CREANOVA

While innovation is a defined imperative for European learning policy there is a lack of evidence on what constitutes meaningful innovation and how it can be fostered and applied in learning. The research outcomes will inform innovative competence acquisition and development in formal and informal learning contexts: vocational training, adult education, work-based learning.

Rapid socio-economic change and transformation suggest a need for a research focus on specific sectors and industries: technological and creative. These sectors are critical in promoting both entrepreneurship and the application of innovative ideas. These also generate the new products and processes for increasingly competitive markets. Furthermore, these sectors are also fields of common academic and applied interest for the various partners.

The key activities of the CREANOVA-process will include

Background research (capturing/enlightening the phenomenon)

• Concept analysis: creativity and innovation (C&I) as part of learning
• Existing good practices: identifying factors, conditions and methods promoting creativity and innovation

Experiment and survey (investigating reality)

• Testing the transferability of good practices to other fields of study and work, and to other countries
• Finding new/additional information on teachers, learners and workers experiences of innovative learning processes

Establishing a European Association focusing on capacity building in creativity and innovation(building continuity)

Offering recommendations to policy makers and field actors of best practices and methods promoting C&I (creating guidelines)

The key-activities focus on the contexts of VET, AE and work-life representing technological and creative industries. These contexts are especially interesting since C&I are most often connected with higher education.

The partnership is diverse and complementary. It is formed by universities, educational policy makers, research centres in innovation and applied pedagogy, training institutions, as well as private companies. The partners include associated departments, networks, associations and government agencies that span a wide range of expertise (ES, FI, EE, IE, FR, IT, UK, DE).

The project outputs will

• Define the key methods, processes and conditions that promote enhanced creativity as part of learning.
• Inform policy makers, training institutions and companies by making recommendations on effective learning processes for innovation.
• Create a sustainable European professional association to promote applied innovation and exchange best practice in learning creativity.

Extracted from CREANOVA