Recognizing patterns can be useful. When building a Maker City ecosystem itโs helpful to know which institutions to target for partnering. Examples of recurring partners include libraries, science museums, colleges, fab labs, and high schools. Gaining their attention, educating them and getting them onboard takes time, persistence, and a lot of energy. Wouldnโt it be amazing if instead of having to seek them out, they came to you? Thatโs the idea behindย this post.
You could be planning your Maker Faire (see Part 1). You could be working to have yourย mayor accept the Presidentโs Mayors Maker Challenge (see Part 2). You could be simply advancing the agenda of an already successful Maker City. What ever your stage of developmentย adding moreย maker institutions to the mix isย aย common and continuingย challenge.
Weย all need to grow the ecosystemย but why must we start from ground zero so often? Canโt we go about this in a more efficient way? We can and national associations can be our partners in making this happen.
For a moment, letโs limit our focus to the example of libraries.
Libraries far and wide are facing a challenge. As books go digital, as patrons get their own Internet-connected computers, as DVDs fall prey to streaming video, libraries face a strategic challenge. How should libraries continue to deliver on their mission in these changing times? Each library is at a different stage of realizing and dealing with this challenge but they will all need to at some point. For libraries thankfully there is a national organization which represents them and is concerned with addressing the industry’sย strategic challenges: the American Library Association (ALA).
The ALA represents almost 120,000 libraries acrossย the United States. While individual libraries are concerned withย their own local issues, the ALA is concerned withย all libraries’ issues at the national level. The idea that making-resources and making-programs will beย part of the solution toย their strategic challenge makes themย a natural ally. By working with the ALA we canย advance our commonย agenda.
At SxSW recently I met with members of the ALA national leadership team. They volunteered to explore the idea of โticklingโ local libraries nationwide to lean into ecosystem building and collaborate withย local partners. While we still have to lock down details you can see how incredibly helpful this would be to our efforts locally to build Maker Cities. With coordinated action, rather than beating on library’s doors for attentionย we could instead be welcomed with open arms.
Libraries are just an example, albeit a very important example.ย Just as thereโs a story of strategic alignment withย libraries there canย be similar stories withย other institutions looking to the Maker Movement to transform themselves. Strategic challenges abound and making can be a solution to some.
How the world of national associations is sliced and diced is part of what needs to be figured out. Learning the challenges, getting access to and gaining traction with these groups are additional hurdles to overcome. However, by partnering withย the right national groups our Maker City collaboration-building efforts could be magnified, our speed could be increased and our results could be more assured.
Iโll be following up with the ALA but there is much more to be done. If this theme interests you, if you have industry insight, ifย youย have accessย toย national associationsย then let me know below or via email. Perhaps together we can build a network of national associations helping to advance our Maker Cities.
Note: Travis will speak at Maker Faire Bay Area on May 15 at 12:00 on the Make:Live stage.
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