Frequently Asked Questions

We’re Circular Economy Innovation Communities – or CEIC for short.
We bring together people from all sectors to co-create cleaner, smarter, and more sustainable ways of working.

Our action-focused workshops and tailored support help you..

• Design practical clean growth strategies
• Cut carbon and costs
• Win more work
• Access funding and innovation tools

We don’t just talk about change. We help you lead it.

CEIC began as an EU-funded project, offering programmes designed to equip public sector organisations with the necessary skills to implement sustainable change for the future, rethink resource management and work towards zero waste to achieve their social, economic and environmental goals in line with their statutory obligation under the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act. We’ve successfully continued beyond the end of EU funding, expanding the programme to private and third sector organisations. To date, our programmes have supported more than 354 participants from 232 public, third and private sector organisations across South Wales to embed sustainability into their operations.

Check our programme page for more information.

Clean Growth Essentials (Kickstart workshop): £299
Clean Growth Implementation (Full programme): £1,999

Different funding options are available depending on where your organisation is based:

Organisations operating in Wales may qualify for 50% funding to support participation in the kickstart or full programme.
Eligible organisations could claim up to £150 off the kickstart workshop or up to £1,000 off the full programme fee via the Welsh Government Flexible Skills Programme. The payment will be made in arrears subject to the provision of the necessary evidence that:
> Confirms full course attendance and/or completion
> Training providers have been paid for the training attended

Find out more about funding eligibility here: Flexible Skills Programme | Business Wales

Submit an expression of interest to Welsh Government to receive 50% funding here: Recruit and Train: Flexible Skills Programme expression of interest form | Business Wales

The CEIC programme is also open to individuals and organisations outside of Wales wishing to self-fund.

The Clean Growth Essentials (kickstart programme) comprises 1.5 days. In this course, you will learn about circular economy principles, basics of carbon reduction planning and get an overview of innovation tools & techniques.

The Clean Growth Implementation (full programme) consists of a 6-month programme comprising the kickstart programme plus an additional 7 workshops spread across 6 months:

Have a look at our programme page for more information on the upcoming workshops.

All workshops will be held in-person.

Check our Cohorts and Success Stories page to see examples of the challenges and solutions developed by CEIC participants.

Our Innovation Communities are groups of like-minded people (Communities of Practice) from across Wales who share common challenges and are motivated to work collaboratively to find practical solutions.

A community of practice (CoP) is a group of people who share a common concern, a set of problems, or an interest in a topic and who come together to fulfill both individual and group goals. Communities of practice often focus on sharing best practices and creating new knowledge to advance a domain of professional practice. Interaction on an ongoing basis is an important part of this.

While people have learned together through informal communities of practice throughout history, the primary use of the concept originated in learning theory. Cognitive anthropologists Jean Lave and Etienne Wenger coined the term “community of practice” when studying apprenticeships as a learning model—the term referred to the community that acts as a living curriculum.

Select our ‘Apply Now’ page on the menu above. There’s a short application form and a member of our team will be in contact to discuss eligibility and funding options. If you’d like to learn more first, get in touch here.

Also check out our events page for any upcoming webinars or conferences.

The programme is open to private, public and third sector organisations operating inside and outside Wales. But you should be willing to travel to the in-person workshops (near Bridgend).