Creative SpIN, Creative Spillovers for Innovation, Thematic ... - KEA

Creative SpIN – Creative Spillovers for Innovation
URBACT II Thematic Network BASELINE STUDY
October 2012

Table of contents
I. INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 4
II. INNOVATION, CCIs AND CREATIVE SPILLOVERS: STATE OF THE ART AT EU LEVEL ........................................... 5
1. Innovation and the new economy ...................................................................................................................................................................................... 5
2. Culture and creative industries – a source of growth, jobs and innovation .......................................................................... 7
3. Defining “creative spillovers” .................................................................................................................................................................................................... 8
Concept ....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 8
Typologies ............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 8
4. Creative spillovers for economic and social innovation ........................................................................................................................... 10
A premise ................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 10
CCIs’ innovation features ........................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 10
CCIs’ contribution to economic innovation... ......................................................................................................................................................................... 11
..and social innovation .................................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 12
5. The role of territories to stimulate creative spillovers ............................................................................................................................... 13
6. Challenges to fostering cross-sector collaborations .................................................................................................................................. 14
7. Existing initiatives to stimulate spillovers: a short European overview .................................................................................... 15
8. EU policies calling for creative spillovers ................................................................................................................................................................. 16
9. CCIs for a smart, sustainable and inclusive Europe ......................................................................................................................................... 19
III. PARTNERS’ PROFILES: ASSETS, CHALLENGES AND EXPECTATIONS........................................................................................ 21
BIRMINGHAM .......................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 21
ROTTERDAM ....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 27
ESSEN .......................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 32
BOLOGNA .............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 36
KORTRIJK ............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 40
MONS ........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 44
WROCŁAW .......................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 49
KOŠICE ..................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 54
TALLIN ........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 58
ÓBIDOS .................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 62
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IV. CONCLUSIONS ................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 66
1. CCIs – an asset for the new economy ...................................................................................................................................................................... 66
2. Partners’ vision, challenges and strengths .............................................................................................................................................................. 67
3. Creative SpIN – themes to be tackled, method, approach and expectations .................................................................. 69
4. Added value of the network ................................................................................................................................................................................................ 73
V. BIBLIOGRAPHY .................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 75
ANNEXE I – Partners’ profiles in brief .......................................................................................................................................................................................... 78
ANNEXE II – List of people visited ................................................................................................................................................................................................ 88
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I. INTRODUCTION
URBACT is a European Programme which aims to foster the exchange of experience among European
cities and the capitalisation-dissemination of knowledge on all issues related to sustainable urban
development.
Creative SpIN is a new URBACT Thematic Network which aims at defining and testing tools and methods
to connect culture and creative Industries (CCIs) with other sectors of the economy and public/social
services in order to stimulate “creative spillovers” and contribute to innovation. Its ultimate purpose is to
trigger creativity in businesses and organisations by encouraging artists, creative professionals as well as
cultural and creative industries to engage with other sectors to share their competences, creativity, skills
and services. The fundamental assumption is that culture-based creativity is a source of innovation.
Culture-based creativity is linked to the ability of people, notably artists, to think imaginatively or
metaphorically, to challenge the conventional, and to call on the symbolic and affective to communicate
and innovate 1 .
Through the exchange of knowledge and practices, Creative SpIN’s partners (Birmingham City Council,
Rotterdam City Council, Mons City Council, Wrocław Agglomeration Development Agency, Bologna City
Council, Essen City Council, Kortrijk City Council, Tallin Creative Hub, Košice 2013 European Capital of
Culture and Óbidos City Council) will identify beneficial complementarities between economic sectors and
develop tools and processes to support cross-industrial collaborations. As a result, Creative SpIN is
expected to take cultural policy beyond heritage preservation, thus introducing disruption in traditional
cultural governance and challenging sectoral approaches.
Under the request of URBACT, this Baseline Study has been developed as a preliminary research to the
development of Creative SpIN with the aim to create a common understanding about “creative spillovers”
within the project consortium and further define the scope of Creative SpIN based on the specificities of
the partners.
It summarises the work undertaken by Philippe Kern, Lead Expert of Creative SpIN, in collaboration with the
city partners during the first 6 months of the project (May 2012 – October 2012). On the one hand, it is
based on desk research looking into the indirect effects of CCIs on other sectors of the economy as well
as into the main initiatives undertaken in Europe to stimulate these effects. On the other, it builds on the
Lead Expert’s visits to the partners aimed at understanding and analysing their socioeconomic profile,
policy vision and main challenges in relation to CCIs’ spillovers.
This report is divided into three main chapters:
An assessment on the state of the art (Section II), particularly at European level, of the topic of
creative spillover. It includes a review of the existing knowledge, policy actions and the most
remarkable experiences undertaken to stimulate spillovers.
The partners’ profiles (Section III) to better understand different starting situations, ways of
approaching the project theme and expectations on the project.
Finally, a synthesis (Section IV) bringing together the issues arising from analysis of the situation in
the partner cities and the “state of the art”, resulting in a clear definition of the theoretical
framework of the project and in the selection of a number of preferential sub-themes for partners
to work on through focused local action plans.
1 KEA European Affairs. (2009). The Impact of Culture on Creativity – Study prepared for the European Commission – DG EAC,
Brussels.
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II. INNOVATION, CCIs AND CREATIVE SPILLOVERS: STATE OF THE ART AT EU
LEVEL
1. Innovation and the new economy
Today’s economy is innovation-driven. Functional products and services need to be high quality, to
embed symbolic values and to provide meaningful experiences in order to satisfy an increasingly
sophisticated demand from users, both in the private and public realm. Innovation is very much needed
also to face social challenges such as social integration, ageing population and climate change, to name
just a few. Furthermore, competition has increased, with new important players coming from Asia and
South America.
Innovation is traditionally defined as the introduction of new goods (product innovation) and methods of
production (process innovation), or as the “rearrangement” of existing resources and equipment in novel
ways with a commercialisation purpose 2 .
In the XX th century, technological innovation was at core of capitalist competition and mainly aimed at
increasing productivity. This is not the case anymore. Production may request excessive use of natural
resources and have negative impacts on the environment. With the emergence of new theories about
sustainable development, a different concept of innovation has emerged with a view to contribute to a
new production model. This should be respectful of present and future generations and answer the needs
of more educated users. In other words, companies use technological innovations to increase productivity,
but rely on non-technological innovation to communicate social and cultural values (e.g. their respect for
the environment) or to make users part of their “production function” (for instance by testing products
with users in open labs before launching them into the market). In the public sector, too, it is a priority to
design more effective policies and services, especially in a time of austerity and public budgets cuts.
The Oslo Manual of the OECD 3 has therefore broadened the definition of innovation, in a similar way to
what the European Commission’s Green Paper on Innovation 4 had done ten years earlier. This document
distinguishes between product, process, marketing and organisational innovation.
As creativity is at the core of innovation, broadening the concept of innovation implies enlarging the
scope of creativity, intended as a process of interactions between technological, scientific, business and
culture-based creativity. Together, these can help better address societal needs 5 :
2 Schumpeter, J. (1934) The Theory of Economic Development, Cambridge, Mass: Harvard University Press.
3 OECD (2005), Oslo Manual: Third Edition, OECD Publishing, in:
Http://www.oecdbookshop.org/oecd/display.asp?sf1=identifiers&lang=EN&st1=922002081p1.
4 European Commission (1995), Green Paper on Innovation, Brussels.
5 KEA (2009), Ibid.
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Culture-based creativity is a new concept stemming from cultural activities and artistic interventions
which nurture innovation, going beyond artistic achievements or “creative content” and feeding business
strategies, new technologies (broadband networks, computers and consumer electronic equipments) or
even social goals such as community integration, urban development or well-being (see also next infrasections
on culture-based creativity’s contribution to economic and social innovation).
This culture-based creativity is linked to the ability of people, notably artists and creative professionals 6 ,
to think imaginatively or metaphorically, to challenge the conventional, and to call on the symbolic and
affective to communicate. Culture-based creativity has the capacity to break conventions, the usual way
of thinking, to allow the development of a new vision, an idea or a product. The nature of culture-based
creativity is closely linked to the nature of artistic contribution as expressed in art or cultural productions.
The spontaneous, intuitive, singular and human nature of cultural creation enriches society.
Such enlarged concepts of innovation and creativity are suitable to nurture the so called “new economy”,
which is characterised by 7 :
New forms of
consumption with
features including:
New forms of
organisations of
economic activities:
Speed: the product life cycle is shorter (in particular in the ICT sector). As a consequence,
products and services can be introduced at a very fast pace to the market. In order to
face an increased and fast competition, it is important to differentiate products and
range. Collaboration in R&D is essential to share the costs and innovate more quickly and
effectively.
Customisation: products now are individualised in order to reach a variety of market
segments – often characterised by a sophisticated demand. This requires strategies to
differentiate goods and services.
Intangible values (meanings, experience, aesthetic, user interface) are given as much
importance as the functionality of the product. The cultural value of a product is, in some
cases, becoming as important as its economic value.
- Equal importance is given to access and ownership/people attach as much or more
importance to sharing than to selling (e.g. the internet economy is a clear example).
- Pre-eminence is given to the expression of talents in the organisation of companies by
valuing freedom and autonomy as well as divergent thinking.
6 We make a distinction between artists, intended as those working in the so called “core arts” fields (performing arts, visual arts)
and creative professionals as those working in the cultural and creative industries (audiovisual, music, video games, publishing,
crafts, design, advertising and architecture) which cover a variety of culture- and art-related professions, such as film makers,
musicians, architects, advertising professionals, etc. See also definition of CCIs in the next pages.
7 KEA European Affairs (2009). The Impact of Culture on Creativity - carried out for the European Commission – DG EAC. Brussels.
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2. Culture and creative industries – a source of growth, jobs and innovation
Culture and the creative industries (CCIs) are difficult to grasp. Due to the broad meaning of culture and
creativity, different definitions have been proposed and a standardised one does not yet exist, not at
European or at international level.
In this report we use a definition which aims at providing a comprehensive understanding of culture as an
asset as well as an output and an input to creation in the so called “creative sectors” 8 and which can be
illustrated as follows:
RELATED SECTORS
CREATIVE SECTORS
Consumer
Electronics
Crafts
CULTURAL SECTORS
Education
Luxury
Advertising
Film and
Video
Performing Arts
User Generated
Content
THE ARTS
Books and
Press
brands
Tourism
Telecommunications
Video
Games
Music
Visual Arts
Heritage
Television
and Radio
Fashion
Design
Design
Architecture
Software
Industrial Design
Small (less than 10 employees) and micro businesses as well as self-employed/free-lancers essentially
dominate the sector. On average, those companies employ not more than five persons.
Nevertheless, the sector has proved to importantly contribute to the economy, both in European
countries 9 and abroad 10 . In Europe, the sector represents almost 3% of the EU GDP and 6 million jobs in
Europe. It turned over more than € 654 billion in 2003, which is more than car manufacturing. 11 CCIs also
contribute to an environmental-friendly economy as they mostly make use of human capital as a main
resource with little or no impact on the environment.
However, quite apart from their economic importance, CCIs are an attractive source of culture-based
creativity, linked to the ability to artists and creative professionals to challenge conventional thinking thus
providing new content and ideas to innovating firms. The emphasis is put on people (artists and “creative
8 Cultural and creative industries include: the “core arts” (visual arts, performing arts and heritage), the cultural industries (film and
video, television and radio, video games, music and books and press), and the creative industries (design, architecture and
advertising) KEA (2006). The Economy of Culture in Europe, Study prepared for the European Commission- DG EAC, Brussels.
9 National studies on the topic are numerous. The most recent ones include: Unioncamere, Fondazione Symbola (2012). L’Italia che
verrà - Industria culturale, made in Italy e territory; Kurt Salmon (2012). Culture et Economie : Enjeux et opportunités pour les
entrepreneurs culturels et créatifs en Belgique; Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology (2010). Culture and Creative
Industries in Germany 2009 - Monitoring of Selected Economic Key Data on Culture and Creative Industries; The Work Foundation
(2007). Staying ahead: the economic performance of the UK’s creative industries.
10 UNCTAD (2010). Creative Economy Report 2010.
11
KEA (2006). The Economy of culture in Europe. Study prepared for the European Commission – DG EAC, Brussels.
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professionals”) more than on companies as these are the main source of creativity: without such talents
cultural and creative industries would not exist.
There is by now evidence of creative professionals and companies contributing to creativity and
innovation. Cultural content has stimulated the development of new technological devices (e.g. iPod).
Designers provide products and services with a new aesthetic and meaning, beyond their functional value.
Artists are increasingly called to create collaborative working environments that stimulate creativity, just
to name a few examples. However, the way CCIs contributes to innovation remains a new topic.
3. Defining “creative spillovers”
Concept
Creative spillover is a concept referring to the ability of artists, creative professionals and companies to
indirectly contribute to innovation processes “by generating spillovers that benefit the wider economies
(of the places where they are located)” 12 13 .
Generating creative spillovers is therefore about enabling culture-based creativity to interact with other
forms of innovation and processes (which may be scientific, technical or commercial) with a view to break
silos between disciplines, thus introducing intuition and imagination in business or organisational processes
to innovate.
Typologies
Creative spillovers can be distinguished in different types 14 . NESTA identifies three, namely knowledge
spillovers 15 , product spillovers 16 and network spillovers 17 , which can also be distinguished in agglomeration
and cluster spillovers 18 . The table below shortly defines the three types of creative spillovers (what), how
they take place and the potential effects which other sectors can benefit from.
12 CHAPAIN, C. Et al. (2010): Creative Clusters and Innovation. .Putting Creativity on the Map. NESTA. UK
13 While maintaining this definition provided by NESTA, we propose considering as creative spillover any innovative effect which
CCIs can generate on other sectors, independently of the fact that such spillovers imply or not a reward for the cultural and
creative sectors (while NESTA only includes effects which do not foresee compensation for the sector).
14 Chapain C, Cooke P, De Propris L, Macneill S, Mateos-Garcia J. (2010). Creative clusters and innovation. Putting creativity on the
map. NESTA. London, UK.
15 Knowledge spillovers occur when new ideas and technologies developed by creative businesses are fruitfully applied elsewhere:
for example, through the use of social networking features originally developed by digital media companies to manage
communications in businesses, or when open and collaborative models are applied in other sectors, or when creative professionals
are employed outside the creative industries/start spin-off companies in a different sector, or when a sophisticated demand
(from CCIs stimulates new products and services (‘demand pull’ effects).
16 Product spillovers take place when creative goods and services increase demand for complementary goods in other sectors are
adapted to other markets: the widespread availability of online music increases the attractiveness of iPods, or a Disney film
generates additional revenues through the sale of merchandise and toys.
17 Network spillovers occur where the mere presence of creative businesses in a given place benefits other local firms. Spatial
concentration seems to be essential to generate processes of “creative eclosion”. The existence of spatial spillovers and their
effects on innovation has been widely recognised (Capello 2006). The logic is that creative industries produce externalities that
are transferred to other industries in the same geographical space. This generates higher revenues for the companies working in
the region and, into, into higher levels of income in the region. Spatial concentration seems to be essential to generate processes
of “creative eclosion”. Furthermore, Florida’s ‘Creative Cities’ noted how a thriving cultural scene attracts knowledge workers, who
can then be employed by other local businesses (or indeed bring in foreign investment from companies attracted by the strong
local talent pool.
18
Agglomeration spillovers occur when individuals are attracted to a place because firms have located there or when the image of
a place changes because of the concentration of firms. Cluster spillovers when firms share ideas thanks to their geographical
proximity. (Frontier Economics (2012) Creative Industry Spillovers – understanding their impact on the wider economy. Report
prepared for DCMS).
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Type of
spillover
Knowledge
spillovers
Product (and
service)
spillovers
Network
spillovers
What How Potential benefits for other sectors
New ideas, know-how
(for instance on
processes and
collaborative working
models) and
technologies developed
by creative actors
providing benefits to
other sectors.
Creative goods and
services providing
benefits to other
sectors.
Benefits which firm can
obtain by grouping
together:
- Attraction of
individuals/creation
of a more
attractive image
(agglomeration
spillovers)
- Sharing of ideas
between firms
(cluster spillovers)
Employment of creative professionals in
other sectors (labour flows)
Tacit knowledge transfer (on product
ideas, management of creative talents,
culture of innovation, marketing tools,
governance models, organisational
models etc.) in other sectors via B2B
linkages or other informal contacts
Creative professionals opening a start-up
in another sector
Sophisticated demand (from CCIs)
triggering new products in other sectors
(e.g. new software for animation
movies/art works)
Firms in other industries develop of
complementary goods (e.g. iPod)
Firms in other industries adapt goods and
services to develop differentiated
products and services (e.g. fashion design
applied to other sectors such as airlines,
cars, etc.)
Thriving cultural scene attracts
knowledge workers, who can then be
employed by other local businesses or
bring in foreign investment from
companies attracted by the strong local
talent pool/ improved image.
Increased productivity, competitiveness and innovation in other sectors through the
development of:
- new products, services or marketing tools.
- working environments conducive to creativity and innovation
- new organisational models (less hierarchical for instance and more flexible)
Emerging of new companies (impact on entrepreneurship)
Improved effectiveness in the public sector/services and governance models
(culture integrated horizontally in different public policy fields).
Increased innovation and productivity/ competitiveness in other sectors through the
development of complementary/differentiated products or services.
Adoption/retention/increase of sales of new technologies thanks to the
attractiveness of content.
Indirect impact on regional growth through its positive impact on employment,
innovation, entrepreneurship, investments and territorial image/attractiveness.
Improved effectiveness in governance models due to the horizontal integration of
culture in different policy fields in a way that the contribution of culture to local
development can be maximized.
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Creative spillovers benefitting CCIs
While CCIs, artists and creative professionals can contribute to other sectors’ development, innovation and
growth, the creative community, too, can differently benefit from the collaboration with other sectors
through:
- A better understanding of the “market”;
- Getting closer to a new public (which does not necessarily access culture goods and services)
- Being less dependent from public subsidy (bound to decrease at a time of financial crisis)
- Considering new forms of entrepreneurship and innovation;
- Enlarging the domain of CCIs activities/identification of new markets;
- New employment opportunities 19 .
4. Creative spillovers for economic and social innovation
A premise
Knowledge, product and network spillovers may overlap in day-to-day practice. Knowledge spillovers can
results in products spillovers, while network spillovers can also have a direct effect on knowledge spillovers
thanks to territories’ capacity to attract talented and skilled workers. For this reason, in the next sections we will
present CCIs’ contribution to innovation according to the “innovation purpose” (economic or social) rather than in
relation to the typology of spillovers.
CCIs’ innovation features
Operating at the frontline of the experience and networked economy, many businesses from the cultural and
creative industries can be considered as role models when it comes to understanding how to run a creative
organisation. However, creative professionals such as film makers, designers, advertising executives or games
producers also often provide creative and innovative services to companies operating outside the cultural and
creative industries and are increasingly considered as playing an important role in stimulating change in society.
Such a notion is derived from two distinct characteristics of businesses which operate in the creative sector.
Firstly, it relates to the common practice of cultural and creative independent professionals as well as enterprises
of operating in highly collaborative, networked and people-centred environments in which, intuition, imagination,
originality and risk are key. These factors are increasingly characteristic of businesses operating in the new
economy. Secondly, it relates to the idea that progressive companies and public institutions make increasing use
of cultural and creative services across the value chain, in areas such as R&D, marketing, communication and
human resources.
The ways in which creative industries further creation and innovation varies according to the sector but they
often depend on artists, creative professional and CCIs’ ability to:
1. Generate new ideas and disruption :
– on the basis of specific requirements or technical constraints (design, advertising, TV
production, computer animation),
19 Employment of creative people also has some drawbacks. “Flexible” creative personnel working on single projects normally have
precarious working conditions. This issue has been studied by an increasing number of researchers, some of whom refer to the need to
further develop and apply the notion of “flexicurity” (SOSTENUTO, 2012).
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– through individual creation (literary or music authors, visual artists, songwriters, film directors,
screenwriters, games developers, fashion designers etc).
New ideas can be generated “in-house” (design in car manufacturing, fashion design, a play in a theatre
company) or outsourced (in which case, creative are not employees, but can be exclusively contracted
with a company (artists in music, independent designers, visual artists).
2. Identify and nurture talent. This is the ability to identify and trust talents and to network with the talent
community whether creators, independent producers or managers (“schmoozing”). The creative
industries are people-based businesses. Creation is not “managed”, creation is rather supported,
encouraged and promoted.
3. Understand the investment value of creative ideas. The ability to provide budgeting and forecasting that
relates the amount invested in creative projects to its market potential (both for production and
distribution). This involves the willingness to take and accept risks as creative ideas can never guarantee
success. The ratio between success and failure is rather high in the creative sector which implies the
need for a long term vision and the tolerance of failure in creative output.
CCIs’ contribution to economic innovation...
Today’s economy is challenged by the need to find new forms of innovation, communication, and skills. CCIs’
ability to generate creative spillovers – thus contributing to such a need - can be “internalised” in companies’
competitive strategies with a view to contribute to innovation and improve their economic performance. More
concretely, both manufacturing and service companies can use culture-based creativity to differentiate products
and communication strategies, as well as to nurture creative thinking both at management level and among
workers:
The Wheel of Creative Strategy
M anagement
(integrate creators)
H uman R eso urces
(use art to stimulate)
Values
(art to promote
ethical values)
Goals
- Product differentiation
- Creative workforce
- Creative Management
P ro duct
D evelo pment
(involve creators at
product development
stage)
C o rpo rate
So cial
R espo nsibility .
B randing
Business strategies can therefore draw on the interaction between business and culture-based creativity at
different levels:
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Operational level
a. Culture-based creativity in the management of
human resources:
- for competence development – leadership,
- to develop team spirit – bonding,
- to stimulate creativity amongst the workforce.
b. The integration of creative functions at
board/management level.
Strategic level
a. Culture-based creativity in relation to:
- product development,
- communication and branding,
- corporate social responsibility.
b. The development of programmes/activities that
associate the company’s values and image with arts and
culture.
..and social innovation
Culture-based creativity plays a key role in the generation of social innovation, which refers to new strategies,
concepts, ideas and organisations which meet social needs of all kinds - from promoting new skills for new jobs,
improving working conditions/workplaces and education, fostering longer and healthier life, and promoting
gender equality to (sustainable) community development, fight against crime, social exclusion, to well-being
improvement - and which strengthen civil society as well as social integration. The concept can also be related
to social entrepreneurship. Sometimes it may coincide with innovation in public policy and governance.
Social innovation can take place in any context (from government, to the for-profit and the nonprofit sector), but
it is distinct from economic innovation inasmuch intended purpose and objectives differ. Notwithstanding,
outcomes (e.g. improving economic performance) may overlap.
At the most basic level, a creative solution in social contexts may simply involve a novel approach taken by
linking a culture-based intervention with a social policy objective, as is the case with public art in urban
regeneration. Secondly, incorporating cultural or artistic elements in existing social interventions can help develop
completely new approaches – as is the case with the healthcare when it integrates cultural and artistic activities
in order to create a more welcoming environment for patients. Where individual behaviour is the target, cultural
activities can lead to a change in self-perception and to the development of new skills which can both help
people to break with former ways of thinking or perceiving the world. Creative activity can also help determine
new policies by developing and negotiating shared understandings of policy challenges and mapping out new
solutions.
Although it is often difficult to differentiate clearly between types of social impacts (cohesion can be for
instance promoted via social capital formation, and new approaches in public services can be used for crime
prevention), we try to distinguish artists, creative professionals and companies’ contribution to social innovation
in relation to:
- Promotion of social cohesion through social capital formation by contributing to new ways to cement
groups of like-minded people or link groups of individuals with different levels of power of social status.
Cultural participation can indeed promote linkages across generations, social classes, ethnic or religious
groups, thus strengthening the social fabric of communities.
Urban and community regeneration when culture-based creativity integrated in local regeneration strategies
with a view to renew urban areas and/or integrate local communities – often marginalised. A cultural offer and
improved cultural participation contribute to a place’s attractiveness as well as to social capital formation and
cohesion. Culture also contributes to strengthening social ties among communities thereby nurturing selfesteem
and, ultimately, well-being. Culture can also help the past (memory) and future (contemporary
creation) creating the condition for a socially sustainable development.
- Innovation of public services (healthcare, criminal justice, etc.) by helping bring certain public services closer
to their constituents. Some public services have pioneered new methods of collaborative feedback and
decision making by means of integrating creative media innovations – online discussion fora, social
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networking sites and online petitions allow the public to interact more easily with public services. Some
public services are also able to promote participation and involvement, often of marginalised groups – the
development of community media and community arts, more generally, are good examples of this. Art and
culture are also often used in prisons or hospitals with a view to create a more welcoming environment for
patients, prevent crime and re-integrate people former prison detainees.
- Education and learning for creative skills by fostering “flexibility, openness for the new, the ability to adapt or
to see new ways of doings things and the courage to face the unexpected.” Artists and creative
professionals can contribute to imagination, divergent thinking and intuition in schools, universities and further
education providers (including vocational training institutes). Activities with artists and creative professionals
can be (and have been) set up to stimulate creativity among pupils but also among future managers.
- Public policy governance – reaching socioeconomic objectives in new ways by helping policy departments
breaking silos and creating a collaborative working environment. This can led to new policies and governance
models integrating culture in a broad range of fields with a view to make the most of culture’s innovative
potential to face economic and social challenges. Culture can be integrated in public policies relating to the
economy and R&D to stimulate new forms of innovation, entrepreneurship and jobs, in urban development to
find new ways to strengthen local cultural identities, territories’ image as well as social cohesion, in education
to help students develop creative skills for new jobs, etc.
5. The role of territories to stimulate creative spillovers
The mere presence of CCIs is not a sufficient condition to generate creative spillovers (NESTA). Territories play a
crucial role in stimulating creativity and innovation.
Creativity, in general, and culture-based creativity in particular indeed comes from different combinations of
ability and environment – in other words, personal predisposition and a social context. The main sources of
culture-based creativity can be thus identified in:
- Creative forces represented by “creators and creative professionals”, cultural and creative companies and
institutions as well as creative social networks.
- Territories, as expression of identities, playing a vital role in fostering the different and the creative 20 ;
- Society, which nurtures a creative ecology conducive through creativity through regulation, education
and investment in technology and culture.
Territory: Europe’s cultural diversity and its regional
distinctiveness increase the Unions creative capacities
Society: Openness, Human Capital, Regulation,
Technology, etc.
Creative Forces :
Individual Artists
and Creative
Professionals
Creative Social
Networks
Creative
Companies and
Institutions
20 Florida, R. (2002). The Rise of the Creative Class. New York: Basic Books.
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The existence of network spillovers and their effects on innovation has been widely recognised 21 and it is indeed
at the local and regional level that CCIs’ innovation potential is best witnessed 22 . Spatial concentration and
proximity allows knowledge exchanges. Creative industries produce knowledge and ideas that are transferred to
other industries in the same geographical space. This generates higher revenues for the companies working in the
region and higher levels of income in the region.
Policy has a crucial role to play in setting the appropriate conditions to break the “silos” between different visions
and mind-sets for interdisciplinary interactions to happen and innovation to flourish.
Regions and local authorities are the primary institutional partners for SMEs in the creative sector, they take
decisions about investment priorities, contribute to the setting up the education system (more and more
decentralised) as well as of the regulatory framework conducive to economic development.
Furthermore, regions and particularly cities have long been important arenas of cultural production. They very
well know their cultural heritage and actors and have a role in fostering cultural products, with a strong local
identity. The evolution of a global, service-oriented economy has placed culture at the very centre of urban
development and has shifted traditional notions of culture as art and heritage to a view of culture as an economic
asset 23 . Cities have historically been the places where much innovation has occurred. The size, density and
compactness of urban centres foster interpersonal interaction and create greater opportunities for enhanced
information flows 24 . Firms that produce creative goods and services are located in close proximity to benefit
from stronger linkages with creative companies as well as with companies in other sectors.
Cities are the best placed to trigger “Creative SpINs” as they know very well their cultural assets and creative
companies established locally, very often micro-enterprise. They are in a unique position to set the ecology
fostering interactions as their size facilitates exchange and learning. They are best positioned to act as a testbed
to experiment creative spillovers to generate new source of wealth and innovation.
Areas of creative spillovers will depend on the assets of a city, its development strategy and socioeconomic
challenges.
6. Challenges to fostering cross-sector collaborations
Several challenges can be identified to the proper interaction of CCIs with other sectors.
At policy level, there is a need to mainstream CCIs as an economic sector, while now CCIs (especially the visual
and performing arts and heritage) is often still considered as a subsidised sector. Cultural policies are therefore
often isolated from other policy departments dealing at city level with foreign investment, economic
development or social affairs including education). The generation of creative spillovers implies going beyond
traditional culture, enterprise, social and innovation policies and get different administrations and policy
departments to collaborate. The challenge then also relates to developing new policy languages on creativity and
socioeconomic innovation as well as to designing policy tools able to encourage and facilitate cross sectoral
interactions and ensuring their sustainability both within the public and private sectors.
21 Capello R. (2006). Regional economics.. Routledge.
22 Power, D., Nielsen, T. (2010). Priority Sector Report: Creative and Cultural Industries, Europe Innova Initiative. Brussels: European
Commission.
23 Raymond E. Miles, Charles C. Snow, Grant Miles (2000), TheFuture.org Original Research Article Long Range Planning, Volume 33, Issue 3,
June 2000, Pages 300-321.
24 European Commission. (2010a), European Competitiveness Report 2010 Commission staff working document SEC(2010) 1276
accompanying document to the Communication — An Integrated Industrial Policy for the Globalisation Era: Putting Competitiveness and
Sustainability at Centre Stage (COM(2010) 614) (SEC(2010) 1272). Brussels..
14

