Comment on Plan C – Makers’ response to COVID-19

In this comment, I address the theme of ‘transition’ from the perspective of the organization of peer production in the described COVID-19 maker responses. I speculate that the radical innovation of these distributed productions of PPE, is that it transforms what is understood as collective civic action. I argue that the fluidly organized initiatives amongst makers who 3D printed PPE exemplifies a change in how civic action is perceived, because these initiatives cut across conceptual distinctions like social movements and volunteering and because the collaborations between the public sector and these initiatives challenge traditional conceptions of accountability. I envision that this potentially enables a similar trajectory of cross sector collaboration with and through loosely organized collectives in civil society: collaborations between formal organizations and fluid organization which are imperative, if we are to leverage all the engagements pushing for transformation towards more sustainable ways of living.