People

Lab Team

“… labs build core teams whose members possess a breadth of skills and capabilities, and who value and practice flexibility and agility.”

Labcraft

  • Lorna Prescott

    LAB CONVENOR

    Lorna is a Dudley CVS officer and regenerative designer who has been working with communities in Dudley Borough for over 25 years. She instigated CoLab Dudley in 2014 and continues experiment with ways to shift power.

    Lorna works 3-4 days per week in the CoLab Dudley team.

  • Holly Doron

    STORIES OF PLACE LEAD

    Holly is an architect and PhD candidate researching co-creation of regenerative futures with CoLab Dudley and CIVIC SQUARE. Holly initiated Stories of Place, which is now part of Dudley People’s School for Climate Justice.

    Holly works 1 day per week in the CoLab Dudley team.

  • Kerry O'Coy

    CULTURAL PRODUCER

    Kerry is a cultural producer leading work on Dudley Creates, expanding future cultural possibilities by stewarding our local cultural ecosystem in ways which grow cultural democracy.

    Kerry works 1-2 days per week in the CoLab Dudley team.

  • Jo Orchard-Webb

    RESEARCH AND LEARNING GUIDE

    Jo is a researcher who co-designs collective learning, imagining and sense-making infrastructures as pathways to regenerative futures.

    Jo works 1-2 days per week in the CoLab Dudley team.

Shared responsibilities

The CoLab Dudley team coordinate the work, activities and resources of CoLab Dudley’s network in relationship with others in the network leading activity. Lab team members do not hold authority over each other or network members. In support of our networked structure the CoLab Dudley team assume the responsibility of Network Guardians. This role involves convening network members, setting up and maintaining communications systems, restructuring resources to support collaboration, and supporting learning and reflection. We learn from June Holley’s generous sharing on Network Weaving and ideas from Converge network and their Impact Networks book.

Resourcing

  • CoLab Dudley runs on a core budget which covers rent and overheads of a lab space on Dudley High Street and a small team. Together we are equivalent to around 1.5 full time post, so we have to be very intentional about what we spend our time doing.

  • Our Lab Team members collaborate with leaders in different parts of our network to secure resourcing for regenerative work in Dudley, such as recent project funding from Arts Council England and The National Lottery Community Fund.

  • To date local partners have invested over £350,000 in CoLab Dudley work, and the team and collaborator have drawn in £1.3 million from funders.