At industrial level, a better understanding of different approaches and views in creative and “non-creative”
sectors should be developed. As CCIs are passion driven while other sectors are normally profit-driven,
communication is often challenging. Investors are not familiar with CCIs’ economic potential, often have ex-ante
prejudices and may lack the capacity to “absorb” innovation coming from CCIs, because too costly or simply
because it is not understood. On the other hand, the cultural sector itself is reticent often concern by the risk of
instrumentalisation for commercial gains. Furthermore, people involved in CCIs are often not “equipped” with the
necessary business skills that are required in other business sectors.
At social level, the role of culture in delivering social objectives is a contentious one as often considered as “bad
for the arts”, on the hand, and subject to instrumentalism rationales on the other. In the social field, a specific
challenge concern education systems. These currently provide little support to break silos and very little
connections exist between creative and other businesses, increasing dialogue and communication remains an
open challenge.
7. Existing initiatives to stimulate spillovers: a short European overview
Initiatives to stimulate “creative spillovers” are now starting to emerge across Europe. Interactions are usually
stimulated by ad hoc projects and public policy measures which make use of the following tools to stimulate
cross-disciplinary exchange:
‣ Workshops/seminars to stimulate or incubate new ideas
‣ Open calls for innovative ideas and meeting with investors
‣ Training programmes for artists to consult companies on creativity and direct artistic interventions in
companies/workplaces
‣ Multidisciplinary teams working on specific assignments (e.g. to solve problems of small companies)
‣ Clustering of companies to promote together creativity/design as a tool for innovation
‣ Training programmes on the application of design in companies
‣ Stimulation of user-driven innovation and application of results to companies
A selection of concrete examples follows:
‣ Workshops/seminars to stimulate new ideas
NanoArt (2011) is the name of a initiative from GU Holding, an holding company of the University of Gothenburg
(Sweden), and Nano Connect Scandinavia. The workshop gathered people from the art, design and
nanotechnology fields, providing researchers with creative inputs and helping them turn the knowledge coming
from the academic world into something useful for the society. Creative City Challenge (INTERREG IVB North Sea
Region, 2009-2012) is another initiative which uses interactive seminars to bring artists and creative professionals
closer to the business and policy making worlds. In a seminar held in Falköping (Sweden), the Dutch Artist Thuur
Caris gave a lecture to inspire new ways to make cities more attractive.
‣ Open calls for innovative ideas
KiiCS (2012-2015) is an FP7 project aimed at setting up incubation processes gathering artists, creative
professionals and scientists. These are supposed to work together in order to generate innovative ideas having
economic or social value. One of the partners (IDIS-Fondazione Città della Scienza) has set up a Smart Lab
15

Incubator which issued a call for innovative ideas to foster sustainable development. People with artistic and
scientific background will be selected in order to develop together these ideas.
‣ Training programmes for artists and artistic interventions in companies/workplaces
Kunstgreb (2008-2011) was an EU funded project (ESF) focusing or artists’ contribution to innovation. It
provided artists with a training programme to enable creative people bring innovation in the business sector.
Kunstgreb carried out 63 projects for 53 firms.
‣ Multidisciplinary teams working on specific assignments (e.g. to solve problems of small companies or to
make a location more attractive)
Multidisciplinary teams to better understand the market and address consumers’ needs are proposed by one of
the partners of the project Creative City Challenge (INTERREG IVB North Sea Region, 2009-2012) – the city of
Bremen. Bremen’s project aimed at developing new business structures and innovative products by giving
companies from the manufacturing, logistics and trading incentives to collaborate with creative talents. The
Summer Design Office has developed a similar concept but together with companies and students in order
introduce design to companies via students from different disciplines (industrial design, marketing, etc). A
Summer Design Office generally consists of 4-8 students who work on short, concept-oriented assignments,
primarily for small companies.
‣ Clustering of companies to promote together creativity/design as a tool for innovation
The Barcelona Design Innovation Cluster is an initiative aiming to pool together innovative companies seeking or
offering design services, as well as supporting organisations and public bodies in order to increase
competitiveness in sectors where design is a strategic element and a driving force for innovation. Clustering is
supposed to help design SMEs speak with one voice and better communicate their creative potential to other
sectors.
‣ Training programmes on the application of design in companies
The Design for Business Programme has been developed by the British Design Council with focus on SMEs in
various (”non-creative”) sectors. The Programme aims to demonstrate the practical benefits for businesses of
taking greater advantage of design and creative skills.
‣ Integration of user-driven innovation in companies’ products
Electronic Arts (EA), developer of the game of the Sims 2 game (which simulates aspects of life), developed a
partnership with H&M in 2007. The partnership took the form of the Sims 2 H&M Stuff Pack, which allowed Sims
players to design an H&M store and dress their avatars in H&M clothes. H&M sent a group of stylists to work
directly with the Sims team to help and develop a new collection.
A useful insight on tools and methods can be drawn from this overview (which does not take into account
experiences in partner cities – these will be presented in the city profiles). However, there is a lack of knowledge
about which one works best and in which sectors.
8. EU policies calling for creative spillovers
EU policies have recently moved towards a broader understanding of culture. The European Agenda for Culture
first and subsequent policy documents in the field of regional and innovation policy have recognised the
complex nature of culture and the role culture-based creativity plays in generating new forms of innovation
16

