Plenary Session: Opportunities, challenges, lessons, tips, 16.20pm

22.03.2010

David Barrie led a plenary session looking at the main questions delegates still felt they wanted answers to following the masterclasses, workshops and surgeries they’d attended throughout the day.

Blake Jennelle’s masterclass had already identified several key questions, such as how to engage your communities consistently and receive feedback on your social enterprises.

But it became clear delegates were also concerned about how to cope when things go wrong and how to measure the success of their projects. Some wanted to know how to incorporate play into their projects and others wanted to know the best way of promoting their enterprises.

Maya Quist from Denmark ably helped David run the session. After voting on the most important topics to whittle down the number discussed, delegates then divided into six groups each led by masterclass speakers and workshop facilitators to discuss the key questions and come up with three tips for success. Lively and involved discussions followed.

The group looking at how to secure funding concluded that you should never be afraid to ask for money, but make sure you research who the most suitable funders might be first. Also, the best way of securing funding was having a viable business proposition in the first place, one capable of adding value to your stakeholders.

One group advised that the best way of engaging your communities was to create an emotional attachment to the project; another encouraged people not to be too serious but recognise the value of play. One recommended discussing how you would measure the success of your project first before embarking upon it; another wanted delegates to be bold, courageous and unafraid to make mistakes.

The most innovative suggestion I heard was: when you can’t make up your mind what to do or which way to turn “just jump”!