Is Dudley ready to join the Global Jam community?

I had a brilliant weekend earlier this year taking part in a Global Jam. Masters students Chris Saddler and Daniel Blyden decided to bring a Jam to Birmingham, and have since expertly planned and facilitated a number of successful jams — as chronicled on their Spaghetti Jams site

I’ll write more about my experience another time, the purpose of this post is to share a great video about Gov Jam, and let you know that there is a Global Sustainability Jam coming up on the weekend of 30 October — 1 November. (You can sign up to get notified when registration opens for the Birmingham event.)

Below is a video of an interview with Adam Lawrence, co-founder of the Global Gov Jam. In the first 8 and half minutes he describes what a Jam is, what you could get out of taking part in one, and what the benefits are. He explains that:

“Jams don’t necessarily make innovations, they make innovators.”

He talks about ways in which a Gov Jam is motivating for citizens who get involved and find themselves working with people who work in the public sector who are really trying to help. That in turn motivates public sector officers, who find themselves being appreciated by citizens. He thinks that ”jams are very interesting for people who have the brief to involve people in innovation and change” because while we have traditional consultation tools and meetings, it’s very different to sit down in a room and build things together. It’s when you discover if you’re both talking about the same thing or not.

Have a look at the first 8 minutes or so of this video and let me know your thoughts. Do you think public sector workers in Dudley should be learning about human-centred approach and design tools used in a Jam? Does this sound like a useful addition to the tactics currently used to involve people and communities in our borough? Would you like to take part in, and/or run a Jam?