One idea, several ways to make it useful.
Here / Now began with movement and creativity. It has grown into a small ecosystem spanning wellbeing, community discovery, local journalism, research and digital development. Different projects, same underlying job: reduce friction between people and the things that might help.
What exists now
The current network
This page now reflects the projects that are actually live and doing work, rather than a backlog of old concepts and half-built experiments.
Movement that feels like belonging
Vibe Dance Fitness
Vibe now has its own dedicated home for in-person classes, memberships, online learning, community, wellbeing support and member tools. The current platform includes live in-person classes alongside 31 published online classes and learning resources.
Live in-person movement · 31 published online classes
Visit VibeLearning in public, carefully
Studies & Data
Our research and evaluation space turns lived experience and service data into something we can examine properly. It currently includes the active Campfire pilot and a published Vibe learning paper based on 66 anonymous before-and-after check-ins.
Campfire pilot active · first Vibe learning paper published
See current research
Find community near you
CommuniTees
A map-led Tees Valley directory built around the practical questions people have before they turn up somewhere: what is it, where is it, what does it cost, is it welcoming, and what should I expect?
359 approved community listings
Explore CommuniTees
Positive news without pretending everything is perfect
The Tees
A Tees Valley publication covering constructive local stories, community life, culture and events. The platform now includes borough discovery, What’s On, saved content, submissions and personalised reader tools.
Stories · events · personalised local discovery
Read The TeesUseful technology, built around real work
DigitalDev
Our digital development studio builds websites, web apps, admin systems, data structures, integrations and automations. The live portfolio now spans 13 projects across eight defined capability areas.
13 portfolio projects · 8 capability areas
Visit DigitalDevWhy it is one ecosystem
The pieces are supposed to talk to each other
This is not a collection of unrelated websites wearing the same surname. Each project solves a different part of the same access problem and gives the others better information, reach or infrastructure.
01
Real-world practice creates questions
Vibe and our community work give us a place to notice what helps, what gets in the way and what people actually experience.
02
Research turns hunches into learning
Studies & Data gives those questions a more disciplined home, with transparent methods, anonymous aggregate reporting and clear limitations.
03
Media and directories improve access
The Tees and CommuniTees help people discover useful local stories, places, groups, services and events beyond our own programmes.
04
DigitalDev builds the infrastructure
The same product thinking used inside our own ecosystem is also used to build practical digital systems for other organisations and businesses.
Evidence without pretending certainty
We want the research layer to be useful without becoming marketing dressed as science. That means anonymous aggregate reporting where appropriate, clear methodology, visible limitations and stronger study designs as the work matures.
Published learning paper
Vibe Dance Fitness: early signals of holistic wellbeing benefit
The first paper uses 66 anonymous before-and-after class check-ins. It reports a strong immediate positive pattern in mood, belonging and motivation, while explicitly setting out the weaknesses in the current dataset and the research improvements needed before stronger causal claims can be made.
Active pilot
Campfire: Connection, Regulation & Movement Pilot
A six-week pilot exploring a screen-free, low-pressure movement space built around music, repetition, shared rhythm and freedom to move in your own way. The study is examining feasibility, acceptability, mental noise, tension, body connection, confidence and social connection.
The ecosystem also builds for other people.
First Light Home Solutions is now part of the DigitalDev portfolio. It combines a public solar and battery-storage website with assessment journeys, secure bill uploads, lead management, editable content, SEO controls and the operational admin tools behind the customer journey.