Knowledge Economy Professionals Survey

http://www.surveymk.com/s/irish-knowledge-economy-professionals

The survey is anonymous and brief (taking less than 10 minutes). It is conducted by researchers at the University of Limerick, and is sponsored by the Irish Social Science Platform (HEA and EU Development Funds) and UL.

Your opinion is important to help us understand and inform the development of the Knowledge Economy in Ireland.

If you have any questions, you may contact us at:

anthony.dandrea@ul.ie

They now have room for about 10 people and the costs are €250 per desk all inclusive. Jason says, “The location is great and it has everything we needed. Ive been in the office for about 6 months and its been a really creative environment.”

He continues, “I believe that coworking is needed now more than ever, with people becoming redundant and turning to setting up their own business. The cost and availability of space itself has made coworking in Ireland much more attractive! I’ve never seen so much potential opportunity for spaces at the moment.”

We completely agree and wish Jason and James the best of luck. And if you’re interested in contributing to Coworking.ie why not contact Jason on Twitter.

If you haven’t yet checked out the activity around co-creating a new co-working space for entrepreneurs and start-ups, now is the time. If you have been following us…well, now is STILL the time :). We need all hands, heads and hearts on deck to get this launched now.

We have had two co-creation and ideation workshops over the summer, and now we have a building available. On Thursday this week, our third co-creation workshop will bring everyone together for a fun evening and brown bag or “pot luck” supper. We will be drawing, making 2D mock-ups and variously brainstorming the best ways to arrange our work and dreams within a very beautiful open plan building near St Pat’s.

Invitation follows -

Making a HubSpace

Thursday, September 17th, 6:30-9:00pm
Fumbally Lane, Dublin 8

The Dublin Hub invites you to join us for Step 3 in the co-creation of our – your – workspace. We are gathering on-site to ‘put flesh on the bones’, and ideas onto space. We will apply our collective design flair and great ideas to map out a space that would be appealing to work in, would spark our creative powers, feel comfortable and welcoming, and convey a relaxed professional confidence to all who enter. We want a cool space to work in; attractive and inspiring, conducive to sharing experiences, knowledge and conversations.

The Hub experience comes from a blending of people, place and purpose. At its heart, Dublin Hub is about doing business differently….and better. We are not just thinking outside the box, we are redesigning the box itself, and that’s the point of the evening. We’re going to explore how the open space can be partitioned into potential meeting areas – a kitchen or canteen area, the main hot desk area, and whatever other thoughts we have (library, quiet area, chatting and chillout area, silent disco…).

We hope to grow as a convivial, collaborative community that’s conducive to creative thinking and cooperative working; one that will offer compelling opportunities to foster new business alliances, engage in virtual teams and develop meaningful and productive connections——all in a flexible and responsive workspace designed by its members to meet their requirements and realities and leave room for their dreams.

Where is this space? Fumbally Annex, Fumbally Court, Fumbally Lane, Dublin 8, just off New Road / Clanbrassil Street.

Remember: Thursday 17th September, starting at 6.30 pm and finishing ‘round 9.

As we like to say in the Hub community, you’re invited… and parking is free from 18:30 around the corner.

Gruber and Consalvo are digital nomads. They work — clad in shorts, T-shirts and sandals — wherever they find a wireless Web connection to reach their colleagues via instant messaging, Twitter, Facebook, e-mail and occasionally by voice on their iPhones or Skype. As digital nomads, experts say, they represent a natural evolution in teleworking. The Internet let millions of wired people work from home; now, with widespread WiFi, many have cut the wires and left home (or the dreary office) to work where they please — and especially around other people, even total strangers.

No doubt digital nomads work from where they please (within range of connectivity) but of course many choose to work from coffee shops. And the article goes on to highlight a point which is currently lost on Irish cafes -

One only needs to visit Tryst, a popular coffeehouse on 18th Street NW, to see dozens of people spending money on food and drinks in exchange for the privilege of setting up a day office at a table there. Cafe owners love the trend. “If there was nobody in here, people would say ‘That place is no good,’ ” said Dale Roberts, who owns the Java Shack. “It feeds on itself. If you go to a movie theater and see a long line, people want to see that movie. It’s the same thing for a coffee shop.”

Why aren’t we seeing Irish cafes and pubs actively campaigning for digital nomads, hotdeskers and co-workers? Why don’t their websites make a big deal about free wifi, work-size tables and comfortable chairs? Why are they totally oblivious to this growing trend?

The purpose of the competition is to help people to leave their cars at home when they can and for them to opt instead to walk, cycle or use other more sustainable forms of transport, particularly for short journeys.

Successful bids from Local Authorities will promote sustainable transport modes and better managed traffic in towns, villages or cities nationwide. A Smarter Travel Area funded under this competition could, therefore, include:

* Improved cycling routes, including safe routes to school and major business and workplace zones;
* Secure cycle parking in town centres or at public transport nodes;
* Better walking facilities, including more and improved pedestrian zones;
* Lower speed limits in residential and town centre areas;
* Restricted car access to certain locations;
* School and workplace travel planning;
* e-Working
* Car clubs - and
* Tailored public transport services, such as demand responsive services.

By e-Working we assume they mean working from home ‘electronically’ (it really is such a 90s term). Which is great but one has to wonder how many Local Authorities will actually promote co-working and hotdesking in their submissions.

