If you would prefer to read a PDF of this call, please follow this link.

 

Background

The Lab is a pilot scheme, designed to offer a group of creatives money, time and space to learn about different approaches to creative work and business, and explore how they can make the creative sector a fairer place to work. It has been designed as part of Fair Creative Economies (FaCE), a research project exploring how the creative industries could be better organised for people and planet.

We’ve designed the scheme because we know that many creatives want to change the way they work. They want to move away from models motivated by profit and towards structures and processes that put people and planet first. The problem is, it’s hard to know where to start.

That’s why we’ve been with working creatives across Bristol and Bath to find out what creative freelancers, businesses, collectives and groups need to become more inclusive, more democratic, and ready for a low-carbon future, what’s standing in their way, and what kind of scheme might help them move forward with their ambitions for change.

 

More about the Lab

The Lab is structured around a three-month scheme of collective learning, workshops, networking, and peer-support, coupled with a grant of up to £4k. You'll hear from experts in alternative business practices, social action, and creative work. You’ll have a chance to meet others on a similar journey of change, and have time and space to explore your own questions. The process is designed to equip you with the frameworks and questions to ask yourself as you continue your creative work beyond the workshops.

 

About you

We’re inviting applications from people working in the creative sector and based in the West of England. That’s anywhere covered by Bristol, Bath & North East Somerset, and South Gloucestershire councils, or the West of England Combined Authority (WECA).

You’ll be a sole trader, freelancer, part of a collective, co-operative or partnership, an employee, or an employer in an SME or microbusiness, working in the creative sector.

You’ll have a demonstrable desire to change the way you work, learn about alternative approaches to business, and have burning questions about your own work that you need support to explore.

These might be questions about how to structure your business in a way that benefits employees as well as owners. For example, you might be interested in moving your business to a different ownership and governance structures, such as cooperative, CIC, community business, EOT, partnership, company limited by guarantee.

They might be questions about workplace policies that are fair and inclusive. For example, you might want to explore the barriers to entry into business in your area, inclusive working practices, the four-day working week, or different ways to manage your teams or structure the governance of your business.

They might be questions about how to put social impact at the heart of your work, about the values that you have as a team and about how you put those into practice. Or they might be questions about becoming more green, like learning the differences between scope one, two and three emissions, and to map your supply chains, or thinking about what you could do as a freelancer or micro business in the face of climate crisis.

We believe in peer-learning, so you’ll also be up for sharing your experience and knowledge with the other project teams. Together, we’ll explore your questions and find ways to address them.

You can read our FAQ at the end of this document for more information.

 

What we offer:
  • £4k provided by UWE Bristol to take part in the scheme and to resource your time and the exploration of your question
  • 3 workshops with all participants, experts, the FaCE team and others
  • Opportunities to network, meet experts and connect with others pursuing similar goals
  • A friendly, open, and adaptive approach
  • Additional funding to support any accessibility and childcare needs you may have to assist participation in the programme

 

What we expect of you:
  • Attendance at all three workshops and full participation in the programme
  • A willingness to participate in discussions with other people on   the scheme
  • An open, supportive, and inclusive approach to working together
  • To speak to our researchers about your journey at different points along the way
  • Transparency and communication with our Creative Producer about how you are getting along and what you need.

 

How to apply

You can apply to the scheme by answering a few short questions about your work, your ambition, and the ideas you’d like to explore as part of this programme. You can apply as follows:

  • By filling in the online application form here.
  • Or by returning a PDF of your answers to these questions to will.hunter@bristol.ac.uk.

If written applications aren’t your preferred mode of communication, you can submit an audio or video recording of your responses to the questions via email to will.hunter@bristol.ac.uk

The deadline for application is 12pm on Monday 14th October 2024.

Further Information

It’s hard to fit all the context of this call in one succinct document, and we understand there might be a lot of questions. To help you make the best application possible we’ll be hosting an online Q&A at the beginning of the process, as well as a series of surgeries where you can book in a session with the team to explore specific questions that may come up as you start completing your application.

