For the past 18 months or so, I have been involved along with Fergus Cronin of KIDCo (Kilkenny Industrial Development Company) and Keith Bohanna (Bohanna Consulting) in developing the concept of a National Centre for Creativity (nc4c) for Kilkenny to be based in the Maltings Enterprise Centre just off James Street in Kilkenny City.

Keith was commissioned to prepare a business case for the idea last year and since then we have been involved in securing funding to kit-out the space for the Centre, with the assistance of grant-aid from BNS LEADER, and in running a small scale pilot project with a group of business people, with seed funding from FAS. Check out the blog - http://blog.creativity.ie/

What is the nc4c? We hope that the nc4c will be a place where owner-managers of small businesses can go to avail of ’structured creative thinking’ techniques - basically look at their thought processes, learn how they can introduce more creative approaches in their business and change their way of thinking. We hope that the nc4c will also be a place where the public sector can go to be more creative! And that through time it will develop and advise upon creative support services into schools.

What will the nc4c do? The nc4c will adopt learning techniques, which move away from the classic ‘chalk’n'talk-style’ teaching to a more facilitative and interactive approach. Structured creative thinking techniques can be used in situations where people come up against an issue that needs to be resolved or that they need to make a decision on.

So for entrepreneurs - that can be at the stage of researching new products, developing prototypes or in bringing a new product or service to market. Our aim is that the nc4c will generate demand for, and develop programs to deliver, structured creative thinking techniques into both the private and public sector. It will do this by: 

Researching the importance and benefit of structured creative thinking in collaboration with our third level partners; Raising awareness of and demand for, creative thinking services in the private and public sector; Developing programs for the delivery of training and support to businesses, students and the general public; Assisting in the development of policy initiatives to introduce creativity into the education curriculum in primary, secondary and third level.

What is the current status of nc4c? Our progress in delivering the nc4c has been slow but steady to date. We believe that there is a genuine need for such a Centre and that Kilkenny in paricular with its reputation and heritage in the creative sectors across design, craft, music, the arts and more recently in film and animation, is ideally placed to house the nc4c. 

The mix of heritage, traditional small businesses and a strong creative cluster in Kilkenny offers the unique opportunity to develop a centre for creativity that harnesses the strengths of each and uses that to deliver stronger and more creative businesses. 

KIDCo wish to develop a strong community focused project in the Maltings Enterprise Centre and the nc4c, with its advocacy and awareness work across the public, private and education sectors will fulfil that remit. The centre will also build on the strong awareness of Kilkenny’s strength as the creative heart of Ireland.

This is a challenging project and one that I am really excited about. We are currently putting together a broader structure (i.e. Advisory Board) to help us adapt and refine the strategic direction of the Centre and to advise us on specific projects and programmes with which the nc4c should be engaged.

I shall provide an update of developments as we progress in the coming months. In the meantime I would like to hear your views on the concept of the nc4c?

Sean.

www.kceb.ie