Publish at December 12 2023 Updated December 12 2023
Logic will get you from point A to point B. Imagination and daring will get you where you want to go.
Albert Einstein
Third places are enjoying a growing momentum, playing an essential role in the transformation of work and society. These shared spaces encourage collaboration, innovation and creation, bringing together a variety of players such as freelancers, entrepreneurs and employees who pass through or use the space. The associated challenges include the revitalization of territories, the reinforcement of professional flexibility, laboratories for educational innovation or the creation and promotion of the local economy. They also contribute to the transition towards more sustainable and inclusive ways of working.
According to Francetierslieux.fr, there are over 3,500 "tiers-lieux" in a country like France.
There are third places with main themes such as food, sewing, the development of crafts, digital (e.g. Volumes ). There are also third places focused on the desire to live and act together, such as the Coopérative Oasis. Some operators have become third-place developers. They have acquired know-how in the rehabilitation, management and promotion of third-party spaces, and promote an art of living, like the Métis group with its Domaine project.
The phenomenon is such that new practices are emerging, including a new profession.
The profession of third-place developer is booming. It is essential to provide a framework for the practices of shared spaces, which have been multiplying in recent years to serve a wide range of activities. Third places are hybrid spaces, somewhere between home and work, that bring together different forms of activity such as fablabs, co-working spaces, cultural spaces, nourishing spaces, meeting and performance halls, and so on. To meet all user needs, it's essential to be highly versatile. Third-Party Developers can take on different roles, such as space coordinator, communications manager, facilitator, project manager, administrator, steward and logistician. They can draw on third-place facilitation practices to help them in this multi-faceted position.
He combines the know-how of a commercial syndic, a city center manager and a training center developer, but with marked specificities committed to the service of human learning communities and the development of collective intelligence. Indeed, third places are places of collaborative activity that encourage entrepreneurship, innovation and learning together. They are places of serendipity, where prepared minds encounter ideas just waiting to be picked up.
In the beginning, it all starts with an abandoned area or a space in need of development. A small group of pioneers come together to create new services. Right from the start, the question of governance is important. Terra works on governance and strives to promote responsible governance. Governance is a regular point of contention. One of the priorities is to plan the layout of the spaces: reception area, central space, co-working area, creative workshop, fablab, bar-café-restaurant, individual and shared spaces.
Collective intelligence facilitators recommend a multi-step support method to help the team initiating the project build, integrate and grow:
A culture and collective practices will have taken root once these stages have been completed. The whole process can take from 6 months to 1? years.
Whatever the method or tools used, it can be useful to have a third-party watchdog to protect the emerging collective intelligence - a sort of guardian angel of collective intelligence, ensuring that everyone finds their place. " Guardian angel of collective intelligence" is a metaphor for a force or presence that guides a group towards more collaborative and innovative thinking. A group spirit or collective culture that fosters the intelligence of the place. It's the emergence of the genius loci or genius inherent in the site's potential and uniqueness.
The success of a "tiers-lieux" depends on the combination of several roles: funders and political sponsors, "défricheurs", promotional team, guardian angel of collective intelligence and animators of the site's activities. It's only by combining their individual talents that a social and economic model can take root.
Photo: AllaSerebrina / DepositPhotos
Sources
Data on third places in 2023 (francetierslieux.fr ) https://observatoire.francetierslieux.fr/donnees/
Guides and advice on how to set up a third-party location to energize a region
Terra Nova. L'entreprise contributive 21 propositions pour une gouvernance responsable
Model forming storming norming performing
https://ca-ra.org/fr/tuckman-modèle-forming-storming-norming-performing/
Ademe Implement actions to support behavior change
Tool to promote cooperation between third-party sites https://navigateur.tiers-lieux.org/#welcome
Facilitateur de tiers lieux ce nouveau métier https://workingshare.org/news/post/facilitateur-de-tiers-lieux-ce-nouveau-metier
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