'In The Making': An Arts and Humanities Research Council Connected Communities project exploring digital fabrication and disability

People: Community Co-investigator: Philip Connolly, Disability Rights UK (entrepreneurship) Principal Investigator: Dr. Ursula Hurley, The University of Salford (creative process) Expert facilitator: Joe Macleod-Iredale, Freelance design consultant and MA Design Student Academic Co-investigator: Dr. Nick Taylor, The University of Dundee (human computer interaction)

Origins of the project: Philip Connolly, Disability Rights UK “What if, as the computing revolution was taking off in the 1980s, there had been a concerted effort to get disabled people involved? By the 1990s and 2000s the disabled community would likely have seen significant benefits from this effort. So if we are on the cusp of a revolution in digital fabrication, can we do the same thing now?”

Location of the project: Ursula Hurley, University of Salford “Salford, Greater Manchester is a post-industrial city. Issues arising from isolation and disconnection affect many of our participants. Deprived areas adjoin high- tech interventions, from which local people often feel excluded. Our dissemination event (June 2016) will invite our participants into MediaCityUK to present their achievements.”

Objectives of the project: Ursula Hurley, University of Salford 1. Explore how 3D fabrication might place disabled makers at the forefront of the digital economy, selling products and services via the worldwide web, and/or offering their skills to UK manufacturing. 2. Co-construct opportunities for collaborative making with novice users who may experience improved levels of satisfaction and self-esteem in creating and exhibiting work. 3. Co-construct documentary, reflective and evaluative practices to elicit rich, complex data on the lived experience of disability. Arts practice therefore becomes a key interface between technological developments and social change, establishing a route to impact by generating 'human' evidence that policy-makers can use to inform their decisions.

Launch event: Joe Macleod-Iredale, Expert Facilitator “Our project launched at the BBC, MediaCityUK, over 2 days in July Packed to capacity, our event saw local people engage enthusiastically with our demonstrations and taster sessions.”launched at the BBC,

Findings to date: Ursula Hurley, The University of Salford Enthusiastic demand with every session full or over-subscribed Practical and aesthetic applications with participants showing great potential as inventors, designers, and digital pioneers Strong desire to continue learning journeys/develop skills A national 'skills shortage' of creative and technical individuals The 'making space' has a powerful role in well-being and social interaction with many participants reporting dramatic improvements in satisfaction, optimism and self-confidence (See research paper, led by Dr Nick Taylor: 'Making Community: The Wider Role of Makerspaces in Public Life', CHI Conference, San Jose, May 2016)

Future possibilities: Joe Macleod-Iredale, Expert Facilitator “Most large UK manufacturing businesses have segregated skill sets, with market research, design, prototyping and production situated in different individual employees. The need now is for creative individuals who encompass the whole skills package. There is a training and consultancy need in the UK economy for individuals who can impart this knowledge to others. Now that manufacturing is concerned with mental, rather than physical, ability this career path is open to many disabled people if they are aware of it and choose to take it. Digital fabrication practice is also reviving artisanship and 'cottage industry'. Anyone with access to the equipment can create a product and offer it to a worldwide market.” The Manufacturing Institute identifies changing needs of industry:

Support going forward: Philip Connolly, Disability Rights UK Endorsement for a future bid Guidance in terms of connecting with relevant networks/policies e.g. Disability Employment Strategy Keynote speaker at our national conference/dissemination event at MediaCityUK, June 2016

Philip Connolly, Disability Rights UK Ursula Hurley, The University of Salford Joe Macleod-Iredale, Expert facilitator Nick Taylor, The University of Dundee