contributing to companies’ competitiveness and entrepreneurship, but also to urban regeneration, attractiveness,
tourism and social integration.
Cultural policies
The “Communication on a “European Agenda for Culture in a Globalising World” 25 (EC 2007a) adopted by the
European Commission in 2007, for the first time clearly spells out the main European goals in this field:
Foster intercultural dialogue to ensure that the EU’s cultural diversity is understood, respected and
promoted;
Promote culture as a catalyst for creativity in the framework of the Lisbon Strategy for growth and jobs
and its follow-up "EU 2020";
Promote culture as a vital element in the Union's international relations.
The European Commission’s Cultural Agenda goes beyond the value of culture in its own right. It acknowledges
its instrumental value vis-à-vis Europe’s broader development goals, thus paving the way for the mainstreaming
of culture in other policy fields, from innovation to international trade.
As a follow-up to the Agenda and to firmly harness the potential of culture as a catalyst of smart, sustainable
and inclusive growth (Europe 2020’s goal) across different sectors, the European Commission has issued a
strategy document that aims at tapping into culture and the creative sectors’ potential for development 26 (Green
Paper on “Unlocking the potential of cultural and creative industries” (EC 2010f)). The Green Paper provides that
cultural and creative companies play a greater role in national and regional innovation systems than has previously
been recognised by policymakers and that they offer real potential to achieve the EU 2020 Strategy by
“boosting local economies in decline, contributing to the emergence of new economic activities, creating new
and sustainable jobs and enhancing the attractiveness of European regions and cities”. It also invites regional and
local authorities to take into account the distinctive role played by CCIs in regional and local development when
designing policies and support instruments at all levels. As a follow-up, the Commission has recently released a
concrete strategy for the sector 27 which a series of actions to face challenges such as digitisation,
internationalisation and access to finance. The document recognises CCIs as high growth sector but also as a
catalyst for innovation as well as a key element in global competition and soft power.
The Council backed these positions stressing that the full development of the potential for innovation and
creativity built on European culture are key factors for Europe’s success in a globalised world 28 . The Conclusions
on Culture as a Catalyst for Creativity and Innovation 29 consider culture and creativity to be inextricably linked
and to be at the core of the innovative capacity of citizens, organisations, businesses and societies. The Council,
therefore, called on the EU and Member States to better foster synergies between the cultural sector and other
sectors of the economy and to mainstream culture in local and regional development policies 30 , thereby further
contributing to “push” culture within the scope of regional and innovation policies. Also, the Council highlighted
25 European Commission (2007), Communication on a European Agenda for Culture in a Globalising World, Brussels.
26 European Commission (2010b), Green Paper on “Unlocking the potential of cultural and creative industries”, Brussels.
27 European Commission (2012), Communication on Promoting cultural and creative sectors for growth and jobs in the EU, Brussels.
28 EU Presidency. (2008). Conclusions on the Launching the new cycle of the renewed Lisbon Strategy for Growth and Jobs. (7652/1/08).
Brussels.
29 European Council. (2009). Conclusions on Culture as a Catalyst for Creativity and Innovation. 2941st EDUCATION, YOUTH AND CULTURE
Council meeting. Brussels.
30 European Council. (2010). Conclusions on the Contribution of Culture to Local and Regional Development. 3013th EDUCATION, YOUTH
AND CULTURE Council meeting. Brussels
17

the importance of acquiring cultural and creative competences to boost all forms of innovation, mainly nontechnological
and social innovation (Council 2011a) 31 .
This comprehensive approach to the sector is also embraced by the Creative Europe programme draft regulation
for 2014-2020 as it states that “beyond its direct contribution to jobs and growth, these sectors trigger
spillovers in other areas such as tourism and content for ICT” 32 (EC, 2011a) European policy-makers are keen to
make innovation policies more “open-minded” and effective and to grasp all the contribution that CCIs may bring
to other sectors.
Innovation policies
As a follow-up to the Lisbon Strategy, the EU 2020 33 has given a new strategic framework to Europe to boost
smart, sustainable and inclusive growth. Concretely, the Union has set targets to be reached by 2020 in areas
such as innovation, but also education and social inclusion.
The Europe 2020 Strategy’s flagship initiative “Innovation Union” 34 asserts that the creativity and diversity of
European citizens and the strength of European creative industries offer huge potential for innovation. It therefore
proposes a broad concept of innovation encompassing new products and processes but also services,
marketing, branding and design methods or new forms of collaborative arrangement. Europe is invited to develop
its own distinctive approach to innovation focusing on “innovation in business models, design, branding and
services that add value for users and where Europe has unique talents”. Such an approach to innovation is also
echoed by the proposal for a new European research programme 2014-2020, Horizon 2020 35 .
The European Commission's Communication on “An integrated industrial policy for the globalisation era” 36 ,
another flagship initiative of the Europe 2020 Strategy, recognises cultural and creative industries as important
drivers of economic and social innovation in other sectors. Furthermore, the annual European Competitiveness
Report 37 attached to the Communication highlights that cultural and creative industries are not only innovators
themselves but have also been important drivers for innovation as they bring inputs into the development of
other sectors. Indeed, it reports that the creative industries had a positive and significant effect on the growth
rate of local GDP per capita in 2002-2007, according to recent findings.
DG Enterprise - the initiator of the Innovation Union policy initiative – has set up ECIA in 2012. The European
Creative Industry Alliance (ECIA) is a platform gathering together policy makers and regional agencies specialised
in culture, creativity and innovation. ECIA members will test pilot actions in the fields of clustering, access to
finance and creative spillovers with the aim of delivering policy recommendations about policy measures through
which CCIs can best contribute to the new economy. The same DG is also launching the European Creative
31 European Council. (2011), Conclusions on cultural and creative competences and their role in building intellectual capital of Europe. 3128th
EDUCATION, YOUTH, CULTURE and SPORT Council meeting Brussels, 28 and 29 November 2011.
32 European Commission. (2011a). Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on Specific provisions concerning
the European Regional Development Fund and the Investment for growth and jobs goal and repealing Regulation (EC) No 1080/2006.
Brussels.
33 European Commission. (2010b), Communication: Europe 2020: a strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth COM (2010) 2020.
Brussels.
34 European Commission. (2011b). Communication: Horizon 2020 - The Framework Programme for Research and Innovation, COM(2011) 808
final, Brussels.
35 European Commission. (2011c). Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council laying down common provisions
on the European Regional Development Fund, the European Social Fund, the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development and the
European Maritime and Fisheries Fund for Rural Development and the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund covered by the Common
Strategic Framework and laying down general provisions on the European Regional Development Fund, the European Social Fund and the
Cohesion Fund and repealing Regulation (EC) No 1083/2006. Brussels.
36 European Commission. (2011d). Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on the European Social Fund and
repealing Regulation (EC) No 1081/2006. Brussels.
37 European Commission. (2010c), European Competitiveness Report 2010 Commission staff working document SEC(2010) 1276
accompanying document to the Communication — An Integrated Industrial Policy for the Globalisation Era: Putting Competitiveness and
Sustainability at Centre Stage (COM(2010) 614) (SEC(2010) 1272). Brussels.
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Districts initiative to support traditional industrial regions in their transition from a traditional to a sustainable and
innovative economy through culture and creativity.
Regional policies
The Communication on “Regional Policy contributing to smart growth in Europe” 38 clearly points to creativity and
skills of people to help Europe recover from the crisis and states that cultural and creative industries are in a
“strategic position to link creativity and innovation. The Communication highlights their potential to boost local
economies, stimulate new activities, create new and sustainable jobs, influence other industries (spillovers),
enhance the attractiveness of regions and cities as well as to act as a catalyst for structural change in industrial
zones and rural areas, thus rejuvenating their economies, strengthening social cohesion and contributing to a
change of the public image of regions. The Communication clearly calls for an integration of culture and the
creative sectors into regional development strategies in order to ensure an effective partnership between civil
society, businesses and public authorities at regional, national and European levels.
In this context, the Commission has developed the policy rationale of "smart specialisation", a new concept for
regional innovation policy. In a nutshell, smart specialisation is about placing greater emphasis on innovation and
having an innovation-driven development strategy in place that focuses on each region’s strengths and
competitive advantage. The EC has developed a Guide to help regions set up such strategies (Platform on RIS3
2012). It includes a specific section inviting Member States and regions to place culture and the creative industries
within such strategies in order to stimulate new forms of innovation and sustainable growth 39 .
9. CCIs for a smart, sustainable and inclusive Europe
We live in a phase of transition from the industrial economy to the experience and sharing economy.
Technological innovation is not sufficient anymore to be competitive. There is need to experiment new business
models and explore other forms of innovation.
Europe needs to find its way in order to remain competitive and overcome the current economic crisis. Effective
ways to improve attractiveness, retaining talents, creating new economic activities and jobs while ensuring
cohesion have to be explored.
The challenge for Europe is to remain competitive and to make use of its creative assets to add value to its
products and services. A number of policy documents – in cultural, regional and innovation fields - call on Europe
(and particularly on cities and regions) to make the most of their cultural resources for socioeconomic
development, growth and innovation. Artists, creative professionals and cultural and creative companies have the
ability of challenging conventions and stimulating new ideas, which is at the core creativity and innovative
thinking.
The EU 2020 strategy has given a new framework to Europe to boost smart, sustainable and inclusive growth.
Europe is invited to find its way to create new and better jobs, while respecting present and future generations
and improving social cohesion across Europe.
Culture and creative industries have the potential to contribute to the EU 2020 strategy, notably by contributing
to:
38 European Commission. (2010d), Communication: Europe 2020 Flagship Initiative Innovation Union COM(2010) 546. Brussels.
39 Smart Specialisation Platform. (2012). Guide to Research and Innovation strategies for Smart Specialisation (RIS3). European Union Regional
policy, Brussels.
19

Smart growth - nurtured by CCIs’ contribution to innovative jobs, products, services and processes
within CCIs and beyond, both in the public and private sector, but also to territories’ image and
attractive potential;
Sustainable growth - facilitated by CCIs’ low impact on the environment, but also by its ability to link the
past and the future - building on past cultural heritage to create new ideas nurturing the new economy;
Inclusive growth - stemming from CCIs’ capacity to regenerate territories, create a sense of belonging
and shared identity and encourage art and cultural consumptions and process of co-creation, thus
facilitating dialogue between communities and social cohesion.
Some initiatives have been undertaken across Europe to try to better link CCIs with other sectors which do not
normally work together. However, efforts should be made to identify the best tools and methods to stimulate
spillover effects in the most effective way across Europe. Existing initiatives mainly create opportunities for
people with different backgrounds and profiles to meet, but other challenges that impede CCIs’ innovative
potential to be fully exploited remain to be addressed, and in particular the reticence to collaborate from both
sides, the lack of understanding of the CCIs from investors, the “gap” between the needs of the new economy
and a “silod” education system, little knowledge about good practices, and the few existing examples of
integrated cultural policies.
20

III. PARTNERS’ PROFILES: ASSETS, CHALLENGES AND EXPECTATIONS
BIRMINGHAM
1. Socioeconomic profile
Birmingham has a total population of just over 1 million residents (1,073,000 40 ), most of whom are young people
(nearly 46% are younger than 30 compared with the England average of 38%).
The history of the city,
which is only 200 years old,
is linked to the industrial
revolution. Its economy has
focused on manufacture of
metal goods and motor
vehicles (it is the city of
Jaguar and Land Rover, now
merged). Today, wholesale,
retail trade and repair of
motor vehicles and
motorcycles still represent
15,1% of employment (with
similar proportions shared at
national level), followed by
the public sector (8,8%),
manufacturing (8,6%) and
financial and insurance
activities (5,6%) 41 .
Birmingham is the largest
local authority in Europe
with about 50,000
employees.
Jewellery
Quarter
Custard
Factory
The decline of UK
manufacturing industries in
the 1970s and 1980s had a
devastating impact on
Birmingham. Employment declined by 200,000 between 1971 and 1984. However, automotive, manufacturing
and engineering sectors remain the main providers of jobs in the city (the unemployment rate has recently
decreased from 12% to 11%). Furthermore, Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) is probably amongst the largest R&D spenders
and is putting considerable investment into plants and training in the city.
Nowadays the focus is on R&D to make progress on new materials, clinical trials/translational medicine and green
energy. The Aston Science Park, hosting over 90 companies, has been designed as a “science park without walls”
where companies work together to drive forwards the city’s most innovative ideas. Key ICT companies
attracted to the city include Microsoft and Cisco, which has a communication technology demonstrator based at
Aston Park.
40
2011 Census figures.
41 Source: Workplace based employment data from the 2010 Business Register and Employment Survey (BRES).
21

CCIs have become another key sector for local development in the last decade. They account for around
20,000 jobs – 4% of the city’s workforce – thereby employing more people than construction or the
manufacture, sale and repair of cars 42 .
The city has built its reputation as an exhibition venue since the development of the National Exhibition Centre
(NEC) in 1976 near Birmingham Airport, and of complimentary conference facilities right in the heart of Birmingham
to improve the associated leisure facilities (bars, restaurants, hotels, theatres, etc) and provide an environment
where business people would visit (as well as stay and spend). European regional funding was accessed to
physically transform the city centre.
Efforts to recover the economy, however, have to face a poorly skilled workforce, having low aspiration and
ambition and entrepreneurial spirit. The Brummies are modest, self-effacing and self deprecating. They are not
really aware of the strengths of the city, which suffer of a relatively poor image. Manchester is perceived as
more attractive.
Dating back to the industrial revolution, Birmingham has been seen as a welcoming city - attracting people from
many different parts of the world (South Asia, Africa, China, etc.). More recently this has presented its own
challenges for the city, especially during difficult economic times when there are fewer employment
opportunities. Improving social cohesion is a key priority for Birmingham, especially in the wake of the riots
experienced in Birmingham but also London, Manchester and some other English cities in 2011.
The educational offer is considered an important asset for the city. This includes the Birmingham City University
(BCU) – which is strong in technical professions and which is currently building a € 70 million new campus for the
Institute of Arts and design (BIAD) in the creative quarter of Eastside to be ready for 2013, an Academy of digital
media and drama, a School of Acting, the School of Fine Arts at the University of Birmingham. The Birmingham
Conservatoire is a regional centre for music with a particular emphasis on music technology. The Aston
University features an important educational offer in science, technology and engineering.
2. Cultural profile
Cultural offer
Birmingham has amongst the strongest cultural offer in England outside London. Its cultural facilities include some
which are amongst the finest in the world - such as Symphony Hall, the Library of Birmingham (designed by the
Dutch architect Francine Houben to be a new architectural landmark in the city and due to open in 2013), the
Birmingham Museum of Art (home to one of the best and most comprehensive collections of Wedgwood
pottery) and national companies with international reputations such as Birmingham Royal Ballet, Birmingham Opera
Company and City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra. Simon Rattle, who is now directing the Berlin
Philharmonic, is the former director of the Symphony Orchestra and was a real icon for the city.
Birmingham is home to an extraordinary range of arts and cultural companies of all sizes and disciplines including
Europe's premier black arts centre, the Drum, the recently refurbished Midlands Arts Centre in Cannon Hill Park, the
Ikon contemporary art gallery, Birmingham Rep producing theatre, and the UK's busiest single theatre Birmingham
Hippodrome. The famous British reggae/pop band UB40 was formed in 1978 in Birmingham. UB40 sold over 70
million records all over the world 43 .
Cultural offering, however, remains thin (especially in some fields such as visual arts) in relation to the potential of
the city, very culturally diverse and with a strong industrial past.
Cultural and creative industries
42 University of Birmingham, The Development of the Creative Industries in Birmingham, 2006.
43 Sherwin, Adam (2008-04-30). "UB40 reveal new lead singer: Ali Campbell's brother Duncan". Times Online (London)
22

Birmingham welcomes a wide variety of digital culture and creative businesses 44 active in sectors such as design,
advertising, video games, film, and publishing. The most important growing sectors are identified as being
serious games and digital media. Successful companies include Rare, a British video game developer acquired by
Microsoft in 2002 and counting 90 employees; Maverick Television, a new TV/media company; Hotbed Media
producing commercials, branded entertainment and documentaries; and Big Button Media, specialised in making
films, videos, motion graphics and online videos.
Birmingham has a strong tradition in industrial design. The Birmingham Made Me Design Awards 2012 has
shortlisted the UK-based company AGA, who has build a reputation on its iconic design (it invented the famous
AGA cooker, a heat storage stove and cooker) in the Best Innovation & Radical Design Categories. Building on
such tradition, the city would like to create a Birmingham Center of Design.
The CCI sector today is more visible and better structured thanks to the raise of clustering areas. The Digbeth
quarter, for instance, is an old industrial area currently being restructured as part of the Big City Plan 45 to host
apartments, offices and arts facilities. It welcomes the Custard Factory, initiated by a private initiative and
hosting over 300 companies in the field of digital media, design and fashion, and the Fazeley Studios, a work
space for digital and creative businesses. Punch, one of the UK’s leading music development agencies working
on cultural events, touring and artist development, has settled at the Custard Factory. The video games
company Rare has opened a new facility in Fazeley Studios. The Jewellery Quarter builds on Birmingham’s craft
tradition. It incubates 20 jewellery design companies and overall it hosts over 400 jewellery businesses. The
software, publishing, animation, graphics, films, and advertising are also on the edge thanks to support initiatives
such as the Creative Advantage Fund (investing especially in these sectors) and the Science Park hosting
software, digital media and gaming companies.
3. Policy vision and measures
Birmingham’s vision for the future focuses on improving the city’s image, attracting/nurturing talents and highly
skilled people, providing new and more jobs, making local companies more innovative and competitive, as well as
on reducing social tensions for better cohesion. Birmingham is amongst the eight biggest cities in England which
have been devolved new powers from the central government (the so called “City Deal”) in the field of transport,
education and infrastructure building in order to better invest in growth, provide skills and jobs, support local
businesses and improve infrastructure.
ICT, science, creative industries are of major interest. The City Centre Economic Zone was identified by the
Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) 46 Greater Birmingham and Solihull to support clusters such as Digbeth,
Birmingham Science Park Aston and Jewellery Quarter.
The city has supported a Science City strategy to specifically link university research and spin out companies.
The new City Deal includes the creation of the Institute of Translational Medicine which would help the city
become a global centre for life sciences. Other measures include creating broadband services. Over € 12,5 million
is planned to be invested in the Jewellery quarter and other areas of the zone to create a fibre based
infrastructure as part of past plans.
Digital Birmingham was established in 2006 as the driving force to spread the benefits of digital and new
emerging technologies. Digital Birmingham is now driving forward Birmingham's Smart City approach, which aims
at integrating technology into all mainstream city initiatives in the areas of mobility, economy, people, living and
44 DCMS definition: Advertising, Design and Visual Arts, Architecture, Performing Arts, Publishing, Film and video, Radio, Crafts, Software, Graphics and
animation, Music.
45 A major development plan for the city centre of Birmingham: http://bigcityplan.birmingham.gov.uk/
46 http://centreofenterprise.com/
23

