EU-Eastern Partnership Culture & Creativity Programme

David was selected by the EU-Eastern Partnership Culture & Creativity Programme to deliver workshops in Georgia, Belarus and Azerbaijan. He was also commissioned to write and film two online courses for cultural entrepreneurs in Ukraine.

Business development in the creative and cultural industries

The workshops on business development in the creative and cultural industries were designed according to the needs of the Programme participants. These were cultural and creative leaders in cultural organisations and creative enterprises in Georgia, Belarus and Azerbaijan.

Working with regional experts who also designed and delivered the training workshops with David, workshops on strategic planning took place in Tbilisi, Minsk and Baku.

David was also commissioned to prepare and feature in an online training course on strategic planning. Strategic planning videos were produced in Kiev, Ukraine, with a professional film crew. He also designed and presented a free online training course on Marketing.

Whilst working with the Culture & Creativity EU-Eastern Partnership Programme, David also delivered additional presentations, gave media interviews and met with cultural and creative businesses. These included:

– A meeting with the Ministry of Culture in Tbilisi, Georgia
– An interview with Belarus State TV at the British Embassy in Minsk (more…)
– A presentation on business development for creative and cultural enterprises at the IMAGURU business hub in Minsk (more…)
– A meeting with the Belarusian crowd-sourcing and crowd-funding platform Talaka.by
– An interview with BSU Radio and TV in Baku, Azerbaijan
– A presentation about ‘Creativity for Business Success’ at Baku State University in Azerbaijan (more…)
– Lecture at ADA University on “a-Creativity and i-Creativity for Business Success (more…)

EU-Eastern Partnership Culture & Creativity Programme group in Baku, Azerbaijan
EU-Eastern Partnership Culture & Creativity Programme group in Baku, Azerbaijan


“The workshop was useful and beneficial to me. I learned more about strategic planning. David was an asset to this program and an inspiration! I liked the seminar and how he presented the information. It was accessible and exciting. I loved it and enjoyed the seminar a lot.”

– Olga Rudak. Creative and Cultural Leaders. Minsk, Belarus.

Strategic Planning workshop for Cultural Leaders in Georgia
Cultural Leaders at the Strategic Planning workshop in Tbilisi, Georgia


“The workshop was just perfect. I obtained techniques on strategic thinking that will help me to develop an effective strategic plan and to be more target-oriented. David Parrish was a very interesting speaker, ready to answer all our questions.”

– Leyli Salayeva /contemporary writer. Cultural and Creative Leaders. Azerbaijan

Cultural leaders and creative entrepreneurs at the Culture & Creativity EU-Eastern Partnership Programme Strategic Planning workshop
Cultural leaders and creative entrepreneurs at the Culture & Creativity EU-Eastern Partnership Programme Strategic Planning workshop

Some strategic planning tools, techniques, articles and other resources used in the workshop are also online and available for other leaders in the cultural and creative industries to use:

‘Create Your Own Business Formula’ – article available to download in several languages (more…)
‘T-Shirts and Suits: A Guide to the Business of Creativity’ – free eBook version in English (more...)
Strategic Planning Videos – made for the online training course on strategic planning (more…)
Vision and Success. The importance of a Strategic Vision and clear Definition of Success (more…)
Internal Analysis of Strengths and Weaknesses using the PRIMEFACT checklist (more…)
External Analysis of Opportunities and Threats using the ICEDRIPS checklist (more…)
SWOT Analysis for Creative and Cultural Enterprises (more…)
Competitive Advantage. Online article and downloadable PDF. (more…)
Strategic Marketing. eBook ‘Chase One Rabbit: Strategic Marketing for Business Success. 63 Tips, Techniques and Tales for Creative Entrepreneurs’ (more…)

– “Ideas in Action” creative business case studies including ‘An Artist with a Passion and a Focus’ (more…)
Strategic Planning Framework for Creative and Cultural Enterprises (more…)

also connected to the strategic planning workshop…

Cultural Industries support project to help arts organisations and cultural enterprises to become more financially self-sustaining and enterprising at a time of public sector cuts – ‘Fit for the Future’ (more…)
– Strategic planning workshop participants and others can sign up for free information, ideas, tools, techniques and special offers to help them make their cultural organisations and creative enterprises more successful (more…)


The Culture & Creativity EU-Eastern Partnership Programme is designed to help the cultural industries and creative enterprises in Ukraine, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia and Moldova.

The Programme is managed by a consortium led by the British Council, in partnership with the Soros Foundation-Moldova, the National Centre for Culture of Poland and the Goethe-Institute.

David works around the world helping cultural and creative enterprises to become even more successful by using smart business techniques that fit with their artistic mission, values and objectives.

The international perspective of the Programme, shared by David, encourages learning between different countries and cultures.
David said:
“I am delighted to be working with the Culture & Creativity EU Eastern Partnership Programme because my work is international and I passionately believe in international co-operation. Creative and cultural enterprises can learn so much from each other, adopting effective business models and techniques, then creatively adapting them to local circumstances. My mission is to help creative and cultural entrepreneurs to become even more successful by using smart techniques that fit with their values and objectives. We can often learn from cultural enterprises and creative businesses in other countries and cultures. My international work facilitates this cross-pollination of ideas, techniques, business models and strategies.”

David speaking at Strategic Planning Workshop for Cultural Leaders

David has worked internationally with the British Council in Azerbaijan, Belarus, Brazil, Chile, China, Georgia, Lithuania, the Philippines, Taiwan, Ukraine, Vietnam and Zimbabwe on various projects to help develop the Creative Economy and the Creative Industries.

He also works in partnership with a number of other organisations world-wide that support the development of the cultural sector and the creative industries. His projects and clients include government departments, national agencies, creative businesses, NGOs and third-sector organisations, arts organisations, conference organisers, economic development agencies, universities, professional associations and other clients in more than 40 countries around the world.