*Uncommon Ground*
In recent years there have been many attempts to make the knowledge (not only products but also the ideas and techniques) developed in universities and media labs more readily available to the professional sector and the wider community, and vice versa. The English term for this is 'knowledge transfer' and across Europe the most developed economies have developed a raft of projects, incentives and policies aimed at connecting universities in more vivid and effective ways to business and the wider community.
Anyone actually involved knows the difficulties in making productive dialogue between the academy and the professional sector work in practice. There is no shortage of productive and imaginative initiatives that make it their business to support the different communities in a search of 'common ground'. But is it really 'common ground' that is required? In this meeting we will test the very opposite proposition - that the most productive outcomes occur when these very different communities risk using one another's territory to occupy uncommon ground. It is the fresh perspectives emerging from this conceptual shake up which lead to innovation.
*Meeting format*
By unpacking a small number of significant case studies, the goal is to go beyond a parade of 'success stories' to a sharp and productive examination of what constitutes a successful outcome. An important aspect of this meeting will be the opportunity to capitalize on the results of our discussion by means of a detailed and extensive follow up. The event will be recorded and edited proceedings published. The goal in this publication will be to supplement the proceedings with a number of additional monographs aimed at synthesis, which will include conclusions and recommendations.
*Speakers*
• John Thackara, Design of The Times and Doors of Perception on Creative Communities
• Erik Geelhoed, Hewlett Packard Labs, Bristol, UK and Clare Reddington, Watershed, Bristol, UK, on Mobile Bristol
• Simon Robertshaw, ICDC, UK
• Andrew Bullen on Innovation Labs
• Gerard Hollemans, Philips, on Tabletop gaming platform (Philips and HKU)
• Yanki Lee, Royal College of Art/Helen Hamlyn Research Centre
• Garrick Jones, Lucid Group and London School of Economics
• Sam Bucolo, Research and Development Director Australasian CRC for Interaction Design (ACID) and Associate Professor in Industrial Design, School of Design,QUT