governance. A Smart City Commission has been established. Birmingham has also been selected to partner with
IBM on the Smart City agenda. The ambition is to develop Birmingham as a smart city by supporting SMEs and
the development of new applications.
To improve the city’ image and attract investment, Marketing Birmingham, the city’s strategic marketing
partnership, operates the city’s leisure and business tourism programmes - Visit and Meet Birmingham - as well
as its inward investment programme, Business Birmingham.
The city believes that CCIs too can have a big role in developing a service economy, in making the local industry
more competitive thanks to creative inputs such as design, in improving the city’s image attractiveness as well
as in retaining graduates and addressing social problems (e.g. by creating “cultural encounters/meeting places”) 47 .
Several initiatives have been launched in the last 10-15 years In order to position Birmingham as a leading regional
capital for the creative industries. The city has set up the Creative Birmingham Partnership Board (chaired by
Jerry Blackett, Director of Birmingham Chamber of Commerce) to assess the needs of CCIs. Looking for new
markets was identified as one of the main priorities. Birmingham ‘Creative City’ – a Greater Birmingham and Solihull
LEP project – has recently been launched to explore new funding opportunities for CCIs, in collaboration with the
private sector. Furthermore, from 2001 until 2005, a very successful Business Support for Creative Industries
programme was in place (co-financed by ERDF). This resulted in 424 new jobs, against the target of 327, in 608
safeguarded jobs against the targeted 191 and in over € 10 million safeguarded sales against over € 3,6 million.
Ah hoc financial engineering tools have also been created such as the Advantage Creative Fund, the Creative
Industry Fund or the West Midland film fund (absorbed now by Creative England).
A strong tradition has therefore been developed in supporting investments in CCI. The city is increasingly
moving to a new phase - away from specific support measure in order to encourage spill over.
CCIs are not seen as a standalone sector and have been increasingly integrated in policy actions linked to a
variety of fields going from business support to urban planning. Cultural and creative companies have been
supported as part of achieving entrepreneurship and sustainable development objectives, in line with the
priorities of the West Midland Operational Programme 2007-2013 48 :
- Promoting Innovation and R&D which has focused on health and medical technologies; energy; digital
media and ICT; transport technologies; and advanced materials/nano-technology.
- Stimulating Enterprise Development, through which 10 key clusters have been supported including one
on “Screen and New Media for Education and Entertainment”, “Interiors and Lifestyle” (including sectors
such as ceramics, jewellery, glass and clothing) “Tourism and Leisure”(including leisure goods and
presentational arts);
- Achieving Sustainable Urban Development, through which the regeneration of economically deprived
areas hosting creative companies to improve their image (e.g. Digbeth).
The City Council leader (Albert Bore) - very active at EU level via Eurocities and the Committee of the Regions -
is convinced that CCIs can contribute to a more innovative and competitive Birmingham, against cities like
London or Manchester. Barcelona could be an interesting benchmark as an example of industrial big city investing
in culture, innovation and new technologies to rethink the economy and rebrand the city at national and
international level.
47 Such view is for instance reflected by the report “Why The Creative Industries matter to Birmingham: An Analysis of the
City’s Creative Economy” by BOP Consulting (2010) commissioned by the Creative Birmingham Partnership Board.
48 Regional Competitiveness and Employment Objective 2007 – 2013. West Midlands European Regional Development Fund
Operational Programme, available at: http://www.communities.gov.uk/documents/regeneration/pdf/2105400.pdf
24

The main sectors the city would like to target to test spillovers are health/medical, automotive and green
energy, some of its strongest sectors. Better use of technology can also help develop communities and cross
fertilisation and support interoperability. Social media is for instance another area of interest to test spillovers.
4. Assets to stimulate creative spillovers
The city is very interested in exploring creative spillovers. Its long lasting interventions in the field of CCIs, on the
one hand, and on new technologies on the other, combined with a strong industrial tradition, provide the basis to
establish new forms of collaborations between growing sectors that can mutually benefit each others.
Enthusiasm was raised by the stakeholders met, although the city is challenged to involve also the core
cultural/artistic sectors.
There is a huge number of assets the city could build on to stimulate creative spillovers:
- Creative Birmingham Board, with priority is job creation and enterprise;
- Digital Birmingham, its support to the Smart City approach and its Hello culture Conference, a one day
conference with a series of keynotes, panels and workshops exploring how those in the cultural sector
can work with digital technology (the next is planned in October 2012);
- Creative Advantage Fund (CAF) and the Creative Industry Fund (CIF) to fund business start-ups and
growth;
- Custard Factory, a single contact point to involve creative companies but still to be better connected to
the rest of the city;
- Jewellery Quarter, very successful but with greater potential to exploit to improve the city’s image (it
is close to the city centre);
- Aston Science Park and its “Without Walls” 49 project as a tool to stimulate interactions / a networking
place
- BCU, which specialises in technical fields and design, Birmingham University and its school of Fine Arts,
and Aston University;
- Birmingham City Council – Business Development and Innovation Team
- Greater Birmingham and Solihull Local Enterprise Partnership (GBSLEP) leading Creative Birmingham;
- Chamber of Commerce Group, head by the Creative Board’s chair.
- Birmingham Business Hub, a single location which will provide integrated expertise and support for
businesses based in the city or looking to move there.
5. City’s expectations and potential contribution to the project
Birmingham is challenged by the new government guidelines adopted to reduce the budget deficit, under which
there is a greater need to match public funds with private ones. Through this project, the city expects to better
connect the main actors in the city to let them work together, fund innovative ideas and projects as well as
create new jobs, especially among young people. Furthermore, as CCIs policies have not be fully absorbed,
especially at policy level, there is a need to enlarge the scope of innovation objectives as to ensure that cultural
and creative companies can play their role in developing a more innovative, competitive and cohesive city. The
city expects to benefit from the project in this sense.
The LAP is thus likely to focus on:
- access to finance
- graduate retention
49 http://bsp-a.com/about/science-park-without-walls/
25

- incubation
The city expects to benefit from the new structure to negotiate SF (decentralised thanks to the new City Dealthe
city can now have its own SF programme) in order to plan actions on these 3 topics to be funded by EU
regional funds 2014-2020. The LAP will be drafted with the help of the ULSG which covers a broad range of
stakeholders, going from universities, to business to third sector’s representatives.
Birmingham can differently contribute to the success of the project. It has taken part to numerous international
projects focused on issues similar to those addressed by Creative SpIN and it is therefore used to work cross
border and exchange experience, it has an extensive experience in the field of CCIs as well as great assets in the
field of education, access to finance and other support tools/agencies who could contribute to the identification
and testing of tools and methods to stimulate spillovers.
26

ROTTERDAM
1. Socioeconomic profile
Rotterdam is the second largest city of the Netherlands, situated in the south west of the country. It counts
around 617,855 inhabitants, many of whom are young people from outside Holland (more than 50%).
Rotterdam hosts about 173 nationalities (almost high as New York). Suriname is the biggest group followed by
Turkish and Moroccan and people from former colonies such as China. In 10 years, it is estimated that more than
half of the population will have an ethnic background.
The city has suffered considerably during WO II resulting in the necessity to rebuild most of the city center.
Choices made from the 40s until the 80s still influence the architectural and social structures of the city. There is
a great need to revive both the inner city center as well as post-war neighborhoods. As these were intended for
working class residents, middle class inhabitants and companies have mostly moved to the periphery and the
numerous buildings left empty in the city centre need to be given a new function.
Rotterdam is known at national and international level to be an entrepreneurial city and an attractive place for
businesses. Health (including University Hospital), harbour/transport and the Creative Industries, particularly
architecture, animation and serious games are strong sectors. Health, service and harbour/logistic sectors are the
main providers of jobs.
However, Rotterdam suffers from a quite poor image among the local inhabitants. It appears that the residents of
Rotterdam use the city to advance on the social ladder, also known as the 'lift function'. Once they have achieved
a higher 'rung' they will be more inclined to leave the city. Rotterdam is challenged to retain and attract higher
educated residents, thus strengthening its social and economical basis.
Rotterdam devotes great attention to the educational offer, which includes the renowned Erasmus University
Rotterdam (hosting a large university hospital), Delft University of Technology, the largest and oldest Dutch
public technical university, and the University of Leiden, very strong in Art and Humanities, featuring a very good
international reputation. Rotterdam is also well positioned in the field of “creativity” with its Architecture Institute
27

Rotterdam (AIR). Creative studies also play an important role at the RDM Campus (design) and within the Berlage
Institute (architecture, cooperation with Technical University of Delft). The city also houses the conservatorium
Codarts. As from 2013, the city will also host the national institute for CCIs (with focus on architecture, e-culture
and design).
2. Cultural profile
Cultural offer
The city of Rotterdam has an important cultural offer which is mostly appreciated by “Dutch connaisseurs”. The
Rotterdam Philarmonic Orchestra, the Scapino Ballet modern dance company (also internationally well-perceived)
and the RO Theatre Company are very much known by a niche audience following the Dutch cultural and art
scene.
Rotterdam has been very successful at establishing an international cultural offer, too. The Rotterdam Film
Festival is the biggest in the Netherlands and the fourth international film festival after Cannes, Venice and Berlin.
The International Architecture Biennale Rotterdam or the North Sea Jazz Festival are also very well known and
visited. The Dutch city of Rotterdam has been ranked Best Festival City of the World 2010.
Rotterdam has also given birth to big names such as the artist Willem de Kooning or the architect Rem Koolhaas
who have, however, lived abroad most of their life and are rarely associated to the city.
Cultural and creative industries 50
Cultural and creative industries is a strong sector to develop in the Netherlands and more particularly in
Rotterdam, as shown by the different reports produced to quantify the contribution of the sector to the
economy 51 . Rotterdam is the forth city at national level for CCIs. The CCI sector represents 9,500 jobs, more
than the ICT sector (8,000), and 24% of national employment.
The city has a strong tradition in architecture. Most of the architectural offices of the country are located in
Rotterdam. Together with architecture, serious gaming and eCulture/New Media, music (pop, jazz, world music,
classical), audiovisual media and film and festivals are the sectors where the city has identified the important
growth potential and where it would like to invest as a matter of priority.
Several creative venues and institutions - such as the Jazz stage BIRD, Creative Factory and Schieblock
(incubators/hubs) - or successful companies including CCCP TV Rotterdam (media production), Revolver (media
production), Ranj, Proskope and Beinvolved (serious gaming), OMA (architecture/urban planning) or RTV Rijnmond
(television production, regional broadcaster) have contributed to making of Rotterdam a creative hub with an
important development potential at national and international level.
3. Policy vision and measures
For the years to come, Rotterdam wants to facilitate and promote a more knowledge-based local industry.
50 CCIs in the Netherlands are defined as follows: “companies and organisations that make up the Creative industries as a sector carry the
title ‘creative’ in their name. CCI’s are driven by the power to create and produce that is incorporated in individuals, groups, companies and
organisations. Intellectual property rights are an import part of their (production) capital”. They divide CCIs into three categories:
1) The arts: performing and visual arts, cultural heritage and cultural events
2) Media and entertainment: film, AV sector and literature
3) Creative services: design, fashion, architecture, new media and games, advertising
51 "Rotterdam maakt werk van Creativiteit, Gezamenlijk advies EDBR/RRKC", August 2006 (Combined advise to City Council on Creative
industries by Economic Development Board Rotterdam and Rotterdam Advisory Board for Arts and Culture).
"Evaluatie programma Creatieve Industrie in Rotterdam", Research voor Beleid, May 2011.
"Creative Sector, EDBR advies", Economic Development Board Rotterdam, November 2011.
28

Its policy vision focuses on developing/promoting/attracting (creative) talents and companies, creating new
jobs, educating and empowering its culturally diverse population, and improving quality of life both to retain local
inhabitants and attract highly educated people, especially to the inner city. In other words, Rotterdam wants to
become an attractive working and living location.
Building bridges is considered as an important tool to reach such objectives. According to the vice-mayor, new
partnerships are needed today in order to be competitive in a quickly changing world (“it is not only about the
crisis, it is about the new economy which needs new jobs, but not all the sectors are aware”, she said).
Rotterdam sees in CCIs an important ally to the local development policy. Creative companies can contribute to
jobs and innovation and culture be a pull factor to attract creative, high skilled people and create an innovative
urban atmosphere. In the vision of the city, these industries provide numerous chances for our young population
to develop en exhibit their talents, thus providing access to clime the social ladder. CCIs provide innovative
models and products for other sectors to innovate. Indirectly the sector has a positive influence on city
attractiveness through the products it makes and the way it presents such products in the city.
The city has been investing in CCIs from an economic perspective during the past 15 years. From 2008-2012 a
specific action programme (Creativity starts here) has been implemented by the Economic Department. It aim is
to rise jobs, improve the visibility of the sector and stimulate cross overs. The programme resulted in the
creation of the MEDIA Commission (put in place to boost the media sector, also by putting it in contact with
non-creative sectors), creative housing (Schieblock, Creative Factory) and promotional campaigns. When
evaluated, the direct economic effects were smaller than expected in terms of jobs. However, the city realised
that the added value of the sector lies more in its indirect effects on social, economic, cultural and spatial
development, although cross overs remains hard to measure.
Rotterdam’s vision for the future includes better linking CCI policy with other policy fields, from spatial
policy/urban planning to entrepreneurship to education policies (with the creation of the national institute for
CCIs), access to finance (a long term subsidy scheme for cultural sector is to be established in Rotterdam).
The link wants also to be made with national policies, in relation to which Rotterdam could become a centre of
excellence for architecture. Rotterdam is already involved in the national network for CCIs “CLICK//NL” as
commissioner for Architecture.
For the city dealing with CCIs is not simply about industrial policy but mainly about how to integrate them into
development policies. With such view in mind, a new CCIs programme is currently being elaborated 52 . Effects are
52 CCI working programme (in progress).
• Streamline education, training, profession
• Talent development
• Growing fase
• Icons
• Create housing (living and working)
• Wants and needs of creative class
• Look and feel of spatial development
• Gentrification
• Support networks and organisation
• Cross over (i.p. harbor/logistics, health care)
• Stimulate funding and investments
• Monitoring, evidence, fact and figures
• Universities
• National institutions
• International institutions and networks
29

expected at cultural (entrepreneurship), social (demographics), physical (Innercity, heritage) and economic (cross
sectoral innovation, jobs) level.
The city would also like to explore the link with social innovation. During the national Open Innovation Festival
coming in November 2012 Rotterdam will focus on social innovation and set up a programme line on CCIs’ spill
overs on social aspects and policy.
Encouraging spillovers was already a priority for the city in its 2008-2012 CCIs’ programme. Now Rotterdam
would like to specifically test these on the port and health sectors in order to make these sectors more
innovative and competitive but also to make jobs in these sectors more creative and attractive to young people.
4. Local assets to support creative spillovers
Rotterdam features a very interesting combination of policy, industrial and cultural assets which can potentially
create an environment conducive to exploring creative spillovers.
The good political environment at local as well as at national level (CCIs is a national priority) combined with a
long lasting CCI policy (taking into account the recent raise of policies in this field) which focus on cross overs, a
dynamic art sector (more business oriented than in other parts of Europe), and “traditional” sectors such as the
medical and health sectors quite open to new collaborations (some companies have already worked with the
creative industries) are part of such favourable setting.
Rotterdam’s CCIs policy has contributed to the emergence of very dynamic local stakeholders who could
greatly contribute to this project (many of them have already expressed interest and would like to further
reflect on possible concrete outcomes):
- The upcoming national institute on CCIs, to explore ways to stimulate cross overs in and through
education;
- Institute for Architecture Rotterdam (AIR), to make CCIs/architecture part of urban planning policies;
- MEDIA Commission, which has organised events gathering people from different fields, e.g. 7 th Art;
- Creative Factory and Schieblock, offering a physical networking platform;
- WORM, an arts organisation very much open to new forms of collaborations;
- Communication Platform Rotterdam, interested in creating new bridges between communication
professionals and traditional sectors;
- The Erasmus University and the Universities of Delft and Leiden, who strongly collaborate with the
Creative Factory in order to create a link between the academic world and highly skilled students
wishing to start a creative business.
Rotterdam can also count of some previous initiatives on the topic, such as the Zorg ontbijt / Health breakfast 53 ,
a cross over meeting organised between health care professionals and creative IT-companies to stimulate
innovation in the health sectors, the MEDIA Commission’s multidisciplinary events and collaboration put in place
between health companies and serious gaming companies to apply games in medical centres so that doctors can
learn how to better interact with patients.
5. City’s expectations and potential contribution to the project
Through Creative SpIN, Rotterdam expects to generate more spillovers between its three top sectors (port,
medical and CCIs) as well as to identify state-of-the art methods to create spillovers in other fields such as
53 http://www.rotterdam.nl/netwerkontbijt_zorginnovatie
30

tourism, access to finance, technology and new media, thanks to the transnational exchange with the other
partners. The city also expects to learn about measuring spillovers and policies supporting them.
The LAP will therefore focus on:
- Creative Spillovers between CCIs and two of the key sectors in Rotterdam:
o Medical Sector
o Ports & logistics industries
- Partnerships between CCIs, educational institutions and governmental bodies.
The mission of the ULSG will be to transform Rotterdam’s ambitious goals into concrete programmes and
activities that fit the needs of the local actors in all sectors involved. This calls for a diverse ULSG with a balance
between representatives from CCIs, other business sectors (mainly Medical and Ports), educational institutions
and governmental bodies. The ULSG now consists of a small group of about 10 persons, but will be connected to
a much larger group of peers through a Round Table. Members of the Round Table will act as an informal
Advisory committee: they do not have an official seat in the ULSG but do have the opportunity to influence the
LAP and to insert their programmes and activities into the Action Plan. The ULSG will slowly grow into a group of
around 20 people by the end of the project period.
The city will contribute to the project’s learning process by sharing with the other partners its experience in
the field of CCIs policies as well as the results of previous tests on creative spillovers and efforts to measure the
results.
31

