Plan C Live: What We Do Now? Learning from El Paso-Juárez

Join Dale Dougherty of Make: Community and Dorothy Jones-Davis of Nation of Makers as we talk with our panelists not only about how the pandemic has evolved in the El Paso-Juárez region, but also how these organizations are working to change the way people think and address crisis collectively. What do we do next? How we can harness the energy, ingenuity, and skills of makers to improve safety and medical outcomes in what comes next?

PLan C Live: Karina Popovich and the Makers For Covid-19 Coalition

A coalition of individual hobbyists and 3D-printer owners all around the United States and the world, Makers for COVID-19 is producing PPE for hospitals and health care workers. To date, the coalition has 3D-printed and donated 82,000 units of PPE to medical workers in 30 States and across 8 countries. The founder of Makers for COVID-19 is Karina Popovich, an undergraduate student at Cornell University’s Dyson School of Business pursuing a career at the intersection of entrepreneurship, technology, and social impact. After school closed in the spring, Karina went back home to Brooklyn with three 3D printers and began collaborating with other makers. Karina joins Plan C Live along with several high school and college students who serve as Ambassadors in Makers for COVID-19.

Plan C Live: Stories from Covid-19

Six months into our coverage of the maker response to COVID-19, we have seen many people and organizations demonstrate their ingenuity, determination, and generosity. This week on Plan C Live, we will have several stories that speak to the power of our shared values and collective action. Join Dale Dougherty of Make: Community and Dorothy Jones-Davis of Nation of Makers to hear from our guests: Ian Charnas, Shigeru Kabayashi, and student makers Eitan and Justyn from New York.

Plan C Live: How Can We Mobilize Government Support For The Maker Response To Crises Like COVID-19?

Prototypers and makers stood up as first responders when the global medical supply chain broke this year as a result of COVID-19. Designers created and shared open source designs for critical medical supplies and devices (see the OSMS Project Library or the NIH 3D Print Exchange), and makerspaces, community groups, and local manufacturers developed robust production lines that fabricated millions of PPE and medical supplies when we needed it most. This kind of global collaboration and widely distributed localized production is something new to governments and their agencies. This Plan C episode is a discussion meant to stimulate ideas and approaches on how things could work better in the next emergency.

Plan C Live: Developing an Open Source Ecosystem for Medical Hardware

Just as the immune system learns how to fight threats that it has encountered, humanity must take stock of what we have been taught by the pandemic and learn how to better prepare for the future of COVID-19 and other crises. Join Dale Dougherty of Make: Community, to speak with innovators about the open source ventilator project and the possibilities of creating an open source ecosystem for medical hardware.

Plan C Live: From Invention to Innovation: Maker Incubators During Covid-19

COVID-19 represents a challenge, as well as an opportunity, for what incubators do and how they work with makers. Just as makerspaces became the hubs for the rapid response to COVID-19 through PPE production, how might maker incubators foster the kind of cooperative environment for innovations that involve more people and benefit local and regional economies? It has also demonstrated the power of sharing designs globally, one that can become adopted widely. It has shown the power of open source invention when people work together collectively. This is another point that Ridley makes in his book — innovation is best understood as a collaborative effort. In his chapter, Innovation Essentials, he cites these features of how innovation works.

Plan C Live: Rebuilding the Economy from the Bottom Up

Two significant economic indicators currently point in opposite directions: Unemployment is at a record high and so is the stock market. While this dichotomy reflects certain changes in traditional economic models, what does it say about the way COVID-19 has affected life in our communities? Or, what will be needed for individuals, communities, and businesses to recover from this crisis, given the changing nature of work? Can we rebuild the global system so that it supports local economies and what opportunities does this crisis offer to rebuild better from the ground up? Makers have a role in reshaping the economy through local production, workforce development, and small business: Together we can plant the seeds for a more participatory economy that benefits more people.

Montana Mask

In Billings, Montana, the Montana Mask, a 3D printed respiratory mask, was developed by a physician, Dr. Dusty Richardson, along with Dr. Spencer Zaugg, a dentist, and his son, Colton, who really knows 3D printing. But that’s only part of the story. Corie Hawks and DeEtte Chatterton are two communications professionals and wives of service members who were looking to help respond to COVID-19, and decided to jump in and help spread the word about the Montana Mask. James Turner from Derry, New Hampshire began 3D printing the mask at his home for facilities in his town and he stepped up to help coordinate regional organizing efforts across the US.

