They weren't just theoretical, they would have a positive impact on communities.

It's called shopfront because it's based on a Scandinavian model.

which is science shops but it was a science faculty would actually have a shop front to allow community to come in and it would be like they'd come in and share their project and then they would try and match the community need to the students the same way that shop front does but it was based on science so it's called the science shop but back in the mid 90s everything was called shop or shop front it was about access

For some academics, this proposal was exciting but unfamiliar.

When we first started at the shop front, we wanted to be really clear with people.

We wanted to support their work.

We didn't want them to stop.

We wanted to support them.