1.2 What is hosting?

Hosting events, conversations and spaces

is a relatively new concept but also a very
old human practice. The Impact Hub uses
this practice to cultivate the conditions
for collaboration, innovation, knowledge
sharing and action. The definition of the
words hospitality and host describes it more
in detail:

Hospitality: n.

1. Hospes: (Middle-Latin) a host, also

a sojourner, visitor, guest; hence, a
foreigner, a stranger Also origin for
modern words such as hospital, hostel
and even hostility.
2. Pit: (Proto-Indo-European) from potis
(power), so that hos-pit refers to the
person holding the power, representation
in a house or social group.

Host: n.

1. A person who provides hospitality.

2. An official greeter.
3. Person who welcomes you into a new
territory/space and all that is diverse to
you inside it, ensuring you understand
how it all works in that particular space
(house, office, town, city or country, or
even a social group) so that you feel at
home.
4. The host is also the one who takes
responsibility for representing the whole.
5. A moderator or master of ceremony.
6. A person or organization responsible for
running an event.

Hospitality was a cultural practice

worldwide and it wasnt until the year 500
AD that in Europe special houses were
created and people assigned for the poor,

ill and foreigners to deal with their needs.

For more information about this topic,
read Ivan Illichs work, especially Tools for
Conviviality.
Today, hospitality jobs can be seen at most
hotel front desks, or hospitals. However, in
most cases, the name is used but people
are mostly not aware or connected to the
root and real meaning of hospitality and
hosting. The Impact Hub is closer to its
original meaning in the way hospitality is
experienced, when visiting new places, and
it can be touching when performed with
authenticity.

1.3 Why do we use the

term hosting in the
Impact Hub network?
The Impact Hubs are curators of the
physical, virtual and social spaces where
change makers ideate, collaborate and
cultivate practices and businesses for
positive impact. The spaces help materialize
this impact by offering a unique mix of
infrastructure, connections, education,
incubation and inspiration. The Impact Hub
plays an active role in working with people
who want to move their ideas from intent to
action and impact. These people have ideas
that bring meaningful solutions to social,
economic and ecological challenges.
Since the beginning of the Impact Hub, it
was possible to see the power of having
spaces and communities being truly hosted
by people with the right qualities to ensure
members get the most out of the potential
and opportunities inside the network. The
meaning of hospitality has therefore been
reclaimed in the context of the Impact Hub.
As a global organization made of local
networks, each of them rooted in a physical
space, the Impact Hub relies on a key
figure to unleash the potential contained
in the ideas, projects, connections and
resources it attracts both globally and
locally. A host cultivates the conditions for
collaboration. Hosts set the culture in a
Impact Hub, ensuring intangible things like
the atmosphere, spirit and code of conduct
are ones that contribute to members
realizing their ideas for their communities
and society.

They also create interventions such as

connections, events and programs to
inspire, support and empower members
from the most unstructured and
serendipitous to the most structured as
education or incubation programs.
To really understand what hosting a Impact
Hub is all about, it is key to revisit its
purpose and intent. Keeping this in mind,
hosting can be understood within this
specific context and aim.

At the center of the Impact Hub

Experience, hosts are in charge
of facilitating the three pillars
(space, content and community),
co-creating it, delivering it and also
encouraging self-hosting by the
members of the community.

inspiring
SPACE

HUB
EXPERIENCE

(all elements are connected by the

HUB HOSTING PRACTICE)

vibrant
COMMUNITY

We see a future where

people take collaborative
action for a better world.

We contribute to our vision by...

creating spaces that inspire, connect
and empower people to realize
enterprising ideas for sustainable
impact.

meaningful
CONTENT

/ The magic of the Hub is

where these three
elements connect.
/ You work in a nurturing
physical space, equipped
with the tools you need, so
you can focus on what
matters.
/ You connect locally and
globally with diverse
individuals that share your
intention to make a
difference.

Trust

Collaboration
Courage

ead
el

our path by stayin

g tr
ue t
o ou
rc
ore

Trust
We trust each other to do
what we say we do. We
may have different
approaches but share an
underlying positive
intention and set of values.
Collaboration
We hold collaboration at
the core of solving the
issues of our time. We
welcome diversity and
partner with like minded
organisations to make a
meaningful difference.
Courage
We have the courage to
walk the path less travelled.
We honour the past and
pioneer new solutions.

/ From everyday
interactions to eye opening
events, you get the
inspiration and knowledge
needed to take your idea to
action and impact.

1.4 How to create

value and the member
experience at the
Impact Hub?
The way a Impact Hub and its hosts create
value is where the following elements
connect: a vibrant Community, meaningful
Content and an inspiring Space. Members
work in a nurturing physical space,
equipped with the tools they need, so they
can focus on what matters.
When a member approaches a host with a
specific need or question for their project,
hosts do not necessarily have to provide
the answers directly, but guide them
through the channels and connections
that they require, enabling them instead of
doing things for them. This is done both,
in a serendipitous or in a more structured
way; that is why it is called engineered
serendipity.
By creating the appropriate environment
in the form of physical and virtual
infrastructure, along with education and
incubation, people with projects for the
world are enabled to create more impact.
There are three elements that hosts need to
cultivate:
Intro

Sp The Space. Often called the ordinary,

it includes the physical and virtual
infrastructure that supports collaboration.
From the most tangible things such as a
printer, internet and tables, to the most
intangible such as virtual channels and
processes for members to participate,
interact, engage and create value for
themselves and with each other.

ch 3
ch 1.3

ch 1.2

In this environment, hosts are

the facilitators of the experience
members will have, and are the
link/interface between the platform
and its users.

