned development of the Les Soeurs de la Visitation Convent and surrounding area. A taste of the controversy can be found in this recent Citizen article and a whole host of blogs.

However, the most fascinating part of this debate for me is not the intensification issues, or the protection of a heritage building –  it is the interest the convent has generated in shared space.  Many months ago, while the political discussions continued, a number of community members came together to dream up how the convent could be used.  Again, with inspiration from the Centre for Social Innovation, ideas around creating a hub for entrepreneurs and the artistic community began to come to life.

Excited by possibility, a few community members toured the convent and reported back that the physical space certainly did have a lot of potential.  With three floors the building covers almost 40,000 sq ft. One floor has many small rooms (where the nuns used to stay) which could be turned into interesting offices.  The building also has a chapel with excellent acoustics that could be used for music recordings or for holding concerts for up to 200 people.   Finally there are a number of large open rooms that could be used as rehearsal space or art studios allowing for an interesting mix of spaces and sectors.

Unfortunately, conflict between the developer and the city might keep this vision from being realized for awhile (next steps are on hold until after the election).  Ashcroft (the developer) has made an offer to negotiate a long-term lease with the City for the use of the convent space, in exchange for permission to exceed certain height and intensification guidelines for the site, and in exchange for a reduction in taxes.  It is unclear at this point how these negotiations will be resolved.  But the community’s vision for the convent and their interest in shared space reflects the desire for more locations that cultivate cross-fertilization.

We’ll have to wait and see whether the convent can be used to realize their vision, but rest-assured the interest it has generated won’t be lost, the group knows that it might very well have to look at other spaces if the convent doesn’t come through.  If you are interested in being part of the discussions surrounding the community use of the convent building, please contact Ken Hoffman at khoffman@web.ca.

So hold on Ottawa – more spaces are on their way!  Whether it’s the Under One Roof project, a renovated convent, or what we develop here at Causeway there will soon be more great spaces in Ottawa for non-profits, social entrepreneurs, artists, and innovators to gather and create!

Looking for Partners…

At first glance you wouldn’t expect a growing organization like Causeway with more than 30 staff to be looking for tenants for their building. However, two tenants who moved in shortly after Causeway first took over 22 O’Meara, The Ottawa Community Loan Fund, and Families Matter Co-operative helped to showcase some of the benefits of sharing space.

Over the years a number of water-cooler conversations with these organizations have developed into unexpected partnerships with Causeway, making the benefits of renting out space much greater than the potential financial returns. These partnerships were so fruitful that Causeway is now strategically considering sharing space with other organizations, even if this means moving some of its own programs out into the community.

Currently Causeway has room for 2-3 potential tenants.  Tenants could include small organizations (1-3 staff), and/or large organizations who want to have a satellite office located in the Hintonburg neighborhood. Criteria for selecting tenants will be based on the potential for collaboration and partnership development with Causeway and the other organizations in the building.

Renovations to 22’OMeara that cultivate more ‘water-cooler conversations’ are being considered, as well as a number of other shared services that could be offered to tenants (i.e. printing, copying, and fax facilities, internet, IT support, receptionist services, access to Causeway’s gym, etc.)

Long-term visions include a social enterprise hub where Causeway’s social enterprises share space with other employment based social enterprises.  This proximity could facilitate a shared intake process for potential employees, shared contract bids and/or co-production of products and services.  It could also create a physical space to house the growing support services and increased interest in social enterprise in Ottawa.

Other options include sharing space with other health and social service agencies allowing for greater integration of services, and the potential to help each other identify and co-develop programs to meet community needs.

Interested?

Please fill out the following survey to express your organizations interest or contact jlax@causewayworkcentre.org for more info.

Under One Roof Project

Get ready Ottawa – an amazing shared space project is in the pipeline!

Under One Roof: A project to unite Ottawa-based NGO’s is currently being incubated by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA) and has the potential to finally realize an Ottawa version of the CSI in Toronto.

Diane Touchette is the driving force behind this project and her vision involves a building with 4 or 5 floors to house many progressive organizations all sharing an innovation space on the ground floor. This common area would feature a state of the art kitchen facility, coffee lounge, meeting rooms, board rooms, progressive book store, and print-shop. In the basement there would be a gym and yoga room, with the upper three floors providing office space designed for collaboration between the small, medium, and larger staffed organizations who become tenants, as well as hot desks for those who don’t need to rent full time space.

Diane and her team are currently looking for the perfect building to house this exciting space. The potential of this space to build collaboration among policy organizations and between different sectors is very exciting, as is the street presence a space like this would have in the Ottawa community. Going to work in this building would also be a truly exceptional experience – potentially bringing new people into this work, and keeping people already doing it inspired and motivated to continue to create change.

Hurry Diane – we can’t wait!

