Monthly Archives: November 2015

We were putting together some training material for social enterprise development at the office, doing the day job, and rediscovered this Ted Talk by Jason Fried, founder of  37 Signals and the author of Rework.

It’s been a useful tool in the past to get groups to think about the nature of work, their place in it and how to react to the pressure of meetings and interruptions.

Fried makes some telling points about the quality of the interrupted process when we gather in the office. It is, of course, a gentle trumpet for the remote worker and the internet connected working life.

None the less, the argument about how offices are ‘factories for interruption’ and only real work takes place when individuals are ‘remote’ is telling. He also looks at the need for creatives – authors, designers, engineers etc., to access quiet space. As well as debunking the old management myth ‘…if I can’t see you, you can’t be working‘. More often sounded in the 21st Century than you might think.

We like his summary points at the end. Go on, cancel that meeting today!

(Check out our Productive Paradigms page for more articles on the world of work…Ed).

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There is still funding available for British Science Week during 11th March 2016 to the 20th March, 2016. Both the Kick Start Grants programme for schools with challenges and the Community Grants programme are still available. (If you’re quick…Ed)

Kick Start Grants for schools in challenging circumstances to organise their own events as part of BSW with:

  • Grants of up to £300 for schools to run an activity.
  • Grants of up to £700 for schools to host a science event or activity which involves their students and the local community.

The fund does not put limitations on the type of event/activities that schools can provide. This is entirely up to them.

School activity ideas can include:

    • Carousels of activities from BSA activity packs during lesson time/assembly/lunch time/after school.
    • Quizzes between pupils, classes or even teachers.
    • Presentations from invited speakers on science and/or engineering topics.

Community Grants – of up to £500 for community-based groups and organisations that work directly with audiences who are traditionally under-represented and currently not engaged in science activity.

To be eligible, events and activities must:

  • Target and include hard-to-reach audiences, which include
    • People who are Black, Asian, Minority Ethnic (BAME).
    • People with low socio economic status.
    • Young people with anti-social behaviour, including those not in education employment or training (NEET).
    • People living with a disability.
    • Girls and women.
    • People living in a remote and rural location.
  • Be STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) related.
  • Require funding in order to take place. (The funding is for events and activities that would not otherwise take place due to lack of funding.)
  • Raise the profile of BSW in the community or have local and/or broad media appeal.

Explore the web pages of British Science Week 2016 – get your community, whatever their age, interested in science.

You might also be intertested in Science: not just for the scientists, a new BSA initiative.

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Image credit:

News Desk image by Markus Winkler, Creative Commons, Unsplash...

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