CFA | IADT | Certificate in Cultural Entrepreneurship | ESF+ 2026

Overview

IADT’s new course in Cultural Entrepreneurship offers you management tools and methods in developing strong conceptual projects and/or business ideas. It will help you to develop those ideas through ideation techniques, project and time management, and to pitch and prepare a concept for funding and/or investment.

Learning Outcomes

You will complete a creative business proposal or artistic funding proposal by learning the following:

• Sector Mapping using creative ideation techniques (design thinking, brainstorming, mind mapping)
• Understanding the arts and cultural sectors
• Understand public vs private potential of creative project/business.
• Understand the legal implications of the proposal e.g. company, contract, public liability, employment law
• Finance: Create project budgets: accurate cost estimation, financial projections, resource allocation, cash flow management
• Develop the pitch – written proposal for funding application/investment, in person oral pitch.

Dates and times of the course

Classes take place one evening online per week and two Saturdays in person as follows:

Saturday, 17^th October 2026 | on campus | 10am – 4pm

Tuesday evenings | online | 7.30pm – 9pm:

• 20th October
• 3rd, 10th, 17th and 24th November

Saturday, 28^th November | on campus | 10am – 4pm

Who This Course Is For

Professionals who are experienced in working in arts and the creative and cultural sector, who wish to develop entrepreneurial skills related to developing their business or project concept.

Venue Information

Remote and on Campus at IADT, Kill Ave, Dun Laoghaire.

Costs/fee

Course fee €320 per person. (Normally this workshop would cost €600 per person without CCIS support)

Important: To avail of CCIS Membership Support, all registrations and fee payments must be made before the course commences. Applications for membership support for this course after this date can no longer be processed.

CCIS Membership Support

Who Qualifies:
INDIVIDUALS

• Sole traders or Freelancers who are Resident in the ROI are eligible as Member Companies.
• Private company (SME) or Enterprise employees.

COMPANIES

• Private Enterprise & SMEs based in the Republic of Ireland.
• Commercial semi-state companies providing that income contributed to a Network is not sourced from the public purse (must provide a letter).
• Social enterprises that trade as commercial social enterprises, and are companies registered with the CRO

Who Does Not Qualify:
INDIVIDUALS

• Applicants who are not Resident in the Republic of Ireland
• Applicants who are Unemployed and in receipt of Unemployment Benefit
• Applicants participating on a CE Scheme
• Applicants in receipt of a BURSARY, SCHOLARSHIP OR GRANT AID toward fees for this course from another government agency or programme.

COMPANIES

• Skillnet Ireland funding is not available to public sector bodies or organisation that are publicly funded such as community-based not-for-profit companies or charities.
• Social enterprises that are solely constituted as charities do not currently meet the eligibility criteria.

All programmes are provided without discrimination. This includes discrimination based on gender, race or ethnic origin, religion or belief, disability, age, or sexual orientation. An inclusive environment that welcomes participants from diverse communities is

Application

This is a 3-Step Application.

1. Complete the Special Category Data Participant Questionnaire below (See below for the QR Code or Link)
2. Fill out the Cultural & Creative Industries Skillnet membership application form below (Green ‘Apply’ button)
3. If your CCIS Membership application is successful, you will be notified and given access to the IADT Course application link. You may also access this link via the IADT website. Complete your IADT Course Application.
   
   If your Course Application is successful you will be notified by IADT and given access to a CCIS Registration/Payment Link.

CCIS membership application deadline

CCIS Membership Application Deadline: Rolling but before course commences.

If you experience any questions about support or difficulties with your CCIS membership application please contact creativeskillnet@furthr.ie with a Subject Heading of: IADT | CCIS Application | [Course Name]

Important: All Course Applications To Be Made Separately via IADT/CFA.
IADT Course Application Deadline: July 24th 2026

This course is part funded by ESF+.

ESF+ stands for European Social Fund Plus. It is a European fund that focuses on lifelong learning through improving employment and education opportunities.

In addition to the CCIS support application, Cultural & Creative Industries Skillnet is required by Government to collect ‘Special Category Data‘ from those who wish to avail of ESF+ supports for this programme. Given the sensitive nature of this data, strict controls over access have been implemented.

Your Rights and Choices
The mandatory form will ask for general and special category data about you. You can choose if you want to share the special category information in questions 13 to 18. If you do answer these questions, we will handle answers with utmost care.

You have the right to access your data, get us to correct it if we get your details wrong, and ask us to delete your data. You can also choose to opt out or withdraw at any time (*I Do Not Consent). However, if you withdraw, we will not be able to provide you with access to the Certificate in Cultural Entrepreneurship course until you reapply.

At the end of this questionnaire, we will also ask you to declare that the information you have provided is true. If you would like to take part in the ESF+ course, you must answer all the questions even if they do not apply. 

Further data will be collected at the following milestones.

• the course certification date
• 6 months post certification

If you wish to use your rights to access or change your information, or are concerned about anything on your participant form, please email dpo@skillnetireland.ie. 

For more information on ESF+ data processing and your rights, please see the ESF+ Data Privacy Notice.  You can find this on the Skillnet Ireland website.

Special Category Data

Cultural & Creative Industries Skillnet is required to collect Special Category Data from those who wish to avail of supports for this programme.

In addition to the support application (green ‘Apply’ button below) please access the mandatory questionnaire via this link or via the QR code below.