Maker Activation in Atlanta

Plan C: with Dr. Neil Gershenfeld and Sherry Lassiter

Dr. Neil Gershenfeld of MIT Center for Bit and Atoms Sherry Lassiter, Executive Director of the Fab Foundation In his 2005 book, Fab, Dr. Neil Gershenfeld predicted a shift from personal computing to personal fabrication and how manufacturing could be decentralized through networks. The Fab Lab Network is an experiment in bringing Gershenfeld's vision a reality. Today, with the criisis of COVID-19, fab labs and makerspaces around the world are sharing designs that can be replicated in each community because the tools for digital fabrication are widely distributed. We want to hear what Neil thinks of seeing his vision plays such a powerful role in shape the civic response to COVID-19 but quite possibly providing the basis for a broad recovery.

Panelists in this video: Dr. Neil Gershenfeld of MIT Center for Bit and Atoms Sherry Lassiter, Executive Director of the Fab Foundation Zach Fredin has been working on rapid-prototyping responses Camron Blackburn has been working on lab measurements of rapid-prototyping responses Tim Butterworth - Artisans Asylum Megan J. Smith has been working on the civic response Danny Beesley - College of Alameda Fab Lab

The Civic Response In Spain

Join Dale Dougherty, founder of Make: Magazine and Maker Faire, and Karim Asry, co-founder of Espacio Open and co-producer of Maker Faire Bilbao. They’ll be talking with some of the central activators, innovators, and organizers of the open source and maker response across Spain to produce supplies and meet the ongoing needs for medical and essential workers and the public.

Panel of Guests: Maria Almazán – Engineer and expert on sustainability and fashion, coordinator of the textile node in Coronavirus Makers (Galicia) David Cuartielles – Co-founder of Arduino, professor at Malmo University, played a key role in the movement’s rising (Sweden) Miguel Ángel Fernández – Physicist in Colloids and Interfaces, researcher at University of Barcelona, coordinating R+D on FPP3 respirators for ICU (Catalonia) Javier Fernandez – maker, member of Makespace Madrid, working con DIY electrovalves and software for open source ventilators (Madrid) Cesar Garcia Sáez – Co-founder Makespace Madrid, Maker faire Madrid producer and early community catalyst (Madrid) Rosa Leon – 3d printing expert and entrepreneur, national coordinator of the Coronavirus Makers volunteers network (Murcia) Delia Millán and Mickael Pitarresi – Managers in Fab Lab in Cuenca, coordinators of local efforts with institutions, makers and companies (Castilla La Mancha)

Organizing The Maker Response To A Global Pandemic

Join Dorothy Jones-Davis of The Nation of Makers and Dale Dougherty of Make: Community for an open conversation about what makers are doing in response to the COVID-19 crisis. Dale has called it Plan C, a bottoms-up civic response of self-organizing groups that is taking advantage of the tools and networks that have developed around makerspaces in the US and the world. Dorothy Jones-Davis will talk about sustainable pathways that allow makers to continue producing supplies and meeting the ongoing needs of these organizations. Some of our guests today include: Jad’an Johnson and Sabrina Merlo of the Open Source Medical Supplies (OSMS) group. Ian and Candy Cole, Maker Faire Orlando producers who are mobilizing for local response. Jay Margulas of DePaul University in Chicago to talk about the Illinois maker response.

Tracking and Ranking Open Source Ventilator Projects

Robert Read, Geoff Mulligan, Lauria Clarke, Juan E. Villacres Perez, and Avinash Baskaran discuss the state of open source ventilator options, and propose a modular system to allow for more effective community support in addressing ventilator shortages. A discussion with Make: founder Dale Dougherty and executive editor Mike Senese.

Maker Response To Covid-19 In Germany

PLAN C LIVE is an online conversation about the civic response to COVID-19. In this episode, join Dale Dougherty, founder of Make: Magazine and Maker Faire and Andreas Kopp, founder of Erfindergarden in Munich to talk with some of the central activators, innovators, and organizers of the open source and maker response to COVID-19 in Germany.

