By Jill Viens // Fifth Space Fellow and Tenacious Trio Team Member
April 21st: our first demo day in the Fifth Space. What an incredible experience! Seeing what the 6 other groups have found in their research, the tools they’ve developed, and the talents they’ve been able to tap into. I feel very privileged to be part of something that brings together a group of such diverse and passionate individuals. It’s rare to find so many people with so much vision and drive in one place.
by Rosalind Ho // Fifth Space Fellow and CARRA Team Member
Almost exactly 2 months ago, team CARRA came together as a group with an interest in exploring the problem that young people with disabilities are often unable to find sustainable employment. Our problem statement has changed many times since then.
by Rosalind Ho // Fifth Space Fellow
Team CARRA is currently working on the problem that too many youth-friendly employers are not employing youth with disabilities, and are therefore missing out on potential resources. To gain an understanding of the employer mindset, we began by exploring the stories of various businesses and the motivations behind their hiring practices.
By Rosalind Ho // Fifth Space Fellow & CARRA Team Meber
Fifth Space is all about teamwork in acceleration.
Normally, it takes at least days or weeks for teams to be formed, with careful consideration of what skills each person can bring to the whole team. Then it takes weeks more for teams to gel into a cohesive whole. Fifth Space teams do all this, but at warp speed.
By Irena Flego // Fifth Space Fellow and Spread the Love Team Member
Building a team from scratch was a fascinating experience at the Fifth Space, and one that still puzzles me.
We had one day to gather a group of people that would need to stick together “no matter what” over the next six months. Scary acceleration, considering that usually it takes months, if not years, to form an effective team organically. The exercises were set up so each team gets people with a variety of skills, personalities and working styles. The idea was, I guess, to try & negotiate the right amount of everything in the mix – a doer, a goer, an analyst, an organizer, a maker.
BY ROSALIND HO / FIFTH SPACE FELLOW
Fifth Space is such a totally new and untested project that InWithForward wants to have a way to capture what it feels like to be part of a Fifth Space problem-solving team and to document our learning process. So they asked me (Rosalind Ho, BACI) to be a Blogger for Fifth Space, and to spend some of my 20% time to take photos and write short pieces for the Fifth Space blog.
BY JANEY ROH / FIFTH SPACE CORE TEAM & SECONDE
Here we are! We are in the Fifth Space. It’s orientation day and we have a room of 28 Fifth Space Fellows. There is a mixture of excitement, anticipation, and confusion peppered with occasional nervous laughter. I can relate. That was me at the start of the Burnaby Starter Project back in April.
BY SARAH SCHULMAN / FIFTH SPACE CORE TEAM
A film-maker / outreach worker. An art therapist / coordinator. An animator / group home worker. A soccer coach / support worker. These are just four of the Fellows we’re thrilled to welcome into the Fifth Space.
After two-months of recruitment and team deliberation, we’ve selected an eclectic mix of staff. From all levels of the organizational hierarchy. Newbies and Oldies. Skeptics and Enthusiasts. Creative doers and Analytic thinkers.
What’s good work versus crap work? When was the last time you learned something? What’s a rule you want to see overturned, a frustration you have, a challenge you want to work through?
These are the questions 23 staff from all levels of the Burnaby Association for Community Inclusion, posAbilities, and Simon Fraser Society for Community Living were mulling over today. In our Application Clinic. Our goal was to make it easy to apply – by prompting, prodding, and encouraging staff.
By day’s end, we got applications in all forms: bullet points, mini essays, videos, PowerPoint presentations, audio recordings, websites, songs, even a costume performance! Drop us an email, text, or call by Friday, December 12 to show your interest in The Fifth Space, and we can talk through your application. We want you!
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