Phygital - #hack66

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====== Phygital ======

==== Resources and Links ====

[[PhygitalGR | Υλικό για το πρόγραμμα στα ελληνικά]].\\
[[CommoningUnconference19 | Unconference: Free and Open Source Technologies, Arts, and Commoning Practices]]\\
[[Lakatamia Makerspace]]\\
[[Prototypes]]\\
http://phygitalproject.eu\\
[[Tender Announcements]]\\

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==== Project Description ====

The starting point of the project has been a socio-institutional problem and a tentative techno-economic solution. In the context of the recent developments in the social economic sector, an increasing number of people has been contributing to social innovation projects, striving to create sustainable options for surpassing the deep economic, social and environmental crisis in Europe. However, these communities face certain challenges in creating sustainable livelihoods and in supporting the appropriate organisational and governance structures. At the same time, the wide diffusion of ICT and the decentralisation of the means of information production pose as an untapped opportunity, in providing new techno-economic blueprints for sustainability. 

PHYGITAL aims to pilot, evaluate and promote an emerging production and business model, based on the conjunction of a global digital commons of knowledge, stemming from various open source projects, with distributed manufacturing technologies, such as three-dimensional (3D) printers and Computerised Numerical Control (CNC) machines. Seeds of this model, codified as “design global, manufacture local” (DGML), have been exemplified by numerous successful commons-oriented projects on a global level, introducing innovative organisational and business patterns. The project is expected to increase local capacities for innovation, by harnessing global knowledge to address local challenges. At the same time, strong transnational cooperation linkages will be created, in support of innovative entrepreneurial ventures, including social enterprises. 

The project idea has been initiated by the ongoing discussions over the long-lasting disparities in the Balkan-Mediterranean region, developed by 3 organisations from the wider area, namely: Stitching Peer to Peer Alternatives - Greece (a.k.a. “P2P Lab”); Lakatamia Municipality, along with Cypriot Free and Open Source Community Cyprus/ Hack66; and Open Labs - Albania. They have all joined forces under the umbrella of the Greek Free Open Source Software Society (GFOSS) to design a project that will provide sustainable alternatives for innovative entrepreneurship, within the current unfavourable business environment in the area, inspired by the open source movement and various collaborative practices. In response, the Municipality of North Tzoumerka, the University of Nicosia Research Foundation (UNRF) and the Centre of Folklore Activities, came to support this initiative, aiming to bring together local stakeholders from different domains along with various open creative communities.

PHYGITAL adopts a multi-level approach, in order to bring together diverse stakeholders and promote synergy on local, transnational and global level, by: (a) developing a multilingual open knowledge platform, which will host, organise & diffuse the global knowledge commons; (b) developing and connecting open collaborative production spaces (makerspaces), equipped with distributed manufacturing technologies, to catalyse the relevant physical practices in scalable pilot programmes, taking place in 3 thematic areas: agriculture (Greece); social arts practices (Cyprus) & cultural heritage (Albania) and (c) supporting the emerging entrepreneurial practices through the Phygital Network, an open, decentralised network of businesses & professionals, dedicated to the empowerment of innovation and social entrepreneurship on transnational level.

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==== Detailed description ====

The starting point of the project has been a socio-institutional problem and a tentative techno-economic solution. In the context of the recent developments in the social economic sector, an increasing number of people has been contributing to social innovation projects, striving to create sustainable options for surpassing the deep economic, social and environmental crisis in Europe. However, these communities face certain challenges in creating sustainable livelihoods and in supporting the appropriate organisational and governance structures. At the same time, the wide diffusion of ICT and the decentralisation of the means of information production pose as an untapped opportunity, in providing new techno-economic blueprints for sustainability. 

PHYGITAL aims to pilot, evaluate and promote an emerging production and business model, based on the conjunction of a global digital commons of knowledge, stemming from various open source projects, with distributed manufacturing technologies,such as three-dimensional (3D) printers and Computerised Numerical Control (CNC) machines. Seeds of this model, codified as “design global, manufacture local” (DGML), have been exemplified by numerous successful commons-oriented projects on a global level, introducing innovative organisational and business patterns. The project is expected to increase local capacities for innovation, by harnessing global knowledge to address local challenges. At the same time, strong transnational cooperation linkages will be created, in support of innovative entrepreneurial ventures, including social enterprises. 

PHYGITAL adopts a multi-level approach, in order to bring together diverse stakeholders and promote synergy on local, transnational and global level, by: (a) developing a multilingual open knowledge platform, which will host, organise & diffuse the global knowledge commons; (b) developing and connecting open collaborative production spaces (makerspaces), equipped with distributedmanufacturing technologies, to catalyse the relevant physical practices in scalable pilot programmes, taking place in 3 thematic areas: agriculture (Greece); social arts practices (Cyprus) & cultural heritage (Albania) and (c) supporting the emerging entrepreneurial practices through the Phygital Network, an open, decentralised network of businesses & professionals, dedicated to the empowerment of innovation and social entrepreneurship on transnational level. 