Ho The Content. Often called the

extraordinary, these are interventions;
BD actions to inspire, connect and support
members in the form of programming,
events, education and incubation. The food
for the projects and ideas are provided
through talks and workshops either
produced by the Impact Hub, co-produced
with members/partners, or members taking
the initiative to produce them themselves
with the hosts guidance.

Having this model in mind, many hosts

find it useful to understand what the
Ordinary and Extraordinary aspects
inside these components are. Beyond its
great vision, some people join a Impact
Hub because of its core tangible and rather
Ordinary space offering. However, once
they are in, they experience something they
havent signed a contract for; meaningful
conversations, connections, higher-level
knowledge sharing, peer support and
collaboration opportunities. We call this the
Extraordinary.

At The Community. An interdisciplinary,

trusted and vibrant community of talented
people with projects and ideas for
sustainable impact. People working for the
world, who not only care about economic,
but also environmental, social and cultural
returns.
The Impact Hub can be seen as an
Experience Environment, which allows
individual customers to actively coconstruct their own experiences through
personalized interaction, thereby cocreating unique value for themselves.
Members and their interactions define
both the experience and the value derived
from it. The Impact Hub provides and
hosts a framework that members can use
for themselves in different ways. This is
possible through setting clear expectations
and presenting it like LEGO pieces so that
people can choose and build, creating their
unique experience and value to develop
their own projects, while collaborating with
others.
For further reading see C.K. Prahalad and
Venkatram Ramaswamy, The New Frontier
of Experience Innovation, MIT Sloan
Management Review, 2003.

Hosts cant control or guarantee this

Extraordinary experience for each
member, but should actively seek to enable
more of it. This means, for example, that
members can join the Impact Hub and pay
for a workspace, a service or an event but
should actually get an exciting workspace,
challenging programs, vibrant community,
relevant tools, global learning and business
opportunities, that are part of the addedvalue offering.
ch 1
ch 2.2

One of the learnings as a network has

been that when Impact Hubs focus on
Sp the Extraordinary and undermine the
Ordinary (for example letting the quality
of the internet or the printing go down),
they face a big risk of talented members
leaving. The Ordinary needs to

MO

be solid and reliable in order for

the Extraordinary to work to the
maximum potential. If the basic

experience is bad (if its too cold or the

chairs are uncomfortable), despite sharing
the Impact Hub big vision, you will lose
valuable members.

The following quotes relate to

the Impact Hub experience as
described by Impact Hub Islington
members, in 2009.

rio us
Fun yet Deadly Se
ys work with
when I enjoy a da

Its FUN
when
DEADLY SERIOUS
friends aro und,
writing
am
/
al
de
a
se
I am about to clo
tion.
a fund ing applica
vantage is about
ad
er
oth
e
Th
le who are very
being aro und peop
d
work and motivate
ir
serious about the
.
ve
cti
du
use its pro
by their work beca
get that in other
y
sil
ea
nt
Yo u co uld
offices.

Nurturing yet Challenging

Its NURTURING when I get peer and

professional support, yet CHALLENGING
when people ask me difficult questions.
Its the knowle dge exchange
thats really valuable about the Impact
Hub, the informal communication that
happens when somebo dy says you need
to look at that book, you need to look
at this.

Homely yet Eye-Opening

Its HOMELY when I feel wel

comed and
safe, yet EYE-OPENING whe
n I meet
diverse people I wouldnt
otherwise
meet.
There is something upliftin
g
abo ut being in a place whe
re people are
com mitted to similar thin
gs, because it
gives me license to think
and expand
my thinking.

yday
WOW yet Ever
le do ing
meet new peop
I
when
Its WOW
d yet
ever y day an
amazing work
t my stuff
ge
d
an
in
co me
EVERY DAY I
done to o.
open
Hub facilitates
The Impact
rkwo
ry
ve
a
t its also
discussion bu
od
go
a
so it provides
le
applie d space
op
pe
on
of influences
co mbination
me in.
when they co

physical and virtual

infrastructure
that enables
collaboration

COMPONENTS OF
THE IMPACT HUB VALUE CREATION
AS AN EXPERIENCE ENVIRONMENT

interdisciplinary
community of
talented and trusted
people with diverse
backgrounds with
projects for
the world

inspiring
SPACE

HUB
EXPERIENCE

(all elements are connected by the

HUB HOSTING PRACTICE)

vibrant
COMMUNITY

meaningful
CONTENT

actions to inspire,
conect and support
ideas and projects

1.5 What is the Impact

Hubs Theory of
Change?
In the same way that an ecosystem is about
the interaction of living things with their
environment, the Impact Hub is about the
potential of inspiring places where new
connections, relationships and initiatives
can start, evolve, and thrive. If the Impact
Hubs intent is to create spaces that
inspire, connect and empower people to
realize enterprising ideas for sustainable
impact, then hosting is about enabling the
conditions for this to happen.

The Impact Hub has borrowed

Margaret Wheatleys pattern on
paradigm shift and societal change
(see the double loop illustration)
to guide us into what is needed
to inspire and support people to
be part of innovative sustainable
practices
that are being created, while hosting
those still engaged with jobs and
mindsets that are no longer viable
for a progressive and sustainable
society.
A big proportion of Impact Hub members
globally are pioneering new practices,
services and products. However, some are
still part of the dying paradigm, and many
others are transitioning in between both.
The real diversity of members has proven
to be very rich when it comes to new talent
made available to society while it ensures
that these innovative ideas and projects find

enough challenges and grounding when

being designed and tested inside a diverse
Impact Hub community.
Watch Tatiana Glad (Impact Hub Amsterdam
co-founder) explain it in this video from
Brussels Hosts Gathering in 2010.
Double-loop showing how the new paradigm
emerges from within the old one, as well
as the role played by the Impact Hub
in supporting new emerging practices.
(Wheatley, 1992).
Watch the video from Berkana Institute.
Still drawing from the work of Margaret
Wheatley and Deborah Frieze in their article
Using Emergence, each Impact Hub
can be seen as a local node for catalyzing
change, each of them hosting people into
the new ways of doing things in their areas
of practice. The local change patterns that
are aggregated and made visible by each
local Impact Hub then get mirrored across
cities and continents thanks to the interImpact Hub relationships and the translocal network of members.