1. Socioeconomic profile
ESSEN
Essen lies in the heart of the Ruhr Metropolis, where about 6 million people live and work. This makes the Ruhr
Metropolis the third largest conurbation in Europe after London and Paris. With 570,000 inhabitants, Essen is one
of Germany´s nine biggest cities.
After being an ecclesiastic principality for over 1,000 years, in the last century the city gained fame as a
neuralgic centre of coal and steel production in Germany. Industrialists played a major role in shaping the city and
the economic growth brought also a growth in population about in the whole region: 500,000 migrants mainly
from Poland and Eastern Europe were attracted during the 19 th century. With a heavy demand for coal and steel,
the region was centre of the German economic miracle in the 1950s/60s (annual econ. growth rate 9%%).
Being target for allied bombing in WW II (during which Essen had a large production of weapons), 90% of the
centre and 60% of the suburbs were destroyed and rebuilt in the 50s. Today, no more weaponry is produced,
but the old industrial enterprises remain large employers (e.g. Germany's second-largest electric utility RWE AG,
the ThyssenKrupp industrial conglomerate, parts of the corporate headquarters of Schenker AG (the logistics
division of Deutsche Bahn), Germany's largest construction company Hochtief AG, as well as Deichmann (Europe's
largest shoe retailer) and E.on-Ruhrgas (Germany's largest gas company)).
However, the unemployment rate today is 12.4% and reaches 18% in the north of the city (against Germany’s
national unemployment rate of 5,5% 54 ). The city has lost around 120,000 inhabitants in the past 30 years, from
690,000 to 570,000. Foreigners (which mainly include Libanese, Turks and people from South Europe represent)
represent 12,1% of the population but this percentage is estimated to increase. Also, although the city counts
around 40,000 students, the population is ageing: 57,9% are older than 40 years and 42,4% are more than 50
years old.
Essen and the Rurh are pointing to culture as a tool to regain attractiveness, stop the migration, as well as
stimulate new economic activities and growth. “Change through culture – culture through change” is the theme
that nowadays characterises
the entire region in a process
of transformation from the
industrial past to the
economy of the future. Essen
along with the Ruhr District
indeed won the title of
European Capital of Culture
2010. Since then, the city has
launched a creative and urban
regeneration strategy which
includes the creation of a
Kreativquartier North Essen
right at the north of the city
centre.
Essen would particularly like
54
http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/statistics_explained/index.php?title=File:Unemployment_rates,_seasonally_adjusted,_August_2012.png&filetimestamp=201
21001121813
32

to make the city attractive for the students attending the different educational institutions present in the city,
among which the most renowned are the Folkwang University of the Arts for music, theater, dance, design and
academic studies (1,500 students with a new campus of the Design Faculty for 1,000 students opening in 2013
at Zollverein Coal Mine industrial complex), and the University of Duisburg-Essen (37,000 students) having urban
systems (i.e., sustainable development, logistics and transportation) among its primary research areas. Another
university in Essen is the private Fachhochschule für Oekonomie und Management, a university of applied
sciences with over 6,000 students.
2. Cultural profile
Cultural offer
Cultural creation is a priority for the city of Essen, which spends about 4% of the city budget every year (about
€ 60 million).
Internationally known contemporary cultural icons are from the region, such as the dancer Pina Bausch, the
photography Tim Rautert and the sculptor Karl Wolf. Large international exhibitions on contemporary art at
(Volkwang Museum has recently hosted one on the architect Chipperfield) as well as yearly important
international events on dance (International Tanz Festival and Deutsche Tanz Prize) take place in the city.
Interestingly, most of city’s cultural events and exhibitions are sponsored by large industrial complexes (such as
the Thyssen Foundation of the Thyssen Group, Rewe, Eon, Krupp).
Major cultural institutions in the city are the Aalto Theater, an opera house and major performing arts venue
designed by the Finnish architect Alvar Aalto and opened in 1988, and the Lichtburg cinema (a popular name for
cinemas in Germany) which was built in 1924 as part of an urban regeneration plan.
Cultural and creative industries
Essen is home to the WAZ Media Group, Germany's third largest newspaper and magazine publisher with a total
of over 500 publications in eight countries, also publishing the Ruhr area's two most important daily newspapers.
Additionally, the TV and radio station Westdeutscher Rundfunk has a studio in Essen.
Also, industrial design is an important “flagship” of the city. red dot is a comprehensive initiative which aims at
identifying, awarding and promote excellent design. It includes, among the others, an international competition for
the best business design, conferences, lectures and a Design Zentrum.
3. Policy vision and measures
The city’s priority is to develop attractiveness through artistic interventions with a view to “kick start” a creative
ecology. Essen wants to build a talent pool which could contribute to urban and economic regeneration and
sustainability as well as being a factor to retain (young) people.
Essen started a culture-led regeneration process with the ECoC events which had an important impact on the
image of the city and the Ruhr. Essen is now developing new artistic and creative spaces to foster creation and
entrepreneurship in the sector. “Atelierhaus” was opened in January 2012 by the Culture Department of Essen in
co-operation with the Kunsthaus Essen to host a dozen artists to help them reach the art market (cheap rent and
free business advice is offered). In September 2012, the Culture Department of Essen also organised the event
“Art Walk” involving more than 20 different venues in the City Nord showing the diverse art scene in one
weekend. Already in 2004 a wealthy businessman, Mr R.Wiesemann, set up the “Unperfect house”, a unique place
for creative people to meet, eat, drink, organise conferences and work. The place is open to visitors. 600 artists
and creative professional have used the facility (5,000 m 2 – 7 stores). The same business man opened the
“Generation- Kult House” a place with co-working spaces and rooms as well as apartments to be rented by
33

younger and older generation in a kind of community living space where facilities are shared. He also invested in
an abandoned building to set up the “City Messe Halle” (city art fair hall) for young artists.
All these investments are part of the regeneration plan of the north area of the city (where many empty buildings
are available) aimed at creating the Kreativquartier North Essen which is situated in a strategic location, very close
to the University Duisburg-Essen and proving good accessibility to the Folkwang University, to the free
academy of fine arts in Essen-Kupferdreh and to the center of design at Zollverein – UNESCO world culture
heritage site. The setting up of the quarter pursues some of the more general objectives of the city
strategy“Essen.2030” (to be implemented as from 2013), in particular ensuring high quality of life for all citizens,
forming, attracting and retaining (young) talent, increasing competitiveness and attractiveness as a business
location, and improving the image of the city. On the same vein, Essen is implementing the project “Grüne Mitte
Essen” - an urban renewal project aimed at making the university district more attractive for students as well as
companies - and a support scheme for individual artists (offering studios and advice) aimed at retaining artists in
the city and at creating an “urban art space”. 55 Art in education is another important theme for the city which
supports the funding programme “Culture and School” integrating artists in educational processes.
The city is also working on the concept of “industrial archeology” by organising visits to industrial sites as part of
the cultural tourism offer. Zollverein is emblematic of this reallocation of industrial places.
Increasing visibility is another important topic for the city. Essen aims to build long-term relations to cities in
Europe to open local markets for creative industries entrepreneurs and access new markets. Furthermore, since
2011 Essen has also tried to become a visibility platform for CCIs in the region. Its Economic Agency is promoting
a Creative Stage / Showcase and a Regional Creative Class Network to generate contacts between creative SMEs
and bigger companies beyond the city.
Spillovers is a new topic but of great interest given the important industrial basis present in the city, on the hand,
and the willingness to invest on creative talents, on the other. The two could particularly work together in the
field of urban development/green energy/climate and manufacturing.
4. Assets to stimulate creative spillovers
Essen has a good mix of political willingness to invest in culture and local assets which are likely to contribute to
the setting of a favourable environment to stimulate spillovers. Relevant resources and features certainly include:
- Urban regeneration (through culture), the stablishment of creative “milieus”, support to artists and the
establishment of a Kreativquartier as priorities in Essen.2030;
- Strong cultural offering (especially in contemporary art) and expertise in cultural management;
- Interesting recent investments which build on the idea of co-working to support creativity and
innovation – Atelierhaus, Unperfecthaus, GenerationKult Haus. The Atelierhaus is identified as a suitable
place to experiment “spillover activities”;
- The Zollverein Coal Mine offering spaces for local activities, transnational events and where the new
campus of the Design Faculty will be located;
- Local university of fine arts (Folkwant universität der Kunste) which could facilitate interactions with and
involvement of artists and creative professionals;
- Strong links exist with important business players such as Thyssen-Krupp or the entrepreneur Reinhard
Wiesemann founder of the hubs “Unperfekthaus” and “GenerationenKultHaus” – this can help create
interaction between CCIs and other sectors of the economy;
- Collaborations with more than 50 cities developed on the occasion of Ruhr for Essen 2011.
55 http://www.essen.de/de/Kultur_und_Bildung/kulturbuero/kreativwirtschaft_3/kreativwirtschaft_startseite.html
34

5. City’s expectations and potential contributions to the project
The project should participate to local urban generation, attractiveness and new forms of entrepreneurship. It
should help the building of the cluster in the north district of the city by encouraging collaboration and initiatives
in place since a couple of years.
The Local Action Plan would contribute to create a model of a creative quarter in a deprived district, where
spaces for all creative talents would be available, education for and from all creative talents and creative
entrepreneurs supported, and contacts between small entrepreneurs and international networks (in different
sectors) established to access the markets. In addition, the Local Action Plan would look into the development of
digital and online tools for the creative cluster. In the end, the LAP is expected to stimulate creative
entrepreneurship and retain local talent.
To this aim, a number of stakeholders will be involved in the USLG, namely creative industries from Essen-North,
the career centre for Folkwang, the State University Essen, Chambers of Commerce as well as Real Estate
Owners, investors & foundations from the visual arts and design sectors (e.g. Thyssen-Krupp Foundation). All
these stakeholders are part of the Creative Masterplan for Essen-North since 2011.
On the other hand, Essen has a lot to share. It has experience with international collaborations and projects in the
context of Essen for the Ruhr 2011, it has several facilities where methods for spillovers can be tested, has
already links in place between the local industry and businessmen and the cultural world on which to build on and
normally hosts several international events which can be associated to Creative SpIN both for dissemination or
experimentation purposes (e.g. red dot).
35

1. Socioeconomic profile
BOLOGNA
Bologna is a medium-sized city (375,000 inhabitants) located in the northern part of Italy. It is the capital of
Emilia-Romagna, a region featuring an important industrial tradition (machinery automobiles, footwear, textile,
engineering, chemical, printing and publishing industries, as well as a strong financial, insurance and commercial
activity) and a large number of very dynamic, internationalised and creative SMEs (essentially family companies),
little affected by delocalisation. In Bologna, manufacturing (27,50%), trade (18%) and construction (8,10%) are the
largest providers of jobs. The city also counts a large number of cooperative organisations (the so called
“cooperative economy” is very well developed in the entire region).
Bologna went through an important period of cultural and economic prosperity during the 13 th , 15 th and 16 th
centuries. Its historical centre and its 42 km of arcades, despite having suffered considerable bombing damage in
1944, is still very well preserved and contains important Medieval, Renaissance, and Baroque artistic monuments.
Bologna is a city without any major problems – it has an excellent cultural offer for a medium sized city,
including a large network of bookshops (54 in the city alone 56 ), theaters and cinemas, it is the 1 st city in Italy for
quality of life and cultural consumption 57 , it is a crucial node of connection between North and South (Bologna is
well connected with major cities in Italy and abroad through railways, motorways and the city airport), provides
good quality health care, pre-school educational, social, cultural and sport services and is actively involved in
several international projects.
However, old demographics, the passage to the new economy, the need to create new jobs, retain creative
talents (many prefer going to Milan after graduation), face the rise of unemployment rate (6-7%) due to the crisis
and the low level of nativity 58 are challenges the city has to deal with. The city also has to face its long lasting
competition with Modena as economic capital of the region. Bologna needs to shape a new, attractive identity to
56 Carolfi V, Coretti C., Giusti E., Lodi M., Moretti F. (2012), Guida alle librerie indipendenti di Bologna, NdA Press, Rimini 2012.
57 http://www.ilsole24ore.com/speciali/qvita_2011/home.shtml
58
In 2010, there were 3,124 children born. In 1977, there were 3.177. Since then, the nativity rate has been decreasing:
http://www.comune.bologna.it/iperbole/piancont/noterapide/popolazione/Natalita/Nati_Studio2011.pdf
36

attract a new generation of young talents. The rich pool of 85,000 international students at the University of
Bologna represents a precious source of creativity and innovation.
Emilia-Romagna’s capital has also an important tourism potential, but until now it has mainly been city of passage
between major tourist destinations. However, the situation is changing also thanks to the presence of Ryanair at
the airport - very close to the city centre. Congresses and fairs (Exposanità on healthcare is an important one)
may also become a significant area of development in terms of attracted visitors.
The city is now working on a new strategy under the edges of the new Mayor elected one year ago (Virginio
Merola). Development of CCIs is identified as a priority both in the Strategic Plan and in the triennial Economic
Development Plan of the region in order to initiate a “Manufacturing Renaissance”. Creative sectors are indeed
important for the city (especially arts, audiovisual, publishing and creative food industry) and develop high
quality contents. However, they have no reached an industrial dimension and no link has been developed with the
traditional economic sectors.
Bologna features an attractive educational and entertainment offer for university students. It hosts the oldest
university of the Western world (the University of Bologna founded in 1088) and about 80,000 students live in
the city. Its University hospital (Policlinico S. Orsola-Malpighi) has a good reputation. The University of Bologna
was the first to establish a degree course in Art, Music and Show Disciplines (DAMS) which today offers courses
in four sectors: Art, Cinema, Music and Theater. As for music, the G.B. Martini Conservatory is one of the oldest
Italian conservatories, and the first state school in the field. Finally, the Academy of Fine Arts is a relevant center
for teaching and experimentation of design, artistic and visual arts. Bologna also hosts Cineca, the Italian largest
computing center, one of the most important worldwide. With more 400 employees, it operates in the
technological transfer sector.
2. Cultural profile
Cultural offer
Bologna, which held the title of European Capital of Culture back in 2000, features one of the best cultural
offering in Italy, including several cinemas, theatres, libraries and museums and numerous cultural events (Arte e
Scienza in Piazza, ArteLibro, Biografilm Festival, Future Film Festival, BilBOlbul - International
Festival of Comics, etc.).
The Cineteca (Film Archive) is an internationally renowned institution established in the ‘60s and dedicated to
the promotion of cinema and cinema culture as well as to film restoration. Every year it hosts numerous festivals.
The city also welcomes a contemporary art museum of 9,500 sqm (MAMbo) inaugurated in 2008 with a view to
better link the city to contemporary creation and promote local talents. Both are located in an urban area which
has been renamed “Manifattura della Arti”. Next to the city centre, this was a neuralgic centre of the cultural,
economic and social life in the past and has now been recovered to become a lively arts district thanks to the
joint involvement of the Municipality, the University and the funds of Bologna European City of Culture 2000.
This area also hosts the Department of Communication, Music and Performing Arts Laboratories of the University,
thus being a truthful audiovisuals’ “citadel”.
The Municipal Theater of Bologna is one of the greatest Opera and Symphonic Foundations in Italy. The theatre
programs an opera season, while the nearby Manzoni Auditorium Theatre offers a symphonic season and
permanently houses the activity of Orchestra Mozart, an orchestra artistically directed by the famous director
Claudio Abbado. The Civic Museums Institution manages a network of seven museums, among which, the
Archaeological Museum, one of the most prestigious Italian archaeological collection.
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Moreover, a private local bank foundation has recently created a new network of museums called Genus
Bononiae, a cultural and artistic path telling Bologna’s history through restored ancient buildings of the town
centre.
The city is strong training institutions in music (G.B. Martini Conservatory) and cinema (DAMS). However, young
talents quickly leave the city because of the gap between offer and demand of jobs.
Cultural and creative industries
According to a recent research 59 regarding the creative industries in Emilia-Romagna, the region of Bologna, the
ICC sector in 2008 ranked 32,000 enterprises (or 7,9% of the region) with 78,000 employees (or 4,5% of the
region).
In particular, the city of Bologna has developed many different CCI sectors such as live arts (especially music:
Bologna was appointed Unesco City of Music in 2006 together with Seville, Ghent, Glasgow and Bogota as part
of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network); audiovisual (it features a vibrant scene of independent production and a
very important and innovative Film Archive hosted by the Cineteca), publishing (Bologna hosts renowned
publishing houses, such as Il Mulino, Zanichelli and Cambridge International Press Italy); commerce and distribution
of artistic and crafts products; creative food industry.
Bologna offers important visibility platforms to international cultural and creative players. Major fairs indeed in the
city relate to CCIs, among which the International Children Book Fair (the largest in the world in the topic), and
Cersaie on ceramics.
3. Policy vision and measures
Culture has been traditionally high in Bologna’s local policy agenda. The budget for the sector represents 5% of
the local budget. Today the city would like to go a step beyond traditional cultural policy and introduce support
measures which can enable the economic potential of CCIs to fully develop. Bologna wants to position itself as
the city of entrepreneurs and in the field of culture/cultural management (as opposed to Firenze which focuses
on cultural heritage).
The city’s Strategic Plan, which is currently being prepared, will focus on 3 three main issues which include
several references to culture and creativity:
- Manufacturing renaissance (to associate better production with design and internationalisation support);
- Creative industries and ICT ;
- Innovation for enterprises to grow.
The city hopes to benefit from a new administrative structure which will operate as from 2014 (the Metropolitan
area). This will replace the provincial level but its degree of competence is yet unknown. Such change is
considered important for the city as this could enable the development of sustainable policies to foster
entrepreneurship and innovation on a wider territory and, possibly, give the area a more critical size and visibility.
Several tools already exist to support entrepreneurship and SMEs, such as EmiliaRomagna STARTUP, a regional
network the growth of start-ups through innovative instruments, and ASTER, a Consortium led by Emilia-
Romagna Regional Government, various Research institutions and Entrepreneurial Associations aimed at
supporting research and technology transfer throughout the territory and with experience with CCIs project
(Creative Growth – INTERREG IVC). However, no special industrial policies or tools to support CCIs exist right now
59 Regione Emilia-Romagna, Cultura&Creatività – Ricchezza per l’Emilia-Romagna, 2012.
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- apart from IncrediBol (a newly established programme to support creative entrepreneurs). The aim is to create a
guarantee fund to support investments in CCIs and link the sector with the regional business angel network (BAN).
The city is very much interested in the topic of creative spillovers, especially in relation to manufacturing (to
bring innovation in the traditional industrial basis) and education (to nurture creative and interdisciplinary minds in
learning contexts). In collaboration with the University of Bologna and the Forum d'Avignon, the Municipality of
Bologna has carried out a survey among companies in the metropolitan area to find about internal business roles
covered by creative professionals and understand their impact on business’ success. This research will be
continued in the frame of the project, and the model could be used for and by other partners.
4. Local assets to support creative spillovers
The city can count on a number of assets to stimulate creative spillovers:
- Strategic Plan’s priority on CCIs and innovation in industries through design
- Strong cultural offering and sound expertise in cultural management
- Innovative and dynamic local enterprises, especially SMEs
- Regional network of Business Angels (BAN)
- IncrediBol and selection of innovative creative entrepreneurs
- ASTER which has experience with “spillovers”(intended as technological transfers) and CCIs
- Strong local university
5. City’s expectations and contributions to the project
Bologna has expressed great willingness to test and experiment creative spillovers as part of implementation of
the Strategic Plan. The project should contribute to the economy of the future, which includes innovative
companies building on creative inputs and more business “equipped” cultural and creative professionals. The city
wants to break silos between disciplines, especially at university and in companies, and use the project for
people to work together across disciplines to find new economic and social solutions.
The LAP will support creative spillovers with focus on:
- business training for the creative sector
- innovative connections between CCIs and traditional economic sectors
- creating opportunities for the students in innovative and creative fields after their studies
In its ULSG, Bologna will gather economic departments of the City, Province and the Region as well as ASTER
(which can provide good connections with the local industry), the University and the project IncrediBol to
identify interesting creative companies which could be involved in the project.
Bologna is ready to share its strengths in order to best contribute to the international exchange and learning,
notably:
- Its strong cultural offer and expertise in cultural management.
- Visibility opportunity and international links: thanks to the strategic position, the deep cultural tradition,
the presence of very important Fairs, and the presence of the University, Bologna has a very strong
creative environment and can offer an important international stage for the project and its partners.
- Survey model to explore the use of creative inputs and skills in traditional companies
39

