Empowering Creative Circular Entrepreneurs

<< Background >>To provide tailored re-skilling & upskilling for self-employed & unemployed creatives to achieve circularity & address the need for a bespoke VET programme, aligned with the diverse needs of 3 key target groups: TG1: Current & Aspiring Creative Entrepreneurs ECCE - many creatives are self-reliant/small businesses on whom Covid had a devastating impact. ECCE provides upskilling to embrace the circular economy as a key tool to renew their business, reduce costs & change their relationship with resources & waste in a way that yields a strong economic return. TG2: VET Schools, Enterprise Centres, Networks of Creatives. Fresh content was needed in terms of resilience & sustainability, preparing trainees to future proof their creative businesses. For many, the needs was to understand the circular economy as a subject to be taught & as a practice to be implemented in creative businesses. TG3: Regional & sectoral policy & decision makers, creative & craft networks, & environmental network. The creative sector is often earmarked as a regeneration strategy & leading generator of jobs, economic diversification, & cultural engagement. A cross collaboration approach ensured this would be a greener & more sustainable economic activity.<< Objectives >>ECCE was conceived with 4 objectives, all achieved successfully: (1) Understand & tackle the weaknesses & strengths of the creative industry, with particular focus on circular economy potential for positive business impact. PR1 achieved via our CREATIVES & JOB OPPORTUNITIES EXPLORATORY PANELS addressing research gaps on specific challenges & opportunities (2) Upskill the VET community to train creative entrepreneurs how to explicitly implement circular practices into their own business, while providing the knowledge & skills to people to learn how to start-up their own circular enterprise. PR2 achieved via our Training Course (3) Build & maintain connections between creative entrepreneurs, educators & unemployed creatives through intelligence sharing, opportunity giving & mentoring, facilitated by an online platform. PR3 achieved via KNOWLEDGE SHARING PLATFORM & OERS (4) Ensuring long term viability & continued implementation of circular models through a ‘Zero-Waste’ Circular Workshop Guide, aiding entrepreneurs to meet regularly & promote their circular businesses to customers & a wider supportive network within business & local government. PR4 achieved via zero-waste marketplace event guide for creative entrepreneurs.<< Implementation >>ECCE realised four Results (R1-R4) as well as horizontal activities. Each partner was assigned leadership or co-leadership of at least 1 result and/or horizontal activity aligned with their specific field of expertise. All organisations were involved in all tasks. PR1 exploratory panels and research sought to fills gaps on specific challenges and opportunities of the circular economy for Creative Entrepreneurs in keyimpact areas of circularity and best practice. It was pilot tested with 81 users from our 3 target groups and downloaded 2351 times, surpassing the target of 400 by over 5 times.PR2: Circular Economy for Business Training Course is a 6 module online training course and self assessed learning quiz addressing the business and individual levels and providing knowledge and resources needed for circular transformation of creative businesses. It was user tested by 55 creative businesses and 12 Trainers/Educators. 587 participants have already taken the course (target 500). PR3, A Knowledge Sharing Platform and OERs. The platform has 66 members and allows direct Peer-to-Peer communication and intelligence sharing. PR3 features more than 30 case studies and relevant articles. 72 users pilot tested the output made up of 45 creatives and 27 educators, to positive feedback. To date, there were 1550 visitors to the OER page.PR4: Guide to creating a “zero-waste” circular Market Place is an accessible step-by-step guide that instructs creative entrepreneurs how to run no wastemarketplace events. Partners ran marketplace events in four countries to test the resource, and over 50 user testers provided feedback on the document. The guide was downloaded 774 times and the cases studies downloaded 202 times. Active dissemination activities ran throughout the project with all partners contributing resulting in exceeded targets for newsletter reach, social media reach and 38,048 unique visitors to the website.Quality Management & Evaluation activities were implemented by all partners. while sustainability activities are contributing to the sustainability of the project. 4 Multiplier events were held with 331 attendees.<< Results >>Four PRs & their tasks were 100% achieved. Four national language versions achieved,PR1 Creatives and Job Opportunities Exploratory Panels.RLP was responsible for PR1 The Creatives and Job Opportunities Exploratory Panels. Partners established four regional think tanks ( Creatives and Job Opportunities Exploratory Panels) in Roscommon, Ireland; Berlin, Germany; Croatia; and Athens, Greece. The formula was to bringi together a panel of creative entrepreneurs, VET educators, those working with the unemployed, creative sector networks and development agencies to share best practice approaches and co-creating solutions that are responsive to real need in the regions. Each country held 3 panel meetings over the lifetime of the project, they1. Researched the challenges and opportunities faced in their regions and explored.developed action plans on how adapting to a circular economy approach can transform their creative practice and businesses. 