Feedback from i2c2 and a quick reflection

At the very end of i2c2, I asked "What was the best thing about i2c2" and "What would you change about it". The full feedback follows at the end of this post, but I thought I'd pull a few bits and pieces out to reflect on here, though I'll be reflecting on it all offline properly later on!

1) "...this process has taken me down a very exciting path." Out of all the feedback, this struck a chord with me. Any event that has helped attendees change and develop, in such a positive manner, must be worth organising!
2) I'd thought I'd put together quite a light programme with lots of time built in to reflect and create within it, including lots of social time. We had long tea breaks and lunch breaks, all the sessions had time to "do" things rather than just listen, we finished fairly early on an evening and had the social events within the venue itself. The festival of dangerous (library) ideas was a big opportunity to reflect on our profession, our workplaces, and what we'd heard so far. We finished at lunchtime on the 3rd day so people without an horrendously long journey might have time for a little explore of the area. But a recurring theme in the feedback was the opposite, it said stuff like "more time to reflect  & create"; "More “break-out” time for games and conversation"; "More free time to reflect / play". I need to think much more clearly before I do something like this again about how we can explicitly label time to make the reflection / action clearer and to label sessions on a timetable in such a way that it gives permission for people to have this time out and reflection. One to ponder on for me... must be able to do this much more effectively!
3) We had a dog (Panda) come along to the conference... "Panda has loved her first conference"; Q: What was the best thing? A:"Dog!". I think all conferences from now on should have at least one dog attending. Please make this happen fellow conference organisers 🐕.


The full feedback:

Best thing about the conference

Just being out in the countryside (why aren’t there more conferences in places like this)… and having space to reflect, play, learn.

Not conventional

Great -> different venue, fun activities, CIDER. Great people.

Space to think & be creative without constraint

<3 Great conference!  <3

People (and size of group)

Theme

Chances to actively engage

Location is awesome

Friendly open group of people so feel unafraid to share idea / failures / ask for advice

ALL the creative activities

Practical skills shown by people in tiny workshops meant could talk to everybody as really intimate – felt less boundaries / less cliquey than other conferences

Plenty of time to talk and get to know the group

As it was a small event it was more intimate, easier to get to know each other, and a friendly atmosphere

In terms of content and events, I loved both keynotes – very inspirational and these are two of my very favourite librarians

Also loved the Lego play and the cider tasting.

All in all it was fab, thanks Andy!

Networking opportunities

The openness of the sessions – I don’t think any of them ended up being what the presenters expected them to be because the room was so dynamic!

Opportunity to breathe – with ideas, creativity, etc. Even the layout helped this.

I only wish I could have come for longer!

Really enjoyed the presentations I saw, very practical.

Great venue and evening activities

Thank you! Its been great to escape the office, to hear from some incredibly inspiring colleagues, and spend time with people who care about what they do! Feel inspired and had fun!

Panda has loved her first conference

What rocked? Cider, lovely people, dancing, feeling liberated and having permission (from myself) to go with the flow. New ideas to try out, new contacts to share things with. Thank you!

Awesome attendees, lots of fun tasks.

Learned things I can take back to my institution

I loved the size. I feel like I’ve really gotten to know everyone.

Its been great.

Atmosphere of creativity and acceptance.

Meeting like minded professionals

Themes of the event: Failure, trying things, experiment.

Networking with other librarians in different sectors, sharing ideas for embedding creativity in the workplace

Gods, everything!

Hearing and trying things people had done that I can take home with me

Small group & the right place

Inspiring speakers

Craft stuff

Cider and dancing

Icebreakers and networking

Dance!

Zine

The delegates. What a great bunch of interesting and supportive people.

Interesting workshops, great keynotes.

Superb leisure facilities

Well facilitated Lego activity

Where to start?!

Dog!

Amazing venue

Great low key chairing / compering

Everyone totally engaged

Spirit of acceptance & excitement

No right or wrong!

Craftiness throughout

Loved the zines and makerspaces talks especially <3

The fact that it was in one place with a relatively small group, which lead to great, natural interaction with really interesting, expert colleagues. It didn’t feel forced.

The group of people

The hotel and conference site. Services and facilities have been amazing. Staff so friendly and helpful.

All the talks and workshops have been creative, innovative, and inspiring.

What I’d change about i2c2:

Honestly can’t think of anything

More time -> longer here would give more time to reflect  & create (and see the scenery)

I’d like more discussion about how to make innovation emotionally sustainable for individual staff

Delegate list would be good

One 1 dog in L

Finding time for board games, etc

More “break-out” time for games and conversation

Really intense – could have done with some “time out” as really knackered

Not a lot of downtime or to see Scarborough. I’m not a country bumpkin so struggle with 3 days in the middle of no-where”

Venue facilities weren’t the best – Theatre on day 1 had no stuff set up an it was difficult for the presenter.

Programme ended up being quite thin and was really disappointed tbh. I’d expected more, which was a shame.

No changes to suggest I’m afraid

Better communications in the lead up and website with more info

Could there be an unconference element?

Perhaps tiny bits of scheduled downtime? I would have liked a chance to walk around the town (really, not much..)

Perhaps some time and space to do some reflective product design

No place to drink after 11pm

Tech support (HDMI lead, wifi)

Have pin boards for sharing ideas

Didn’t have 40 minutes of daylight free to see the beach #notamorningperson

More time / time out

More people, but also aware that keeping it small was actually an important part of its being so good

Would have been nice to see more of the local area

Not a thing, this process has taken me down a very exciting path. Great work!

More free time to reflect / play

Plea: could we have a mechanism for checking in with each other to see how its going / project???

Make it longer!

Do it in more places around the country

Make managers come!

Have more dogs!

A bit more communication prior to the conference (I think mine went to our travel office because of the booking)

The festival of dangerous ideas was maybe a bit long.

More info in advance, some unstructured time, maybe an extra day: You have so much to ask and share it would be great to have more opps to walk, play, and chat to each other!