Community

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There are a lot of interesting activities and related groups/companies in the area that may be of interest in creating and strengthening our maker community. Who would benefit from us sharing?


Richmond: Silicon-upon-Thames

Richmond has seen a variety of international tech organisations move to the area due to its proximity to London and Heathrow, quality of facilities and resources. We've seen some announcements proclaiming that Richmond and the term 'Silicon-upon-Thames' is the West London response to the Silicon Roundabout in Shoreditch.

In addition, it's good to note that the Mayor of Richmond Councillor Martin Seymour has a background in technology, having served as a head of Information Technology for two multinational companies. No, we're not trying to turn Richmond into some sort of Shenzhen or replace community charm with hipster tech buildings, but at least we can make RML an active part of the Silicon-upon-Thames name.


Corporate Social Responsibility

A lot of progressive technology companies have CSR charters that reflect commitments to the communities - sharing innovation, donating surplus equipment, volunteering and donating time and effort into local community spaces such as RML. This is an approach that has not been leveraged by many hackerspace/makerspace communities and should be leveraged - having a good balance of community and corporate involvement would mean that all parties benefit from this kind of relationship.

Nearby Science, Tech and Innovation Organisations with CSR Mandates

Nearby Tech and Innovation Companies

These companies may not be large enough to have explicit CSR mandates but reflect a spirit of innovation (dedicated R&D, historical community involvement):

Community Grants & Related Regional Groups

There are other ways to help build a thriving makerspace. This also includes getting grants from nationwide and local institutions believing in causes such as ours.

Regional Groups and Nearby Innovating and Social Organisations

Nearby Maker/Hack/innovation spaces

Suppliers

Richmond-specific supplier listing is a WIP.

There is a great list on the London Hackspace Wiki.

Getting Involved

Firms and individuals don't need to be huge to make an impact for creating and teaching in the 'new technology arts' - this page is just a small start to get people thinking about these things.