The PHYGITAL target groups include restless entrepreneurs and freelancers; local SMEs and micro-enterprises from different sectors, as well as activists, hobbyists and communities contributing to open source and social innovation projects and the wider public. The added value of the project lies in the empowerment of more people to adopt sustainable patterns and work towards making a positive social impact, by co-designing and co-producing new solutions for local challenges and openly sharing the benefits on a global level.

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==== Understanding the Set-up ====
The project idea has been initiated by the ongoing discussions over the long-lasting disparities in the Balkan-Mediterranean region, developed by 3 organisations from the wider area, namely: Stichting Peer to Peer Alternatives - Greece (a.k.a. “P2P Lab”); ARTos Foundation, along with its hosted hacker-community “hHack66” - Cyprus; and Open Labs - Albania. They have all joined forces under the umbrella of the Greek Free Open Source Software Society (GFOSS) to design a project that will provide sustainable alternatives for innovative entrepreneurship, within the current unfavourable business environment in the area, inspired by the open source movement and various collaborative practices. In response, the Municipality of North Tzoumerka, the University of Nicosia Research Foundation (UNRF) and the Centre of Folklore Activities, came to support this initiative, aiming to bring together local stakeholders from different domains along with various open creative communities.

The starting point of the project has been a creative social and economic unrest that becomes evident amidst the deep economic, social and environmental crisis in Europe. There is arguably an increasing number of people finding novel ways to self-organise with the aim to address local challenges and have a positive social impact. Such initiatives, operating within the social economic sector, exemplify unique ways of organisation and common-value creation, based on sharing of resources and open collaboration. However, those groups face certain challenges in creating a sufficient livelihood and often have to either adopt more corporate-like organisation, or rely constantly on charitable funding.

At the same time, technological diffusion and networked collaboration stand as untapped opportunities in creating new economic options, especially for the areas worst hit by the current crisis. There is indeed an abundance of knowledge and experience available from open source projects around the globe, providing viable solutions to specific challenges. This information constitutes a common pool of collectively managed information resources, often referred to as a “global knowledge commons”. However, it remains to a large extent vast, scattered and poorly documented, while the related stakeholders are often fragmented and unaware of each other.

In this framework, the proposed project aims to create, test and evaluate the conditions under which an emerging productive and business model could operate, based on the conjunction of the global digital knowledge commons with distributed manufacturing technologies, such as three-dimensional (3D) printing and Computerised Numerical Control (CNC) machines. Seeds of this model, codified as “design global, manufacture local” (DGML), have been exemplified by successful commons-oriented projects, such as the L’AtelierPaysan cooperative, the Open Source Ecology project, the open enterprise Sensorica, the Wikispeed car and the Wikihouse project. PHYGITAL is adopting a multi-level approach, in order to bring together all the diverse stakeholders and go beyond the current practice, aiming to: (a) develop a multilingual open knowledge platform, which will host, organise and diffuse knowledge from open source and collaborative projects; (b) catalyse the relevant physical practices in scalable pilot programmes, facilitated by a network of 3 collaborative production spaces, called “makerspaces”, equipped with desktop and benchtop manufacturing machines and tools and (c) support the emerging entrepreneurial practices through a decentralised network, dedicated to the empowerment and promotion of innovation and entrepreneurship for social impact. The pilot programmes will design and prototype new open solutions, in the form of Minimum Viability Products that could initiate entrepreneurial practices, focusing on different fields on each area, namely: agriculture (Greece); social arts practices (Cyprus); and cultural heritage (Albania).

The PHYGITAL target groups include restless entrepreneurs and freelancers seeking to make a difference; local SMEs and micro-enterprises, farmers, artists and cultural stakeholders, as well as individuals, activists, hobbyists and communities contributing to collaborative and open source projects and the wider public. In general, more people motivated to work on making a positive social impact, by co-designing and co-producing new solutions for local challenges and openly sharing the benefits.

----

==== Project details ====
The project idea has been initiated by the ongoing discussions over the long-lasting disparities in the Balkan-Mediterranean region, developed by 3 organisations from the wider area, namely: Stichting Peer to Peer Alternatives - Greece (a.k.a. “P2P Lab”); Municipality of Lakatamia, along with its hosted hacker-community “hHack66” - Cyprus; and Open Labs - Albania. They have all joined forces under the umbrella of the Greek Free Open Source Software Society (GFOSS) to design a project that will provide sustainable alternatives for innovative entrepreneurship, within the current unfavourable business environment in the area, inspired by the open source movement and various collaborative practices. In response, the Municipality of North Tzoumerka, the University of Nicosia Research Foundation (UNRF) and the Centre of Folklore Activities, came to support this initiative, aiming to bring together local stakeholders from different domains along with various open creative communities.

The starting point of the project has been a creative social and economic unrest that becomes evident amidst the deep economic, social and environmental crisis in Europe. There is arguably an increasing number of people finding novel ways to self-organise with the aim to address local challenges and have a positive social impact. Such initiatives, operating within the social economic sector, exemplify unique ways of organisation and common-value creation, based on sharing of resources and open collaboration. However, those groups face certain challenges in creating a sufficient livelihood and often have to either adopt more corporate-like organisation, or rely constantly on charitable funding.