1.6 What is Hosting as

a Leadership Practice?
Hosting is a valued leadership style
in the Impact Hub Network. This goes
beyond the role of the host and is
based on relationships, in the authentic
participation of all stakeholders involved.
The interventions of a host respond more
to legislative power (based on a prior
understanding of a groups needs and
desires) than with executive power (based
on their own idea of what is needed).
ch 3
ch 2

It is key to differentiate hosting as a

leadership style, which is practiced by the
Ho whole Impact Hub team, from the role
of the host at the Impact Hub. The whole
core team hosts, while Impact Hub hosts
are those in the team who are in charge of
community and space. Hosting is a practice,
an attitude and a named functional position.

MO

This leadership style determines the way

new services and projects dedicated to
support members projects are created, as
well as the way we do business in general.
Hosts create more value by co-creating
services and programs together with or
based on members needs rather than
creating a program based on only their own
ideas or a manual.
KEY LEARNING
Best practice here is surveying the
membership; asking them how they are
doing, what they are struggling with and
want at regular intervals. In this way
you ensure their needs feed into your
strategy.

Supporting whats coming from the bottom

up requires this leadership style. For
example, if hosts hear from 5 different
members in a week that they are concerned
about new fundraising regulations, the
perfect intervention would be organizing
a talk or discussion about this, instead of
prioritizing a workshop on social media that
was in the agenda for that week.

This leadership practice puts you

in service of the collective you are
working for, instead of predicting
what is needed or wanted based
on your own judgment or power.
This can be explored further by learning
about the zapatistas principle: mandar
obedeciendo (lead by obeying). This
leadership practice requires an ability to
read what people want, be in sync with
what the collective is experiencing, surfacing
the unspoken and navigating conflict.

1.7 Hosting explained

by Hosts

s
so meone who
Hosts are like
y. The
rt
pa
r
od d inne
throw ing a go
d welto be war m an
ho use need s
in
in g table
space), the d
co ming (the
infrahe
(t
appealing
well set and
lected,
se
l
el
w
e gues ts
structure), th
but
value system
w ith a shared
go ing
g
ep the evenin
d iverse to ke
y and
st
ta
), the fo od
(the members
ntent).
co
l
fu
ng
meani
delicious (the
st goes
inner party ho
But a go od d
ability
e
he/she has th
ld
even further:
ou
sh
ts
two gues
to sense which
so
r,
he
ot
ch
to ea
,
be seated next
a conversation
ke
ri
st
ey
derthat th
on
w
rs co mpany
ths
find each othe
on
m
w
fe
enough a
re
su
d
an
l,
fu
uple
they are a co
down the line
.
n)
io
at
llabor
(enabling co

Returning to everyday life at the Impact

Hub, hosts acknowledge that it is not always
easy to explain what their role is about or
to even connect to the original meaning
of hosting! Even if a growing number of
people understand the role of hosts and
facilitators, many members and their
partners, colleagues and clients still see
hosts as receptionists or office managers.
It is important to take joy in explaining and
showing what this role is actually about.
A best practice here would be to have
a description on the wall so people are
reminded of it.
Metaphors are useful here, and hosts share
the ones they use the most:

ht
kind of lig
n
Hosts are a
o
ti
ta
ing orien
een
ho use, g iv
tw
be
s
e
g
g brid
that
s
and build in
n
organizatio
ade
m
people and
ve
inarily ha
rd
o
t
n
ld
u
wo
on.
a connecti

We sometimes use the

metap hor of the Salon.
A salon is a gathering of
people under the roof of
an inspiring hos t, held par
tly
to amuse one another and
partly to refine tas te and
increase their knowle dge
of the participants throug
h
conversation.

...a curator, a
mom, a friend, a
cook, a mentor,
a concierge, a
challenger, a
manager...all
simultaneously.

is like
Impact Hub
Hosting a
party really great
hosting a
co me
el
w
ople feel
pe
g
in
ak
m
em
, helping th
and at ease
r time
ei
th
f
o
t
u
o
em to
get the best
th
g
intro ducin
now.
there and
k
ld
u
o
they sh
people who

1.8 Methodologies
that inform the
hosting practice
Impact Hub Hosting, as a young practice,
borrows wisdom from several other
methodologies brought in by hosts
themselves. These are some of the theories
and methodologies that are used and
recommended by hosts across the globe:
Art of Hosting. A global community of
practitioners using integrated participative
change processes, methods, maps, and
planning tools to engage groups and teams
in meaningful conversation, deliberate
collaboration, and group-supported action
for the common good.

ch 5

Hosting conversations online. Rheingold is

one of the first ones to talk about hosting.
This site provides the basics on what
Ho
hosting an online community is about;
purpose, qualities of a good conversation,
role and behaviour of the online host.
Getting things done. The Getting Things
Done method rests on the idea that a person
needs to move tasks out of the mind by
recording them externally. That way, the
mind is freed from the job of remembering
everything that needs to be done, and can
concentrate on actually performing those
tasks.
Theory U. Leading from the future as
it emerges. The social technology of
presencing. Its a theory of learning and
change management, targeting leadership
as a process of inner knowing and social
innovation developed by Otto Scharmer, MIT.

