Situated in a historic building in Carrick-on-Shannon, a small town in the west of Ireland, the Leitrim Design House is a popular tourist destination, showcasing local pottery, art, ceramics and photographs among other arts and crafts.
However, the enterprise views itself as more than just a craft shop – it has set itself the ambitious goal of "providing positive social, economic and environmental gains for the broader community" - sustainable development, in other words - by delivering a broad range of training programmes and networking opportunities.
The Leitrim Design House is in its own words a non-profit organisation "committed to supporting the development and success of designers/makers and artists working in the creative sector" in County Leitrim, Ireland's least populous county.
As early as 1996, development strategies indicated that the wealth of cultural entrepreneurship in the region had the potential to become a vibrant and productive sector.
Local authorities realised, however, that the development of the sector required a comprehensive framework of support and guidance if this potential was to be realised. As a result, the Leitrim County Enterprise Board (LCEB) developed a strategic initiative in cooperation with experts from the local arts and crafts sector. This led to the development of a producer group, with a pooled portfolio of work professionally marketed under the Visual Leitrim brand. In September 2000, group members formed Leitrim Design House Ltd (LDH) to manage and operate their marketing programme and set up a new gallery/showroom for local artists and craftspeople.
Today, the LDH considers itself "one of the most progressive craft, art and design clusters in Ireland and provides a clear example of how the talents of local people can be turned into a viable enterprise".
Cross-border cooperation
Speaking to EurActiv, LDH manager Geraldine Gray explained that "we've employed a craft development officer through cohesion funding, and that's really what allowed us to carry out the majority of our projects".
LDH first received EU cohesion money via PEACE funding, a programme which aims to fulfill the regional policy goal of improving territorial co-operation.
Gray noted that "as the emphasis of the funding was on cross-border work, we would have worked quite a lot with craftworkers in Northern Ireland," which "opened up huge links and networks to our own makers here, because they could bring their products to outlets in the North and vice-versa".
"A lot of the training programmes we've run over the last number of years would not have been possible without EU funds," she noted, adding that through new product development programmes and business development programmes, the LDH is "multiplying the talent and skill pool in the region".
Creative sector stimulates economic growth
Indeed, developing a region's creative sector can often lead to growth in other areas, according to Gerry Finn, director of the Border Midlands and Western (BMW) region of Ireland.
Finn told EurActiv that "developing the artistic and creative fields side by side with the promotion of industry and entrepreneurship is one of the keys to real and sustainable growth" in EU regions.
"If you go around the world," he explained "it's often the case that in places where the arts are strong, other industry is also thriving, because an active creative sector tends to lead to creative thinking, greater design and innovation, and a higher awareness of quality-of-life issues".
"All of these things are important in trying to creative a modern, vibrant community. From an economic and tourism perspective, if you have a flourishing arts and cultural sector, other sectors tend to follow suit," he added.
Reformed cohesion policy should focus on sustainability
While both Gray and Finn believe cohesion funds have played a positive role in their region, they believe changes are necessary if EU regional policy is to achieve its full potential. Finn, who has studied in detail the reforms recommended by the Barca report (EurActiv 07/05/09) and the draft document of the EU 2020 strategy (EurActiv 19/11/09), believes there should be a simplification of the way the EU manages its funding.
"Management and implementation procedures are very complex, which can occasionally lead to high error rates," he argued, adding that "this is something that has been pointed out by the EU Court of Auditors time and time again".
Geraldine Gray, meanwhile, thinks the EU must prioritise sustainable projects, something that is not currently the case in her experience. "I think what often happens is that projects have a limited lifespan - when the funding goes, the project stops," she argued.
The LDH manager believes too many projects arise simply because EU money is available, whereas "we have used the funding to develop our own potential, but without losing our core idea that we would still be there when the funding ends. I think we're unusual in that sense".
"The funding certainly helps us but we are using it to build a sustainable business," she concluded.
