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MK:Smart Newsletter
August 2015
Welcome back to our monthly newsletter about Citizen Innovation and the MK:Smart project. This month we have been encouraging people to submit their ideas and projects to ourmk.org. We've also been supporting people to apply for Our MK Competition Funding, running Project Advice workshops for people planning to apply. You can see their projects on the Our MK website, and look out for our next round of funding, launching in September.
If you have any questions or queries, please feel free to drop us an email.
Rebecca & the MK:Smart Team
Community Action: MK
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Exploring citizens' ideas
Since October 2014 our team at Community Action:MK have been engaging with individual citizens and well as local community groups, recording their ideas and feedback on how to improve transport, water, energy, health and environment in MK. We have recorded over 600 dialogues, giving MK citizens an opportunity to feed into the MK:Smart project.
Building on this engagement, we were excited to launch our new interactive website last month, called Our MK, and started to engage with MK citizens through this collaboration platform that is open to all MK Citizens.
The website, which is very easy to navigate, allows people to submit their own ideas and projects that are aimed at transforming MK into a smart and a sustainable city. We have been delighted to see a number of great ideas and projects appearing on Our MK - you can click on any of the titles below to explore these further. You can also create your own profile, submit your own ideas or a project, or simply make a comment on any ideas submitted by others.
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Project Advice Workshops for Our MK Funding Competition
22nd & 29th July - Acorn House
Our MK:Smart Citizen Innovation team hosted the 1st in a series of advice workshops on 22nd of July, organised to support MK Citizens who have great project ideas & want to apply for funding through the Citizens Ideas Competition.
The workshop featured a session on the key facts about MK:Smart project and its objectives, and the process behind the MK:Smart Citizen Innovation Fund. We also had a number of advice stations for the attendees, offering information and advice in the areas such as:
- Community Enterprise
- Starting up a new group
- Involving Citizens
- Bid writing tips
- Our MK: technical support
The attendees had a chance to ask questions, browse the materials showcased at each of the advice stations, and take some resources with them. The session was also a great opportunity for them to network and chat about their ideas to fellow citizens, identifying areas of synergy and potential for collaboration.
You can see their ideas and projects on www.ourmk.org/discover.
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Still time to apply to the Citizen Ideas Competition!
Don't forget that, if you have attended one of our project advice workshops and submitted your project on Our MK, you can apply for funding to help you run your project.
Click here to find out more and apply! Deadline: 16th of August! |
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What do our followers think?
30th July- Facebook Challenge
Last month we engaged with our Facebook followers and ask for their feedback about parks in MK, and how these could be used and transformed to encourage citizens to spend more time at them. We were inspired to do so by an article from Nesta exploring a number of UK's parks involved in funded projects. We heard from a citizen who expressed disappointment over the news to sell off a part of his favourite park in MK, Campbell Park, to build new homes and other properties as part of new redevelopment plans.
Another resident told us how much she loved spending time at Willen Park and appreciated the many activities it has on offer for people of all ages as well as good facilities such as toilets and refreshments available to purchase. We also heard from a resident who told us about the little green area on the doorstep of Beanhill, a Wildflower Meadow, where she often takes her son for a picnic or to pick fruit in the autumn.
Have you got a great idea on how to improve people's health and encourage them to spend more time outdoors in MK? If so, please submit it on Our MK.
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Social Media top picks of the month...
Our team follows social media to find news, articles and case studies from around the country (and other parts of the world!) that are relevant to the MK:Smart project, and could give us an inspiration for how to develop smart city ideas for MK. Follow #MKSmart or #ChallengeMK and tag us in any interesting stories that you come across. You can also connect with us on our MK:Smart Citizen Lab on Google+.
Here is one of the posts we shared in July:
Shared by Guardian Environment (@guardianeco), an article about the UK’s first zero emissions electric bus getting ready to start service in London. Click here to read the article.
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Get involved...
Support the project by volunteering.
Many projects need volunteers and skills to turn them into a reality. Visit the Our MK projects and see what interests you. Once you've found a project you would like to support, you can contact the project leader by clicking on the "Get Involved" button on their project page.
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If you haven't found a project you would like to support but still want to get involved, please contact us describing the kind of project you would like to help with (and any particular skills you have). We will contact you as soon as we receive a project that matches your interests and skill-set.
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Join in the conversation online...
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Share this newsletter with your friends and they can sign up to receive updates directly.
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