i-create: The Last Mile - Regeneration and Inclusion in the Creative Industries
The Last Mile (TLM) Event
Date: 15th November 2007
Venue: Institute of Education, University of London
The aims of this event are to:
- celebrate the achievements of TLM
- convey its policy messages to a target audience
In general terms TLM offered a series of innovative interventions to support ethnic minority groups and other ‘structurally disadvantaged sections of the labour market to move from training to the market place across the creative and cultural sector’ (CCI). TLM worked across six English regions and piloted mechanisms (from training programmes or technology platforms) to support talent from these groups to achieve their full potential and to gain a foothold in the labour market.
Headline findings of the programme revolve around the themes of access, leaning and entrepreneurialism and suggest:
- The need to reconceptualise the role and effectiveness of ‘creative apprenticeships’.
- The need to support and capacity-build the role of intermediary organisations, both from industry and communities, in the CCIs.
- The need to support, develop and access formal and semi-formal networks as a structured and sustainable mechanism to engage and develop business growth and new markets.
- The need to focus more explicitly on defining intangible and wider benefits for business support initiatives and to explore the impact and effectiveness of these approaches at the level of community and individual career development.
- A need to rethink the value of centrally driven technology platforms and how they best serve individuals, communities and the market.
- The need to reflect on how to calculate the ‘return on investment’ value of innovation, and its place within the ecology of planning, policy and implementation in this area.
Outline programme
10.00 – 10.30 Registration
10.30 - 10.35 Director’s introduction to the Institute of Education
10.35 – 10.40 Introduction by Chris Webb to the Last Mile project
10.40 – 10.50 Summary of key policy implications by Matthew Taylor
10.50 – 12.00 From Practice to Policy: A Creative Industries panel debate and discussion
12.00 – 12.45 Lunch
12.45 – 13.15 Performance after lunch by beneficiaries
13.15 – 14.00 Afternoon sessions (Sessions 1–3 in parallel)
14.00 – 14.15 Coffee/Tea
14.15 – 15.00 Afternoon sessions (Sessions 4–6 in parallel)
15.00 – 15.15 Final remarks by Matthew Taylor and a closing performance
15.15 – 16.00 Refreshments and nibbles
Policy and resourcing panel members
Tom Bewick, Chief Executive of the Skills Council for the Creative and Cultural Industries.
Fiona Mactaggart, Labour MP for Slough
Tom Campbell, Head of Creative Industries at the London Development Agency
Mark Novels - Sector Qualifications Reform Programme Leader, Qualifications and Curriculum Authority
Creative panel members
Marc Boothe, Filmmaker/CEO B3 Media
Sheron Wray, Performance Architect
Martina Laird, Actor
Julian Joseph, Jazz musician/broadcaster
Workshops
How to make a reality of “demand-led”: Rethinking apprenticeships?
Chair: Julian Sefton-Green
Speakers: John Pitt, Birmingham Rep / Lynne McCadden, Managing Director, North West Vision + Media
The Leitch Report, ‘Prosperity for All in the Global Economy – World Class Skills’, places huge emphasis on the participation and voice of industry. Our experience in the worlds of theatre and broadcasting suggests that we will need to be more flexible and innovative with delivery, funding and the requirements of qualifications, especially notions of the ‘creative apprenticeship’ than the current system allows - if we are to hear the voice of industry seriously and deliver both to their needs and the needs of diverse learners.
Where does the expertise and energy lie to find innovative solutions: the role of Intermediary organisations?
Chair: David Guile
Speakers: Celia Greenwood, Director, WAC / Sylvia Broadley, Digital Government Manager, Digital Birmingham
The landscape for contracting training and developing services is transforming, with enhanced roles for SSCs, ESF Co-Finance Organisations, RDAs and Local Authorities. Our concern in this session is to point out the critical importance of intermediary organisations from both communities and industry in helping to identify and shape solutions on both sides of the labour market equation. Experiences in Birmingham and London demonstrates the need to utilise the assets of these organisations to meet the needs of diverse communities and diverse creative businesses.
How can we turn energy and entrepreneurialism into sustainable businesses?
Chair: Jeremy Harrison
Speakers: Yasmeen Baig-Clifford, Director of Vivid / George Kirkham, Creative Academy Co-ordinator, Slough Borough Council
Our experiences in growing and supporting individuals and companies from initial start-up energy into sustainabilty in both Birmingham and Slough suggest the need for a fundamental rethink on conventional business support models, how activities are described and the ways in which resources are made available at key stages. This is particularly true for the dynamic, often multi-role world of the creative industries.
How might technology empower minorities in the market place? Reflecting on our experiences.
Chair: Dr Julian Sefton-Green, Independent Researcher and Consultant
Speakers: Simon Rosenberg, Project Director, Tribal Education and Technology / Ian Allen, Managing Director, Clever Cherry
As a Development Partnership we have invested significant resources in testing out ways of extending the reach of minority creatives into the market place. Are the new technologies an opportunity or a threat when you consider the impact of them on supply and value chains in the music, media and publishing industries? Can the individuality of ‘social networking tools’ be combined with critical mass as in the case of Birminghamusic.com or will individuals forge new ways to showcase, market and sell using these technologies?
What did we get for the money? Can we evaluate the return on investment for The Last Mile and other projects?
Chair: Chris Webb, European Projects Director, Tribal Education and Technology
Speaker: Jeremy Harrison, The Last Mile External Evaluator
‘Value for money’ is part of the world we all have to inhabit and manage! Through the utilisation of Return on Investment tools, The Last Mile has attempted to provide a comprehensive evidence-based account of successes. And achievements. Jeremy Harrison has coordinated Evaluators for the ESF Equal programme and has worked with three Last Mile partners in broadcasting, dance and the music industry, to offer a secure and persuasive way of meeting this challenge.
Voice and reach: The role of creative industries in representing diverse communities
Chair: Dr David Guile, Institute of Education, University of London
Speakers: Janette O’Carroll, Project Manager, North West Vision + Media / Imran Akram, Managing Director, Innovate Partnership, Birmingham Muslim Writers Awards
Leitch is concerned with ensuring that the voice of industry has a decisive role in training strategy. The Equal programme is concerned with empowering the voice of minorities in the labour market. This session will explore how working in the creative industries, , can both enable minority creatives to enter and perform in areas where normally they have little voice, as well as enabling them to access jobs, freelance and business opportunities. We will particularly exemplify work being done to integrate aspiring Muslim creatives into the market place.
