Future Lab may only have been running for six months, but it has been part of my thinking since summer 2024, quietly bubbling away in the background. Now, it is extraordinary to see those early thoughts coming to life as I reflect on the first 6 months of the project.
An over those 6 months I have been completely blown away by the sheer amount of work that is happening. From research, student internships, focus groups, stakeholder consultation, the governance process for the project and data analysis, it is enormous amount of information in a very short time.
All this new activity is already changing HB&P. Our team has grown from three full-time equivalent staff to an additional three days a week across the team, and the staff are thriving under the new challenges. Working with Jess and Sterling, from our partners HILO, has been a very positive addition. Our relationship with the team at HILO has deepened as we have settled into the work together and learned how best to collaborate and our understanding of the University of Oxford, and to see the research dimension of the project develop.
I am really proud of how the team has embraced something so new and approached it with openness and curiosity. I have also been amazed by how many people wanted to engage with us through the stakeholder engagement work, particularly non-members. I think this reflects the work we have done in the past, and how people think about us.
I suspect that I personally sometimes drive others slightly mad, as I am always impatient to know more, find out more, and understand what the next steps will be. I am learning to take each step in turn and accept that gathering information, analysing it, and making decisions takes time. Future Lab so far has been a challenge, pleasure and a vogue of discovery!
Words By: Liz Power, Director HB&P
