STUDIES CARRIED OUT UNDER THE “INVESTIGA” PROGRAM OF FUNDESARTE

Since 2010, the crafts department at EOI (School of Industrial Organization), Fundesarte, has carried out a series of research projects in the field of crafts, in order to generate information and knowledge about the reality of the Spanish crafts sector as a productive sector and as a cultural industry in Spain. With these studies carried out under the “investiga” program, the aim is to advance knowledge of the artisan sector, to increase the effectiveness of specific policies and the social estimation of the sector.
Luxury firms. A positioning for contemporary Spanish crafts
Study carried out in the first call of the “investiga” program in 2010 by Gloria Bonet Batalla, teacher at the Massana School in Barcelona. The study gathers the reflections extracted from 14 interviews with people related to the crafts and luxury sector, as well as a discussion group of six people from outside the world of luxury and crafts, on various topics such as: brand, communication, product , distribution, consumers, reference models of crafts, positioning of crafts, the universe of luxury, the future and the strategy of creating an umbrella brand.
Innovation in artisan ceramics
Study carried out in 2010 by José María Mella, specialist in ceramics and the Arab world and researcher at the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid. This research aims to advance in the processes of innovation and technical changes, both from the point of view of the product and the production process. Likewise, it seeks the introduction of new business models and the creation of groups of companies for the development of technical, organizational, commercial and marketing solutions. The analysis focuses on the study of the promotion of the productive activity of seven cities and rural centres with a ceramic tradition in order to make them more creative and help them respond to the challenges of internationalization and the economic crisis of that time.
Future scenarios for Spanish crafts
Study carried out in 2011 by Manuel Martínez Torán, doctor of the Universidad Politécnica de Valencia. The purpose of the study is to analyse representative businesses and workshops in the world of crafts with the aim of designing and building future, compatible and effective scenarios, on which the sector can base itself to develop a profitable business model. The contribution of this study to Spanish crafts is an aid to its strategic management and the design of concrete actions, articulated through innovation, that serve as guidance for informed and conscious decision-making.
ADSL: contribution of Spanish artisan companies in local development processes
Study carried out by Jon Marín in 2013. The main objective of this study is to find an evaluation mechanism of the contribution of crafts in sustainable local development, on an environmental, social and economic scale. To do this, a series of sustainability measures were collected in the practice of crafts, a basic methodology for their application was designed, which was put into practice in three case studies. The impact of crafts on the local environment, at a social, environmental and economic level was also assessed and quantified.

These research studies are available in Spanish in the SAVIA site of EOI, where all the publications made by Fundesarte to date can be found: such as catalogues of the National Crafts Awards, publications of the biannual congresses and others design, exhibition or cooperation projects.