Holacracy. A comprehensive practice for

structuring, governing, and running an
organization. It is a new operating system
that facilitates rapid evolution in light
of emerging reality by harnessing selforganization in a fractal structure. They
have a monthly free seminar and videos also
on integrative-decision-making processes.
Deep Democracy. In 1988, Arnold Mindell
coined the term Deep Democracy to
describe the principle behind a community
building process that hears all voices and
roles, including our collective experiences
of altered states, and subtle feelings and
tendencies. It is a principle that makes
space for the speakable, the barely
speakable and the unspeakable. Unlike
classical democracy, which focuses on
majority rule, Deep Democracy suggests
that all voices, states of awareness, and
frameworks of reality are important.
Other theories, frameworks and practices
recommended by hosts include:
> Community Mapping through
FutureSearch
> Backcasting
> Business Model Generation
> Integral Thinking
> Action Research
> Co-Creation
> Spiral Dynamics Integral
> Graphic Facilitation
> Event Management
> Design Thinking

Methodologies listed here have a lot to

offer to the development of the Community
Hosting practice. Hosting as a community
of practice is always a learning-inpractice. Navigate their websites to find
training opportunities and gatherings of
practitioners!

The Members Experience from A to Z by

Marta Lasen

1.9 Tools
Deborah Frieze and Margaret Wheatley,
From Hero to Host. A story of citizenship
in Colombus, Ohio. This article is adapted
from a chapter in Walk Out Walk On: A
Learning Journey into Communities Daring
to Live the Future Now.
Margaret Wheatley and Deborah Frieze.
Berrett-Koehler Publishers: San Francisco.
April 2011.

Powers of Place

Ivan Illichs work, especially

Tools for Conviviality

Holacracy

C.K. Prahalad and Venkatram Ramaswamy,

The New Frontier of Experience
Innovation, MIT Sloan Management Review,
Summer 2003.
Chris Corrigan, Hosting in a Hurry. Putting
the Art of Hosting into Practice.
Debora Frieze, Two Loops System Change
(Berkana Institute Theory of Change). Video
at Hosting the Web Gathering, New York,
October 2010.
Tatiana Glad, Hosting innovation (Impact
Hub Amsterdam). Video at Impact Hub
Hosts Gathering, Brussels, September
2010.
Debora Frieze and Margaret Wheatley,
Using emergence to take social innovation
to scale. The Berkana Institute, 2006.
Zapatista Seven Principles of Good
Government, Based on a speech at the
Second Encounter of the Zapatistas with
the peoples of the World 2007 and on the
National Congress of Indigenouse Peoples
statements.

Art of Hosting
Hosting conversations online
Getting things done
Theory U

Deep Democracy
Community Mapping through FutureSearch
Backcasting
Business Model Generation
Integral Thinking
Action Research
Co-Creation
Spiral Dynamics Integral
Graphic Facilitation
Event Management
Design Thinking
The Ten Commandments of Community
Hosting by Maria Glauser and Niels Roht
Community Hosting: From the Physical to
the Virtual Experience by Soledad Pons and
Tessa Van Mechelen

02

Community
Hosting
A description of hosting a Impact
Hub community, its principles and
approach, as well as the lessons
learnt in the past years. Overview
of the qualities of a good host and
the activities the role entails before
there is a space and after it is
open.
#hosting
#principles
#approach
#qualities
#lessonslearnt

2.1 Introduction
In this chapter you will find a description
of what hosting means when done within a
Impact Hub community, its principles and
approach, as well as the lessons learnt after
years of experience. It provides an overview
of the qualities of a good host and the
activities that the role entails before there is
a space and after it is open.

The magical element lies in what

I would call engineered
serendipity. The Impact Hub team
cultivates and holds a space that
brings creative people together
who cant help but spark off one
another. Having observed this
process over several months, I have
no doubt that the fluid and easy
exchange between members has
been cultivated by the design of the
Impact Hub space, and by the people
who run it.
Impact Hub Member

2.2 What is it like to

host a Impact Hub
community?
ch 1.2

At The practice of hosting is to cultivate the

conditions for collaboration, innovation,
knowledge sharing, and meaningful
conversations. The Impact Hub has
collaboration as one of its three core
values, as a condition to solving the issues
of our time.

en

n
ta

ich
in wh
n
o
i
t
ua
l sit

t
bes
r
i
e
th
press
x
e
s
r
membe

a
ide
e
th
te
ty
a
e
m un i
r
m
o
C
ec
in th
h
t
Words that
i
er w
e
community hosts
p
A
from Impact Hubs
in
around the world
t, and a sparr g partner
Catalys
used to describe their

ita
sp
o
H

role in a survey
conducted in
January 2012

Ag
atek
ee

The do

to
or

p
t
g
in
Ne nd
a
om
elc
Aw
th

Hosts set the culture and deliver the

Impact Hub Experience. A community host
is someone who is in touch with whats
happening within a group of people, in
order to stimulate the right collaboration
opportunities for members, individually and
collective. Hosts know the ins and outs of
their members projects, also making sure
that their needs are being met by creating
relevant services and programs, and an
enabling and inspiring work environment.

ag
il ty,

s
ere
t
n
ei
n
i
u

e
onc
c
d

e
cessibl
c
a
g
n
i
, and be
r others
o
f
rn

per t
o th

e potential of the
w
or
he king
lpi
f
ng acilitat
or
the
m to ; welcomi
n
c o n ne
ct an g membe
rs into
d ge
the com
er
t the
munity
m os t
so
e
ou t o
n, a
gl
f thei
conven
ob
r mem
er, co
al
bership
n
nector
ne
and com
two
passio
rk fo
nate
r the mem
bers