At the same time, technological diffusion and networked collaboration stand as untapped opportunities in creating new economic options, especially for the areas worst hit by the current crisis. There is indeed an abundance of knowledge and experience available from open source projects around the globe, providing viable solutions to specific challenges. This information constitutes a common pool of collectively managed information resources, often referred to as a “global knowledge commons”. However, it remains to a large extent vast, scattered and poorly documented, while the related stakeholders are often fragmented and unaware of each other.

In this framework, the proposed project aims to create, test and evaluate the conditions under which an emerging productive and business model could operate, based on the conjunction of the global digital knowledge commons with distributed manufacturing technologies, such as three-dimensional (3D) printing and Computerised Numerical Control (CNC) machines. Seeds of this model, codified as “design global, manufacture local” (DGML), have been exemplified by successful commons-oriented projects, such as the L’AtelierPaysan cooperative, the Open Source Ecology project, the open enterprise Sensorica, the Wikispeed car and the Wikihouse project. PHYGITAL is adopting a multi-level approach, in order to bring together all the diverse stakeholders and go beyond the current practice, aiming to: (a) develop a multilingual open knowledge platform, which will host, organise and diffuse knowledge from open source and collaborative projects; (b) catalyse the relevant physical practices in scalable pilot programmes, facilitated by a network of 3 collaborative production spaces, called “makerspaces”, equipped with desktop and benchtop manufacturing machines and tools and (c) support the emerging entrepreneurial practices through a decentralised network, dedicated to the empowerment and promotion of innovation and entrepreneurship for social impact. The pilot programmes will design and prototype new open solutions, in the form of Minimum Viability Products that could initiate entrepreneurial practices, focusing on different fields on each area, namely: agriculture (Greece); social arts practices (Cyprus); and cultural heritage (Albania).

The PHYGITAL target groups include restless entrepreneurs and freelancers seeking to make a difference; local SMEs and micro-enterprises, farmers, artists and cultural stakeholders, as well as individuals, activists, hobbyists and communities contributing to collaborative and open source projects and the wider public. In general, more people motivated to work on making a positive social impact, by co-designing and co-producing new solutions for local challenges and openly sharing the benefits.

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==== Objectives of the Project ====
In line with the programme’s priorities, the project aims to promote cooperation and bridge territorial disparities, by enabling open information sharing and empowering bottom-up collaborative practices. Specifically, the project’s global objective is to pilot, evaluate and promote an emerging production and business model that is expected to boost the overall competitiveness and entrepreneurship in the area, by fostering social innovation. To this end, the project’s specific objectives are:\\
to develop the necessary conditions and build the relevant techno-social competences that would engage people in open collaboration and organisation;\\
to improve existing knowledge on the current state and business conditions in relation to the targeted sectors and areas;\\
to enhance local capacity for innovation, diffusing knowledge, tools and technologies;\\
to improve linkages and synergies among diverse stakeholders on local level;\\
to increase networking and cooperation on transnational level through open sharing of knowledge and experiences;\\
to improve strategies supporting open innovation through policy proposals; \\
to catalyse innovative start-up entrepreneurship in response to local challenges;\\
to improve support to SMEs for business innovation through prototyping and mentoring;\\
to increase the number of people contributing to open and collaborative projects allowing them to create sustainable income; \\
to empower individuals and communities to work for the social benefit; \\
to increase clustering and entrepreneurial support through an open decentralised network of professionals and businesses operating on transnational level;\\
to improve competitiveness and overall business environment in the area, by providing alternative instruments for business innovation and collaborative funding; \\
to improve the prospects of the social economic sector as a drive for employment and smart, sustainable and inclusive development. \\

Expected outputs of the project (tangible and visible outputs or products relating to project activities).

The project’s main outputs consist of 3 interwoven streams: (a) physical and digital (PHYGITAL) tools and methodologies; (b) innovative practices & competences; and (c) networking and capacity building, addressing. Specifically, each of the above streams include:\\
Stream a: a digital techno-social platform, sharing open knowledge, designs and tools; 3 physical collaborative production spaces (makerspaces), open to the local communities, equipped with distributed manufacturing technologies; studies and research reports on the current conditions, challenges and prospects of the local economy; policy proposals for supporting and harnessing open innovation. \\
Stream b: 3 scalable pilot programmes and (at least) 15 prototypes as minimum viability products for 5 SMEs/social enterprises in each area; training and mentoring of local entrepreneurs for open and business innovation.\\
Stream c: an open decentralised network operating on transnational level to support business innovation and entrepreneurship; a joint sustainability plan; capacity building and promotion of the proposed production and business model.\\
The PHYGITAL (physical+digital) infrastructures, namely the digital platform and makerspaces together will represent the project’s main output. They synthesise the open PHYGITAL locus for decentralised collaboration, based on the open knowledge and tools (software and hardware) and distributed manufacturing practices.\\


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Trace: • General Assembly - 20 April 2016
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