How to run a repair event: The Restart Party Kit

How to repair in your community
5

4. Measuring Your Party’s Impact

We aim to keep a detailed log of all the fixes we attempt –successful or not – at every repair event in the Restarter Network, across the world.

Measuring the impact of each party is critical for our wider mission of ‘fixing our relationship with electronics’. From this data, we calculate the social and environmental impact of what we do - and generate the information and insights we need to argue for changes in the way electronics are designed.

At the event

At every Restart Party, you’ll have a waiting list of people, devices and problems, normally written on a flip-chart. The good news is, you can also use this to record the data we need!

For each event, we aim to record details of:

  • The device, including the make and model number (taking a photo is often helpful);
  • The problem or issue the device is experiencing;
  • Whether or not the fix was successful, or, if a fix could be successful but was not able to be completed, details on why
  • Any additional comments

This is often done on a simple flip chart, though some people have forms or pre-registration of devices, to speed up this process. After each fix, each participant is encouraged to check out with the event host and share any feedback about their experience of the repair and the party. This data is important too!

After the event - The Fixometer (part of restarters.net)

The Fixometer is our tool to calculate the social and environmental impact of community repair events. It’s also the engine behind this site, restarters.net.

Once your event is over, you can use the Fixometer to record the number of fixes and participants, and calculate the amount of waste and carbon dioxide emissions prevented. We can then produce statistics on our work in ways that are both understandable and engaging.

Any group active in repairing electronics –Restarters, community groups, makerspaces, repair cafes, schools and other educational institutions, and more– is welcome to make use of the Fixometer and measure their impact. You can also use it to chat to other Restarters, and get support for hosting your event. You can sign up here.

For more information about the Fixometer or the wider restarters.net platform, please message @james.

Useful links

:top:

1 Like