Creative Kampongs as Places of And For Innovation by Perkumpulan INISIATIF

INECIS Project

Policy Brief Creative Kampongs as Places of And For Innovation Executive Summary Innovation is core to the national discussion on creative economy and creative industries (CIs), which are considered one of the country’s main economic pillars. CIs often present in urban kampongs exhibit different forms of informality: in work relations, in their location, in their legal status, and their licencing status. These informal CIs use innovation to survive daily but struggle to innovate in ways that promote their long-term economic sustainability due to limited resources, financial capital, and know-how capabilities (Safitri and Aritenang, 2021). To address the long-term economic sustainability of these informal CIs, the local networks of creative communities and creative organisations can be strengthened by multisectoral cooperation tocreate shared spaces of knowledge creation that promote grassroots and market-driven innovation. Also, such collaboration can promote community-led place branding strategies as forms of collective knowledge sharing and identity building that respond to these informal CIs’ realities.

Scope of the Problem The creative economy in Indonesia contributes greatly to the country’s economic growth (see Fig. 1). The urban (creative) kampongs are the places in Indonesia where the creative economy and informality intersect. The creative kampongs have been used as an opportunity to attract tourism through place-branding and urban renewal strategies. These have also become a policy and planning instrument to support innovation and creativity at the local level (Prasetyo& Martin-Iverson, 2013) by attracting more consumers and tourists for the creative products and services in these areas. Creative kampongs have been found to match the rapidly growing knowledge and skills to solve community problems (International Labour Office/ILO, 1992; Sheikh, 2014). Despite this, informal CIs in Bandung are not yet sustainable in the long-term (Safitri and Aritenang, 2021). Supporting innovation has been identified as a core aspect for CIs to be sustainable in time (Langerak, Hultink, & Robben, 2004). Incrementaland pragmatic approaches dominate how informal CIs in Bandung innovate in their products, processes and markets. Such strategies include, for example, emphasising new media/ technology of production, modification of existing designs and exploiting collaboration with the government, private institutions, and academia to improve their technical and managerial capacities. However, in the case of Bandung, there is a lack of evidence on the presence of advanced technology, sophisticated design, or extensive funding driving the CIs’ innovation (Safitri and Aritenang, 2021). Also, Safitri and Aritenang (2021) did not find evidence of a medium-long term strategy guiding much incremental innovation. Such findings put in question the resilience of these businesses and that of the creative kampongs where these businesses are located. Grassroots innovation is essential for the context of CIs operating in an informal context and with solid relationships with the community (Safitri and Aritenang, 2021). Here, innovation emerges when solving local problems through the knowledge, experience, or ability of a community or individuals. It occurs outside and despite the efforts or presence of formal institutions (Reinsberger et al., 2015). The grassroots organisationshave a core role as they support the growth of the local community and its businesses through the use of knowledge and experience relating to essential available resources (Roberts, Jones, and Frohling, 2005). The above elements are crucial for the CIs and the creative Kampongs’ resilience.

Figure1. "The creative economy in Indonesia in numbers" Source: BEKRAF 2019

Policy changes should be done to address these informal CIs economic and long-term economic sustainability while promoting Bandung’s position as a leading creative city in the country. Specifically, changes are suggested by developing instruments and strategies that actively promote grassroots innovation and support the creation and strengthening of local networks among diverse actors.

Policy Alternatives Formulate a community and city- led long-term vision for place-branding the creative kampongs. The role of creative kampongs is not limited only to their geographic location. These are also shared spaces that bring forth communal spirit by establishing knowledge production, collective memory and identity (Safitri and Aritenang, 2021). Communities and city authorities can use these characteristics to develop a long-term vision for how the creative kampong is marketed and branded that actively includes its informal CIs. Such a strategy can support local businesses in developing plans and strategies of investment while identifying tailored approaches to their businesses innovation (e.g. where and how) are aligned with the branding strategy for their kampongs. These community-led branding strategies will developed further their know-how to maximize the opportunities that their creative kampong’s cultural, social, and spatial characteristics have, including the potential informality of (some of ) the CIs. To promote innovation in creative kampongs. Grassroots and market-driven innovations are closer to the realities of the informal CIs in Bandung, particularly those located in kampongs. Both types of innovation provide a problemsolving approach to knowledge creation. Grassroots innovation, in particular, supports the ability of a community to innovate (mostly in their economic activities) using limited resources (Safitri and Aritenang, 2021). Instead, market-driven innovation enables CIs’ owners and managers to search for new (intra- and inter-sectoral and multi-actor) partnerships and collaborations, as well as to acquire new skills and knowledge and explore new resources. Government agencies (along with their policies and programs), private institutions, and also other sectoral (including civic) organisations, have a crucial role in disseminating technical and managerial knowledge that can expedite innovation. It is essential to create arenas where these different

Policy Recommendations Based on the described elements impacting the long-term economic sustainability of informal CIs, we propose the following actions to be considered in terms of policy: Explore community-led place-branding to support collective memories and identity. A strong identity for the individual creative kampongs aiming to generate communityled tourism can help identify business opportunities and avenues for further development among local entrepreneurs. To this end, workshops with local community leaders, civic movements, and entrepreneurs can identify collective memories and traits of the different kampongs that would better inform place-branding strategies by also appropriately accounting for the informal characteristics of the area and/or of its existing CIs.These memories and traits can be as diverse as events that the kampongs are known , spaces of reference in collective memory, or historical events shaping the community and the city. Strengthening the creative communities and organizations role as mobilizers of networking and knowledge sharing in the kampongs. The role of the various creative communities and organisations has been essential for Bandung city and its creative entrepreneurs. However, their role as mobilisers could be enhanced and strengthened by providing spaces and subsidies for networking activities for all CIs and across the city of Bandung. The government could explore the opportunity to support the development of temporary pop-up locations for the different creative communities and organisations in the different kampongs and other areas of the city. These pop-up locations (itinerant in character and thus temporary) can present an arena for entrepreneurs from different sectors and regions of the city to meet, learn, and exchange knowledge, ideas, and resources while easing pathways towards long-term collaborations and sustainable new networks. Lastly, implementing this could also facilitate a more collaborative and inclusive form of governance for the CIs-oriented policies in the city, reflecting and adapting better to the realities of creative kampongs in Bandung which provides spaces for knowledge sharing and growth indistinctively of the CIs formalisation status.

Support internships and design competitions of university students in local businesses of creative kampongs. Innovation comes from exchanging ideas, and knowledge exchange between local business and students can be a perfect arena for innovation. The government could support through small grants the inclusion of university students in local CIs, together with the support of the local universities, as a form of social internships. In such exchange, students could help a business develop a new product idea by exploring new materials and design, targeting a different form of marketing, establishing an online platform for the businesses, and improving the production process. Additionally, the local government can collaborate with the universities to promote competitions, done collaboratively between students and the creative kampongs or the CIs associations, for creating ideas for enhancing the visibility and attraction of the businesses and their creative kampongs to tourists and visitors.

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