Donegal’s new Creative Strategy to focus on business opportunities

Michael Tunney, Head of Enterprise, Donegal Local Enterprise Office with Grace Korbel, Local Enterprise Office and Fiona Higgins, Donegal Designer Makers preparing for todays launch in the Regional Cultural Centre, Letterkenny

Steps towards establishing the right conditions for creative entrepreneurship in Donegal will be unveiled with the launch of the county’s first Creative Strategy today.

Details of the plan will be released at the Regional Cultural Centre, Letterkenny with hopes already high that the strategy can prove as successful for the creative sector, as the Food Coast has for food in Donegal.

“The core purpose is to let people grasp the creative business opportunities that exist in Donegal,” Michael Tunney, Head of Enterprise at Donegal Local Enterprise Office explained.

The first steps towards developing this strategy began with a consultative process involving stakeholders from the creative sector.

According to Mr Tunney, this allowed stakeholders to identify key challenges and set priority actions as they looked towards the long-term development potential for the creative sector within the county.

“From those gatherings, a sense of common purpose emerged and the launch of this strategy aims now to harness the momentum that has been set in motion and allow for the careful development of a longer-term, shared ambition for the creative sector.”

The Local Enterprise Office official added that the new Creative Strategy will outline a number of action plan themes, identify immediate projects for the initial phase, as well as outlining aspirations for longer-term development.

“The creative sector covers a broad church, so it was clear from the outset that clarity of purpose as well as co-operation and collaboration would be critical to the successful implementation of any plan.

It is evident that there is great energy among talented people already co-creating and collaborating in Donegal. There is strong interest in supporting grassroots activity and enabling the right conditions for the next wave of talent who need to be able to identify and maximise new opportunities within and outside the county. The focus of the LEO within the strategy will be to work with the sector to develop viable and sustainable businesses.”

This, he said, can be realised by “joining the dots” - between the Local Enterprise Office and other departments within Donegal County Council, practitioners, educators, enterprise and tourism agencies - towards a common purpose of unlocking opportunity for the creative sectors in the county.