2.3 The Principles

to host
These are the beliefs that guide Impact Hub
community hosts in their work:
Members are at the heart of the experience
and value creation. Beyond what all the
hosting teams do and provide, members
are the very reason why the Impact
Hub exists. Its their vision, goals and
challenges the hosts work for and with.
Hosts should not do things for them, but
things with them because in involving
them they will have their commitment
and the support is ensured to be effective
as its suited to their particular needs.
User-led approaches for the design of all
activities and services for the members
should be preferred, this means to put
them at the centre of what is designed and
implemented.
Every person counts. Everyone has the
potential for doing good in the world and
taking leadership towards our shared
future. Everyone is encouraged to realize
the social innovator in them running
initiatives full-time, part-time, flexi-time.
The hosts see the potential in everyone to
use his or her skills and ideas to change
the world for the better. The focus is on
individuals, even if their whole team joins,
because to The Impact Hub each person is a
change agent, regardless of what project or
institution they are part of at any particular
time. The value seen in each relationship
makes it key to take care of each individual
member.

Members and hosts are peers. Impact

Hub Hosting Teams and members see
each other as peers. Both are constantly
initiating some and collaborating with other
peoples initiatives. It is a best practice to
focus on sharing the opportunities and
challenges in this ongoing process, as this
helps create the culture of mutual support
and ongoing development the Impact Hub
seeks to cultivate. This also reinforces
the conception of the Impact Hub as an
evolving organization with an enterprising
team and not one of a support organization
that provides space and business support
for people who are different to the staff
delivering the services.
Re-claiming hospitality. Hosts welcome
every person and set up a stimulating
culture where people can feel at home, this
means, they can be themselves and bring
the best out of them (talent, gift, potential,
skills), where they are able to perceive, pay
attention, experiment, imagine and reimagine, create and re-create, and where
they can make things happen.

Impact Hubs create a safe yet

challenging space for people
to expose themselves and their
projects, get feedback, consider
other perspectives, invite creative
tension and take risks.
Hospitality is modeled in a way that invites
members to host themselves and also
become hosts of their peers.

interactions between people; the kitchen,

fireplace, garden, desks, corners, cosy
library, even the size and shape of desks
are hosting elements that deliberately
encourage people to be creative and
collaborate with each other. Link to virtual
hosting within this CoP.

2.4 The Approach

in hosting
These are the particular ways of doing
things that hosts use to stimulate
collaborations and support members
projects by:
ch 1.3

Making unlikely connections happen.

Following Einsteins quote We cannot solve
our problems with the same thinking we
used when we created them, it is believed
that unlikely connections and relationships
have tremendous power in re-shaping the
way things are designed and done in society.

At Attracting and catalyzing talent and

opportunities. Hosts are constantly looking
for new information, new talent and new
opportunities for the collective. Knowing
their members projects well, they are
aware of whats needed in the pool in
terms of skills, resources, connections or
knowledge. Their role includes reaching out
to ensure the community has what it needs
to achieve its potential.

For too long in groups of people,

there have been divisions by legal
structures, disciplines, industries
and sectors. It is about time people
work together across these artificial
divisions to improve a shared reality.

Creating visibility of network assets.

Hosts develop a way of making visible the
skills, issues, topics, needs, offers, and the
knowledge generated in a particular Impact
Hub.

Amazing things come up from unlikely

encounters.

Hosts surface patterns, give people

the tools to see and leverage
potential and collective intelligence
(1+1=3).

Creating the conditions for peer-to-peer

collaboration. Horizontal collaboration is
not an inherent quality in any collective.
Hosts create the conditions for this to be a
quality present in each Impact Hub. They
do this by setting and maintaining the right
culture and value exchange among people,
so that collaborating is recognized and
rewarded to ensure it happens again and
again. New members are the ones that see
and sense this quality the minute they join.

Together with members they mirror,

measure and make the impact and
outcomes of work done by members
mainstream.
Nurturing physical and online
environments. This is about providing
the right environment; one of constant
inspiration, sense of possibility,
encouragement, confidence, support
and challenges. Hosting goes beyond the

ch 1.3

BD Incubating and accelerating initiatives.

Social impact is the purpose of the Impact
Hub. Besides being welcoming and creating
a fantastic work environment where people

and ideas can thrive, Impact Hubs are also

about having a positive impact in the world.
Hosting teams also have the task of creating
services and programs so initiatives with
great potential can grow strong, become
mainstream, inform policy-making and
inspire others to start their own social
initiatives. This is best done as part of
additional programs within Impact Hubs.

2.5 How is the

community hosted
everyday?
Hosts ensure that critical connections,
support and inspiration are available for
the members. Whether it is through linking
members to a valuable person within the
Impact Hubs broader network or hosting
events that bring the right expertise and mix
of people together; hosts create a unique
value for the members. As a host, it is very
satisfying to realize that, most of the time,
a great event or service is started due to a
good conversation with a member. There
are two ways to do it: directly and indirectly.
ch 4

