Two Days of Learning and Co-Creation
Informed by nearly 50 years of research on technology, economics, and the transformation of work, Institute for the Future (IFTF) has launched a major initiative to help prototype “Positive Platforms”—platforms that not only maximize profits for their owners but also provide dignified and sustainable livelihoods for those who work on them. IFTF’s Workable Futures Initiative calls for experts, policy leaders, designers, and investors to come together now to design platforms that enable a workable future for all.
To spark rapid exploration, experimentation, and action, IFTF hosted a two-day Positive Platforms Design Jam where we developed platform prototypes, replicable design frameworks, new financial tools, data management systems, software hacks, and more. We invited designers, engineers, policymakers, labor organizers, and many others to join us for the first Positive Platforms Design Jam November 30–December 1, 2016, at Institute for the Future in Palo Alto, California. Others followed around the globe.
The agenda of the event mixed cultural provocations with focused collaboration to generate tangible results and insights: platform prototypes, replicable design models, new financial tools, data management frameworks, software hacks, and more. Mentors from diverse backgrounds were available to advise and guide the work of the self-organized teams. IFTF plans to share outcomes of the Positive Platforms Design Jam with our expansive network and the media to provoke further conversations, iterations, and action.
Learn more about Positive Platforms in the IFTF report: “10 Strategies for a Workable Future.”
Satellite Jams
Not everyone was able travel to the first Positive Platforms Jam at IFTF’s headquarters in Silicon Valley, but everyone could be empowered to participate in these urgent discussions and activities. People from around the world attended a Satellite Jam in the following cities:
- Nov 26, 2016: Helsinki, Finland
- Dec 1-2, 2016: Milan, Italy
- Dec 1-2, 2016: Recife, Brazil
- Dec 5, 2016: Barcelona, Spain
- Dec 10, 2016: Denver, CO, U.S.
- Dec 16, 2016: Dublin, Ireland
- Dec 17, 2016: Naples, Italy
- Dec 17, 2016: Rome, Italy
Presented By
Marina Gorbis | Executive Director, Institute for the Future
Devin Fidler | Research Director, Institute for the Future
In Collaboration With
Simone Cicero, Creator of Platform Design Toolkit
For More Information
- Positive Platforms Design Jam: Carol Neuschul | cneuschul@iftf.org
- Workable Futures Initiative: Jean Hagan | jhagan@iftf.org
IFTF Workable Futures Initiative 
You must be logged in to post a comment.