Focus Group – Developing applications of nature with nature experts and hospitality businesses
For my second early intervention, I wish to produce an event to create change. I am in the process of organising a focus group which is taking the form of an online panel discussion, due to pandemic restrictions.
The focus group aims to bring hospitality businesses together with experts in biophilia in the aim of making change in how nature can be most effectively applied in hospitality businesses to re-connect people to the natural world.
The discussion will be relatively free forming, but a series of 3-5 prompts will be developed by myself to guide the conversation into the necessary areas.
At present the focus group is looking to take place on the 27th May, however this may change as people finalise their availability.
Confirmed Panellists:
- Kristina Libby– Biophilic expert – worked on projects looking to incorporate biophilic design in workspaces to improve wellbeing and creativity
- Leonardo Binetti – Biomimetics expert (mimicking natural materials, designs and systems with technology)
- Rajalakshmi Iyer – Biophilic expert – examines emotional connections to applying biophilic deign
Possible Panellists:
- Simon Gardner – General manager of hospitality businesses for 25 years
Panellists Waiting to Hear Back From:
- Abid Butt – Host of ‘Hospitality Talks’ group, which investigates problems facing the hospitality industry
Other individuals involved in hospitality and biophilia have been contacted, but are unable to partake at present.
In my next steps I will look to engage more individuals specifically from the hospitality industry to take part in the focus group. I have secure more biophilia experts than individuals from the hospitality industry and I wish there to be a near equal balance in representative of both halves in the focus group.
Further Future Intervention – Developing application of nature with customers
In the near future I also look to make an intervention targeted at the customers of hospitality businesses.
This intervention will involve creating a space for an ongoing process, by developing an online sharing group. The group will utilise an existing social media platform, such as Facebook, to engage as many people as possible by extorting their existing user base.
The group will provide customers of hospitality businesses that sell food and drink to share images of applications of nature or just nature itself to the group. The images will then be analysed and utilised to develop the most effective, manageable and feasible applications of nature for my project. The data supplied by customers of hospitality spaces will be analysed for frequencies of certain key elements such as light, sound, water and greenery to calculate which of these larger sectors is most important to customers. There will also be subsections that will be analysed that will go into greater depth regarding how these sectors are being approached, for instance the use of planting for the greenery section. The approaches that people like will also be closely examined to see how they could be adapted to be used in hospitality businesses that sell food and drinks.
Creating this intervention is not currently underway, as it is still in the ideas development phase. But creating this intervention will become a top priority, once the intervention of showcasing my video to hospitality businesses and organising the focus group are underway.