Next stop, Barnsley
Last month, over 80 young people spent the day at Magna working on four live Challenge Briefs at the unLTD Business Expo. We've synthesised the outputs and shared the output / social impact reports with participants. And we're well into planning the next Lab.
Fresh Meet CIC's next Innovation Lab is heading to Barnsley in spring 2027. It's our first Lab built with a borough outside Sheffield and Rotherham, and it has a theme we couldn't resist: Tech Town and Community.
Why Barnsley, and why now
In February 2026, Barnsley became the UK's first government-backed Tech Town. The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology is working with Barnsley Council, the NHS, schools, colleges and local employers to bring AI and digital into everyday life across the borough.
That's a big deal. But most of that work, understandably, is aimed at public services and adults.
So here's our question: what should Tech Town mean for Barnsley's young people? And who better to answer it than them?
This Lab puts the borough's young people in the room where Tech Town is being shaped. Not as an audience. As the people coming up with the ideas.
What we know so far
- When: spring term 2027, provisionally the week of 15 March
- Where: Barnsley, very likely to be at Barnsley FC, Oakwell
- Time: 10am to 2:30pm, with arrivals from 9:30am
- Who: 100 young people aged 13 (Y9) and up, from Barnsley schools, colleges and community settings
- Brief Holders confirmed so far: NHS England (North East and Yorkshire) and Lightmain, the outdoor sports facility designers and builders. Two more Brief Holders needed.
- Delivered by: Fresh Meet CIC, powered by Bravand, with unLTD on board as our media partner
As with every Lab, we're prioritising young people who are usually at the back of the queue for opportunities like this. That includes those in alternative provision, with special educational needs, who are care experienced, living in areas of high deprivation, or not in education, employment or training (NEET).
How the day works
We're using the format we tested at Pennine Five and Magna, tweaked again based on what Mentors, settings and learners told us afterwards.
- One team, one brief, one Mentor, all day. Teams of around seven, each working on a single real Challenge Brief from start to finish, with the same industry Mentor alongside them.
- A structured workbook. It takes each team from understanding the problem, through questioning their Brief Holder and doing quick research, to shaping and pitching an idea.
- Brief Holders in the room. They hand over their problem in the morning, are on hand for Q&A during the session, and hear the pitches in the afternoon.
- Pitches in two parallel tracks. So every team gets heard properly, and nobody has to sit through a dozen presentations in a row.
It's still deliberately not a hackathon. Nobody expects a team to "solve" a real organisation's problem in a day. The aim is for young people to understand a real problem, think it through together, and hand the Brief Holder fresh ideas they can actually use.
Afterwards, everyone gets a report tailored to them: Brief Holders get the ideas produced for their brief plus evidence of social impact, settings get a summary of what their learners did and how it evidences Gatsby Benchmarks (typically, though not exclusively, Benchmarks 5 and 6), and Mentors get a write-up of their team's work plus evidence of social impact.
What people told us at Magna
Of the 29 young people who filled in our anonymous survey at the end of the day, 26 said they'd learned something new, 27 said they had a better idea of what the world of work involves, and 25 would recommend Innovation Labs to someone else. Nobody said they wouldn't.
"I love how educational this is and also socialising, because I made some new friends along the way!" Learner, Magna Lab
All 20 adults who gave feedback, including 11 Mentors, three Brief Holders and staff from the settings that brought learners, said they'd recommend the Lab.
"We love these events, the students get loads out of them, so just keep on keeping on." Setting staff, Magna Lab
They were honest about what didn't work, too. Lunch ran late, timings got squeezed, the room was noisy and the workbook asked a lot. We're taking all of that into Barnsley.
It's not "just" a tech Lab
"Tech Town" might sound like it's only for tech companies. It isn't. It's deliberately broad, and that's what makes it a good Lab theme: briefs can come from health, education, sport, local business and the voluntary sector just as easily as from anyone who writes code.
Here are the themes we're shaping with partners. They're a starting point, not a list to pick from.
- Health on the High Street. Barnsley is moving health and wellbeing services into the town centre. How do you make them work for young people and families? NHS England (North East and Yorkshire) is already on board for this one.
- Prevention and staying well. How do you reach young people before problems start, rather than treating them (or others in their family) after?
- Digital and AI in everyday Barnsley life. What should Tech Town mean for young people, and how do they stay safe and confident with it?
- Sport and community. How can a club and its community work reach more young people and families?
- Local business and the high street. Footfall, skills, and getting young people into local jobs.
If your organisation has a real problem that sits somewhere near one of these, we'd love to hear it. If it doesn't, we'd still like to hear it.
Four ways to get involved
A Lab only works when the right people are in the room. Here's where we need you.
Be a Mentor
Spend the day with one team of around seven young people, from arrival to final pitch. You don't need to work in tech, and you don't need to know the answer. Your job is to ask good questions, keep the team moving and share how your own working world works.
You'll get a Mentor pack before the day, so you know exactly what's expected. Afterwards, you'll get a report on what your team produced, plus a record of your contribution for your organisation's volunteering, CSR or social value reporting.
"Our mentors from Insight were outstanding. They put the students at ease, were just the right level of help and push, were full of ideas and made the day comfortable for our SEND learners." Setting staff, Magna Lab
Be a Brief Holder
Bring a real, unsolved problem your organisation is facing. You don't need a polished Challenge Brief. A few sentences describing the problem is enough to start, and we'll do the legwork from there.
On the day, you'll hand your brief to the teams working on it, answer their questions, and hear their pitches. Afterwards, you'll get a written outputs report covering every idea produced for your brief, with the young people's own words kept wherever possible.
"The answers that the groups gave were certainly insightful and different from the usual conclusions and assumptions we make." Brief Holder, Magna Lab
Bring your learners (settings)
If you're a school, college, alternative provision, youth or community setting in Barnsley, we'd love your young people to take part. We're especially keen to hear from settings working with young people who don't usually get offered days like this. Taking part is free for settings.
You'll get an outcomes summary afterwards showing what your learners did, what they produced and how the day supports the Gatsby Benchmarks (typically, though not exclusively, Benchmarks 5 and 6), ready for your careers programme records.
"Really interesting day with valuable time from experts in small groups. We appreciated the fact that our experts stayed with us all day and supported our groups." Staff member, Kirk Balk Academy, Magna Lab
Be a sponsor
This one matters most. There's no public funding behind this Lab, so it needs organisations willing to back it. Sponsorship covers the things that make the day work: the venue, furniture and AV, food and drink for 100-plus people, and the media coverage that tells the story afterwards.
In return, you get visible support for young people in Barnsley, a seat in the room, and evidence of genuine social value. That's increasingly useful: from January 2027, the Government's new Social Value Model (PPN 026) will ask suppliers bidding for major central government contracts to show how they create opportunities for people facing barriers to employment. Backing a Lab like this is a real, evidenced way to do that.
Get in touch
Whether you want to mentor a team, bring a brief, bring your learners or back the whole day, the first step is the same: talk to Ross.
Ross Musgrove, Co-Founder and Managing Director, Fresh Meet CIC:
We'll share more as the venue, date and Challenge Briefs are confirmed. In the meantime, you can find out more about Fresh Meet at freshmeet.co.uk.