1. Socioeconomic profile
KORTRIJK
Kortrijk is a medium-sized city of 75,000 inhabitants as well as the central place of a conurbation of 280,000
residents. Located in the Flemish-speaking part of Belgium, not far from the French border, Kortrijk is also part of
the rising metropolitan area around the large city of Lille in Northern France which counts about 2 million
inhabitants.
Importantly expanded after World War I thanks to increased mobility and traffic infrastructure works (motorway
and ring), Kortrijk is a wealth city, with a low unemployment rate in spite of the crisis (between 2% and 3%). Its
economy is industry and service-based, with a long history in the industry of textile and building materials
(bricks and tiles). Local SMEs have shown strong flexibility and capacity of conversion and innovation during the
different (textile) crises and the city has been able to convert its tradition of adaptation into a policy of
innovation, design-led.
However, the city is outside the central “Flemish Diamond” of Gent, Antwerp, Brussels and Leuven, where the
lion’s share of the economic development takes place. As a provincial town, it suffers from an ongoing brain drain
and therefore an ageing population. The secondary sector (textile and building materials) is still important but the
tertiary and quaternary sectors are less developed than in the Flemish Diamond.
Kortrijk is challenged by the passage to the new economy. The design sector is strong but the city needs to
strengthen the local CCIs as a whole to obtain sufficient critical mass, to support talent becoming new
businesses, to improve R&D’s capacity of local SMEs, to optimize the creative potential of its inhabitants,
students, high schools knowledge-centers and businesses as well as to co-ordinate the various initiatives in
support of creativity and innovation in a coherent local strategy and action plan, supported by all stakeholders.
40

Kortrijk is a strong educational centre for the region, hosting a campus of the Catholic University of Leuven and
two schools of higher education. The School of Higher Education West-Flanders offers Bachelors in Multimedia
and Communication Technology, Industrial Product Design and Embedded System Design.
2. Cultural profile
Cultural offer
Kortrijk has a strong artistic tradition. The art centre Limelight, the dance studio Dans in Kortrijk and the visual
culture festival Beeldenstorm are Kortrijk’s three main arts organisations located at Buda island (very close to the
city centre). They have attracted dancers and artists for residency activities and also extensively collaborated
with famous dance companies and schools such as P.A.R.T.S. – Anne Teresa de Kersmaeker’s school in Brussels,
internationally renowned.
Active since the 80s, the three organisations have recently merged into the artcentre BUDA, a five-building
workspace for artists, festival organizer and art cinema. artcentre BUDA promotes collaboration between artists
and companies in order to explore how they can mutually influence and innovate their practices.
Cultural and creative industries
If the concept of CCIs is pretty new for the city, design has been integrated in local industrial activities since the
early 20th century. (Interior) design activities were required to stay ahead of global competition. To provide
exposure to the strengths of the region in design, in 1968 the first Design Bienniale Interieur was organised in
Kortrijk. Today it has become a top event in the world of interior, product and service design. Kortrijk has
become a design hotspot in Europe.
Digital media and gaming are other key sectors the city would like to develop.
3. Policy vision and measures
Kortrijk has been little affected by the economic crisis, but it wants to be in advance of the times anyway. The
Flemish city wants to be a pioneer among small cities in Europe and launch a new way of thinking and of
connecting the arts and economy for sustainable urban development. It also wants to build on its strong industrial
basis and further strengthen its innovation and competitiveness potential by investing in creativity and its design
tradition.
Since 2002 the city has developed an urban renewal program to turn the Buda-island (an ex-industrial area in the
inner city that was dismantled in the 80s and 90s) in the inner-city into a breeding nest for culture, creativity and
artists. It was especially thanks to an “organic process” of urban regeneration combined with artistic interventions
at Buda Island led by local arts organisations that the local policy makers have gradually understood arts and
creativity as an asset for urban regeneration, economic innovation and support to young people. In the last years
the policy focus has thus moved from a separated strategy for culture on one hand and design and innovation
on the other, to a “spillover strategy” combining culture, creativity and economy.
The Budafabric, a renovated former factory, is the mayor project in the new strategy. Opened in September, it
will interlink designers, product developers, entrepreneurs, students, artists and academics in order to enhance
cross-pollination for innovative products, applications and new materials. The new facility has got substantial
support from the city and EU regional funding for a total amount of € 2,435,955, € 974,382 of which is funded
by ERDF.
Many other initiatives had, however, been undertaken before the opening of Budafabric. Kortrijk has a long design
tradition, featuring several tools to support design and creativity in its local industry. The consortium Designregio
41

Kortrijk, for instance, has been created in collaboration with Interieur Design Biennale, Howest (TU), Chamber of
Commerce and the inter-communal Development Agency Leiedal to introduce design-thinking in the SMEs and
the society. It is recognised as the regional HUB of the Flemish Design Platform. The city celebrates a week of
design, during which schools and professionals show newest innovations in the business sector and work of
graduates. Kortrijk also works on a periodical publication to promote the best 50 design products of the year
from local designers.
Several competence centers are located in Kortrijk such as Flanders in Shape (product design), Flanders
Knowledge-center for new materials, Microsoft Innovation Centre and the Incubation and Innovation center. New
materials and e-health are key sectors for the city to develop.
A Center for Entrepreneurs also exists, where start-ups gets all kind of support, and the city supports a regional
program to strengthen four business clusters, combining universities, research centers and leading companies.
In order to make its design and innovation tradition known abroad, Kortrijk successfully became a member of a
European network for the organisation of the European Innovation Festival with focus on open innovation, cocreation
and user-centered design. The target group is not only professionals and businesses but all citizens,
especially young people.
The city has also established the network Kortrijk IN, gathering decision makers in all fields (government,
business, and academy) in order to facilitate dialogue and shared policies.
Spillover is a new concept for the Kortrijk but its local development strategy clearly wants to promote a
spillover approach. The city is particularly interested in testing spillovers in the manufacturing sector.
4. Local assets to support creative spillovers
The city can count on a number of assets to stimulate creative spillovers, including:
- Budafabric and its mission to encourage cross-pollination as well as spaces where to test spillovers;
- Designregio Kortrijk, to link creative people and traditional companies;
- Kortrijk IN, to gather different stakeholders on the theme of spillovers;
- Design Biennale Interieur, as a possible platform where to host local actions or where to disseminate the
results of the project.
- Several competence centres and local schools and universities (Flanders in Shape (product design),
Flanders Knowledge-center for new materials, Microsoft Innovation Centre and the Incubation and
Innovation center, Catholic University of Leuven and two schools of higher education) for their
engagement in innovation and where spillovers could be tested;
- The Center for Entrepreneurs where innovative start-ups (resulting from creative spillovers’ processes)
could find support or where spillovers’ methods could be tested.
5. City’s expectations and potential contribution to the project
Kortrijk expects to collaborate with international partners and experts in order to effectively implement its local
development strategy which already tries to promote a spillover approach to art and culture, especially to the
benefit of urban regeneration and business innovation.
The LAP is expected to focus on:
- Creating an atmosphere and attractive environment for creativity and innovation in the city
- Support innovative spinoffs and start-ups from the high schools and universities
- Stimulating spillovers between education, artists, creative industries and the local SMEs and companies. The
work of Budafabric as brokerage infrastructure will be key in this sense.
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- Keep introducing design-thinking and open innovation in SMEs
- Obtaining a critical mass by clustering universities, research centers, creative industries and local companies
The city also expects to gather the different existing initiatives on creativity and innovation under the Local
Action Plan in order to create better coordination, to the benefit not only for the city, but of the entire
agglomeration.
On the other hand, the city is ready to share its experience on local policies and strategies aimed at enhancing
creativity and entrepreneurship. Budafabric will also offer spaces and facilities to create spillovers, including a
fablab in order to test and learn about spillovers during the whole project period. The city has also an extensive
experience with EU projects and has organised the European Innovation Festival thus gaining experience in
bringing the public close to fablabs, user-centred design and open innovation concepts.
43

1. Socioeconomic profile
MONS
Mons, the Mayor of which was the current Prime Minister Elio Di Rupo until last year, is a small city of the Wallonia
region (south of Belgium) counting about 93,000 inhabitants and up to 250,000 in Mons agglomeration. Mons
would like to create a Eurodistrict of 1 million inhabitants including the French cities of Valenciennes, Maubeuge,
similarly to the one created by Lille, Courtrai et Tournai in 2008.
As in many Western countries, the city faces an aging population, partially offset by the presence of 3,200
students 60 . Most of the population has Italian or French origins. About 7,000 are Americans (8% of the
population 61 ) as the city hosts a NATO basis (SHAPE).
Originally a city
of garnisons,
Mons has a
strong industrial
past. From the
XIX th century
until the 1970s,
the Mons region
was a land of
coal extraction
thanks to which
at the time
Belgium was
amongst the 5
world richest
countries in the
world. The city
then entered a
(still ongoing)
deindustrialisatio
n process.
Today the public sector and tourism are an important source of revenues and employment. Mons counts nearly
70,000 visitors per year and this number has been growing in the last few years 62 .
The third sector is however the most important in terms of employment, representing 90% of jobs in the city,
mainly provided by the commercial complex of the Grands Prés area 63 . This hosts a commercial space with
several shops (from travel agencies to hypermarkets), the cinema complex Imagix and the park Initialis (hosting
about 1,000 people and about 30 new technology oriented SMEs), located in an area which has been labeled as
the “Digital Innovation Valley”. The city would like to make of this area its industrial and economic heart in order
to face its high level of unemployment which remains above the national average. The city has been very good
in attracting large scale foreign investment in this area over recent years, from IKEA to H&M, Google, Microsoft
60 Ville de Mons, MONS 2015 – Vers un projet de ville, Ensemble, 2005.
61 Ibid.
62 http://statbel.fgov.be/fr/modules/publications/statistiques/marche_du_travail_et_conditions_de_vie/arrivees_et_nuitees_touristiques.j
sp
63 Ville de Mons, MONS 2015 – Vers un projet de ville, Ensemble, 2005.
44

(which has established the Microsoft Innovation Centre), IBM, Cisco and Hewlett-Packard. Mons is also investing
on green technologies through the new research centre Euro-Green IT.
Structural Funds have been extensively used to create a new economic infrastructure and to revitalise the
economy, from the scientific park Initialis to large scale infrastructure projects to differently brand the city. The
Spanish architect Calatrava has designed the new train station, currently under construction and expected to be
finished by 2015. A Palais des Congrés by the American Daniel Libeskind will be ready by 2014 in order to
position itself in the field of business tourism.. It will cost about € 28 million, 90% of which is financed by the
ERDF.
The city is definitely looking to the future with ambition. Its good quality of life and more affordable prices than
bigger cities like Brussels have attracted people back to the city. Mons’ population has increased since the
exodus from rural areas since the 80’s. The cultural offer is considered as an important asset to further improve
the image and attractiveness of a city with a strong industrial past but increasing cultural participation is a
challenge in a city where the GDP per inhabitants is quite low (below the European average, 68%of the average
European GDP).
In spite of its small size, Mons also counts on a good educational offer provided by three universities (the
Facultés Catholiques de Mons, the University of Mons – which includes the School of Architecture - and the
Ecole des Arts Plastiques et Visuels de la Communauté française - ESAPV), 4 research centres and several other
training centres, some of which have been recently created in order to answer the demand of new skills and
competeces. These include Technocité (training centre for digital media) and Numediart (Institute for New Media
Art Technology).
2. Cultural profile
Cultural offer
As the official Cultural Capital of Wallonia since 2002 and the future European Capital of Culture in 2015, Mons
city counts on a rich cultural heritage. It appears four times on the UNESCO World Heritage List of for its Belfry,
the Neolithic Mines at Spiennes, the Doudou Festival and, since recently, the Grand Hornu ancient coal mine.
The Doudou festival is a real icon for the city. This very popular event is deeply-rooted in local and religious
traditions exactly as the Procession of the Golden Coach, dating from the 14th century, and the legendary
Combat named «the Lumeçon» with St. George fighting against a dragon in front of around 50,000 spectators
each year on the Trinity Sunday.
Important cultural institutions enrich the cultural scene. Le Manège is Mons’ “bras armé” for cultural activities. It has
a budget of € 9,7 million per year and counts 105 employees. It was created in 2012 is order to overcome the
traditional sectoral approach to culture and better connect 8 main cultural spaces and institutions in Mons 64 .
64
- Théâtre royal de Mons
- Site des arbalestiers/maison Folie (comprenant l’Espace des Possibles, la salle des arbalestriers et la Margin’halle)
- Médiathèque et l’auditorium
- Auditorium Abel Dubois (RTBF)
- Théâtre le Manège
- La Grande Triperie (salle de répétitions de Musiques Nouvelles)
- Rue de la Seuwe (Passeurs de cultures)
- Carré des Arts (un plateau dédié à l’administration centrale et à la cellule Mons 2015)
45

In recent years, several other cultural infrastructures have been created to enhance the local cultural offer, such as
the exhibition area Les Anciens Abattoirs dedicated to design and new technologies, and the Museum of
Contemporary Arts (MAC’s), located at the Grand-Hornu (part of the Mons’s agglomeration), one of the main
industrial sites in Europe. It is visited by 80,000 visitors per year. Another abandoned coal mine has also been
chosen to host the PASS, a museum aimed at spreading scientific culture through exhibitions and events.
Mundaneum is another cultural institute with great visibility potential. Founded as an archive to test a new
classification system and to host all the “world’s knowledge”, it can today be considered as the predecessor of
Internet and Google. It is one of the richest archives in Europe.
Six new museums are also being built on the occasion of Mons 2015 65 for a total budget of € 30 million, most of
which is financed by the ERDF.
Cultural and creative industries
Although the concept of culture and creative industries is quite new in Mons, it is a matter of great interest for
the city.
Mons has commissioned a mapping of the sector (to be finalised at the end of the year) and will assess the
impacts of Mons 2015 on CCIs. From preliminary results, architecture seems to be the most important in terms of
number of enterprises and turnover. Other promising sectors are cinema, theatre, design and especially
multimedia, and video gaming / serious gaming, as successful local companies such i-Movix (slow motion),
Vetasoft SPRL (video games) and Fishing Cactus (video games) (which has developed a video game then applied
in the medical sector) and Virtualis, an association of companies involved in digital media prove.
Some of these companies have been supported by regional support agencies having their headquarters in Mons,
namely Wallimage (the successful support fund for cinema of the Wallonia region) and St’Art (a regional
investment fund for CCIs).
3. Policy vision and measures
Mons’ policy vision is mainly focused on technology, entrepreneurship development as well as attracting of
foreign investments. The priority is to build on the successful experience of the Initialis Park (an extension is
currently being built as the park is now entirely occupied by companies and research centres) and to further
exploit the potential of the Digital Innovation Valley.
In the last few years, and especially under the impulse of the mayor Elio di Rupo, Mons has developed an
important interest in culture as an asset to rebrand the city and attract tourists. The city became the cultural
capital of the Wallonia region in 2002 and in the same years it prepared the successful application to become
European Capital of Culture in 2015. Mons has invested in the reorganisation of its cultural assets. Le Manège – a
unique tool for a relatively small city and a great asset to rethink and strategically market Mons’ cultural offer, also
outside the national borders.
The challenge is to integrate Mons’ cultural assets in its economic development vision focusing on technology
and innovation.
Culture is still perceived as art and entertainment as well as a tool to address social issues. It is only partially
understood as a means to economic development and is not yet integrated in the city’s economic vision.
65 At the Spiennes’ mines, the “artothèque”, the Beffroi interpretation centre, the historium of the Maison Jean Lescarts, the interpretation
centres of Saint-Georges and the Dragon and the museum of military history.
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“Il faut un regard économique sur les projets culturels 66 ”, as said by Xavier Roland, public official at the
Department of Culture of the municipality of Mons, well summerises the current situation. There is a large degree
of skepticism in the cultural milieu towards creative spillovers which are considered as a utopia.
The title of European Capital of Culture has the potential of changing this vision and the Creative SpIN can offer a
platform to test the most effective tools to facilitate new interactions between culture and other priority sectors
in the city, from tourism, to new technologies, new materials, multitel and energy/environment. There is therefore
a great interest in Creative SpIN that could complement the “interdisciplinary” nature of Mons 2015 - the slogan of
which is “When technology meets culture”. The objective of the city is to explore the interactions between
information technology and CCIs. The city foresees to invest about € 75 million in order to re-launch Mons’
culture and its image, support the local economy, in particular tourism, and reinforce social cohesion.
4. Local assets to support creative spillovers
Great enthusiasm was perceived in relation to creative spillovers mainly among the business world than cultural
players. The challenge is to overcome the scepticism of the cultural milieu and build on the willingness of the
business sector to test new collaborations.
Mons is supported by a strong political leadership that wants to invest in technology but also believes in the
importance of culture and creativity and is interested in exploring new ways to capitalise on the city’s cultural
assets, especially through Mons 2015. There is a strong interest to combine the potential of Mons 2015 with the
learning and exchanges activities to be promoted within Creative SpIN.
Furthermore, Mons can count on:
- 3 university poles and 4 research centres
- Established local institutions such as La Maison de l’Entreprise, la Maison du Design and Le Manège.
- Important policy tools such as leader investors financing growth companies (Microsoft, Cisco, etc.), a
dedicated investment fund for creative businesses (St’Art) and a support agency for the audiovisual
sector (Wallimage)
- Interesting initiatives on which to build on:
o Numediart
o Technocité (training centre on digital media)
o Microsoft Innovation Center
o Euro Green IT
o Virtualis
o Initialis park
o Mundaneum
- Successful creative companies such as Fishing Cactus, Videosoft and i-Movix
- Mons 2015 as a platform to test interactions between art, culture and new technologies
- The evolving brand “Digital Innovation Valley”
- Le Manège as a tool to connect the cultural sector in Mons
There are also some experiences on which the city could take inspiration from to test tools to stimulate creative
spillovers:
66 “You need an economic viewpoint on cultural projects”.
47

