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iShed- A Creative Industries Case Study
Fizza Alamdar, Lorraine Warren, Ted Fuller and David Rae
Working at the crossroads of the worlds of entertainment, creative economy and digital media, iShed is a Community Interest Company which delivers cultural brokerage by connecting organizations, knowledge and research through collaborations. iShed is a subsidiary of Watershed Arts Trust, Britain’s first dedicated media centre based in Bristol. Created in 1982, Watershed employs a full-time equivalent staff of over 60.
Over the years, iShed has developed into a distinctive organization which aims to use its profits and assets mainly for the public benefit whilst driven by an entrepreneurial vision at the same time. The iShed team identifies individuals or companies to connect with opportunities and supports them in exploring the creative potential of new technologies. This entrepreneurial culture is different from the traditional arts funding system and charity business model. It is a new type of company which can be placed between being a charity and a full-profit business model. It provides a platform for brokerage between the cultural and commercial sectors and the development of creative technological innovation. iShed currently draws funding from variety of sources. These include the South West Regional Development Agency sponsored projects and funding from private companies.
The creative ecology in which iShed exists includes various funding bodies, regulatory organizations, commercial partners such as Hewlett Packard, academic partners, creative individuals, small companies and individuals as users and buyers of creative applications developed by iShed and finally the local community which benefits through cultural exchange and entertainment. The iShed model creates new collaborations between industry and its community of interest to enhance or support R&D in small organizations which can’t support such an activity themselves, to showcase creative activity in the region and to provide a development platform for potential collaborations in future. As Clare Reddington, Director of iShed explains:
“Our community of interest is creative individuals and technical partners in collaborative R&D. We would consider projects where we can broker and manage relationships between creatives and computer sciences, these are the kind of things we like to do”
iShed occupies an important position in the value network of a creative ecology by linking small firms and individuals to exploit technology and research and development opportunities acting as an energy attractor or stimulator in the creative ecology. As a result of its collaborative activities, communities of practice emerge which give rise to new business ideas, knowledge about the field and the individuals in it. The value created by this focus on what Clare calls “building sustainable relationships” is sometimes difficult to evaluate objectively. However, the maintenance of long term and valuable partnerships is testament to the effect.
The creative environment is driven by new technological regimes which require a flexible model that can adapt to emerging trends. iShed’s business model is agile, versatile and collaborative, and there are lots of opportunities for it to develop in future. Most of the work done by iShed is scalable; they develop models of activity that can be taken over by other businesses.
The role of organizations like iShed is important to bridge the gap between resources and ideas. This creates value that might not be otherwise created in an emerging micro-economy. iShed performs a useful role by shaping the future of the emerging digital economy. Clare further explains:
“In arts and cultural organizations opportunities are there for people to share, network etc, but there isn’t yet a common language for people to discuss these ideas. Through open innovation and involvement of public, iShed tries to build not only a common shared language but also tries to understand value by making the public use the tools before they are actually in the market”.
Case study by Fizza Alamdar, Lorraine Warren, Ted Fuller and David Rae, University of Lincoln