Difference between revisions of "Starting a FabLab"

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m (How do I start?)
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= Purpose of this page  =
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== The real stuff ==
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=== Original research: Sending an questionnaire to fab labs===
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Many starting fab lab initiatives send some sort of questionnaire to existing fab labs -- so many that almost no week passes without such a request. But lab managers of running labs do not have even a second to attend to those requests (as I have tentatively shown in a study carried out on an otherwise uneventful bus ride at Fab6--so I was not stealing time-on-task from those lab managers). The typical reaction to questionnaires is ignorance.  Sometimes, one is lucky to receive an answer like that:
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First: congratulations!  It is a courageous venture that you are starting, and I am happy for you that you already found an investor.
 +
Developing a business plan for a Fab Lab is a challenge of its own and I understand that you are seeking advice.  However, we are in actual fact inundated by similar requests on a weekly basis, with questionnaires ranging from a few to ten and more pages and some including more than 100 questions.  As soon as you have your lab up and running, you will be targeted as well -- and you will find that you just do not have the time to respond to these requests appropriately.  So I am sorry that I have to decline your request on these grounds.
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From my experience setting up and managing Fab Labs, I would advise you not to look too much to other labs and what they are doing.  Your business plan needs to start from your own needs and dream, from your own community, your own capabilities and opportunities, and it has to take your local situation into account: who are you targeting, who are your competitors in your target markets, etc.
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If this sounds to generic, there is help out there as well.  I know of at least two studies who have very profoundly analyzed and reported on Fab Labs:
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- http://fing.org/?Fab-Labs-overview&lang=fr
 +
- http://www.fablabedp.edp.pt/sites/default/files/uploaded_files/Benchmarking%20report.pdf
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And I include links to two papers in which I deal with the issue of developing a Fab Lab business model in more detail:
 +
- http://wikis.fu-berlin.de/download/attachments/59080767/Troxler-Paper.pdf
 +
- http://square-1.eu/site/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/TroxlerWolf2010_BendingTheRules_FablabInnovationEcology_pub.pdf
 +
Finally there is a growing resource on how to set up and run a Fab Lab: http://wiki.fablab.is/wiki/Portal:SetUpRun
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Indeed the Icelandic wiki (http://wiki.fablab.is) is the place with the most comprehensive information on Fab Labs in general -- and it also hosts the community-curated list of Fab Labs on which you certainly will want to add your lab -- just request a login and add yourself on the list of lab locations.
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 +
== Purpose of this page  ==
 
A collection of questions starting FabLabs have. Many FabLab initiatives are seeking answers to the same or similar questions. About what to do, what machines to get, how to fund, how to find a place etc. Some questions are 'big' others are very specific and detailed. This is the place to ask those questions, so that in answering them we are at the same time building a collection of questions and answers given.
 
A collection of questions starting FabLabs have. Many FabLab initiatives are seeking answers to the same or similar questions. About what to do, what machines to get, how to fund, how to find a place etc. Some questions are 'big' others are very specific and detailed. This is the place to ask those questions, so that in answering them we are at the same time building a collection of questions and answers given.
  
= How to use this page =
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== How to use this page ==
  
== When asking a question ==
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=== When asking a question ===
  
 
Put your question in the relevant section (orientation, location, machines and material, funding and business models, community building, other). Then send out e-mails to FabLab people you know to point them to your question(s) and ask them to add any answers they may have. (Otherwise no-one might notice you have a question!) In short: posting a question is not enough, you need to reach out to others to help you find answers! Using this list does not replace talking to people at other FabLabs and learning from their stories, it is merely a place to collect some of those learnings.  
 
Put your question in the relevant section (orientation, location, machines and material, funding and business models, community building, other). Then send out e-mails to FabLab people you know to point them to your question(s) and ask them to add any answers they may have. (Otherwise no-one might notice you have a question!) In short: posting a question is not enough, you need to reach out to others to help you find answers! Using this list does not replace talking to people at other FabLabs and learning from their stories, it is merely a place to collect some of those learnings.  
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<br>  
 
<br>  
  
== When answering a question  ==
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=== When answering a question  ===
  
 
When you answer a question, put the answer below the question. Where possible link to other pages in this wiki or sources elsewhere on-line, to avoid replicating content. Do not make assumptions about what the person asking already knows, or come back with put-downs like saying it's a very easy or stupid question. There are no such things as stupid questions: you simply have forgotten whether it was hard to learn something when you learned it yourself. What may seem obvious to you may look completely confusing to someone else. If your answer becomes very lengthy, either try to cut it down in size, or put the answer in a seperate wiki page and link to it here. Add a little bit of context to your answer so that others may be able to judge whether your answer applies to their situation: add your name and FabLab to your answer, or add something like "When I was looking for a location in Berlin, I....."  
 