- The Maison de l’Entreprise has organised workshops to stimulate creativity in businesses. The Maison de
l’Entreprise is currently located at the School of Economics (University of Mons) but it wants to start
collaborating with other schools and students from architecture, science, etc.
- UNIMEDIAR is an initiative of the University of Mons to stimulate innovative actions in enterprises,
especially in the field of performing art. Thanks this initiative, engineers, architects and artists have
developed a 3D visualisation of the city.
- Led by Le Manège, Transdigital is an INTERREG project aimed at setting up a dynamic network between
research centres, hi-tech enterprises and partners in the art field who take digital technology as their
common ground.
- The Maison du Design is partner of the INTERREG project 3pode which aims at helping designers
connect with companies.
The city is also exploring possible collaborations with Google to make UNESCO sites able to visit online. It is also
working on ARTOTECH, a physical and virtual place where artistic and cultural heritage will be gathered.
5. City’s expectations and potential contribution to the project
The City of Mons wants to generate new economic opportunities and creates employment. Culture is considered
as an important tool to regenerate the city and attract companies and tourists. Cross-sectoral collaborations are
taken into account as a way to boost the new economy, in line with the slogan of Mons 2015 “when arts meet
culture”. The city expects the exchange with cities with similar features (such as Wrocław) and with cities with
longer experience in the field of CCIs to be particularly important to identify appropriate tools supporting
creative spillovers. Mons 2015 will be also an important test-bed.
To make the most out of Creative SpIN, however, the city needs to work on a new and harmonised vision of
culture. Cultural participation is still below its potential as people still consider culture as a luxury. The city wants
to people to feel part of Mons 2015 and communicate them a new understanding of culture as a tool of social
and economic regeneration. Such understanding should reach also the cultural sector itself. Cultural actors such as
Le Manège are not sufficiently integrated in economic development reasoning.
A new vision of culture should also nurture an appropriate CCIs’ policy. Apart from some initiatives linked to
design, policy measures for the development of the CCIs sector have yet to be adopted.
Mons’ LAP is expected to focus on concrete projects with the academia and brokerage actions in the field of
tourism, design, ICT (e.g. Café Europe, a Mons 2015’s concept gathering together people with different skills to
deal with topics of common interests). To this aim, the ULSG, who will contribute to the LAP, will be composed
of representatives of a broad range of stakeholders, going from the city, to the education to design and high
tech fields).
48

