Officials with the YMCA of Simcoe/Muskoka and Georgian College unveiled Community Impact Lab space at the Barrie Public Library's downtown branch on Tuesday.
The space aims to "support local organizations and individuals in their efforts to drive inclusive innovation," according to a joint release by the YMCA and the college.
The lab space - rooms available for booking - is open to the public and is part of The Future of Belonging project, an initiative focused on increasing community wellness and creating more connections within communities.
"Equipped with collaborative workspaces, and a variety of resources, the lab is designed to be a catalyst for community-driven solutions," the release stated. "It offers a welcoming environment where local organizations, students and residents can experiment with innovative ideas, develop innovative projects, and collaboration."
Nicole Norris, Director of Social Innovation, Georgian College, says the partnership with the library to host the space came together organically.
"I think in the beginning, as we were trying to figure out what this looked like, the traditional lens that we had was something like the [Sandbox Centre] or a small business enterprise centre," said Norris.
"But what we did is started to explore, 'Where is community going?' And then when we were doing our conceptual renderings for the labs ... to see what that might look like. That's when the library said, 'Hey, that looks like our space.'"
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Lauren Jessop, CEO of the Library, says libraries are a hub for the community.
"The idea is to give people those resources and tools to build social innovation," said Jessop. "It's a great fit for a public library. We're open to all, it's easily accessible, the tools are available free of charge ... it's another resource that we can offer to the community."
Jill Tettmann, president and CEO of the YMCA, echoed those thoughts, saying libraries are a place of belonging.
"It's a safe place for people to come and work and collaborate," said Tettmann. "Just the knowledge sharing that is part of a public library made sense to bring organizations and communities together to co-create in this space."
Norris says the plan is to have labs in more spaces around Simcoe County, noting the Innisfil YMCA, and Jessop added that she could see other libraries implementing similar spaces as well.
An Insight Report was also revealed by the YMCA and Georgian College at the event. It provides "insights, highlighting key findings and actionable recommendations that will guide future efforts," according to the organizations in a release.
"The report notes that 35 strategic plans of local organizations were reviewed and most of them expire in the next two to three years, providing an opportunity to develop new tools and approaches for these plans across Simcoe Muskoka," officials continued in the release.
The report and more information about the labs are available on The Future of Belonging website.
