This week I spent Monday to Wednesday with BlueSCI.  On Monday I visited the Sale Waterside Arts Centre to explore the Digital Organics Exhibition created by Seed Studios.  The works were all incredibly creative and it was great to be able to see the input of so many talented individuals from BlueSCI in one place.

On Tuesday, I visited the Partington Library and Wellbeing Centre – the newest member of the BlueSCI family.  This place has a very different feel to the Old Trafford building – it seems like more of a community centre with lots of links out to local organisations, as against Old Trafford which holds the bulk of its resources on site.  It was very useful talking to the people who access Partington BlueSCI, establishing how they use the service and how it is developing since it opened earlier in the year. There were some really interesting contrasts between the two centres, however a lot of the BlueSCI ethos seems to be shared – and adapted – to suit both environments.

On Wednesday, it was women’s day at Old Trafford BlueSCI.  I knitted and nattered with the group in the cafe, and had the chance to talk to lots of people who use the service on a less formal level – for example just coming in to go on the computers or to grab lunch.  This gave me a good perception of the range of different ways that different people engage with BlueSCI, from those who come in every day, volunteer, and get fully involved to those who find BlueSCI’s value in the facilities that it offers or the friendships that it allows them to form.

I have returned to London with a lot of leads to follow up and material to look through.  This includes talking to people who work in the agencies and organisations that link with BlueSCI, to understand external perceptions. I do feel that I am getting to the point where I have a very full picture of BlueSCI, and this will be reflected in changes to the intervention model which will be displayed on this blog for your comments in the coming weeks.

Thank you to all of you at BlueSCI who were so very helpful during my time up with you!

I (Hannah) braved the hail-storms, wind and rain and spent the early part of this week in Manchester, at the Old Trafford centre of BlueSCI.  I talked to lots of people there to deepen my understanding of the data that we have already collected there, and was lucky enough to also be able to get involved with a few groups (thank you to all of you who were so inclusive in the Monday craft and Tuesday writing groups!). 

Everyone who I spoke to has been incredibly useful, with lots of interesting takes on my questions which will definitely serve to refine our intervention further.  I particularly focussed on examining the process of moving people that access the service on to new opportunities, which is integral to the success of a setup like BlueSCI. 

 This week’s visit was really an exploratory one for me, getting a feel for the centre and talking to as many different people as possible. I will be returning next week from Monday to Wednesday to visit the new branch out at Partington, as well as having a look at the much talked-about Digital Organics exhibition at Sale Waterside (see the link below).

http://www.bluesci.org.uk/?s=digital+organic

If anyone would like to talk to me about their views of BlueSCI whilst I am up with you all next week, then please get in touch via this blog as it would be great to hear your views. I have come back to the Big Smoke much more familiar with BlueSCI (and proudly sporting a gorgeous rose corsage made in the craft group!), and am very much looking forward to carrying on with the research there next week.  BlueSCI, you brightened up my week!