ON INTERNATIONAL COLLABORATIONS

1. BRONAC FERRAN 14th December 2011 ON INTERNATIONAL COLLABORATIONS

2. Interested very much in exchange • Many years working in international contexts • Former Director of Interdisciplinary Arts at ACE *where international was ‘good’ • Had means to set things up and shape programmes – and influence things accordingly, also diversity seen as a beneficial thing for innovation, etc • EG ACE/AHRC Research Fellowships (Art and Science) opened to international applicants

3. Current projects • A Guest Curator at the Ruskin Gallery at Anglia Ruskin in Cambridge working on a public art programme through to next summer • Also involved with the Creative Exchange Knowledge Hub at Royal College of Art • Writing texts – eg essay about Brazilian visual artist this week for visual arts catalogue • & likely to be a development consultant for Cultural Olympiad project for next September linking Preston in NW with Recife in NE Brazil (practice-led research meets public events)

4. Opening up the right context for interesting ideas emerging from research based practice ....Like magnetic fields

5. help foster the kinds of artists and arts organisations – who are continuously boundary-crossing: often just a case of setting them afloat ...pointing them at a horizon

6. ACE funded artists to do research abroad • International Fellowships programme • Made successful arguments for ‘blue sky’ space and time • Lessons learnt from ACE/AHRC Art and Science Research Fellowships programme - International Fellowships Programme - Interact art and industry placements programme • Ongoing process of trying things out...learning...feedback.....not high risk • Tried to open up opportunities – advertisements in Guardian etc....networking events to share

7. Artists ...like Semi-Conductor Work emerged from a six month research residency at Berkeley Space Lab – was able To set this up due to long-term collaboration with Roger Malina, ed of Leonardo

8. Also LilianeLijn – working on evolution of her research ....

9. Post ACE - Brazil and China • Involved in two events funded by AHRC in Brazil, 2007 and 2009 – knowledge transfer • Also PI and coordinated an event – a summer school about ageing and design funded by RCUK in China last year

10. Brazil • During Year of Science & Innovation in Brazil – Curated a symposium on Research & Knowledge Transfer in Innovation and Creative Industries – panel and thematic structures over two days with speakers from both countries....drew on self funded research the previous two years..... • Context RCUK-FAPESP (SAO PAULO STATE) RESEARCH FUNDING MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING • Signed two years later....whilst the event was politically driven there were real results in terms of influencing then embryonic approach to creative economy there

11. Second event in Sao Paolo 2009 • Multi-agency, complicated. AHRC only one of the partners. Was British Council generated and Dutch partners and funders. Mix of practice and research with overriding topic/theme ie ecology and media • Practice-led research/interdisciplinary formula different in Brazil....fascinating outcomes

12. My role – • Wrote a report evaluating it for British Council (and AHRC) – made some recommendations but feel limits to impact of learning from such events • One-off ...in nature... there are risks but also great advantages – not large amount of money ...spin-offs are inevitable if you bring right people together • PROCESS V PRODUCT

13. Summer School in Beijing...exciting but • Went in with eyes open - but still really difficult • challenges in terms of creating value beyond the short-term benefit of people encountering each other and getting to know each other’s work a little bit • Asymmetary: diff models of KT.... • Hierarchies – important • Funds for UK not China • Not limited by willingness but very different systems of management and organisation!

14. Feedback • The inclusion of elderly knowledgeable professors from the institute really made this exchange of ideas realistic, relevant and significant. It was inspiring and humbling to hear retired professors speak with such passion and conviction. • It is quite difficult to really know the true picture; we rely on demographics and statistics to inform us but meeting the relevant people in their environment is much more powerful.

15. Eg of feedback to RCUK • HOW WILL YOU USE THIS LEARNING IN FUTURE? • It is hard to know at this point, except that I feel better-equipped to understand the pressures and needs of international students at the RCA, to understand the role of China in world affairs and I know who to contact for future collaborative projects, both within the RCA and at Tsinghua • WHAT DID YOU FEEL THE RCA CAN LEARN FROM DOING SUCH EVENTS - ESPECIALLY IN CHINA? • Need to identify individuals in the ‘host’ team, perhaps a simple buddying system that would create a network / connection between people who might not otherwise spend time together – it’s always easier to ‘clump’ with people you know • Need to practice speaking with a translator • Need to identify clearer outcomes and schedule – Western culture is much more comfortable with loose framework, where I sensed Chinese find that a bit embarrassing / risky

16. FOR THE FUTURE • How to manage long-term research within short-term programmes? • Identifying ways of sharing knowledge and learning between and across projects? • Being highly selective about priorities for international exchange...trying to deepen not spread too thin... • Bridge building and boundary-spanning (ugh term) Need investment in the infrastructure to facilitate international exchange... • ...Perhaps we should review models of investment....networking and research collaboration not as easy as it sounds....many disparities of development...different agencies have different agendas.

17. If the reason for working across international boundaries is about difference?And the value emerging from the intersections then we need to find ways not to just try to replicate our own structures elsewhere? And that’s the primary challenge.