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Background
to Insight Out Learning
Insight Out Learning developed out
of Insight Out, a graduate programme organised by NESTA (National
Endowment for Science Technology and the Arts), the Lighthouse,
and The Glasgow School of Art.
Insight Out launched in June 2004.
Recent graduates of Glasgow School of Art were selected to
take part on a programme which was intended to bridge the
gap between the 'creative' and 'business' mindsets by approaching
the development of a new business as a design project and
not just a financial exercise.
The project was designed to have two
main benefits. Firstly, it was designed to give graduates
the opportunity to undertake a bespoke creative business initiative,
and secondly it would give The Glasgow School of Art an exciting
opportunity to examine and capture the learning gained from
this initiative and embed it within the undergraduate curriculum.
This aspect of the programme is called Insight Out Learning.
The graduates selected initially took
part in Insight Out Uptime: Êan intensive four-day learning
academy delivered at the Lighthouse and facilitated by Joanna
Woodford (consultant for NESTA) and Piers Roberts (Designersblock).
This was followed by a four-week 'virtual incubator' programme
providing coaching from accountants, lawyers, business advisors
and manufactures. The programme culminated in the participants
presenting their business ideas to a panel and, if successful,
receiving funds to help them establish the business and advice
on how to access further start up investment.
On completing the programme, the Insight
Out participants took part a series of evaluation and discussion
sessions facilitated by a team at Glasgow School of Art which
had been established in order to develop Insight Out Learning.
The evaluations highlighted that the programme was seen to
be highly successful in embedding business concepts within
design practice. Participants commented that the group dynamic
created had been very positive and had created a supportive
environment for creative business development. The programme
had been effective in enabling participants to explore personal
ideas and philosophies, goals and motivations for creative
enterprise and this was considered to have been critically
Êimportant in focusing the business plan and financial strategies
thereafter.
Participants believed that their experience
on the Insight Out programme could be valuable within an undergraduate
curriculum in focusing direction and understanding the business
context and its needs. This positive feedback enabled the
Insight Out Learning team to develop key business models and
practice into a series of sessions and tasks that could be
embedded in the undergraduate curriculum.
The main aim of Insight Out Learning
is to facilitate and embed business and enterprise learning
within the undergraduate art and design curriculum. The key
objective is the integration of business and creative thinking
tools within studio projects.
Insight Out Learning - Research
and Pilot Project
The Insight Out pilot programme was
developed throughout academic session 2004 - 2005, and was
piloted to 3rd and 4th year design undergraduates at the Glasgow
School of Art during term 2 and 3.
The sessions were delivered as an embedded
part of studio projects and in connection with practical project
work. The sessions were not delivered as a separate programme
and were contextualised by studio practice and the subject
expertise of facilitators delivering the material.
The response from the pilots was very
positive. The undergraduate students very much welcomed the
learning material and enjoyed the group tasks. They felt more
confident about their creative and business capabilities and
how to manage and explore their ambitions. They felt that
business had been de-mystified and felt more creative about
their approach to it.
The Material
The pilot evaluations have resulted
in the finished material and models. Insight Out learning
has four models:
- Motives
Values Model: A tool to help students understand
personal motives in everyday life, work, creative pursuits,
social activities etc.
- Future
History: A model for visualising the next 5 years
and planning the steps to achieve specific goals.
- RISKIT:
A business model, which looks at the relationships between
idea, production and delivery.
- Business
Blueprinting: A model that can help identify all
the operational elements of a business.
These models should be delivered in
a facilitated group environment where discussion by participants
is activity encouraged. Throughout the 1/2 day sessions, facilitators
are encouraged to expand upon the models by using their own
experience of enterprise and industry knowledge. This clearly
enables the material to be tailored to each undergraduate
art & design discipline. Using facilitators' specific industry
knowledge within the delivery of the models has proved to
be most successful within the pilot evaluations.
The models can be used independently
or as part of a programme using all four models at appropriate
points in a project. Included within the Insight Out learning
web resource is a comprehensive Curriculum map which outlines
where the material can be embedded and at what undergraduate
stage.
All the models within Insight Out Learning
have been developed to spark critical questioning and debate;
they promote self-enquiry and analysis, and provide effective
tools to think and work with. In order to support and contextualise
the learning contained in the models, three case studies have
been developed. These take the form of video interviews with
practitioners in the Design and Fine Art fields. These address
key principles and learning that new creative businesses have
experienced throughout their business journey and subsequent
appraisal of activity and growth.
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