When you answer a question, put the answer below the question. Where possible link to other pages in this wiki or sources elsewhere on-line, to avoid replicating content. Do not make assumptions about what the person asking already knows, or come back with put-downs like saying it's a very easy or stupid question. There are no such things as stupid questions: you simply have forgotten whether it was hard to learn something when you learned it yourself. What may seem obvious to you may look completely confusing to someone else. If your answer becomes very lengthy, either try to cut it down in size, or put the answer in a seperate wiki page and link to it here. Add a little bit of context to your answer so that others may be able to judge whether your answer applies to their situation: add your name and FabLab to your answer, or add something like "When I was looking for a location in Berlin, I....."  
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<br>  
 
<br>  
  
= Questions on orientation of a FabLab  =
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== Questions on orientation of a FabLab  ==
  
== How do I start?  ==
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=== How do I start?  ===
  
 
By defining the ambitions of your fablab. Should it be large, medium, small? How to involve the local community?<br>Please sit back and contemplate. Also about the [http://fab.cba.mit.edu/about/charter fabcharter]
 
By defining the ambitions of your fablab. Should it be large, medium, small? How to involve the local community?<br>Please sit back and contemplate. Also about the [http://fab.cba.mit.edu/about/charter fabcharter]
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<br>
 
<br>
  
= Questions on the location of a FabLab  =
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== Questions on the location of a FabLab  ==
  
= Questions on machines and material  =
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== Questions on machines and material  ==
  
= Questions on funding an business models  =
+
== Questions on funding an business models  ==
  
= Questions on community building and the FabLab network  =
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== Questions on community building and the FabLab network  ==
  
= Questions on other topics =
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== Questions on other topics ==

Revision as of 23:57, 22 November 2012

The real stuff

Original research: Sending an questionnaire to fab labs

Many starting fab lab initiatives send some sort of questionnaire to existing fab labs -- so many that almost no week passes without such a request. But lab managers of running labs do not have even a second to attend to those requests (as I have tentatively shown in a study carried out on an otherwise uneventful bus ride at Fab6--so I was not stealing time-on-task from those lab managers). The typical reaction to questionnaires is ignorance. Sometimes, one is lucky to receive an answer like that:

First: congratulations!  It is a courageous venture that you are starting, and I am happy for you that you already found an investor.
Developing a business plan for a Fab Lab is a challenge of its own and I understand that you are seeking advice.  However, we are in actual fact inundated by similar requests on a weekly basis, with questionnaires ranging from a few to ten and more pages and some including more than 100 questions.  As soon as you have your lab up and running, you will be targeted as well -- and you will find that you just do not have the time to respond to these requests appropriately.  So I am sorry that I have to decline your request on these grounds.
From my experience setting up and managing Fab Labs, I would advise you not to look too much to other labs and what they are doing.  Your business plan needs to start from your own needs and dream, from your own community, your own capabilities and opportunities, and it has to take your local situation into account: who are you targeting, who are your competitors in your target markets, etc.
If this sounds to generic, there is help out there as well.  I know of at least two studies who have very profoundly analyzed and reported on Fab Labs:
- http://fing.org/?Fab-Labs-overview&lang=fr
- http://www.fablabedp.edp.pt/sites/default/files/uploaded_files/Benchmarking%20report.pdf
And I include links to two papers in which I deal with the issue of developing a Fab Lab business model in more detail:
- http://wikis.fu-berlin.de/download/attachments/59080767/Troxler-Paper.pdf
- http://square-1.eu/site/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/TroxlerWolf2010_BendingTheRules_FablabInnovationEcology_pub.pdf
Finally there is a growing resource on how to set up and run a Fab Lab: http://wiki.fablab.is/wiki/Portal:SetUpRun

Indeed the Icelandic wiki (http://wiki.fablab.is) is the place with the most comprehensive information on Fab Labs in general -- and it also hosts the community-curated list of Fab Labs on which you certainly will want to add your lab -- just request a login and add yourself on the list of lab locations.

Purpose of this page

A collection of questions starting FabLabs have. Many FabLab initiatives are seeking answers to the same or similar questions. About what to do, what machines to get, how to fund, how to find a place etc. Some questions are 'big' others are very specific and detailed. This is the place to ask those questions, so that in answering them we are at the same time building a collection of questions and answers given.

How to use this page

When asking a question

Put your question in the relevant section (orientation, location, machines and material, funding and business models, community building, other). Then send out e-mails to FabLab people you know to point them to your question(s) and ask them to add any answers they may have. (Otherwise no-one might notice you have a question!) In short: posting a question is not enough, you need to reach out to others to help you find answers! Using this list does not replace talking to people at other FabLabs and learning from their stories, it is merely a place to collect some of those learnings.


When answering a question

When you answer a question, put the answer below the question. Where possible link to other pages in this wiki or sources elsewhere on-line, to avoid replicating content. Do not make assumptions about what the person asking already knows, or come back with put-downs like saying it's a very easy or stupid question. There are no such things as stupid questions: you simply have forgotten whether it was hard to learn something when you learned it yourself. What may seem obvious to you may look completely confusing to someone else. If your answer becomes very lengthy, either try to cut it down in size, or put the answer in a seperate wiki page and link to it here. Add a little bit of context to your answer so that others may be able to judge whether your answer applies to their situation: add your name and FabLab to your answer, or add something like "When I was looking for a location in Berlin, I....."


Questions on orientation of a FabLab

How do I start?

By defining the ambitions of your fablab. Should it be large, medium, small? How to involve the local community?
Please sit back and contemplate. Also about the fabcharter

These pointers may help:

http://fablabinternational.org/fab-lab/how-to-start-one

http://minifablab.nl/index.php?page=start-a-fablab

http://fablabamersfoort.nl/nl/user/106/content and download the grassroots instructable.pdf

http://p2pfoundation.net/Fab_Labs as an intro to 'business models'


Questions on the location of a FabLab

Questions on machines and material

Questions on funding an business models

Questions on community building and the FabLab network

Questions on other topics