Value Creation and Socioeconomic Inclusion in South African Maker Communities
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.23962/ajic.i29.14245Abstract
In socioeconomic environments affected by high and persistent income inequalities and unemployment, there is a need for participative approaches to innovation in support of socioeconomic inclusion. This article explores the features of collective action, in support of socioeconomic inclusion, identified in South African maker communities. Drawing on data from interviews with participants in seven maker communities, the study explores the kinds of value that participants experience through being part of these communities. Value creation is assessed in terms of the five overlapping cycles of value that Wenger et al. (2011) propose are present in successful communities and networks: immediate value, potential value, applied value, realised value, and reframing value. The study finds that all five value cycles are present in the experiences expressed by the South African maker community participants. The value is found to be particularly pronounced in the immediate value and applied value cycles. In respect of socioeconomic inclusion, the findings point to strong currents of social inclusion in the immediate value cycle, and strong elements of both social and economic inclusion in the applied value, realised value, and reframing value cycles.
References
Anderson, C. (2012). Makers: The new industrial revolution. McClelland & Stewart.
Armstrong, C., De Beer, J., Kraemer-Mbula, E., & Ellis, M. (2018). Institutionalisation and informal innovation in South African maker communities. Journal of Peer Production (JoPP), 12, 14–42. http://bit.ly/InstitutionalisationInformalInnovation
Au, K. H. (2002). Communities of practice: Engagement, imagination, and alignment in research on teacher education. Journal of Teacher Education, 53(3), 222–227. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022487102053003005
Barma, S., Romero, M., & Deslandes, R. (2017). Implementing maker spaces to promote cross-generational sharing and learning. In M. Romero, K. Sawchuk, J. Blat, S. Sayago, S., & H. Ouellet (Eds.), Game-based learning across the lifespan: Cross-generational and age-oriented topics (pp. 65–78). Springer International. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-41797-4_5
De Beer, J., Armstrong, C., Ellis, M., & Kraemer-Mbula, E. (2017). A scan of South Africa’s maker movement. Open AIR Working Paper No. 9. Open African Innovation Research (Open AIR). https://openair.africa/a-scan-of-south-africas-maker-movement
Dougherty, D. (2012). The maker movement. Innovations, 7(3), 11–14. https://doi.org/10.1162/inov_a_00135
Ekekwe, N. (2015, May 29). Africa’s maker movement offers opportunity for growth. Harvard Business Review.
ElHoussamy, N., & Rizk, N. (2020). Innovation practices at makerspaces in Egypt, Tunisia and Morocco. The African Journal of Information and Communication (AJIC), 26, 1–25. https://doi.org/10.23962/10539/30357
Fourie, I., & Anika, M. (2015). What to make of makerspaces: Tools and DIY only or is there an interconnected information resources space? Library Hi Tech, 33(4), 519–525. https://doi.org/10.1108/lht-09-2015-0092
Galaleldin, M., & Anis, H. (2017). Impact of makerspaces on cultivating students’ communities of practice. In Conference Proceedings from the 2017 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, 24 June, Columbus, OH. https://doi.org/10.18260/1-2--28468
Halverson, E. R., & Sheridan, K. M. (2014). The maker movement in education. Harvard Educational Review, 84(4), 495–504. https://doi.org/10.17763/haer.84.4.34j1g68140382063
Hatch, M. (2014). The maker movement manifesto: Rules for innovation in the new world of crafters, hackers, and tinkerers. McGraw Hill.
Koliba, C., & Gajda, R. (2009). “Communities of practice” as an analytical construct: Implications for theory and practice. International Journal of Public Administration, 32(2), 97–135. https://doi.org/10.1080/01900690802385192
Kraemer-Mbula, E., & Armstrong, C. (2017). The maker movement in Gauteng Province, South Africa. Open AIR Working Paper No. 6. Open African Innovation Research (Open AIR). https://openair.africa/the-maker-movement-in-gauteng-province-south-africa
Lave, J. (1991). Situating learning in communities of practice. In L. B. Resnick, J. M. Levine, & S. D. Teasley (Eds.), Perspectives on socially shared cognition (pp. 63–82). American Psychological Association. https://doi.org/10.1037/10096-003
Lave, J., & Wenger, E. (1991). Situated learning: Legitimate peripheral participation. Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511815355
Maker Faire. (n.d.). Maker Faire: A bit of history. https://makerfaire.com/makerfairehistory
Maker Faire Africa. (2009). MFA 2009: Accra, Ghana. http://makerfaireafrica.com/about/event-archive/mfa-2009
Mboa Nkoudou, T. H. (2017). Benefits and the hidden face of the maker movement: Thoughts on its appropriation in African context | Os benefícios e a face oculta do movimento maker: Reflexões sobre sua apropriação no contexto africano. https://doi.org/10.18617/liinc.v13i1.3774
Open African Innovation Research (Open AIR). (n.d.). https://openair.africa
Peppler, K., Halverson, E., & Kafai, Y. B. (2016a). Makeology: Makerspaces as learning environments: Volume 1. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315726519
Peppler, K., Halverson, E., & Kafai, Y. B. (2016b). Makeology: Makerspaces as learning environments: Volume 2. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315726496
Schonwetter, T., & Van Wiele, B. (2020). Social entrepreneurs’ use of fab labs and 3D printing in South Africa and Kenya. The African Journal of Information and Communication (AJIC), 26, 1–24. https://doi.org/10.23962/10539/30356
Sheridan, K. M., Halverson, E. R., Litts, B. K., Brahms, L., Jacobs-Priebe, L., & Owens, T. (2014). Learning in the making: A comparative case study of three makerspaces. Harvard Educational Review, 84(4), 505–531. https://doi.org/10.17763/haer.84.4.brr34733723j648u
Statistics South Africa (Stats SA). (2021a). Mid-year population estimates 2021. https://www.statssa.gov.za/publications/P0302/P03022021.pdf
Stats SA (2021b). Subjective poverty in South Africa: Findings from General Household Survey 2019. https://www.statssa.gov.za/publications/03-10-25/03-10-252019.pdf
Wenger E. (1998). Communities of practice: Learning, meaning and identity. Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511803932
Wenger, E. (2000). Communities of practice and social learning systems. Organization, 7(2), 225–246. https://doi.org/10.1177/135050840072002
Wenger, E. (2010). Communities of practice and social learning systems: The career of a concept. In C. Blackmore (Ed.), Social learning systems and communities of practice (pp. 179–198). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-84996-133-2
Wenger, E., McDermott, R., & Snyder, W. (2002). Cultivating communities of practice: A guide to managing knowledge. Harvard University Press.
Wenger, E., Trayner, B., & De Laat, M. (2011). Promoting and assessing value creation in communities and networks: A conceptual framework. Ruud de Moor Centrum. https://wenger-trayner.com/resources/publications/evaluation-framework
World Bank. (2022). Inequality in Southern Africa: An assessment of the Southern African Customs Union.
Yoder, B. (2015, July 27). Let’s talk about the maker movement in Africa. Parisoma.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2022 Chris Armstrong, Erika Kraemer-Mbula
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
How to Cite
- Abstract 310
- PDF 156
.png){kind=spacer}