The Worcester Idea Lab opened in 2015 as part of the $42 million redevelopment project at 20 Franklin Street, spearheaded by the Worcester Business Development Corporation. The Idea Lab was created as part of an effort to increase innovation and build community in Downtown Worcester. While our space provides collaborative workspace memberships similar to coworking spaces for startups, we also place a strong focus on community and global impact initiatives; encouraging our members to think about how their products, companies, and programs influence people and our world. We built our collaborative workspace model to include memberships for startups, side projects, existing companies, nonprofits, and universities to truly drive innovative development through conversation and collaboration across multiple sectors.