Vision: A co-working hub to facilitate innovation

We create a state-of-the-art Co-Working Space—with stimulating atmosphere, good WIFI and strong coffee—that encourages new conversations, new ideas, new research collaborations, and new ways of doing business. We do this by transforming the InfoCentre from a large comfortable traditional space for quiet work into a large, stimulating, co-working hub for innovation.

Casual conversations arise where people come together. Sometimes, these conversations lead to unexpected ideas. At this point you want to grab another coffee and go sit down away from the bar in a quiet corner with a whiteboard and type that up.

This innovation hub actively encourages people of different disciplines, interests and backgrounds to come together in an open co-working space. The community of users includes ILRI staff, consultants, clients, and visitors. It is the ‘offline’ part of ILRI’s efforts to create an enabling environment for research collaboration. It responds to the needs underscored in ILRI's (draft) Science Strategy for better integrated research and for more cross-program, -region and CRP idea fertilization and collaboration. And much else.

As new forms of collaboration also serve to strengthen networks, to attract outside expertise and to recombine ideas and methods in fresh and productive ways, the spin-off benefits of establishing such a space for innovation may be even greater than the direct benefits of doing so.

With your inputs, we will design a dramatically different kind of work space, one that enhances teamwork and insights from every corner of our institute and beyond and provides a broad array of every day work space choices, from intimate to big and noisy. We've already thought through several of the many extant and exciting ways to create such a space. It need not take a lot of money. What it does take is a focus on the important over the urgent.

Vote for this idea and if it wins, you are guaranteed free coffees for a year!

Do you see a need for such a space? Let us know in the comments below. Other ideas welcome!

And in case you need it, here's some inspiration (click on 'See on Pinterest' link).

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