Shared spaces/Shared space centres

In our environmental scan on similar and relevant initiatives, we found a variety of examples.  There are two close to the Region of Waterloo – 10 Carden, in Guelph, and the Centre for Social Innovation in Toronto. Each one provides a very different model. Artscape is a Toronto-based organization that has done similar work (with an arts focus), including the recently opened Whychwood Barns in Toronto, the JK Tett Centre in Kingston and a study for the City of Kitchener recommending strategic directions relevant to an artist-focused complex in the downtown.

Nonprofit centers come in all shapes and sizes and serve many different kinds of nonprofit organizations. All centers, however, share some basic features. Multi-tenant nonprofit centers are buildings that house multiple, primarily nonprofit organizations and provide healthy, efficient, quality, mission-enhancing workspace. Nonprofit centers often offer common meeting spaces, opportunities for cross-organizational collaboration and highly visible facilities. They provide stable and affordable rents, and potential cost efficiencies through shared services and back-office infrastructure. But the benefits of nonprofit centers also flow directly to the community. Centers can become dynamic hubs in which the community can meet and organize. More than just offices, these facilities can become sustainable centers of strength for communities to dream together, work together, and grow together.

There is also a growing “coworking” network in North America, which has primarily grown from the efforts of the freelancing professional crowd that hang around in coffee shops.  The spaces are designed to reflect the vibrant, eclectic ambiance and camraderie of coffee shops with the convenience and technologies of well-appointed offices. 

We have also been intrigued by community resource centres, most common in the United States, which provide a varied mix of expertise, space and assistance to local groups struggling to manifest change in their neighbourhoods. 

There are, then, a variety of models and examples that can be considered.  Following is a list of places that have been identified.  We would be happy to add more to the list - just let us know...

Co-location Centres

Listings of Co-location Centres: