Freelancer's Question: Other than speculatively approaching a technology provider or software developer, is there a formal way for us creative types to form a partnership with a digital business, as we've been recommended? I understand there are some government-backed avenues for creatives to tie-up with a digital business, so how do we get involved?
Expert's Answer: Creative workers finding potential digital
partners is central to two pieces of work we are currently undertaking at
Creative Industries TKN . These both relate to funding competitions being run
by the Technology Strategy Board (TSB). The TSB is the government’s innovation
agency and our client. We have therefore created a programme to support these
funding opportunities.
The first is an £18million fund to encourage collaboration across digital
industries. The second is a £5million fund to help creative businesses exploit
metadata.
To access this funding, creative businesses need to form a partnership with a
digital organisation to carry out collaborative research and development.
We have held a number of workshops around the UK to explain the funding
opportunities, how to access them and provide a pointer to potential partners
through the networking element of the events.
We have also created an Ideas Marketplace, allowing people
to post details of their project and the support they need, or cite the skills
they have available and invite potential partners to contact them. The ideas
marketplace is available online so people can find partners regardless of their
location.
By becoming a member of the CIKTN, creatives also gain access to our wider
membership of more than 3000 people, plus access to our events calendar,
detailing when and where freelancers have the opportunity to forge links with
digital organisations.
But there are also many other networks for creatives so don't discount approaching a
prospective digital partner from another angle. They include mini-bar meetups, Chinwag, and Codeworks (in the North East of England) - all of which provide
creative types with opportunities to meet digital organisations, gain insights
into how they operate and communicate/pitch your idea for partnering with their
business.
The expert was Tony Henderson, of the UK's Creative Industries Knowledge Transfer Network.
Sep 1, 2010
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