I have fallen behind adding any news and updates on this site, mostly due to being busy with clients. So here is an ‘Easter’ Newsgram for news of the past few weeks and something of what is coming up soon.I might end up doing a Newsgram periodically to let people know what I am up to.

Headlines:

Nanoscience Workshop – Successfully executed.

Science and Literary Criticism Conference Presentation, St John’s, University of Oxford.

LimesNet – Low Impact Materials and innovative Engineering Solutions research Network – first Open Space Workshop Completed

Innovation Workshops

Aardman Animation

Society for Cognitive Studies of the Moving Image Conference, New York University

The Great British Business Show

Nanoscience Workshop
I ran a half-day Open Space workshop in University of Bristol’s Centre for Nanoscience and Quantum Information (NSQI) (see: http://www.bristol.ac.uk/nsqi-centre/. This type of event is typical of what we do with Universities these days. We bring a multi-disciplined group of researchers from across different Universities, and sometimes industry. The aim is to come up with new innovative research proposals, that can then be turned into responses to funding calls. The event was successful, and produced a large number of new research topics for possible funding. Participants seemed to really enjoy it, I think the process of talking with other experts in related fields and networking is always valued. Participants also had a chance to view the facilities offered by the NSQI centre, which to my mind bordered on science fiction, e.g.: “Nano Tweezers”

Science and Literary Criticism Conference Presentation, St John’s, University of Oxford.
I stayed in the delightful atmosphere of St John’s College last week and participated in the fascinating multi-disciplined conference, crossing the divide between science and literature. I presented work on the scientific investigation of cinema and literature from my research at the University of Bristol.

LimesNet – Low Impact Materials and innovative Engineering Solutions research Network – first Open Space Workshop Completed
LimesNet is (according to their web site): “for Low Impact Materials and innovative Engineering Solutions research Network….(it) is based in the BRE Centre for Innovative Construction Materials, in the Department of Architecture and Civil Engineering at the University of Bath. The network has been funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) for its first 12 months. ”

More details at their web site http://www.bath.ac.uk/ace/limesnet/ I have been engaged by LimesNet as an external facilitator to help with specific segments of their workshops (four in total during the next 2 months) and their major summer conference. We ran the first one last week, and I facilitated an Open Space workshop for them, designed at discovering new research topics. Participants were international academic figures from around the world. It all went very well, and people were kind enough to give very positive feedback during the closing circle.

Innovation Workshops
I worked for Hewlett-Packard Research Labs (HP Labs – see http://www.hpl.hp.com/) for twelve years, and it was here that I learned the value of innovation processes with groups. Agile was one expression that was used a lot within HP Labs with respect to business and to research,that is to know when to stop one thing and start another. Agility was seen as necessary for survival in a fast changing world.So this is a climate in which group change/innovation processes were essential.The ‘Innovation Workshop’ was one such process that I was trained to run while I was there. I have since run this elsewhere.

I am currently working with HP Labs helping to facilitate a workshop process for them, as often an external facilitator is invaluable. I am also talking with a three different local organizations about using innovation process within their organizations. – “watch this space”.

Aardman Animation
One of my favourite local organisations and clients is Aardman Animation (http://www.aardman.com/) , if you haven’t already done so go see their latest film Pirates (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EPJF6mR6krM. I have worked with Aardman many times over the years, and I was very pleased to be invited to help again by being a judge at one of their innovation days coming up soon.

Society for Cognitive Studies of the Moving Image Conference – New York University
I have been asked to go to New York University in June, to present my research at the annual conference of the Society for Cognitive Studies of the Moving Image (see: http://scsmi-online.org/

The Great British Business Show – 17-18 May ExCel Centre, London
I will be at the Great British Business Show (see: http://www.greatbritishbusinessshow.co.uk/) – so if you want to meet me in London, this is an excellent opportunity.

Best Wishes
Stephen Hinde

We will be running another Open Space in collaboration with University of Bristol Sartre project next week.

Details attached

NanoNeuro Science Open Space

After a year off to complete a psychology degree at University of Bristol I have decided to relaunch this web site.

A little bit of history, I started the Business With Heart consultancy after leaving HP Labs back in February 2006. The consultancy has been both a background and foreground activity over the past 5 years, depending on what else I have been up to with my academic studies and research. My initial consultancy consisted of patent workshops, Open Space Technology workshops and Innovation  Consultancy. Clients included: Channel 4, RBS, HP Labs, the Arts Council, SW Screen, Cornwall Film, Aardman Animation, Bristol City Council, The Watershed and others. During 2011 I pretty much suspended all my consultancy activities to complete my studies as a psychologist (and my third University degree). I now have a psychology degree from University of Bristol, and am an accredited Member of the British Psychology Society.I

In 2010 I found myself turning down consultancy work from University departments. There seemed to be a demand to run the type of collaborative workshops that are used within industrial research, within academia. The change in research grant requirements towards programs of collaborative, multi-disciplined research now mirrored the industrial model I was familiar with. There seemed to be a shortage of experienced people to run these workshops.So when at the end of last year, I was approached by the University of Bristol’s SARTRE project, a multi-disciplined Bio-Sensing Research initiative, that seeks to translate cutting-edge academic research. Bio-Sensing and Bio-Engineering is really at the forefront of what is possible so running such a workshop was great fun. The resulting Open Space workshop ran in December 2011 with participants from Bristol, Bath, Cardiff and Exeter Universities. The event was an amazing success in terms of innovative proposals.These were drafted, and many submitted and funded. The success, and enthusiasm for this workshop made me realize that the skills and processes  from Industrial Research were of direct use to academia. Academia often suffers from disconnection and isolation of research and researchers, whereas commercial research and development has had to solve these problems to survive. Running these processes with academic researchers, with their deep research knowledge and skills can offer big wins. So I have made a New Year’s resolution to do more work likes this with academics.

In January the University of Bath Research Development & Support Office approached me. They wanted to use similar processes, to those we had used for SARTRE to fast-track some Bio-sensor  research proposals that would then be sent into competitive grant awarding processes. The result was an Open Space Technology workshop run at Bath University. Participants were invited from Bath, Bristol and Cardiff University.