The event attracted over 60 participants from the UK and Holland. Academics, public authorities, funders and community partners explored how community organisations, and especially community enterprises, could  work more effectively with formal (public) authorities in accessing funding, in public procurement and in conducting research and delivering innovation.  After an introduction to CASIC by Professor Mihaela Kelemen, there was a panel discussion led by representatives from two community enterprises: Cordwainers Grow and Firesouls, The Heritage Lottery Fund West Midlands, Birmingham City Council and JPI Urban Europe. 

The participants were then divided into three groups to debate

1. accessing public funding – grants and projects,
2. public procurement and
3. being involved in research and innovation projects. 

The key issues identified in the morning were then animated via three experiential workshops led by theatre practitioners from the New Vic Borderlines. Participants created poems, installations and performances that were presented to the larger group.

The event concluded with a presentation by Professor Kate Pahl from Sheffield University who synthesised the main communicative challenges in collaborating with multiple stakeholders and highlighted the potential of community animation techniques to surpass them, followed by a talk by Mike Coyne (SEiSMiC) who placed the findings of the workshop in a European context.

Borderlines Workshop from Moonbrushed Media on Vimeo.