Rural Hub 1

The first model Hub

Rural Hub 1 is the first physical venue of the Cocreate Earth network of Hubs. It is designed to be the first model Hub for international research and innovation in collaboration and co-creation — a prototype environment in which solutions for complex social challenges can be tested and refined, together with the first Labs teams.

This dual purpose is deliberate. Rural Hub 1 is a place where real work happens and a place where the way that work is organised is itself the subject of study.

A prototype, by design

As a prototype, Rural Hub 1 tests and refines the collaborative processes and innovations developed by the Labs, and it serves as a benchmark for assessing the scalability and effectiveness of the network’s expanding infrastructure. The integration of operations between the Labs and Rural Hub 1 is itself part of what is being validated.

Built to be replicated

Rural Hub 1 establishes the first model Hub within the Cocreate Earth network, designed to prototype the operational and organisational frameworks that will be replicated across future national and international Hubs. Its success matters because it provides a standardised template for establishing and operating subsequent Hubs — so that the network’s expansion is both scalable and sustainable.

This is why the network is described as a Labs Network: the goal is never a single site, but a replicable model that lets the first Hub and its Labs become the first of many.

Part of a larger whole

Rural Hub 1 only makes sense in context: as one node in the Cocreate Earth Network, advancing the theory of change that underpins all of the foundation’s work.