Ho Indirect hosting. Indirect hosting refers to

the thought and work put into setting the
right atmo sphere and culture, the latter
maintained through regular activities that
bring people together. These are the non
direct connections that take place through
what is happening in the space, many
activities that are part of the programs like
Impact Hub Lunches, Business Clinics,
Impact Hub @ the Pub, etc. The Salad
Club or Sexy Salad lunch provides a good
example of what hosting can achieve;
motivating and mobilizing members to
get involved, with light steering/igniting of
conversations around the table done by a
host. The concept of engineered or planned
serendipity appears again because hosts
do it consciously by organizing a good
event, inviting specific people and creating
a safe and creative space for ideas and
conversations to arise.
Direct hosting. Direct hosting refers to
the thought and work put into just-in-time

interventions that create tangible value

for members, at a particular point in time.
They can be done through introductions,
referrals, mentoring and can take place
naturally in a conversation in the space at
any given time, or can be scheduled actively
with members in the form of interviews to
help them make the most of the community/
space. It could imply connecting young
start-up teams with potential co-founders,
investors and partners, which creates huge
value and impact for everyone involved.
To accelerate projects, hosts create
opportunities where people can meet,
one-to-one or at larger events like speednetworking and have the possibility to find
the right contacts faster. Hosts are often
rewarded by being able to see the results of
a 20-minute quality conversation they had
with a member in terms of strengthening
connections, fixing challenges and
improving insights.

new service

new event

new opportunity

new member
new contact

IT ALL STARTS WITH A GOOD CONVERSATION

2.6 What are the

qualities of a
good host?
Anyone can learn to be better at hosting
conversations, events, space or community,
or to see the value it brings to a collective.
However, some members, partners or even
team members might find it hard to relate
to this role or struggle to see beyond the
practical bits of it. Is it in the nature of a
person or can it be nurtured?
Community hosting is so key to the Impact
Hub that it becomes an essential skill to be
had in a founding team. There are particular
qualities that make Impact Hub hosts ideal
in playing their role in the network. The
following checklist was compiled based on
Impact Hub Islington members direct input,
the first Impact Hub, in 2008:
> Sees the potential in members and their
ideas
> Has exceptional people skills and is
welcoming
> Is genuinely interested in peoples
projects, success and challenges
> Is good at bridge-building, is not
judgmental
> Can relate, adapt and engage with very
diverse people
> Has a hands-on approach and a streetwise
pragmatism
> Is able to listen in
> Is ok and agile in the face of chaos and
uncertainty
> Is friendly yet firm when its needed
> Is playful
> Is ok with the servicing aspects of the role
> Enjoys hosting conversations, meetings

and events, and in making good

connections
> Is values-driven, yet also commercial
rigor
> Enjoys ongoing experimentation and
learning, is curious
> Has exceptional off-line and online
communication skills
> Has fantastic common sense
> Knows when to intervene and when to get
out of the way
Find out tips on recruiting the perfect
Host in the practice Webinar The Ten
Commandments of Community Hosting

2.7 The Job

Description for a
Community Host
ch 3

MO

The actual job description will vary across

Impact Hubs according to their needs,
teams and reality, but there are some basic
areas and components inside a Community
Host job description that are described
below. They are for reference only, as the
responsibilities of the team members in
each city will be different. It does serve
to have a more concrete idea and to think
about the focus/responsibilities of the role
and allocating time appropriately for each
task.
Attraction, Welcoming New Members and
Visitors
> Member attraction: researching and
inviting new talent in, following-up
referrals, showing interested people
around
> Member (selection and) induction:
interviewing potential members, inducting
new members
> Membership enquiries: respond to
potential members and partners interest
Community
> Being present: setting the culture, be
seen, heard, model behavior, act where
needed (dont hide behind the screen!)
> Connecting with members: monitoring
and acting on member needs, concerns
and aspirations, listening, engaging in
meaningful conversations
> Catalyzing connections between people
and initiatives
> Event Support: setting up for and
attending to member meetings and events

Designing and Hosting an Event/

Intervention
> Turning conversations with members into
a program of events with members and
also bringing relevant external events to
the Impact Hub
> Designing events that add content
and process value to social innovators
(members and others). Partnering up with
other networks and organizations to bring
key expertise and talent in
Space Care
> The overall smooth running and
maintenance of the space
> General tidying and organizing: ensuring
the space is well-stocked, organized, clean
and attractive/inspiring to think and create
> Designing new details, creating elements
of delight in the space
Online Hosting
> Virtual network management
> Maintaining internal and external
communication channels (including social
media, blog, newsletter). For example,
updating social media and microsites with
latest pictures and stories of Impact Hub
events and happenings

KEY LEARNING
ch 3

MO

Example of a job description for

a community host for Impact
Hub Madrid
What is a host?
A host is the person that cultivates
conditions for collaboration through
hosting the space. People who hold
space and dedicate their attention
constantly to the flow of people, events,
things in the space and the experiences
of the members. They set the culture
and rhythm of activites and community
meetings. They create fertile conditions
in the space and are an example to
members on how to use the space and
how to interact with each other to create
and mantain an inspiring supportive
environment. They explain how to use
channels and tools available to connect
with other people, and also connect
people themselves, with resources
available. Hosts welcome members
and visitors and they make them feel
at home. As part of the main hosting
team, they are indispensable for everyday
operations at the Impact Hub, from
helping with administration issues, to
facilitating conversations with members,
from teaching members how to make a
cup of coffee, to organizing cutting edge
events. Everyday is different at the Impact
Hub, with meaningful conversations and
diverse people. That is why we need to
have a constant Impact Hub experience
that serves as a platform for members
to develop their ideas and initiatives, and
help their organizations and companies
flourish. A host is key to deliver and cocreate that experience.

