Align with the values, interests, and rhythms of the community.
Let leadership rise up from the community.
Build on your resident services provider’s existing programming.
Partner with local industries.
With over two decades of professional experience in human services management, resource development, and organizational assessment and evaluation, Kevin Lewis plays an essential role in the development and ongoing support of the makerspace program. Kevin is Deputy Executive Director for Operation Pathways.
URL: youtu.be/nWW2LdDWCQ4While a robust financial model is important for sustaining a makerspace, it isn’t everything. The viability of an affordable housing-based makerspace depends on alignment with the values, interests, and rhythms of the community. No amount of funding will solve low attendance at workshops and drop-in hours. A program thrives when the programming and offerings are in tune with community interests as well as schedules and other logistical needs. For example, offering childcare for kids under 5 helps young families get involved.
Elevate the importance of roles and leadership from within the community. As residents hone in on interests and acquire skills and expertise related to specific activities or tools, they can be authorized and empowered to return to the makerspace to continue that activity during drop-in hours between and after workshops. Be on the lookout for opportunities to encourage these makers to become zone leaders for their area of skill. The role can range from mentor to trainer, depending on their level of expertise.
There are a whole range of roles that can help to support a community-run makerspace. Get creative and ask residents what role they’d like to play! Provide a set of roles to help them get started, and include roles connected with both making and broader career pathways. This will help to support residents’ sense of belonging and broaden their thinking about how else they might get involved — potential roles that match with their skills and interests, as well as what a community-driven program takes.
As an example, when the Bayview kids were asked what roles they would like to play, they registered interests in being mentors (2), interns (3), space organizers (2), tool or equipment experts (2), community gatherers (3), documenters (2), social media & marketers (6), recruiters (6), and event coordinators (9)! The resulting themes and ideas you gather can serve as a starting point for further exploration and planning with new communities.
Finally, if funding and the residents' situation allows, roles in the makerspace can come with a stipend or gift cards as remuneration. This will depend on age and the particular affordable housing rules for your state. However you choose to go about it, bringing up leadership from within will help to create a sustainable model.
Check with the resident services programming at your community to see where you can align with their goals. At Bayview Towers, Operation Pathways (OP) is the resident service provider offering family-centered coaching based on their goals. The Resident Services Coordinator (RSC) works with OP to provide programs and services through their four pathways: Academic Achievement, Financial Stability, Healthier Living, and Aging in Place. The activities and programming designed for the makerspace program align nicely with these pathways.
For possibilities around career mentorship, see what industries are in your local area and if they potentially align with your residents interests. Reach out to these companies to see if they have a philanthropy department or program that funds or donates to initiatives like yours. Also consider inviting people in to share their work and expertise, perhaps even to give a workshop. Finally, ask if your makers can come for a tour. Exposure like this can light a spark that leads residents on a career pathway they didn’t even know was possible.
We took a two-pronged approach to building a plan for sustainability for the Bayview Towers makerspace. First, we developed a partnership with Operation Pathways, the affordable housing services provider dedicated to providing high quality supportive services to residents, and learned about their family-centered model for service provision at Bayview. Prior to initiating the project, we met with residents to gauge whether there was initial interest in a makerspace. Second, we reflected as a team, including our Operation Pathways partners, on the characteristics of programs and activities that could live on beyond the timeframe of the initial grant period — in other words, what are the characteristics of a sustainable program? We developed the following list:
Clarity of vision
Alignment of values
Filling a gap or a need
Authentic relationship building
Community ownership
Equity and inclusion
Leadership from within
Operational capacity and alignment
Rhythm in scheduling
Flexibility in programming - low floor, high ceiling
Ongoing financial viability
After identifying these elements, we aligned our efforts and activities more deliberately to address them. In particular we began to address racial equity, operational capacity, alignment with existing Operation Pathways and Bayview Towers programs, staffing structures, and ethos of service-enriched affordable housing based around residents’ present and future goals. We continued to elevate the importance of roles and leadership cultivated from within the community by hiring, training, and supporting staff from within the community.