Producer Center Living Lab

The nationwide Producer Centre Living Lab project will create, over the period 2024-2026 a nationwide network of producer centres and its operational and organisational model. The project develop the operation of the arts and culture producer network by supporting the
producer and intermediary sector professional networking and the development of regional cooperation. The project will directly contribute to accessibility of producer services and the conditions for the functioning of the arts and culture sector, and indirectly the employment of arts and culture professionals, in particular freelancers. The project will also indirectly and extensively improve the quality and impact of cultural productions.

The project will also highlight regional differences in producer skills at national level, and also the need to develop education in the sector. The core issue of the project is to make visible how producer skills can be safeguarded to support the operating conditions of the arts and culture sectors in the regions and how its maintenance can be possible in the future.

The Producer Centre Living Lab project is based on the Producer Bank project implemented by TAMK with AKKE funding in 2021-2023.The project developed the skills of producers in the arts and culture sector in the Pirkanmaa region, the operation of the producer network and piloted various operating models to strengthen the operating conditions of producers. Based on these experiences and the successful implementation of the project, it is considered important to disseminate the tested methods of the regional project nationwide, while at the same time exploring the differences in the needs of producers' skills in different regions and artistic genres.

Building better organised networks, peer-to-peer activities enabling the sharing of expertise and knowledge, and learning environments and support services that support continuous learning are needed to make the work of producers visible, increase their skills and develop their activities at national level. The Producer Bank project has led to the establishment of the first Creative Producers Association in Pirkanmaa to ensure the continuity of regional activities, and similar regional solutions are now being sought for other regions.

Professional development is a process that requires encounters, discussion and reflection. Professional identity is shaped by the evaluation and feedback of one's own work. Producer often works without peers in his/her own organisation. Meeting peers in a safe and confidential environment is important both for networking, professional growth and and for the promotion of well-being at work. To this end, the project will provide mentoring and job coaching for producers in the domain.

The Producer Centre Living Lab aims to develop the cultural and artistic life of different regions, create links and the facilitation of interaction between local cultural operators and the Living Lab's producers. The Living Lab will explore how producers' cooperation in different regions of Finland should be developed in a practical way, and on the other hand, to promote cultural activities in municipalities by enhancing producer skills in the region.The Producer Centre Network is a completely new service and approach that supports the working conditions of producers at regional level and improve the retention of the sector.
The digital services created by the project will support the national dissemination of information. The project regional producer coordinators, created with the help of the project, will be the new structural role, which is generally lacking in the regions, a hub for the exchange of productive know-how, networks, knowledge and services.

The project will highlight the differences in producer skills and needs, and thus also the need to develop training in the sector, between regions at national level. The core issue of the project is to make visible how producer skills can be secured in the regions to support the operating conditions of the arts and culture sectors and how they can be maintained in the future. The Producer Centre Network is a completely new approach that will support the working conditions of producers and improve the sector's retention capacity.

The result and impact of the whole approach is the strengthening of the personal capacities of individuals and the overall productive and economic development of cultural production in the project area as a whole. Through meetings, networking and mentoring, a strong confidence in the network of colleagues is sought, which will continue to operate beyond the project. Through a common network, it will be easier for cultural operators (companies, associations, working
groups) and artistic and cultural institutions to find producer support and expertise, which will contribute to the employment of freelance producers in particular throughout the region. The use of creative productivity in other sectors will increase, creating new business and developing
product and service innovations. A business skills mapping will explore ways to link the skills of producers to the development of the regions' economies.

ESR+ Euroopan sosiaalirahasto 2021-2027