One social entrepreneur who attended said, “I strongly recommend people follow this idea as it progresses into a reality. The people who I met are full of ideas, energy and optimism which we can all agree are in short supply these days. Anyone who sees the risk of getting stuck in a rut working from home should give this project a lot of attention because there is a lot to gained from interaction with participants”

We are moving forward on setting up a co-working space for social entrepreneurs and other creative start ups in Dublin. There will be a short introduction given by myself and the team at next week’s Green Drinks (from 6pm RSVP on facebook or to info@leafliving.com) at the Science Gallery (TCD), followed by a co-creation workshop also at the Science Gallery on Tuesday July 14th.

A pay-as you go, shared work space with a creative and collaborative community buzz is just what so many of us are missing. The Dublin Hub is a flexible, affordable, shared working environment for freelancers, small businesses, the self-employed, and home-workers looking for a desk, or a meeting space in town. Members book time in the Hub in advance - similar to buying mobile phone credit - they have the freedom to choose when to work and are charged solely for the time they spend in the Hub.

We hope to attract inventive, innovative, socially committed, ethical and environmentally aware people, people who need to take their ideas out of the garden shed or away from the kitchen table. We aim to provide a vibrant, dynamic, collaborative, exciting atmosphere, a place people will want to be in and be part of. We think this is an essential response to the challenges posed by changing work patterns in the new century.

This sounded great to me but I asked for clarification on a few points -

Q) Will hotdesking spaces be provided? Or are you looking for more (semi) permanent coworkers? In other words, could I just book a desk the day before my next trip to Dublin and avail of a few hours on the day?

A) The mix will be a few anchor tenents with semi permanent or permanent desk allocation, and a lot of hot desking.  That’s the idea: you would be able to book a desk (or meeting room) for just the amount of time, on the day(s) you need it. Maybe not by your next trip up,depending on when that will be, but soon. We are just launching now, and that is predicated by developing the co-creation group and early membership.

Q) Pay-as-you go is a terrific idea. What will be the hourly rate?

A) Haven’t set that yet. As low as possible. We are looking at a few sites, and the rent of desk space will necessarily be a factor of the overall office rent and overheads. We should have all that fairly soon however, so stay tuned.

Q) Do you have website? Will it have an online booking system?

A) LInkedin discussion group. Website.

Q) You hope to “attract inventive, innovative, socially committed, ethical and environmentally aware people people”… but would you accept just any regular business person?

B) Sure, so long as you are basically compatible. Obviously you decide that as much as the others in the space. But sure.

Q) Are you on Twitter and Facebook? Those are great places to spread the word

A) Twitter. Facebook.

Howard Doyle has spent €4.1 million developing his first block of serviced offices in Blackrock in south Dublin. The 35-year-old solicitor now intends to develop similar suites in other Dublin suburbs under the name Officesuites.ie

[Doyle] said that the Blackrock office had been open for four months, and had already reached 60 per cent occupancy. Unlike serviced office blocks, Doyle said, his chain would be based in the suburbs of Dublin, rather than the city centre. “People are sick to death of commuting, they can’t hack the traffic any more”.

“People can rent an office for one day or one year. We provide work stations, phone lines, everything you need to run an office”

Through our inspired office design, internal networking opportunities and the coming together of likeminded professionals we provide more than just an office, we offer a lifestyle workspace which generates an environment in which to thrive.

“Hub Culture is a private social network aimed at helping members connect, exchange knowledge, forge deals and create value. With primary bases in several urban hubs—including London, New York, San Francisco, Bermuda, Singapore and Hong Kong—Hub Culture has more than 60 representatives in major cities around the world dedicated to assisting other members with advice and knowledge in their home areas. Membership is free but requires invitation; benefits include personal online profiles, the ability to form groups with file sharing and wikis, knowledge brokerage to help drive deals, and invitations to private events.

What makes Hub Culture especially interesting is where it enters the physical world. Hub Culture Pavilions are currently being developed around the globe to provide a shared physical space, support services and online collaboration tools that help members connect and work together.”

You’ll find the full article here. Reading about this today prompted me to ask if Private Membership Clubs are a purely British phenomenon. I’ve regularly heard Paul Walsh talking about his Adam Street visits and recently came across One Alfred Place. The responses I got on Twitter indicated that there are in fact a few such clubs in Dublin, like The Odessa Club, The Residence, The Sycamore Club and The St. Stephens Green Club.

But it seems to me that none of those are really comparable to Adam Street and One Alfred Place as the latter are more like high-end coworking spaces or business clubs whereas the Dublin venues seem focused on being social meeting places. Although Maryrose Lyons insists that The Residence at least mixes business with pleasure.

In any case, One Afred Place is the model I’d like to see replicated in Ireland, even if there’s only room for one or two in the market (in central Dublin).

A new Park may become a giant coworking space, where the interactions are at the individual-to-individual level….  As more and more people are turning to telecommuting and coworking, the institution of a physical office is becoming obsolete. What does that mean?

Employees are happy because they can live where they like. They get to collaborate with who they find interesting and useful, not who their corporation also decided to employ. They don’t have to see their bosses or coworkers every day (or ever). Everything else can be done in cyberspace.

What does the company gain from it? Happy productive employees. No echo-chamber effect stemming from employees only talking to each other. Ability to hire employees who are the best in what they do and, knowing that, unwilling to move from the place on Earth they like to live in. Employees who are always up to the latest trends and industry gossip due to constant mingling with the others. Free PR wherever the employees are located - they all meet the locals and answer the inevitable question “What do you do?”