Catalysing connections, fostering lifelong learning & co-working ecosystems.

What goes around comes around.

When I relocated to the Ireland/Northern Ireland border in 2008 - it was just after the heady days of a booming Celtic Tiger economy.

No area had benefited more from the ‘peace dividend’ than Dundalk & Newry.

Brochures about ‘Gateway City’ development, scoping studies and trial initiatives we’re everywhere. And sadly - within 6 months most had ground to a halt.

Thanks to nearly a decade of a healthy and sustained dose of foreign direct investment (FDI), Belfast and Dublin had thriving tech communities and emerging entrepreneurial ecosystems. The biggest challenge before the 2008 financial crisis was finding enough skilled IT workers to the demand.

The border in this transitional time and space, seemed an ideal place focus efforts on up-skilling and training - and provide a co-working home to shorten employee commutes and support the spin-off start-ups emerging around both major cities.

Coworking

I took on the community building role in co-founding a startup co-working initiative.

Collaboration and cooperation were not always an easy sell in a region traumatised by 30 years of conflict. Many were hyper-vigilant about building new relationships and certainly suspicious of this newcomer.

Driven by the belief that the Peace Process had gone as far as it could go and that a Prosperity Process was the best way make Northern Ireland more economically sustainable - consequently driving improved community relations - I worked catalysing connections in support of growing and strengthening the cross-border entrepreneurial ecosystem.

At the core, intitiatives which included BizCamps in Newry, Belfast, Craigavon & Ards, support for small groups such as Women that Work, Newry Creates and a CoderDoJo - was and continues to be the belief that well intended but top-down programs don’t foster lasting relationships. They don’t evolve. They simply end when the funding is over or the bureaucrats move on.

Successful programmes begin with the relationships. Committed collaborators drive change.

What remains of those experiences are the relationships built and an appreciation for the capacity of local and regional professionals, SMEs and micro-businesses to do business beyond their borders.

And while the facility ultimately closed - it was succeeded by The Hub Newry - an award winning coworking space which has now grown to three locations.

Working alongside its co-founder and @CoworkingMaven, Suzanne Murdock - we’ve launched a series called “Ask the Expert”.

Here’s the why:

Odds are you’re not selling a skill or a product I need. Or want, perhaps because I have a service provider or supplier I’m very happy with. Traditional networking ends there.

Committed as we both are to creating opportunities for collaboration and cooperation - our purpose is grounded in curating communities committed to the success of the ‘whole’.

That whole may be an industry, a regional ecosystem or and association.

We’re gathering a tribe servant leaders. People committed to advocating for each other - whether it’s their businesses, causes or communities.

And to connect you with the people who can help advance your purposes - we need to get to know you.

This isn’t about your title or brand identity - it is about understanding you, what it is you do and why you do it. It’s about getting to know what your customers and colleagues have to say about you.

This is an invitation to paint a picture and tell us a story about why you’re the #Go2Pro in your field.

Think if it as an opportunity to introduce us to the best version of who you are and what you bring to the world.

Lifelong Learning, Innovation Districts & Flex Space

The coworking environment has evolved well beyond the hubs and spaces that emerged in the early aughts. I’m most excited about next-gen initiatives such as Learnlife and it’s three part approach to positively changing education.

You can review their 21 part educational paradigm, join the Alliance to build a global community of education change, or explore their model - as their Barcelona Hub is up and running-(coming soon to Germany) - where they’re providing a lifelong learning environment, year round, in an innovative space.

Click the links for more on the emergence of innovation district models that emphasize life-long learning models globally, with some bringing Primary through Third Level educational institutions into the mix.

You can follow latest from Trinity’s relationship with Dublin’s Grand Canal initiative here.

And keep in touch - there’s more news on the evolution of work and workplaces every day!