Attitudes and behaviours we seek

in a host
We care a lot more about a certain
persons characteristics and skills over
the perfect fit to the role, but there are
a few requisites in terms of experience
that are important. For us, your passion
and attitude of wanting to contribute
to creating a better world through the
Impact Hub is the most valuable thing
to belong to the team. The Impact Hub
benefits when all the Impact Hub hosts
have these characteristics:
Agility and proactivity:
> Intrapreneur (entrepreneurial attitude
within the frame of an organization]
> Energy, determination and the capacity
to solve problems
Result and sustainable impact oriented:
> Pragmatic personality
> Analytic capacity and detail
management
Management of the unexpected:
> Proactive and flexible
> Imagination and openness to surprise
and be surprised
Relational capacity and ambassador of
the Impact Hub experience:
> Exceptional communication skills
> Open, bridge-builder, mediator: ability to
relate to different sectors
> Ability to create sparks and facilitate
long-term relations
> Capacity to invite, engage and convert
interested people into members
and people with ideas to make a
committment that makes these ideas
happen in reality

interaction, creativity and conviviality:

> Share the Impact Hubs purpose and
values
> Ambition and humility
Passion to connect people and generate
new projects with impact:
> Make connections, discover
collaboration opportunities as well as
new initiatives
> Build a community and weave relations
during the events
> Document, codify and gather
information: stories and knowledge to
share with the network
> Be up to date on what is happening
around the world, what are the relevant
topics to the social innovation arena,
to the members and to their different
areas of practice (so that its easier
to initiate conversations, create
connections, co-create programming
events and invite people.]
Responsibilities as a host
> Cultivate conditions for collaboration
by hosting members in the Impact Hub
virtual and physical space
> Be an example of the culture and
attitude we foster between ourselves
and members
> Create a nice atmosphere with good
vibes
> Nurture and take care of the space and
people delivering the services and the
Impact Hub experience
> Be the main contact for visitors
providing information and assistance
With members:
> Initiate conversations
> Create connections, welcome, listen
actively, seek and incorporate feedback

ideas, projects and initiatives

> Understand their burning issues and
trending topics
> Make sure the space is ready and in the
right condition to be used: attractive,
inviting, well signed and with needed
supplies
> Manage meeting room bookings:
> Include in management systems
> Initial explanation of the space when
they come in and the house rules
> Be the guide and reference during the
time of the booking
> Make and send the invoice
> Problem solving of whatever may come
up
> Continuous development of the space:
characteristics, signs and sustainability
> Support the event organization during
the hosting time, taking care of the
space
Click here for the form

>>>
MO Note! Other Impact HubS have developed
job descriptions which are more task
orientated. See Management & Operations
Practice Guide (section 3) for more details.
Or ask in CoP Management & Operations
on HUBnet. For access contact
support@impacthub.net

2.8 The Lessons

learnt surfaced at the
Impact Hub Practice
Gathering
(Milan 2011):

Hosting is NOT about administration,

management, operations or cleaning.
Hosting is more a way of being and less of
doing tasks.

Including time to enable

collaboration in the job
description

After over-using it for a few years we are

better at communicating what it is and what
it is not.

Hosts care about the space, community

and content. Their job descriptions need to
include the time needed for the emergent
conversations and projects in order to
support members.

Hosting is a leadership practice

Introducing the role of the host

The term hosting is still fuzzy

In each Impact Hub, the whole team hosts

but you still need people fully dedicated to
hosting the community.

Hosting is not a full-time role but

is needed full-time

It is best done part-time (not more than

two days a week in total) and with a specific
role/objective (space, programming,
events, community, attraction). It is simply
impossible to be authentically curious and
interested in people and projects all the
time, hosts burn out fast.

Hosting is not just about being

pretty and helpful

There is more to being good at enabling

connection and collaboration opportunities,
especially in challenging and providing more
complex tools.

Enabling collaboration vs.

administrative tasks

Hosting is about creating connection and

collaboration opportunities for members,
its about enabling a networks potential.

It takes courage from hosts themselves to

introduce their role when some may see
them as secretaries. The whole hosting
team has to be good at introducing the role
to members, investors, visitors wherever
needed.

Hosts as decision-makers

Whether they are founders or not, they are

equal to founders in terms of ownership
of information and strategy of their local
Impact Hub and the network. It is very
unattractive for members to co-create with
people who are not decision-makers in their
Impact Hubs.

It all starts with a good

conversation with a member

Hosting the community in the space is

the basis and starting point for the other
impact components; programming, events,
incubation and new services.

Update

Find out about the lessons learnt at:

2012 Practice & Innovation Gathering in
Stockholm
2013 Hub Makers Festival in Vienna

ch 5

collaboration events, for example, highly

interactive formats to enable connections
between future members. Imagine the
events at a Impact Hub as if you already had
Ho a space. Start today.

ch 2.4

Online hosting. Online network building

and communication through social
media. Virtual network management and
moderation. This is your space until the
physical one opens. The Impact Hub culture
Sp needs to be there from day one.

ch 3

Space. It ensures a beautiful AND functional

space when opening. Space selection and
design - making sure that the space chosen
and the way in which it is designed meets
the communitys needs. It is core to the
Impact Hub identity - a different way of
going about creating a space is by involving
the community that will inhabit it. Architects
MO and designers are not enough!

