A national dance charity is aiming to develop new business opportunities as they begin a new 18-month Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) with De Montfort University Leicester (DMU).
FABRIC is a strategic dance development organisation based in Birmingham and Nottingham, whose vision is to inspire people through dance, transforming lives, communities and places.
The organisation has teamed up with DMU on a Management KTP to develop new business opportunities and enhance their digital infrastructure, optimising data management and CRM (customer relationship management) intelligence systems and processes. A key objective is to explore new services that may fuel growth for FABRIC and empower the sector.
FABRIC was formed in 2022 following the merger of two Midlands-based organisations Dance4 and DanceXchange, bringing together more than 60 years’ experience in the sector. FABRIC has a strategic role in developing the artform of dance. Working with many partners locally, nationally and internationally, it supports dance artists and choreographers to develop their practice- and also runs a range of education and training programmes, community, and health inclusion projects.
DMU’s knowledge exchange team worked closely with Associate Professor Dance, Sally Doughty, Deputy Head of the School of Humanities and Performing Arts, to collaborate with the team at FABRIC.
Renowned internationally as a facilitator and performer of improvisational practices, Sally has built her profile over two decades as an artist and academic. She has choreographed, taught, and performed in the USA, Latvia, the UK, and many other countries worldwide.
Previously, Sally undertook a one year secondment as a Research Director at FABRIC during which she initiated discussions about developing a KTP. She said: “It’s an absolute pleasure to be collaborating with FABRIC colleagues on this KTP, as well as working closely with Hiu Man Chan at DMU and our wonderful KTP Associate, Ebbie Apata. The KTP builds on our very well established and productive partnership between DMU and FABRIC.
“We anticipate that the project will make significant contributions to FABRIC, the wider sector and to DMU’s curriculum developments and research outputs. So, it’s a very exciting time!”
Dr Hiu Man Chan, an experienced researcher in the Creative Industries, will also collaborate with the team on the project. Dr Chan is a researcher, entrepreneur, and consultant specialising in international collaboration in the creative and cultural industries, particularly the film sector.
Alongside her teaching and research, she has been an active practitioner for more than 15 years, engaging in various projects, including cultural industries development, management strategies, and non-profit organisation management.
She said: “This project is a turning point for the sector. It will provide us with insights into the specific skills shortage in the creative industries to support its on-going digital development. This is an important set of skills to be developed for the next generation.
“The project will inform us about how to design a curriculum that can train talents that can be fed to the industry after their graduation. As the module lead for creative enterprise and digitalisation within De Montfort University, I am determined to design something unique based on the knowledge exchange experience in this project. This project will make an important example for other initiatives to follow. We are glad to be the pioneers in this very important transformation for the UK's creative sector.”
Ebbie Apata is the postgraduate KTP associate that has been employed by DMU to work on the project. Ebbie graduated with a degree in Business Analysis from the University of Salford in 2023. He said: “Being a KTP associate is a unique opportunity to make meaningful impact by leveraging technologies, industries, and strategies to help FABRIC thrive in the landscape and industry. The project is a great opportunity to blend theory with practice, academic and industry.”
Clare Lewis, Deputy Chief Executive at FABRIC, said: “We are thrilled to have Ebbie on the team providing additional skills and resource to support the next stage of our development. This collaboration will help us make full use our CRM system to develop new opportunities and income streams, enabling us to create greater impact for the sector and the communities we work with.”
Incorporating financial support from Innovate UK, KTP projects link universities with business on innovative projects that have the potential to boost growth. The £150,000 project has been 75% funded by Innovate UK with support from FABRIC Dance.
Rhianna Briars, Knowledge Exchange Officer at DMU, said: “This is a really exciting and unique KTP project with a Creative Industries not-for-profit organisation. The project has a fantastic team across DMU and FABRIC and it is great to have our brilliant associate, Ebbie on board. I'm really looking forward to seeing how this project unfolds!”
Posted on Monday 24 June 2024