2. Involves creative professionals in developing innovative solutions that will future proof their employability and resilience in the face of potential crises. 3. Reached out and involved unemployed people to learn and upskill from creative and VET trainers in implementing circular economies in employment or self-employment. Roscommon Ireland – The first meeting took place on the 28th April 2022 and there was 26 people in attendance. Individuals from the creative sector, the circular sector as well as policy makers were in attendance. A survey was circulated to the attendees to establish a baseline of knowledge. The results showed how some of the individuals attending were unsure about what circular economy was, while some individuals were carrying out best practices within their business/home life. The second meeting took place on the 14th October 2022 and there was 67 people in attendance. Individuals from the creative and circular sector was in attendance along with policy makers and local media. The focus of Panel meeting 2, was to delve deeper into the collective panel understanding of circular creatives. The meeting included a workshop with Circular Economy expert Carrie-Ann Moran from Circular Fashion Ireland. The Last meeting took place on the 24th February 2023 and there was 29 people in attendance. Individuals from film, tv, gaming, animation, immersive, virtual production, and creative technologies were all in attendance. Panel 3 began with a quick explanation of the circular economy's fundamental principles and key goals as they relate to this digital creative industry sub sector. Berlin – Germany – The first meeting took place on the 8th July 2022 and had 8 people in attendance. here were some insights given by the artists, which can be used for the next project results: They were generally not very badly hit by the pandemic as they are anyway not profit-oriented, and they received state help. Indeed, for some of the artists, the pandemic was an opportunity of free time to focus on their own artistic work in an unrestricted way. Information / guide about available funds / prize-competitions is something they would be mostly interested to know about, because ‘fund-restriction’ is usually their biggest challenge. The second panel meeting took place in November 2023 and there was 7 people in attendance. The right host who was well aligned with the topic, therefore inviting participants was easier. The discussions around ‘When is a brand circular’ was encouraging. Metrics such as average no: of times an apparel such a t-shirt is worn and how increasing the average directly contributes to circularity and sustainability was insightful. The focus should be on making sure that • The Products lasts as long as possible • The Products are produced with as less waste as possible and • We know what will happen to the product at the end The Final Panel meeting took place in May of 2023 and had 8 people in attendance. The right host who was well aligned with the topic, therefore inviting participants was easier. Also, the space and location of SLP Galerie provided an advantage by providing the right ambience for people to relate to the topic easily. The discussions started by going around ‘How to implement Circularity in arts’. However, in contrast to the previous panel, this panel naturally gravitated to one of the vital angles of sustainability, which is, financial sustainability. Athens – Greece – The first meeting took place on the 24th of may 2022 and there was 22 people in attendance. During the first Panel meeting, the project's background, goals, and the project's vision were presented, along with a broader perspective. Three keynote speakers shared their personal experiences to educate participants about the essence of Circular Creatives. They provided insights into what Circular Creatives entails through their own experiences. 1. Andreas Stefanidis, President of Academy of Entrepreneurship highlighted the significance of entrepreneurial activities in the creative sector in Greece 2. Christos Alefantis from Shedia Art shared When and how the “Shedia Art” project started its operation, what It has to offer and what the future holds 3. Cecilia Benefattori from the Hfaistos Educational Association underlined the importance of Social innovation A questionnaire was distributed among the participants to establish a starting point of understanding. The findings revealed that certain attendees lacked clarity about the concept of a circular economy, while others were already implementing commendable approaches in their professional and personal environments. The Second meeting took place on the 11th of November 2022 and there was 20 people in attendance. The focus of Panel meeting 2, the aim was to explore the panel's collective comprehension of circular creatives on a more profound level. The focus of Panel meeting 2, the aim was to explore the panel's collective comprehension of circular creatives on a more profound level. Artists within this sector often grapple with reconciling their creative vision with the limitations of available materials. Sourcing reclaimed materials requires a keen eye and inventive spirit, as well as an ongoing dialogue with the local community to secure suitable resources. The third meeting took place in February 2023 and there was 19 people in attendance. The conversation ignited with a recognition of the interconnectedness of creative sectors. From design to digital media, each industry has the potential to contribute to the circular economy's goals.By broadening our horizons, we open the door to cross-disciplinary collaborations that can result in innovative