What’s the context?
This challenge is focused on the Bensham and Saltwell neighbourhood close to the centre of Gateshead.
Despite several investment and development activities over the last 20 years, a significant share of residents in the Bensham and Saltwell areas (wards) experience multiple challenges linked to the deprivation. The context of cuts to NHS and Local Authority Services in addition to changes in the benefits system have had a particularly detrimental effect in this community.
However, the diverse community of residents of the neighbourhood also has skills to offer and knowledge to share. Many such important assets are in place to help drive future neighbourhood development and improvements.
The Best of Bensham Collaborative is working towards increased resident participation in the activities and support that this community wants and needs. The Collaborative has been successful in obtaining grants from local government and national charities. With these funds, the Collaborative has rented a shop unit on Brinkburn Avenue, one of the key high streets, to start offering workshops to residents.
The image below shows the location of the shop on Brinkburn Avenue.
What is the project trying to address?
The project seeks to establish how to effectively engage residents with The Best of Bensham Collaborative, its activities and neighbourhood improvement efforts, using Asset-based approaches, e.g. positively framed questions that will draw out the assets and resources that residents have and can share.
Here the challenge will be getting people to recognise local skills and resources when traditionally they are more familiar with a ‘service culture’ that provides all the answers/solutions in relation to neighbourhood improvements.
An aspect of the challenge will be to develop ideas on how to reach out to residents and to create a suitably safe and engaging method for helping locals identify resources and proposals for change they are comfortable to share. Ultimately, the Collective seeks to increase the number of local people engaging in its activities developing perspectives for the neighbourhood.
What are the desired outcomes?
As part of the challenge, you are asked to research and design a digital engagement method that has some form of physical presence.
In your approach, you will need to consider the ‘user experience’ for your engagement method and the ‘touch points’ where and how residents might get involved with your idea. An obvious location would be the Best of Bensham Community Space but there may be other locations in the neighbourhood.
You will capture key requirements of the target users you design your intervention for.
More broadly, you will need to develop a service concept, which explains in greater detail how your intervention will help with shape ideas on local services or neighbourhood interventions, that can be co-produced with residents.
Your proposals will be outlined in suitable visual creative materials, for instance in a story board and an outline design for your digital engagement method (if software -> on user interface level; if a device -> on the physical shape and what it does). Lastly, you will prepare a presentation of your idea to the client.