Plan C LIVE: “Do Something” Bay Area’s Something Labs

In this episode: Meet Sam, Matt, Eda and others from Something Labs, a ​distributed volunteer coalition ​based in the Bay Area ​​​that protects frontline medical workers by quickly innovating and bridging gaps between supply chains and medical systems. ​Their motto is: “​After all, we all have to do something.​” They are working to produce face shields, intubation enclosures, ventilator components, impermeable gowns and Powered Air-Purifying Respirator units (PAPRs). They are not just doing something — they’re doing it all!

Plan C LIVE: UV-C Light Boxes and Decontamination Solutions

On this episode: Decontamination is its own practice — the removal of pathogens from rooms, equipment and PPE. Effective decontamination also allows for re-use of PPE such as masks. There are various methods used in decontamination, many of them requiring expensive equipment. Using UV-C lights is one method and we’ll discuss with makers some of the low-cost solutions they have built as well as other methods.

The Asylum Saves Us

Artisans Asylum is a makerspace in Somerville, Massachusetts. In response to Covid-19, they have mobilized to make face shields, face masks and gowns, becoming a factory that can design not only products but the tooling to make them. As part of ongoing coverage of Plan C, the Civic Response to Covid-19, Dale Dougherty of Make Magazine is joined in conversation with: Lars Torres, Executive Director of Artisans’ Asylum Sarah Miller, industrial designer who has organized the design and production of gowns Tim Butterworth, maker who developed a set of 3D tools for pleating materials for face masks.

Fix It Yourself – Repair in a Pandemic

This episode of Plan C Live program looks at how more people are fixing things themselves or with help from others. The pandemic (and accompanying recession) has increased the need to be able to repair household items and replace components or upgrade devices. The Internet, of course, has a wealth of how-to information on how to make repairs but that doesn’t mean people think it is worth their time and trouble. But consumer behavior may be changing. We’ll be talking with some people who are helping make that change happen. Join Dale Dougherty of Make: Community to talk with Peter Mui of Fixit Clinic, Kyle Weins of iFixIt and repair.org, and Elise and Adam Spontarelli who run a virtual repair cafe through Vector Space in Lynchburg, VA.

Maker Response to Covid-19 in France

Join Mike Senese, executive editor of Make: Magazine and Alexandre Rousselet, coordinator of regional FabLabs across France, to talk with some of the central activators, innovators, and organizers of the open source and maker response to COVID-19 in France.

PLAN C LIVE: GetUsPPE and FindTheMask

This week’s Plan C Live program features several organizers of sites that provide connections between those in need of PPE and those who can produce it. Dr. Megan Ranney and Dr. Shuhan He are practicing emergency room physicians who helped to start GetUsPPE.org. Albert Wong is the CTO of FindtheMasks.com and Linda Yang joined this volunteer effort to help internationalize the service as well as launch a parallel site, findthemakers.com. Join co-hosts Dorothy Jones-Davis of Nation of Makers and Dale Dougherty of Make: Community.

PLAN C LIVE: The PRINTtoPROTECT Coalition of California’s Central Valley

This week’s Plan C Live program features PRINTtoPROTECT, a grassroots effort of local makers working with community partners across California’s Central Valley to make Personal Protective Equipments (PPE) that meets the needs of frontline workers. We are working closely with the Central Valley PPE Drive — a collaboration of labor groups and bipartisan legislators — to make sure PPE goes where it is most needed.

Re-Opening Makerspaces in Libraries

As the process of re-opening offices and stores in local communities continues, libraries and library makerspaces are beginning to re-open as well. Join host Dorothy Jones-Davis of Nation of Makers and Dale Dougherty of Make: Community for this week’s Plan C Live program, which looks at the challenges and strategies for libraries in reopening their makerspaces to the public. We hear from libraries around the US on what the last 90 days have looked like for their institutions, what their plans for the summer look like, and the role these public institutions play and will continue to play as public resources that serve diverse multi-age communities.

The Keys To Re-Opening Makerspaces

Join host Dorothy Jones-Davis of Nation of Makers and Mike Senese of Make: magazine along with the following panelists. As the process of re-opening offices and stores in local communities, makerspaces are beginning to re-open as well. This week’s Plan C Live program looks at the challenges and strategies for re-opening community makerspaces to members and the public. Certainly, new safety protocols are needed but is it also time to reconsider how and what a makerspace is?

