hi @Ahmad1 thanks, this is helpful for me to understand. Hackathons are great for unleashing a lot of energy, bringing people together to find potential teammates etc. I have been thinking a bit about what you are trying to do. To me it makes sense to bring together people across the different sides of an issue. We used to do a lot of this and it was great for the people at the institutional side who got a lot of energy and ideas that they could then use to shape procurement that then most of the participants risk being excluded from for many reasons of which yourself and Ahmed ar probably already aware. I think there are a number of things that could be developed in order to make this experience more generative for everyone involved.
I would start by reflecting on what happens once participants leave the room? What is a good follow up process that people can plug into in order to keep working on their projects for the long period it often takes to go from idea to a viable and sustainable solution.
Here I mean sustainable in two senses: 1) has a mechanism to build and sustain enough engagement from community of affected people (which includes people in public institutions) 2) has secured a fairly stable source of revenue to cover costs of materials, people’s time and whatever debts are owed (including people’s sweat equity).
When you are at the beginning of your journey, it is crucial that you are exposed to the existence of relevant domain specific expertise, and have access to a network of people who can help you find your next step/ Or even just give you moral support. For me, being embedded in supportive communities of open minded, creative and very motivated people from different walks of live has been a key enabler. My own trajectory as an entrepreneur has consisted of having conversations that have unleashed a cascade of events.
I can share with you my own methodology:
- Convene an expert event around a topic: Always focused on taking a deeper look at the actual technology itself, the opportunities as well as the risks that come with it. In this case it is a workshop on AI
- Reach out via my/our extended network to find people with deep experience and knowledge relevant to that topic to invite them to the workshop. Make sure that at least some of them are connected to possible opportunities to support/encourage participants to continue working together.
- Ahead of the event I conduct with each person an in depth interview about the topic such as this one with Marco
You notice that these articles are posted on the platform by the person who has been interviewed? This means that people can then get back in touch with them and continue a conversation, ask them for input on their initiatives etc. We connect them with other participants in a community of mutual support. Over time people start sharing with the community opportunities for paid work, skill development etc.