Milton Keynes is a city filled with innovation and growth and MK:Smart is enabling citizens to take action and deliver their own innovative projects locally.
MK:Smart is a large collaborative initiative, partly funded by HEFCE (the Higher Education Funding Council for England) and led by The Open University, which is developing innovative solutions to support economic growth in Milton Keynes. Part of this project is focused on supporting citizens to identify their own ‘smart’ solutions to city problems. Community Action: MK have been working alongside the Open University to help citizen-led projects to flourish with funding and support, through Our MK.
On 8th July Community Action: MK bought these innovative citizens together for a collaboration lunch at University Campus Milton Keynes. The lunch gave these project leaders a chance to share their projects and to understand about other ideas being supported through Our MK. The event sparked discussions about how the projects were going and enabled people to explore new opportunities. CA:MK also heard from citizen innovators about the benefits of Our MK. They said:
“It helped me to think clearly through ideas I am working on, which helps to make it real.” – Ziyenge, Raspberry Pi Project
“The most useful thing about Our MK funding is being given a platform to build on and continued use of resources.” – Lyndsey, Digital Upcycling Shop Project
“The exchange of ideas has been more interesting and useful than advice”– Padma, Navigation Beacons Project
Our MK is now looking to use the lessons learned from Our MK to develop this project further, giving people the opportunity to lead on future city solutions and projects. You can find out about the projects currently being supported here and to find out about upcoming opportunities sign up to our Citizen Innovation Newsletter.