The online Q&A will be held on Friday 13th September 10-11am.

You can register to receive the Zoom link here.

The surgeries are a chance to connect with a member of the FaCE team to ask questions more specific to your individual application. You can book a 30-minute slot by following one of the below links. If you have issues booking, please email will.hunter@bristol.ac.uk.

Applications will be assessed by the FaCE team and an external reviewer from our advisory network.

We’ll be looking for applications that are relevant to the scheme, show enthusiasm for the topic, and a commitment to learning how to make changes in their work. Applicants don’t have to have a specific idea they’re looking to implement, but we do ask that you tell us about what you would like to get out of being part of the scheme.

We’re looking to build a balanced cohort to make sure there’s a good mix of talent and background.  This means we’ll also be looking to assemble a group of participants with varied levels of experience, from different parts of the creative sector and who are at different points along their journeys into considering alternative business practice.
You must also be able to commit to attending all of the workshops.

  • Monday 2nd September: Call launches
  • Friday 13th September 10-11am: Online Introduction and Q&A for those interested
  • 18th & 19th September and 1st & 4th October: surgeries a chance to chat online/in person with the members of the team to help answer questions about the process, your idea, and the application. Various times available
  • Monday 14th October 12pm: deadline for applications
  • Shortlisted applicants informed by Friday 1st November.
  • Follow up conversations with shortlisted applicants on the week of 18th November
  • Decisions communicated week commencing 25th November.

If you are successful, the workshops will be held on the following days please, ensure that you can make all of them when applying.

 

Workshop 1: Monday 13th January 2025

Introduction to one another, the FaCE team, ‘alternative economics’, learning about different ways of seeing work, organisation, and business. Exploring the changes you might want to make.

 

Workshop 2:  Monday 10th and Tuesday 11th February 2025

This workshop is an opportunity to explore your own ideas, taking part in facilitated discussions and sessions to help you work on the changes you want to start making. It will take place on the afternoon of the 10th with a networking dinner afterwards, then a follow up workshop morning of the 11th

 

Workshop 3: Monday 24th March

This final workshop with help you to consider how you might make changes happen; thinking about how to enact progressive practices within the status quo.

FAQs

Fair Creative Economies (FaCE) is a research project that explores how we organise work in the creative industries. We want to identify what obstacles exist to developing new ways of creating robust, low-carbon, high inclusion, high democracy alternatives to existing business practices within the sector.
The project is led by Dr Simon Moreton and Dr Liz Roberts at UWE Bristol based at the Watershed and Prof Martin Parker and Dr Claudia Firth at the University of Bristol, with our PhD students, Will Hunter and Alice Quigley. It is part of a much bigger project called MyWorld and is funded by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI).

This scheme is a pilot. We hope that we can offer something valuable to you, as well as learning how to improve the process so we can share it with others to help support change across the sector.

You’ll be a sole trader, freelancer, part of a collective, co-operative or partnership, an employee, or an employer in an SME or microbusiness, working in the creative sector.

We take a very open view of what classes as ‘creative.’ As a guide, this could include work in the cultural sector, music, performing and visual arts, crafts, design, film, TV productions, video, radio and photography, publishing, creative technologies including software design, and museums, galleries and libraries. If in doubt, please ask us.

You must also be able to commit to attending all of the workshops.

You’ll have a demonstrable desire to change the way you work, learn about alternative approaches to business, and have burning questions about your own work that you need support to explore. To make the most of the peer-to-peer learning experience we’re looking to build a balanced cohort of individuals from varying creative backgrounds and varying point along the thinking process of alternative business models.

There are different ownership and management structures, such as coops, employee ownership trusts, and community interest companies, but there are broader questions about how to produce a low carbon, high democracy and high inclusion economy.

We have put together a ‘Library of Alternatives’ on our website which showcases different examples of how people are thinking differently about work. You can find that here.

You might find some of these resources useful.
·      Doughnut Economics
·      Community Economies
·      Economy for the Common Good
·      Wellbeing Economy
·      Commons