A peer-to-peer support project for sharing your knowledge, experience, insights, skills and ideas, through time-based exchanges.
There is an existing ecosystem of mutual support within Dundee’s active community, which relies on kindness, trust and interpersonal relationships. People are generous with their time, and are keen to support each other through sharing local knowledge, professional insights and access to resources, opportunities and people.
By running this peer-to-peer support project, we want to make this informal sharing ecology more visible, open and fair. We’ll support our Amps community in learning from each other and collectively generating ideas for a better, more inclusive and sustainable future!
By becoming an Amps supporter and taking part in this creative sharing project, you’ll be able to swap small favours and arrange informal conversations with each other. You can share your experienced-based knowledge and skills, benefit from constructive feedback on specific projects, discuss a topic that matters to you, or simply connect with someone new.
Using the timebanking model—in which time is the currency and everyone’s time, knowledge and ideas are valued equally—we believe that exchanging time and information will create value in our place. In this sharing economy model (as opposed to volunteering), the time that you don’t use for yourselves can be donated to others.
Ampersand+ is a peer-to-peer support project that enables Amps to share their knowledge, experience, insights, skills and ideas, through time-based exchanges.
As an Amp, you can arrange informal conversations with fellow Amps to:
These informal chats can be one-to-one or in small groups – see below for more details about practical steps and how we can support you.
Happy sharing!
1. Once you have joined the Amps community, you can complete this short form. Let us know if you want to: offer your help with a specific knowledge, expertise or experience; request some help with a specific project or idea; look for people to discuss a topic that matters to you and our place; meet someone new in the Amps Community; and/or just have a random chat.
2. We’ll do our best to pair you up with an Amp whom you can share with. You’ll then arrange the details of the exchange with each other – you might already know who you’d like to share with; in this case, feel free to get in touch with them directly, or we can introduce you to each other.
3. Once the exchange has taken place, let us know about it. We’re making a record of all sharing, time exchanged and topics discussed. No exchange is too small; they all count to tell our story and show the size and impact of our local sharing ecology.
Anyone can become an Amps supporter and take part in Ampersand+, whether you are:
Anyone in our Amps network can take part! Find out about some of our community or connect with other Amps at our weekly Breakfasts, each Tuesday from 9-10am on Zoom. You can also share projects, opportunities and ideas on a private Slack page and Facebook group.
Timebanking is an exchange model in which time is the currency. If you spend one hour of time helping someone else – for example, giving constructive feedback on an idea/project – you then earn one time credit in return. You can then spend your time credit on receiving an hour of someone else’s time – for example, learning a new skill, or asking for insights from someone with a specific lived-experience.
Timebanking is not the same as volunteering, and is less formal. You’re able to give and receive time doing things you enjoy, when you want to. It is a two-way process of giving time and receiving time.
Everyone’s time is valued equally: one hour of sharing skills or helping others is recognised by giving that person one hour as a time credit, like a community loyalty point.
This sharing economy model is creating value that can be shared with others – if you wish, you can donate your time credit to others!
We acknowledge that cost could be a barrier to joining the Amps community; please do not hesitate to get in touch with us as we might be able to support your subscription, thanks to people choosing to pay it forward.
“People – passionate, committed and ambitious – are our city’s most valuable assets.”
Extract from Dundee’s Creative Industries Strategy 2017 – 2021
“Sharing means creating the conditions to understand others, it is not a one-way street, it isn’t just giving something from my surplus to someone else, it is a relationship where somebody provides me with the opportunity to share with them.
Sharing is a condition under which we can demonstrate a fundamental aspect of being human. You can discover what you have in common and where there are differences, through sharing, you can get to a point that you wouldn’t without it.
You cannot live without sharing.”
Alexandros Pagidas, philosopher & founder of knowledge-sharing platform, Patreon – quoted in Generation Share
If you would like to support us in creating even better content, please consider joining or supporting our Amps Community.