2.9 Hosting before

space habitation
Hosting starts way before the
Impact Hub space opens and
members arrive.
Including hosting skills and methodology
early on in the Impact Hub creation and
team, benefits the development of the
Impact Huband the quality of community.
pg 5

Ho

ch 4

At

Vision. Facilitating the creation of

a common vision for a local Impact Hub.
Attraction. Finding the key players involved
within social enterprise in the country/
location where that Impact Hub is opening
and getting them on board. Doing this well
enables diversity (the right mix of people) at
the start of community building. Remember,
you can never go back and reinvent your
first 100 members!
Passion. Enthusiasm, passion and belief in
the project is contagious. It is also important
to be an example of complete sharing
and transparency. It is the way partners,
investors and sponsors learn more about
how the Impact Hub works.

ch 4

Ho

Impact Hub Culture. Making sure everyone

understands what the Impact Hub is and
setting the culture together. Developing
everything truly from bottom up by involving
everyone is crucial. Start making valuable
connections for members. You dont need a
space to offer value to them.
Programming. Prototyping the Impact Hub
experience at dedicated pre-opening or

Team dynamics. It ensures a unified core

team, as it evolves, once the space is open.
They address conflict openly, not being
afraid to name issues.

2.10 Case Studies:

Hosting Impact Hubs
CASE STUDY

Dirty cups
Situation. Sometimes members do not take
care of their cups, glasses or other and
leave them in the main working space or
in the kitchen without cleaning. What to do
then?
Overview. The first important steps is in the
intake and induction of the member: make
sure they know about the house rules of
the space when they join. The same applies
when you invite visitors in the 2-minute
introduction to the space when they are
looking for somebody or just visiting the
space mentioning that this is a self-hosted
space. Having a sign in the kitchen area
helps: I like hugs, I like kisses... but what I
love is help with the dishes. Other Impact
Hubs have used Feel at home, wash up! or
Treat the cup how you treat the world for
example.
They have found it useful to find a very
friendly, yet firm way of telling people to
wash up once you identify who they are.
Also using post-its to put happy faces in
the area where the clean cups are drying
and sad faces in the area where dirty cups
are waiting to be washed. Some have even
hung a pair of headphones above the sink to
tempt members to wash up while listening
to great music.
At Amsterdam they stress the importance of
this issue and its relation to hosts, as they
are the ones that have to keep it clean and
be the example to showcase behaviours.

The more the kitchen is kept clean, the

more member will do the same and keep it
that way. It is as important as educating
members. Even if this happened to be an
issue in the second year of operations, it is
always something to be conscious about as
a team as it can slip and be forgotten.

RELATED TOOLS
1. Sign photo: I like hugs, I like kisses... but
what I love is help with the dishes

Outcome. Apart from the clean kitchen,

members taking ownership of the space
and hosting themselves, something that the
hosts definitely dont have to do all the time
everyday.
Impact Hub Amsterdam
Date of opening: 21st November 2008
Date of case study: March 2010
Nr of members during case study: 180
Space size during case study: 400 m2

2. Fridge photo: House rules Look after

yourself, look after each other, look after
this place.

3. Instructions on how to use the coffee

machine and donations pot for the kitchen

CASE STUDY

Phone intervention
Situation. There was a member who was
constantly loud on the phone or skype calls
(without headphones) and not only loud but
with very negative energy which spread in
the room to other members.
Overview. Members didnt dare talking to
her about the issue due to politeness and
because she was having a very bad time
evidently, and hosts tried to find a way of
making the situation evident but without
making her feel terrible. Finally, they
created a small -yet important- intervention
that was to play a game during one of
the common lunches. The idea was that
someone imitated someone else in different
rounds and the group had to guess who
it was. Someone then imitated her and
the other members guessed. In a way,
she was confronted with her own image
and could not believe it. She realized the
situation and easily changed from then
on by being conscious about it. What has
worked at other Impact Hubs also when
having members on skype calls without
headphones has been to make sure the
community knows it is disturbing to others
and indicating the right area to make the
phone calls (usually the entrance area or
dedicated phone booths in some Impact
Hubs). If the problem persists, the best is
to have a word with the person, who usually
are not aware of the volume of their voice.
Also have signs ready in the space for
hosts and members to use to indicate that
someone is being loud.
Outcome. The environment and energy
changed in the space for everyone in the
room, as well as for the hosts, who dont

have to be always the ones responsible for

the community but acting together with the
members.
Impact Hub Islington
Date of opening: 2005
Date of case study: 2007
Nr of members during case study: 150
Space size during case study: 250 sqf
CASE STUDY

Measuring needs and impact

Situation. Impact Hub Oaxaca has had
unique characteristics ever since its
creation. This is due to the fact that the
collaborative way of working is not highly
valued or is even viewed negatively in the
region. They have faced the challenge of
implementing a wide range value model
for fostering social entrepreneurship, and
reinforcing the importance to share, not just
spaces, but also ideas to fuel collaboration
with a true purpose and true impact in
social business.
After almost a year and a half of
implementation and adjustment of the
Impact Hub model in the Oaxaca region
of Mexico, they observed that it was
necessary to give more importance and
consideration to the local perspectives and
values, and that we couldnt simply continue
implementing a model based on European
standards. That was when the team started
to monitor the needs of our small but
growing community of members and focus
on their opinions to consolidate the model
of the Impact Hub Oaxaca.
Overview. Impact measurement has been
a process that has taken more than a year

since its diagnosis until the stage of design

and implementation. They are in the final
phase of our initial attempt to aggregate
the needs of our locality and bring a true
focus to a sense of collaboration and social
entrepreneurship, making Impact Hub
Oaxaca the main catalyst to support the
projects of our members to have increased
impact through the collaborative use of the
space, the strategic tools for growth and
the aim to strengthen the structure of their
work.
Outcome. They are in the final stage of
collating this data from the member
survey and having it published. Out of 116
members, only 62 interviews were deemed
useful for the report. By the end of June
2012, they will have the first results of this
exercise to measure impact, which will help
understand and meet the needs of their
local community.
Impact Hub Oaxaca
Date of opening: 1st February 2010
Date of case study: 2nd April 2011
Nr of members during case study: 116