The project goal is to analyse avenues of creative industry contributions to sustainable development in small towns, within their distinctive set of resources, including symbolic capital, amenities and connections, governance arrangements and policy goals. The study will analyse the ways in which creative industries in small towns contribute to development outcomes in the context of reconfiguration of local economies, both constrained and enabled by local policy and governance, causing and addressing dilemmas of economic, social, environmental and cultural sustainability. The proposed study will explore discourses, practices and outcomes of those activities. The study will follow a case study design; the objectives will be reached by using mixed qualitative and quantitative methods: content analysis, semi-structured qualitative interviews, an Internet-based survey, as well as scenario analysis. Results will contribute to scholarly knowledge on the paths of culture-led development implemented in small towns, specifically as related to cultural, economic, social and environmental sustainability challenges, and the hybridity and multifunctionality of creative industry entrepreneurship practices.

The goal of the proposed project: is to analyse avenues of creative industry contributions to sustainable development in small towns, within their distinctive set of resources, including symbolic capital, amenities and connections, governance arrangements and policy goals.

Objectives:

1. Explore endogenous resources and territorial embeddedness traits of a selected small-town case as preconditions for creative industry development, with a special focus on local symbolic resources and notable local industries (e.g. manufacturing, agriculture) undergoing a degree of reinvention, as possible avenues of value-adding interaction with creative industries;
2. Analyse the discourses pertaining to sustainability as used by policymakers and relevant stakeholders in the case study location;
3. Make an inventory of creative industry actors in the case study location and establish the dominant creative industry sub-sectors (the distinctive profile) of the selected small town;
4. Explore the ways in which the activities of creative industries further or hinder the social and cultural sustainability of the case study location, among all, the dynamics of newcomers and locals, the opportunities for retaining local human resources, the local skills base, and traditional production sites, as well as the nourishing of local forms of sociality, connectivity and symbolic capital.
5. Analyse the contribution and trade-offs in the practices of creative industry actors with regard to economic and environmental sustainability, including the orientations towards economic growth, the use of local resources and the “green” aspects of industry operations;
6. Conduct creative industry scenario-development activities with key stakeholders, including local government agencies, to identify the potential and possible development trajectories of the creative industries in the case study location;
7. Analyse the research data, and disseminate in its various formats to relevant stakeholders, academic and non-academic, domestic and international.

Ieva Zemīte (Project Leader)

Ilona Kunda (Lead project participant)

Agnese Hermane (Project participant)

Baiba Tjarve (Project participant)

Žanete Eglīte (Student project participant)

Una Bluķe (Student project participant)

Alise Gurenko (Student project participant)

Anete Cīrule (Student project participant)

WP1 Setting the scene: small town development policies and the role of creative industries Task leader I. Kunda, Dr. sc.soc.

Methodology: desk study of cultural and/or city development policies in the case study towns (emphasis on presented rationales and underlying assumptions on desirable development and the role of creative industries). The desk study will be supplemented with semi-structured interviews with local authority representatives and key stakeholders, and an unstructured media scan to identify key local issues and actors.

WP2. Taking an inventory: creative industry profile and resources

Task leader Ieva Zemite, Dr. oec.

Methodology: desk study of relevant documents from (local) relevant tertiary education institutions, business support systems, public grants for entrepreneurs; (local) media content analysis to identify most visible operators and stories; semi-structured interviews at each location, to determine the range of creative industry entrepreneurial entities, and the key resources in their environment.

WP3. Deep dive: networks and contributions

Task leader: I. Zemīte, Dr. oec.

Methodology: 1) internet survey of creative industry entrepreneurs (contributing to WP2 results as well), 2)

Semi-structured interviews with a selection of creative industry entities typical for the case study location profile, to develop a typology of linkages and contributions to sustainability.

WP4. Sustainability and synthesis

Task leader Ilona Kunda, Dr.sc. soc.

Methodology: 1) internet survey of creative industry entrepreneurs (as per WP3); 2) scenario analysis involving key stakeholders, 3) ad hoc semi-structured interviews with stakeholders; methodological seminars for the researcher group, writing retreats.

WP 5. Dissemination and communication

Task leader – Ieva Zemīte, Dr. oec.

Methodology: project group discussions with stakeholders; a combination of activities targeting multiple publics through existing LAC social media feeds and webpage, and special events (conference, meetings with policy-makers and business support entities to present conclusions and recommendations, and products (incl. articles in the creative industry platform FOLD). Study data incorporated in the course material on creative industries (BA and MA level). Scientific communication to domestic and international audiences via conference papers and research articles, which will be a crucial focus towards the end of the project.

Recommendations for policy planners on the contribution of creative industries in small cities

This report reflects the results of the research conducted by the Latvian Academy of Culture (LKA) on cultural and creative industries. It analyzes the activities of cultural and creative businesses and creative individuals in small cities in Latvia. The report reveals the characteristics of collaboration networks among specific creative businesses and individuals, the views of small-town residents, and the activities of creative enterprises in promoting the city's sustainable development. The conclusions indicate the underutilized potential of creative entrepreneurship and opportunities to develop more targeted policy measures to support creative industries.