The Future is Bright, the Future is Co-working

A group of Manchester IT entrepreneurs are giving the latest concept in telecommuting a boost with plans to open a permanent co-working space at the city’s Science Park. Bringing together like-minded individuals to work alongside each other and share expertise, a number of co-working days have been held over the past 18 months at the Manchester Digital Development Agency (MDDA) offices. Now, due to the popularity of the events at MDDA, a group of young businessmen are taking steps to create a permanent co-working space at Manchester Science Park. One of the group, Ben Gibbs, an Associate at the Manchester Science Park-based IT company, Liquid Bronze, is involved in the formation of a co-operative called ‘Fly the Coop’, a legal entity which will be able to lease space at the Science Park to create a dedicated co-working office. ‘Co-working is aimed at people who are working at home as it provides the freedom they have at their home base while allowing social interaction with other like minded people,’ he explained. ‘The emphasis is on collaboration and that can be anything from sharing business tips to working together on a web product or service, building it to a point where it becomes profitable or it is sold and the profits shared. ‘We envisage the planned co-working space at the Science Park will have room for ten desks. There will be around seven or eight permanent desks, for people working there on a daily basis, and the rest will be hot desks. Available to be pre-booked online similar to a pay-as-you-go service, the hot desks are for working on a temporary basis, from an hour to a day, as and when needed.’ Ben is confident a co-working space at Manchester Science Park could be filled quickly and, if the concept is successful at the Park, he believes it may develop into something even bigger. ‘The larger scale idea is to have a number of co-working locations in the city centre, each with its own particular flavour or set up but all encouraging a sense of community and collaboration,’ he continued. ‘The Science Park location would be very IT and science centric whereas a location in the Northern Quarter could focus on design and a space close to or within a theatre could develop around the arts industry.’ As there are co-working groups in a number of other cities in the North, including Leeds, Liverpool, Huddersfield and Sheffield, Ben is also hopeful the Manchester group will be able to develop inter-city links. He continued: ‘There is talk about a roaming agreement between co-working spaces in cities across the North to create a conjoined metropolitan co-working network across the M62 corridor. It would help develop wider collaborations and opportunities, for example if a Manchester co-working member needs to attend a meeting in Leeds they would be able to use a hot desk in Leeds for the rest of the day.’ Jane Davies, Manchester Science Park CEO pointed out that the co-working values of collaboration and interaction are also key to the Science Park’s offer to its existing tenant companies. She added, ‘Manchester Science Park supports the development of a co-working space at the Science Park and hopes that many successful companies will develop from the space to occupy their own accommodation within the Park.’ For further information on the co-working venture at Manchester Science Park log onto www.flythecoop.co.uk.