For more info contact dianet (at) policyalternatives (dot) ca

Empty Spaces

Two weeks ago I had the privilege of touring the Ottawa Technical High-school –a heritage building that is currently owned by the school board but rented out to a variety of community programs.

As we walked around the building there were frequent excited nods as we discussed the potential of the under used space.  With a central location, transit access, wheel chair accessibility, and a well maintained infrastructure (including some prized heritage features) the building has a lot going for it.

Currently the building houses a number of organizations that deliver programs such as continuing education, hospitality training, youth development, and second language teaching.  There is also a large auditorium (that hosted Super Tramp in ’71!) that holds 1000 people, has near perfect acoustics, and an unobstructed view from every seat.

Two of the most promising empty spaces however were an old library, and an art room.

 

One of many rooms that open into the library

 

Both were perfect for either a group of artists or social

enterprises/non-profits.  With some intentional community building between the many other tenants in the school some really interesting collaborations might also be sparked in the building.

A number of classrooms/board rooms are also available for the bargain hourly rate of $10-$15 that provide another great asset for organizations in the city.

Affordable office space and meeting spaces are often cited as barriers to social enterprise development – but on this tour I began to think the root of this  problem was not in a lack of physical infrastructure, but rather a lack of access.

At Causeway we looked at our own building and saw that it was being under utilized and that we could all benefit by looking outward to partners who want to co-locate in our building.  The Ottawa Carleton District School Board has started doing this as well.  But how can we encourage other building owners to do the same?  Especially those that don’t have the profit motivation to do so? And even if they do discover they have space they would be willing to rent at low cost, as is the case with the Ottawa Technical H.S., how can we help connect these unused spaces with the social entrepreneurs and non-profits who need them?

 

Art Room

 

Currently this falls outside of Causeway’s mandate, or even that of CISED, but perhaps this could be a social enterprise in and of itself? And perhaps, as the sector continues to grow in Ottawa, this is something that we need to address to ensure that great spaces don’t remain empty while great social enterprises are left without a home!

C3 Centre opens in Ottawa

Ottawa gets a new multi-tenant non-profit space!  Officially  opened on Sept.15^th, eight different organizations have moved into the C3 Centre located in Vanier, just off of Coventry Rd. “A Home for Partners in Capacity Building”  the C3 centre has a professional looking interior and brings together many of Ottawa’s NGO’s that focus on capacity building in the voluntary sector.

The Ontario Trillium Foundation, who contributed $100,000 to C3, attended the grand opening and presented the infamous Trillium plaque to the United Way of Ottawa who spearheaded the C3 Centre.

Remarks at the opening event referenced the challenges of having organizations move in with their funder (the United Way), as well as the ripple of interest in shared spaces generated by the Centre for Social Innovation (CSI) in Toronto.  With increasing support for the concept of co-location for nonprofits, the C3 Centre was able to go from a kitchen table conversation to a physical space in just over 2 years.  This is in stark comparison to the 5 year development phase for CSI.

Covering 8,800 sq. ft., the centre is mostly made up of  2 sided cubicles, with a few highly coveted closed door offices. With a professional, almost corporate feel, the facilities offered to tenants help to displace assumptions about a lack of professionalism in the nonprofit sector.  Photos of the space can be seen in this video.

A large lunch room, event space, resource library, and a number of meeting spaces will be shared by the organizations and used to spark those invaluable water cooler conversations that will help partner organizations  ‘connect, collaborate, and create’.

The Centre currently has a few openings for long-term tenants, and also features workstations which can be rented on a monthly basis (~$260 & $300), and a meeting space ($12-15/hr).  A future incubation space for start-up non-profits is also in the works.

For more information about the centre contact Suzanne Bray at sbray@unitedwayottawa.ca

Welcome

Sparks are flying in the world of social innovation – especially when it comes to shared spaces. Buildings which co-locate a number of social change organizations can create the conditions in which collaboration and innovation allow everyone to better achieve their mission.

A lot of this cross-pollination is already happening in Ottawa (yee-haw!) so at Causeway we’re trying to map what’s happening, and determine how we can fit ourselves into this burgeoning eco-system. We’re not sure what role we’ll play – but we’re hoping to involve other shared spaces in Ottawa, potential tenants, and the Ottawa community in helping us refine the role of our shared space.

And this blog?  It will include posts about who is working on this vision in Ottawa, similar spaces around the world who inspire us, and chronicle Causeway’s design process as we continue to explore possibilities.

Our goal is to open up our thinking and invite whoever is interested to be a part of the conversation.  Let’s spark it up!

About the space

The Causeway Work Centre is located at 22’O Meara in Ottawa’s Hintonburg neighbourhood.  Causeway currently shares this space with two other organizations (The Ottawa Community Loan Fund, and Familes Matter Co-operative), and is considering renovating the space to open it up to additional organizations.