approaches to resource optimization and waste reduction. Croatia – The first meeting took place on the 5th of May 2022 and there was 20 people in attendance. During Panel meeting 1, the background, overall project objectives, the vision of the Circular Creatives project and bigger picture were presented. The keynote moderators from CeKaTe introduced the context of the project while the others shared their personal experience on what circular creatives is all about. A survey was circulated to the attendees to establish a baseline of knowledge. The results showed how some of the individuals attending were unsure about what circular economy was, while some individuals were carrying out best practices within their business/home life. The second meeting took place on the 13th of April 2023 and there was 54 people in attendance. The focus of Panel meeting 2, was to delve deeper into the collective panel understanding of circular creatives. The meeting included a presentation by professor Jelena Šišara on circular economy models. She connected innovativeness and entrepreneurship which is characteristic of circular economy. She gave practical examples on how the circular economy works inside businesses and how to think about it and implement it in your own. The last meeting was on the 18th May 2023 and there was 19 people in attendance. The Polytechnic of Šibenik introduced the possibility of a Circular Creatives training program, and the opportunity to pilot test the same. It was particularly important to identify the challenges and opportunities for circular approaches for creatives in the digital sector. In this regard, we are thinking in particular of creating a curriculum for sets of learning outcomes (micro-qualifications) at level 5 of the HKO in the part related to professional specialist training, and it is possible to access them at least from level 4 of the HKO. Pilot Test Targets Target 20 Current or Aspiring Creative Entrepreneur 20 Vocational Educational Trainer / VET Educator 20 Policy and/or decision maker or Creative/Craft/Environmental Network 0 Pilot Test Results Total 81 Current or Aspiring Creative Entrepreneur 20 Vocational Educational Trainer / VET Educator 42 Policy and/or decision maker or Creative/Craft/Environmental Network 19 88.6% of people said the resource was easy to use, our target was 80% 88.6% said the resource was relevant, our target was 80% 87.2% said it was useful, our target was 80% 68.6% said it was attractive 90% have a better understanding of circular economy practices - our target was 80% 91.7% would recommend – Our target was 20% Direct Quotes The look and design of the resource caught my eye. It was pretty and well put together which made the hard topics easy to get through It could be quite enlightening for anyone seeking a deep dive into the project I was happy with how the resource covered so much and it was still easy to follow .PR2 Circular Economy for Creative Business Training CourseA 6 module training course to train creatives and equips them with the knowledge about circular economy frameworks and skills to integrate circular practices into their businesses, promoting sustainability and innovation. The course focuses on opportunities for tackling climate change, resource scarcity and transforming the business models and practice of creative industries. The development of the course was led by GIG. They presented the framework and took inputs from all the partners to come up with the development methodology. Subsequently, partners were allocated the topic modules for development of the content. The developed content was user tested led by AKEP as user testing lead, who developed the user testing methodology and questionnaire completed by 55 Creative Entrepreneurs (against a target of 54) and 12 Trainers/Educators. After making the suggested changes to the training course, it was translated to the respective languages. The course has now been taken by 587 participants against a target of 500.PR3 Circular Creatives Knowledge Sharing platform and OERsEUEI led the PR3 Knowledge Sharing Platform, firstly creating a strategic work plan based on an assessment of the target group's needs for innovative learning and engagement methods , the importance of interactive and dynamic learning via multimedia resources, including videos, podcasts, and articles and peer-to-peer learning opportunities. . Each partner sourced and curated regional and national content. . The platform boasts over 35 multimedia resources, more than 30 case studies and relevant articles, and a dedicated LinkedIn Group to facilitate networking and peer learning. PR4PR4 A Guide to Creating A Zero-Waste Circular Marketplace was developed by Momentum, partners and co-created by creative entrepreneurs and local stakeholders. To facilitate the creation of 'zero waste' marketplaces for creative sector entrepreneurs that had progressed to circular business models. The Guide serves as a template for participants to come together in a regional location regularly, showcasing, selling, and marketing their products and businesses as best practice circular events. The guide is innovative in that it instructs creatives how to run 'zero waste' events that act as demonstrations and pilots for 4 partner led market place events. 50 creative entrepreneurs used and tested the guide. The guides were also downloaded by 774 stakeholders (over twice surpassing the target of 300+). The marketplace events themselves also raise citizens' awareness of circular business models and the benefits held within them and are being used in VET as examples of clusters of creative business using circular models.