Plan C Live: The Keys To Re-Opening Makerspaces

As the process of re-opening offices and stores in local communities, makerspaces are beginning to re-open as well. This week’s Plan C Live program looks at the challenges and strategies for re-opening community makerspaces to members and the public. Certainly, new safety protocols are needed but is it also time to reconsider how and what a makerspace is?

Rapid Development Vaccine Collaborative (RadVac)

This week on Plan C Live, hosts Dale Dougherty of Make: Community and Dorothy Jones-Davis of Nation of Makers will be talking to members of the team involved in the Rapid Deployment Vaccine Collaborative, or RadVac, who have developed and self administered the DIY vaccine.

Educational Kits

Kits enable making. They are especially good for beginners and young makers. They are also a convenience for parents who want to encourage children to start making but don’t have time to track down tools and supplies. The number of kits and the different types of kits by and for makers have grown from only a few to maybe thousands. There are kits for robotics, coding, electronics, wearables, and kits with tech that bring the world alive. With kids and teens learning from home, kits can be an important supplement to the education provided by schools. In this conversation, we’ll be talking about the educational value and uses of kits, and our panelists are developers of kits.

K-12 Maker Educators

As the process of reopening public life and the economy ebbs and flows in local communities, K-12 schools are planning how and when to reopen their campuses — including, their makerspaces and maker education programs. This week’s Plan C Live program looks at the challenges schools and their educators face and their strategies for re-opening their schools and school makerspaces to faculty and students.

Informal Learning

COVID-19 has shut down many organizations that provide community-based "informal" learning. Museums, science centers as well as Boys and Girls Clubs have been closed and staff furloughed in many cases. In this week’s Plan C Live program we talk to individuals who work in these organizations and how they are coping with the shutdown and how they might be able to re-open and serve their communities in the coming months. We look at how the shutdown of museums and science centers impacted our communities and limited important informal learning opportunities and discuss what might be possible to do in the coming months.

PLAN C LIVE: Educational Kits

Kits enable making. They are especially good for beginners and young makers. They are also a convenience for parents who want to encourage children to start making but don’t have time to track down tools and supplies. The number of kits and the different types of kits by and for makers have grown from only a few to maybe thousands. There are kits for robotics, coding, electronics, wearables, and kits with tech that bring the world alive. With kids and teens learning from home, kits can be an important supplement to the education provided by schools. In this conversation, we’ll be talking about the educational value and uses of kits, and our panelists are developers of kits.

Re-Opening University Makerspaces

As the process of re-opening offices and stores in local communities continues, universities, like schools, are planning how and when to reopen their campuses — including, their makerspaces. This week’s Plan C Live program looks at the challenges university makerspaces face and their strategies for re-opening their makerspaces to faculty, students, and the public.

Maker Response To Covid-19 In The UK

Join Dale Dougherty of Make: Community and Valeria Dammicco and Lucia Corsini, researchers at Institute for Manufacturing (IfM) at Cambridge University to talk with some of the central activators, innovators, and organizers of the open source and maker response to COVID-19 in the UK and, as the pandemic evolves, discuss the future of these newly formed distributed manufacturing networks: What will come next? What do we still need to do and which gaps are to be still addressed in order to make these networks efficient for the near future?

Impacts of COVID-19 in Northwest Louisiana

The pandemic has affected all aspects of American life, disrupting everything from casual encounters to the entire education system. Yet, these shifts are not uniform and have varied across regions and at the community level within cities based on preexisting demographic and economic conditions, among other indicators. Located along the Red River in Northwest Louisiana, the twin cities of Shreveport and Bossier provide a look into the personal, societal, and political impact of COVID-19 on the Deep South. Join hosts Dorothy Jones-Davis of Nation of Makers and Dale Dougherty of Make: Community to talk with makers and community organizers from the Shreveport-Bossier area about how their city and region have responded to the pandemic and how they are continuing to support the diverse communities that reside there as school restarts and the economy is reshaped.

Building Resilient Communities

A resilient community can use available resources to respond to, withstand, and recover from adverse situations. A fast and flexible civic response to COVID-19 has demonstrated the need for communities to self-organize and connect people in groups to solve problems together. In this discussion, we look back at the COVID-19 response and ask what have we learned from organizing these efforts and how might we respond to problems in the future. What can government and industry learn from this bottom-up, widely distributed response?