• Canada
• UK Research and Innovation close
• UKRI|AHRC close
• 2014 close

This research will create a truly innovative, international research network that will stretch far and wide in the area of "Cultures of Creativity and Innovation in Design". The international research network coordinating body comprises Professors Paul Rodgers and Paul Jones from Northumbria University, Professor Amaresh Chakrabarti, a world-leading researcher in Design Creativity, from the Centre for Product Design and Manufacturing at the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore and Professor Lorenzo Imbesi, an internationally-acclaimed researcher in Design Culture, from the School of Industrial Design at Carleton University, Canada. The importance of creativity in the cultural, creative and other industries and the significant contributions that creativity adds to a nation's overall GDP and the subsequent health and wellbeing of its people cannot be overstated. In Europe, the value of the cultural and creative industries is estimated at well over 700 billion Euros each year, twice that of Europe's car manufacturing industry. The value of creativity and innovation, to any nation, is therefore huge. Creativity and innovation adds real value, which enables a number of benefits such as economic growth and social wellbeing. In many societies creativity epitomises success, excitement and value. Whether driven by individuals, companies, enterprises or regions creativity and innovation establishes immediate empathy, and conveys an image of dynamism. Creativity is thus a positive word in societies constantly aspiring to innovation and progress. In short, creativity in all of its manifestations enriches society. This network seeks to gain an understanding of this dynamic ecology that creativity and innovation bring to society. Creativity is a vital ingredient in the production of products, services and systems, both in the cultural industries and across the economy as a whole. Yet despite its importance and the ubiquitous use of creativity as a term there are issues regarding its definitional clarity. A better understanding and articulation of creativity as a concept and a process would support enhanced future innovation. Socio-cultural approaches to creativity explain that creative ideas or products do not happen inside people's heads, but in the interaction between a person's thoughts and a socio-cultural context. It is acknowledged that creativity cannot be taught, but that it can be cultivated and this has significant implications for a nation's design and innovation culture. It is known that creativity flourishes in congenial environments and in creative climates. This research will examine how creativity is valued, exploited, and facilitated across different national and cultural settings as all can have a major impact on a nation's creative potential. The key aim of this network is to investigate attitudes about creativity and how it is best cultivated and exploited across three different geographical locations (UK, India, and Canada), different environments, and cultures from both an individual designer's perspective and design groups' perspectives. The network seeks to investigate cultures of creativity and innovation in design and question its nature. For instance, can creativity be adequately conceptualised in a design context? What role do cultural organisations and national bodies play in harnessing creativity? Where do the "edges" lie between creativity and innovation? Do richer environments and approaches for facilitating creativity exist? What design skills, knowledge, and expertise are required for creativity? Moreover, what are the key drivers that motivate the creativity and innovation of designers and other stakeholders? Are they economical, cultural, social, or political? This research network will host 3 workshops, each one facilitating inquiry amongst invited design practitioners, researchers, educators and other stakeholders involved in design practice.

This study explores ways of evaluating and enhancing the legacy of Connected Communities projects though a detailed investigation of the methodological approaches, cultural outputs and partnerships established in four specific projects funded under this programme. The study will evaluate and reflect on the impacts these projects have had both in relation to the communities engaged in the projects and the degree to which they have come to stimulate research and cultural activities in new community settings. The projects involved in this legacy project are: Exploring Personal Communities: A Review of Volunteering Processes (AH/J012238/1); Bridging the gap between academic rigour and community relevance (AH/K006185/1); and Untold Stories of Volunteering: A Cultural Animation Project (AH/K006576/1), all led by Mihaela Kelemen and conducted in collaboration with New Vic Theatre, Newcastle under Lyme, and 'Revisiting the Midpoint of British Community Studies' (AH/J006920/1) led by Martin Phillips and conducted in collaboration with Glossop Heritage Trust and High Peaks Community Arts. The first three projects are based on animative (theatre-based) methodologies and have resulted in the creation of documentary/interactive dramas on volunteering, mini-performances about community, and an audio-visual installation that aims to bridge the gap between academic theory and community relevance. The final project embraces an iterative methodology and has led to the development of Glossopoly, a game that acts as a means of illustrating the outcome of the research, as a method for conducting community research and as a mechanism for stimulating wider debates about community amongst community members, practitioners and policy makers/planners. This legacy project will evaluate the impact of three cultural outputs associated with its constituent projects, namely: The untold story of volunteering drama performance, The Boat audio-visual installation, and Glossopoly. Evaluations will focus on individuals and organisations who took part in the original research, as well as policy makers, community practitioners, academics and community members who were not part of the original research but have expressed interest in this research. Evidence will be gathered through narratives, testimonies, and experiential reflections before and after exposure to these outputs. We will use animative and iterative methodologies for collecting the data and this will be supplemented by formal evaluative techniques brought to the project by National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO) who has been a partner on one of the original projects. The project will also map out the trajectory and growth of partnerships that have been formed in association with the four original research projects. These include interactions between academics, between academics and community partners/institutional stakeholders, between community partners, and between community partners and community members. The resulting partnership map will encapsulate reflections, stories and artefacts co-produced with all the parties involved in this research. Finally, the project aims to up scale the uptake of animative and iterative methodologies across a range of individuals, groups and organisations via a showcase event held in Leicester, a workshop held at the Locality Annual Summer Camp for Community Organisers and a workshop held at the Department of Communities and Local Government, London. The project will also benefit from international expertise on sustainability and community research through the involvement of Professor Tima Bansal, from Western Ontario University, Canada, her research and practitioner networks and City of Markham's (Toronto) community outreach team.