Image courtesy of Herää Pahvi! Project
Some background… The Creative Expertise Programme 2014-2020 worked in collaboration with Creative Finland, a national communication platform and network for the creative industries. One of the 27 cross-innovation projects funded by this Programme illustrates its work very well. “Herää Pahvi!” (2018-2020), which brought together experts from creative industries and the forest bio-sector.
The idea for the initiative… realisation of the great potential for new businesses in the interfaces between the arts, science, technology and various kinds of intangible value creation.
Innovation and inspirational know-how…
Working out new ways of sharing and exchanging knowledge when diverse areas are brought together. Here, experts in creative industries learnt to identify the possibilities of the technical innovations in biofields whilst technical experts learnt to appreciate the importance of design and branding.
Creative expertise was applied in novel ways to develop working life, leadership and innovation activities.
The creative economy and expertise are backed up with functional counselling and support systems, through Creative Finland, which strengthen both expertise and professional skills.
Challenges at programme level… bringing together both regional and national key players as well as different forms of expertise and ways of working. There was also the problem that some areas within Finnish creative sectors have limited resources and capabilities to develop into proper ecosystems and grow independently. Gaining sufficient funding was another issue as was achieving recognition for the project and attracting people’s attention.
Meeting the challenges… Engaging all partners in joint problem-solving in a systematic way so that they could offer a platform for cross-sectoral activities at national level. Funding (11,2 m EUR) came from the EU and national funding for projects, including municipal or other public funding.
Heraa Pahvil! used intensive storytelling by media students at Tampere University of Applied Sciences. They made short videos about the new material and the project background which helped the project communication.
These quickly gained people’s attention and they explain very well what the project is about.
Videos are targeted both at end users and companies who might use this material.
Impacts…
Connecting Creative Expertise with other national measures and integrating it in the various growth sectors and those facing structural change as well as in educational institutions and public sector.
Potential also exists for internationalisation, both within the creative sector and in cooperation with other sectors.
At the policy level, the engagement of key stakeholders and regional actors in joint development in collaboration with the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment and the Ministry of Education and Culture.
An example of its policy role is the national “roadmap” for the Creative Economy adopted in October 2020. It resulted from a round of workshops held in December 2019 in which 200 players in the creative industries participated.
The roadmap highlights the key issues facing networks and their practices and proposals for measures come under five main headings: 1. Identification of ecosystems and networks and changes in value chains. 2. Different kinds of skills shortages. 3. Development services for companies. 4. Measures related to promoting growth and internationalisation. 5. Assessment methods and indicators.
And going forward… It’s important to look for new policy tools to build an operating environment where creative industries and creative economic activities can grow and develop as part of the economy. Working on the proposals and measures in the “roadmap.”
Further information:
Youtube pages:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCy8nqzXbHfeOuhh4E6FItKg/videos