1. Socioeconomic profile
WROCŁAW
Wrocław is the fourth largest city of Poland, counting a population of about 636,650 inhabitants amongst
which 130,000 are students attending the 22 higher education institutions established locally.
The city has a very distinctive past. In turn Czech, German, Polish have lived there but today’s population
is not attached to its past as it was forced to settle here after the Second World War. Wrocław was
destroyed during the II WO by the mostly German population before the arrival of the soviets. It was then
completely repopulated by Poles coming from Ukraine and Bielorussia. For a long time the citizens of
Wrocław lived in temporary shelters as they were not sure whether the settlement would be definitive 67 .
The level of population is stable now and immigration is very low but citizens are leaving the city center
to leave in outskirts. The city needs to attract citizens back to the city centre.
Wrocław has undergone strong economic shift from the once industrial and manufacturing pillars towards
a knowledge-based economy. Since the 90s Wrocław is one of the fastest growing cities in Poland.
Wrocław has heavily invested in quality of life: € 2,5 billion has been spent in infrastructure, mobility
(airport, motorway), cultural, business and sport venues. The city has become a significant business
destination in a number of fields: shared service centres, bio- and nanotechnologies, and software
67 Norman Davies tells the history of the city in his book “Microcosm”.
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development. The development of a strong service economic city has allowed the city to compensate its
overreliance on industry and manufacturing, however the challenge is how to make the most out of the
existing situation.
The city has shown a strategic interest also in the field of scientific innovation, technology and finance. Its
core investments include the Wrocław Research Centre EIT + (€ 140 million) and the Technical Library for
innovative economy (€ 25.25 million). Very important investments have been directed to nanotechnology
and biotechnology in the EIT + Wrocław Research Center with € 27,6 million Structural Fund invested in
relation to the biotechnology programmes. The ambition is to invest in R&D to attract companies ready to
outsource such research and share investment costs.
Wrocław has been successful in attracting world leader investing in the city such as Nokia, Siemens,
Microsoft and Google, IBM, Hewlett Packard, as well as in nurturing its own network of SMES thanks to the
establishment of a Technological Park.
As a result of such big investments, the level of unemployment is quite low (5,4%% against 12,8% in Lower
Silesia, the region where Wrocław is located) and poverty remains a residual issue confined to some well
defined areas of the city.
The city is the 3rd biggest academic centre in Poland (after Warsaw and Krakow), known for its large and
growing student community and its technical university Politechnika Wrocławska. Strong emphasis is put
on biotechnology and IT in relation to business support for students. The city also owes a very strong
social life because of this young population. The Wrocław Academic Hub (WAH) has the objective of
achieving a culture of innovation by tapping into the intellectual potential of its academic world. WAH
fosters integration and cooperation between the Wrocław Research Centre EIT Plus (representing the
world of science), the Wrocław Agglomeration development Agency (supporting businesses).
2. Cultural profile
Cultural offer
The city of Wrocław wants to incite the population to more cultural participation by offering a richer
cultural offer. Culture investment is seen as a way to improve quality of life and make the city more
attractive to talents and investments.
The city is investing € 75 million investment in the European Capital of Culture 2016 project. This is
enriched by a cospicous investment in new cultural infrastructures (such as two new concert halls - Teatr
Muzyczny Capitol/Capitol Music Theatre and Narodowy Forum Muzyki/National Music Forum - counting
500 and 1,500 seats) co-financed by the ERDF. The new stadium, inaugurated this year, welcomes mega
concerts and entertainment events.
Performing arts are one of the target sectors of such “cultural renaissance”. Wrocław already hosts an
Opera House, 3 public theaters (one puppet theater) and some small alternative theaters, and would like to
better brand the recently modernised Ludwik Solski State Drama School in Wrocław, today hosting new
facilities.
The only architecture museum in Poland is based in Wrocław . Important archives in architecture and on
painters (one of the most important collection in Europe) can also be found in the city. Other notable
cultural institutions include the Godrowski Institute (inspired to Polish theatre director Jerzy Grotowski,
important contributor to experimental theatre), the VRO Art Center (Piotr Kraiewski) and the Kahan
Foundation.
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In the field of fine arts, the city welcomes a Street Art Festival and a poor district (Nadodre Distric) is
being rehabilited to host new spaces for artists. The city also hosts a Fine Art School (ASP - Akademia
Sztuk Pięknych).
There are plenty of social amenities (bars and restaurant) driven by the student culture, but the cultural
offer remains to be improved. Cultural icons date back from the German period of the city with Wilman
(Renaissance painting) and Otto Muller (expressionist).
Cultural and creative industries
The city hosts an important film festival, “New Horizon” - the director of which Roman Gutek is opening a
new art house cinema with 9 screens, and two jazz festivals: the Jazz nad Odrą/ Jazz on the Oder Festival
and the Ethno Jazz Festiwal.
Apart from these events, CCIs remains a new phenomenon in Wrocław . The sector has never been
mapped out. Estimates suggest that the sector represents approximately 500 jobs and, as everywhere, is
populated by small and micro companies.
For the years to come, focus is on creative industries, essentially in new, interactive and kinetic media,
mobile phone application, software development and games. Companies such as Aduma, Pilab and Mobile
Factory are still at incubation stage but are growing fast. More mature companies include Move UP (game
developer), Tequila mobile (game developer claiming 14 million users in 80 countries and 35 employees),
Xantus (animation 3D studio counting 45 workers since its opening in 2007), Can’t stop the game (game
developer with 40 employees and 14 years of business).
At the moment it is difficult to recruit locally graphic designers and specialists in animation. Training is
therefore key in small creative companies, but there is specific creative fund or other measures to help the
growth of these companies, apart from a small cinema fund (€ 1 million). The sector believes it could
rapidly and provide 4,000 jobs if properly supported (through the provision of space, financial
mechanisms and training in artistic/creative skills).
In terms of spillovers, the interest lies in the possible connection between CCIs and IT-related sectors.
3. Policy vision and measures
Wrocław has clearly identified the economic and social challenges it needs to address to invest in the
future. The city has to find ways to retain talents and improve quality of life in order be internationally
attractive and competitive.
The city’s first policy priority is innovation and economic development strategies to make the economic
fabric more sustainable. The local authorities want to provide support to develop entrepreneurship and
retain talent by creating high skilled and stable jobs. Support to businesses (local and foreign) and
incubation with technology parks are a priority. Wrocław would also like to further invest in its
internationalisation strategy, better connect the business world to the academy and finance opportunities
(with focus on venture capital).
Financial services and ICT sectors are the main target of its economic development strategy. However,
the city’s strategy is holistic. Wrocław wants to invest in the future in a broader sense. It wants to
improve life’s quality and build the self esteem of the local population. Cultural participation is a mean in
this sense and improving cultural participation is also one of the main objectives of Wrocław 2016.
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The awareness of the development of CCI is very recent (one year), but interesting companies are
developing in Wrocław . CCIs have therefore started to be seen as important in the development of the
future economy. At the moment, policy measures for CCIs have not been put in place, but there is
growing demand from CCIs who are demanding same treatment as the ICT sector in term of spaces and
financial incentives. The programme Creativro 68 has been launched recently to strengthen creative
companies’ identity and credibility on global markets, supplying talented educated people and facilitating
partners’ access to private funding. The project aims at establishing a cluster of multimedia companies
working in the fields of computer games, interactive entertainment, digital animations and special effects.
City authorities are willing to test and experiment creative spillovers especially in the field of ICT/new
apps and education, hence the participation to Creative SpIN. The city has developed a programme of
incentives for academic institutions to integrate more with businesses and understand business needs. It
hopes that academic institution will evolve with time and break such silod approach to the external world
and the business field, which could create a favourable environment to encourage cross-sectoral
collaborations.
4. Local assets to support creative spillovers
The challenge is mainly to identify people from different sectors willing to consider creative spillovers.
There was a genuine interest during the site visit on the concept. Great enthusiasm was perceived at
business level (notably from creative industries and ICT sector) as well as at policy level. However, the city
will have to test the creative spillover concept with cultural institutions (the meeting with representatives
of Wrocław 2016 served to identify important cultural players and institutions in the city who could
potentially be involved in the project).
The city features great assets which could be used to promote spillovers effects:
- An incubation technology center
- Creative VRO, a newly created association of creative industries gathering 20 companies in the
field of animation, gaming, video and lifestyle
- Wrocław Capital of Culture 2016 as an opportunity to test a new meaning of culture
- Wrocław Agglomeration Development Agency (ARAW) to identify and gather key stakeholder
around the project
- EIT + Wrocław Research Center, who has expertise dealing with VC funds for technological
investment.
- Universities – 6 large public universities in the city with technical excellence
5. City’s expectations and potential contribution to the project
Wrocław expects the project to contribute to local economic development and help the city apprehend
the new economy. The city wants to break silos between disciplines and use the project to encourage
people to work together across disciplines to find new economic and social solutions. It strongly believes
that innovation is not merely technological and wants to develop intangible assets.
68 http://www.creativro.pl/
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The city is looking to exchange with cities which have more experience on CCIs (Rotterdam and
Birmingham in particular) in order to further define the concrete actions to be put in place as a result of this
project.
With the support of a ULSG gathering representative from the education, cultural and economic fields, its
LAP will focus on:
- culture & technical knowledge, which includes support to creativity in vocational schools and
prevention of old industrial buildings from decay;
- industrial design and entrepreneurship for product and innovation management;
- mobile applications and software solutions in a variety of fields.
Wrocław has great assets to offer to the network, starting from corroborated tools and methods to
share investment costs of research and the benefits of innovative research as well as to link the academia
and the business world.
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1. Socioeconomic profile
KOŠICE
Košice is second largest city in Slovakia as well as the economical, social and cultural center of Eastern
Slovakia, where the city is located - not far from the borders with Hungary (20 km), Ukraine (80 km) and
Poland (90 km). It has a population of about 238,000 inhabitants.
Created in the 13 th century and later on formerly part of the Austrian empire, Košice grew during Soviet
time as a large centre of steel production. The largest employer is U.S. Steel which bought the local steel
factories after 1989. Attracted by the new employment opportunities, the population expanded quickly,
tripling in the space of 30 years (from the 50s to the 80s). However, the situation has changed and the
number of employed people in the steel sector has recently decreased from 30,000 to 14,000 due to the
current economic crisis.
ICT is the second most important sector after the steel industry. The city is very much counting on the
development of this sector to build the future economy and face the high unemployment rate (20%). The
sector employs 5,000 people in total. Major companies are T-system (subsidiary of Deutsche Telecom),
which employs 2,000 people, and the Israeli Ness Technology, which provides jobs to 300 software
developers. Foreign companies are attracted by the good trained workforce (thanks to the Technical
University of Košice) and low labour costs (the average salary is € 800 per month). The cost of living is
also very cheap in the city. The IT Košice Valley has been set in order to further attract investment and
cluster IT companies established locally.
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In the last years, Košice has started a transformation process from post-industrial city into a creative one
aimed at making the city an important hub between the East and West in social, political and cultural
terms. It is not by chance that city has applied to become a European Capital of Culture. It won and will
hold the title in 2013.
The city had a large Hungarian and Jewish population before the war, while today the majority of the
population is not originally from the city as it came from abroad attracted by employment opportunities in
the second half of the 20 th century. Košice’s population also includes more than 10,000 gypsies (against
5,000 Hungarians), which can sometimes be a source of social tensions. Raising a common “history” and
memory building on the city’s multicultural spirit is a challenge to face.
Košice is an important source of entertainment and education for a population of around 1,5 million
inhabitants, including those from neighboring countries. It hosts 3 universities (Technical University of
Košice including a Faculty of Arts, University of Veterinary medicine and Pharmacy, and Natural science
university o Pavol Jozef Safarik), 30,000 students as well as many social amenities like bars and
restaurants for young people. No other big cities whether in Poland, Hungary or Ukraine offer equivalent
level of education and other major cities and education centres like Bratislava or Budapest are 400 km
away. Košice’s Technical University is particularly well known. It has a strong emphasis on IT.
2. Cultural profile
Cultural offer and icons
Several cultural institutions and infrastructures are located in the city (theaters, concert halls, museums,
etc.) and others have been renovated on the occasion of Košice 2013 (for instance the Kunsthalle, a
building which had not been used for many years and that will now become a multi-functional centre - €
60 million will be invested in total on Košice 2013). Also, the hockey stadium is used for mega concerts
and entertainment events.
In the city there are many art and music festivals, such as the Nuit Blanche and the non-traditional music
festival Summer in the Park.
The local cultural icon – the Hungarian writer Sandor Marai who was born in Košice - has just been
rediscovered. He authored more than forty books, mostly novels, and was considered by literary critics to
be one of Hungary’s most influential representatives of middle class literature between the two world
wars.
Košice has also an important craft tradition which is now being promoted at Hrnčiarska street – a street
which has been entirely dedicated to craft exhibitions with the aim to maintain the history and tradition of
craftsmanship in the city.
Cultural and creative industries
Košice is a pioneer in CCIs in Slovakia. There is little at the moment in term of cultural industries but a
strong desire to develop this sector (especially media arts, visual arts, design and architecture) and stop
the brain drain toward cities like Bratislava where technical equipment is available, especially in the
audiovisual field.
A PhD student is currently working on a major first mapping exercise of CCIs collaboration with 4
Slovakian universities.
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3. Policy vision
The policy priority is on innovation and attractiveness. The city wants to provide general business support
to develop entrepreneurship and retain talent by creating high skilled and stable jobs. The ambition is also
to improve quality of life, including through cultural participation, thus avoiding the brain drain.
Developing infrastructures to improve national and international mobility is another prior challenge that the
city wants to address. Although Košice is strategically located (it is at centre of Eastern Europe), it is
indeed still difficult to access.
ICT and CCIs are the sectors of major interest to stimulate innovation and develop the future economy.
However, if some measures are in place for the ICT sector (e.g. the IT Valley), no specific policy tools yet
exist for CCIs.
Nevertheless, a structure has been created to oversee CCIs development as part of Košice 2013 –
European Capital of Culture. The city wants to exploit Košice 2013 as an exceptional chance to cluster
CCIs and accompany sustainable development in the cultural field and digital content industry. A master
plan for CCIs is indeed being developed.
Košice 2013 is also seen as an opportunity to foster the local art scene. In collaboration with the European
Creative Business Network (ECBN), a network of creative centres of which Košice’s Kasárne/Culture Park
is member, Košice 2013 is running an international Artist-in-Residence programme (K.A.I.R.) for emerging
artists from all over the world who are likely to collaborate with local artists 69 . Furthermore, Kasarne’s new
multimedia and interactive centre will be established in former army barracks in cooperation with several
partners from Coalition 2013+, an association of public and private stakeholders (such as U.S. Steel Košice
and the Technical University) actively promoting the European title. The project, which has important
focus on art, science and new technologies, includes the opening of a Centre for Supporting Culture and
Creativity (CSCC) – for companies, civil groups and artists. The initiatives in Kasarne are part of a
regeneration plan involving a large quarter of Košice close to the city centre.
The city is animated by the willingness to test and experiment creative spillovers (especially in ICT), hence
the participation to Creative SpIN. Košice particularly wants to develop entrepreneurship in CCIs on the
back of the faculty of arts’ activities. The Faculty of Fine Art trains designers, architects, fine arts and new
media students (250 in total). As this Faculty is part of the Technical University, synergies have started to
be tested. For instance, the Faculty of Economics offers courses on cultural management and IP rights.
New media is a discipline that the Faculty wants to further develop.
Košice believes that the most of the interest on CCIs being expressed both by the city and the Region of
Košice is to be made. This means creating the bases for an integrated approach at local and regional level
on CCIs’ policy issues (still missing at the moment).
4. Local assets to support creative spillovers
Businesses and trade representatives as well as cultural institutions gathered in Coalition 2013+ seem
prepared to support CCIs and test creative spillovers. Great enthusiasm has been raised for the project at
business level, notably among creative and ICT industries, as well as at policy level.
A series of institutions have interest in taking part to the project:
69 http://ecbnetwork.eu/event_detail/1057
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- Košice 2013 and especially its department/agency dedicated to development of CCIs;
- The Faculty of Fine Arts due to its affiliation with the Technical University and its interest in
developing entrepreneurship in creative fields;
- The currently being established multimedia centre of the Kasarne Culture Park/Creative Factory,
which is piloted by the Faculty of Arts with a view to encourage young people to engage with
science and new technologies through the arts;
- The upcoming Centre for Supporting Culture and Creativity (CSCC) to support creativity at all
levels and from different people and organizations;
- The region due to its interest in CCIs and proximity of local and regional authorities (the city hosts
the seat of the Košice Region)
- The 3 local universities featuring technical excellence
The priority sectors to test spillovers are ICT, manufacturing and tourism (including agriculture, wine and
traditional crafts).
5. City’s expectations and potential contribution to the project
The project should participate to local economic development and help the city apprehend and foster the
new economy through the setting up of multilevel policies and entrepreneurial support (financial
/nonfinancial tool), education bridges and cluster policies. The city wants to break silos between
disciplines and use the project for people (from the industry, education hubs and policy makers) to work
together across disciplines to find new economic and social solutions. It strongly believes that innovation
is not merely technological.
Exchange with cities which have more experience on CCIs (Rotterdam, Essen and Birmingham) is very
valuable for Košice.
The ULSG, which will gather a number of stakeholders from the education, business and cultural fields, will
have the mission to identify stakeholders to be involved in spillover actions, support platforms for
transdisciplinary collaboration and promote good practices.
The LAP will have to link with the local master plan for CCIs and focus on:
- Mapping projects in order to find potentials, gaps and opportunities for creativity to help
companies’ maximise their economic and social returns – through costumer care, marketing, CSR,
R&D, HR, etc.
- The Arts and Business programme which will be launched as part of Košice 2013. This could be
used to test new projects, to offer artists training on business plans and strategies, to organise
artists’ events involving business people - special social events, open cafés, Pecha Kucha Night,
etc.; to create trans disciplinary workgroups, meetings, workshops and test new approaches for
problem solving, to launch crowdsource platforms to find investors for innovative ideas.
- Benchmarking activities/report.
On the other hand, the city offers visibility to the project in Eastern Europe thanks to its strategic
location. Furthermore, Coalition 2013+, Košice 2013 and the Creative Factory with its new spaces offer
opportunities to test new projects with the contribution of different stakeholders in the city, from
companies to education institutions.
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1. Socioeconomic profile
TALLIN
Tallin, a city with a strong tradition and history (the first known traces of the local population date from
3,500 years ago) is the capital and largest city of Estonia, situated in the northern coast of the country.
417,741 people live in the city.
Tallin North
Kultuurikatel
The city is a real main magnet in a country with 1,5 million inhabitants and is spreading out quickly. Tallinn
concentrates foreign investments in the country and is the most important and largest centre for services,
commerce and finance in Estonia. It contributes to 51% of the national gross domestic product. The
proportion of Tallinn in Estonian export is over 40% (especially of foods, machinery and wood 70 ) and
about 2/3 of the volume of the sold goods and services takes place in the administrative territory of the
city. Major employers are the manufacturing (39%), wholesale and retail trade (30,4%), transport (18%);
construction (15,7%) and education (14,7%) sectors. Furthermore, as a port city of longstanding duration,
Tallin has become an important bridge between East and West. Shipbuilding still provides a large number
of jobs.
70 See Tallin development plan available on www.tallin.ee
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Tallinn’s cheap and well educated labour force and low taxes create an important attractive potential in the
city which has indeed been able to attract companies and develop the ICT sector. Tallin is ranked as a
global city and listed among the 10 top digital cities in the world. Skype is one of the best-known
Estonian start-ups, still growing out of the country.
CCIs is another strategic sector for the local and national economy. The city hosts more than 50% of
Estonian CCIs and strongly believes that the sector can contribute to the development of the future
economy.
Tallin, which was European Capital of Culture in 2011 71 , has also a rich cultural offer and a well preserved
cultural heritage. Its picturesque Old Town, within a five-minute walk from the city centre, is included in
the UNESCO World Heritage List. Cultural tourism is of great interest for the city, which would like to
make other areas of the city more attractive (such as the port area) and attract new visitors.
The city and the country are however confronted with high emigration to neighboring Finland (due to
better salaries and quality of life). Brain drain is particular a problem among young, active and qualified
workforce. The local unemployment rate is 13,5% 72 .
The city centre should in particular regain attractiveness towards local inhabitants which tend to go
outside of Tallinn (suburbs) and bring more value into the centre of Tallinn through civil society activism.
The civil society, very proud of the conquered independence from Russia, has started to mobilise thanks
to Tallin 2011, notwithstanding the difficulty to mobilise citizens after a communist past.
The Estonian capital features a good educational offer including three main institutes: the Tallinn University
of Technology (TUT), the only technological university in Estonia and Estonian flagship for engineering and
technical education; the Tallinn University Baltic Film and Media School (BFM), one of Europe’s largest – and
Northern Europe’s only – English-language film and media school which offering hands-on university
degree courses in Film Arts, Crossmedia Production, and Audiovisual Media to over 400 students from
more than 20 countries worldwide; and the Estonian Arts Academy, the only public university in Estonia
providing higher education in fine arts, design, architecture, media, visual studies, art culture, and
preservation.
2. Cultural profile
Cultural offer
The city has an excellent cultural offer for a medium sized city, including theaters, cinemas, museums
(among which the recently open Maritime Museum), a large number of book publishers, etc. and a strong
tradition of cultural participation. The budget for culture represents 7% of the city budget.
Major cultural institutions in the city are the Opera house, the Kumu art museum and the new
contemporary theatre NO.
The city is strong in training in audiovisual (BFM) arts education (Fine Arts Academy).
Cultural and creative industries
Based on an assessment by the Estonian Institute of Economic Research, in 2007 Estonia’s creative
industries sector comprised an estimated 3% of Estonia GDP. More added value was created in Estonia’s
creative industries than in any other branch of industry, including energy or financial brokerage 73 .
71 The impact of cultural capital 2011 will be released in November 2012.
72 http://www.tallinn.ee/est/ettevotjale/g2606s51066
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Most of Estonia’s CCIs are located in Tallin. As the capital and largest urban area in Estonia, Tallinn is
attractive for
both creators and consumers. Approximately 80% of music companies, for instance, operate in Tallinn.
Tallin hosts particularly important companies – active internationally - in the field of advertising (The
Division (Division), Adell Taevas (Taevas Ogilvy), Tank Group (DER Tank), Kontuur LB (Kontuur), Age
Reklaam (AgeMcCann), etc.) and design with the Baltika Group, counting 17 designers and four different
brands – Ivo Nikkolo, Monton, Mosaic and Baltman (Baltika’s 2009 sales turnover was € 51,13 million, with
75%earned from exports). In the field of new media, the main employer and Estonia’s largest exporter of
entertainment software is Playtech Estonia OÜ, which exports 100% of its production (€ 9,59 million in
2007) and employs approx. 90% of those working in the Estonian entertainment IT sector.
3. Policy vision and measures
Tallin’s priority is to improve international visibility, stop the brain train, attract talents and develop new
forms of sustainable development.
Tallin believes that CCIs to help the city become more attractive at international level. Since 2003-2004
Tallin has started looking at this industry’s potential for development and innovation. The Tallinn Manifesto
– a Tool for Strategic Development across the Creative Economy calls for a new approach towards
creative entrepreneurship and sets out a new agenda for knowledge, collaboration, strategy and policy
development – across Europe and internationally. As a follow-up, the Tallinn Innovation Strategy 2009-
2013 pointed to CCIs as one of the key areas to develop the city’s economy. In particular, it emphasised
the role of creative industry in innovation and know-how sharing in other areas of economy. One of the
results has been the Tallinn Cluster Development Programme 2009-2013 which formulated concrete
actions for the city administration to get the overview of clusters in Tallinn, mapping out their policy
needs changes and potential for growth, and the possibility to create new clusters (sector specific and
between different sectors). The programme recognised placed CCIs as one of the areas with highest
potential for cluster establishment and for cooperation projects between different sectors. The willingness
to test and experiment culture based innovation and spillovers has therefore already been expressed in
major local policy and operational documents.
Specific tools have been created to support the sector, such as the Tallin Creative Hub to support
creative entrepreneurship by offering a physical facility and networking activities. The physical facility is
currently being built in a former electric power plant located in the Kalamo quarter, in the north of the city,
which is going to become a reference area for CCIs in Tallin (the area has been identified after a mapping
of CCIs in the city). The Hub will be managed by Kultuuri Katel, the foundation that managed Tallin 2011.
As for networking activities, the Tallinn Creative Hub works through 5 different platforms (new
technologies, communication, culture management, culture tourism, non-formal education) and with
different partners (Free City workshops together with Tallinn University, the INTERREG IV A Culture
Tourism international project 2011 together with Turku from Finland, etc.), in some cases with a view to
stimulate cross overs (for instance by involving science and arts students). The city has also set up a
Creative Incubator managed by the Business Support and Credit Management Foundation (ESA), founded
by the Tallin City Council to help entrepreneurship grow in the Tallin area. At European level, the city was
involved in the INTERREG IV C project Creative Metropoles on how to best support CCIs through public
policies and instruments.
73 Tallin Enterprise Board, Creative Industries in Tallin, 2011.
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The city would like to experiment spillovers in the field of tourism in order to improve attractiveness
beyond the old city centre and bring visitors to the port area. Creativity in non-formal education is
another area of big interest.
4. Local assets to support creative spillovers
The city of Tallin has a favourable policy setting and several assets available to stimulate spillovers,
including:
- Political willingness to build on culture capital
- CCIs as a priority in several policy documents and programmes
- Tallin Creative Hub and upcoming physical facility in a quarter entirely dedicated to CCIs
(clustering)
- A Creative Business Incubator where new forms of entrepreneurship could be tested
- Enterprise Estonia (EAS) which promotes business and regional development in the country (it has
contributed to the Museum of Puppet Arts, recently opened in the Old Town of Tallin).
5. City’s expectations and potential contribution to the project
Tallin would like to develop the necessary know-how to generate spillover effects and develop the new
economy, building on the experience and examples coming from the other partner cites. The city wants to
break silos between disciplines and use the project for people to work together across disciplines to find
new economic and social solutions. It strongly believes that innovation is not merely technological.
The ULSG (which will gather representatives from the city, enterprise and the academy) will act as an
active “board of expertise” on cross-disciplinary cooperation and will have to analyse and consult on real
spillover projects. Ideas for projects will be found through an open competition.
The LAP will focus on:
- A concrete incubation project on “Creative Spillovers” to be developed at the Tallin Creative Hub’
Development Centre under the supervision of the ULSG. As this centre is focused on different
cross-disciplinary projects of cultural and creative industry, it will easy to prototyping a project
focusing on spillovers. The Local Support Group, which will have expertise on cross-disciplinary
cooperation, will have the opportunity to analyse and advice on a real project.
- A lobby and communication plan “CROSS is a key concept” aimed at influencing 2014-2020’s
Operational Programmes in Estonia. CCIs and cross-disciplinary spillovers should appear as a
priority. This communication plan will be worked with the Local Support Group.
Tallin will in turn:
- Share experience and learning points coming from previous relevant projects (e.g. those involving
CCIs and universities or arts and science students) carried out by the Tallin Creative Hub or in the
context of ECoC;
- Make its multidisciplinary platforms (among which one on tourism) available as a possible tool to
gather stakeholders and stimulate spillovers.
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1. Socioeconomic profile
ÓBIDOS
Óbidos is a small city of 11,000 inhabitants. Situated inside the its castle’s walls, Óbidos has a strong
tourism vocation which made the city an interesting place to tourism investors who continue to generate
new business opportunities in spite of the crisis. The city is trying to design a way of life based on the
best of rural landscape, quality of life and sustainability as well as on brain-led business sectors (especially
new media and ICT).
The city is very keen to make a link between its past and the future. Óbidos has put creativity at centre
of its development master plan with focus on creative entrepreneurship, jobs, education and cultural offer
of excellence, among the others. It has built a technological park and a creative industries incubator.
However, the city is now confronted with the need to diversify the number and quality of services in
sectors such as tourism and to attracting new businesses to the Óbidos Technological Park. Óbidos also
needs to improve active participation of citizens to cultural activities, find new sources of funding for
cultural activities and continue to “inject” creativity in the education system. The city also has to face an
unemployment rate of 5%.
Óbidos has strong links with the international arts and design school ESAD, not very far from Óbidos.
2. Cultural profile
Cultural offer
Óbidos is an historic town with a strong cultural image but also a lot of physical limitations due to its
dominant cultural heritage. The UNESCO rules for creative tourism has helped the city use public spaces
for cultural events and tourism purposes while respecting historical infrastructures.
Historically, Óbidos is a town of artists since the XVII century and is the hometown of a well-known
Portuguese painter of that century called Josefa d’Óbidos.
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Cultural and creative industries
That of CCIs is a new concept for the city which has grasped the local authorities’ attention since a few
years ago. There are no major cultural or creative companies in Óbidos at the moment, but the local
incubator for CCIs indeed aims to develop this kind of entrepreneurship in the city. The Technological Park
has helped attract several creative companies, the most interesting of which Janela Digital, a company
created locally, which develops software for the real estate industry (75 employees); Ambisig, which
develops solutions in the environmental and geographic information systems (over 45 employees); and
Cantina Criativa, a creative cuisine project.
3. Policy vision and measures
Óbidos’s ambition is to make a link between its image of historic town with a new image of a city
investing in its future. It wants strengthen the city’s image, attractiveness and the local economy by
“injecting” creativity at all levels, from education to business fields. CCIs, in particular, are considered a
driving force for local economic development.
Óbidos has developed a master plan with focus on: 1ª Creative education; 2ª Supporting entrepreneurship;
3ª Generating creative jobs; 4ª Public and private partnerships; 5ª A new concept of living; 6ª New art
collections and new careers; 7ª A cultural environment of excellence; 8ª Great cultural and creative spaces;
9ª Supporting investigation and knowledge; 10ª Innovation and new technologies; 11ª Evaluating and
managing creativity; 12ª Creativity networks; 13ª The creative footprint. This strategy is integrated in the
wider regional strategy INOV C aimed at making the center region of Portugal one of the more innovative
in Europe. It is coordinated by the University of Coimbra.
The city has spent around € 3 million to support its master plan. Two municipal companies, for instance,
one in charge of managing events and the other of urban regeneration and economic growth, have been
merged into one called Óbidos Criativa. A Tecnological Park (Obitec) and incubator, called ABC have also
been set up. Moreover, the city has put on place a rich agenda of cultural events (Chocolate Festival,
Creative May, Medieval Fair, Ópera Festival or Christmas Town).
Óbidos Technology Park has helped attract and retain an increasing number of business owners and
entrepreneurs in the areas of creative industries. Since 2009, more than 60 companies joined the Óbidos
Technological Park, thus moving their headquarters in the town. 39 companies from design, new
technologies, new media, entertainment are hosted by the Park (18 have their own space and 21 are
virtually incubated).
Introducing creativity in education contexts is particularly important for the city which wants its schools
to become cultural centres. Cultural areas in the city are used for teaching but also to perform through the
Fábrica da Criatividade programme.
The master plan also finds implementation through a number of projects and programmes the city is
involved in, such as:
- Creative Breaks, which puts creative people, tourism sector and local authorities together to generate
new experiences to visitors but also learning opportunities for professionals seeking new forms of
expertise in the tourism sector.
- Creation of emblematic projects which should have a ‘contagious’ effect in different sectors. The city
basically creates the project or concept in local iconic spaces and then launches a public tender to involve
private investors.
- São Tiago Bookstore, a major bookstore of 40,000 books inside an ancient church right in the Óbidos’
historical centre. This project is the beginning of a thematic bookstore network. By the end of 2013, a
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small space called Incubadora de Letras (Letters’ Incubator) will be created for companies working on
graphic and digital publications.
- Mercearia Criativa (Creative Grocery Store), a store of organic and local products but also a project of
open innovation. Designers, producers and retailers will here work together to create new products and
new forms of selling.
Óbidos was also Lead Partner of the URBACT project Creative Clusters in Low Density Urban Areas.
The city strongly believes that CCIs has a strong spillover potential and would like to link the sector with
tourism (including agriculture), manufacturing (including retail and ceramic) and ICT.
4. Assets to stimulate creative spillovers
The city has shown great enthusiasm and strong political engagement in supporting this project. For
Óbidos, stimulating creative spillovers is about shaping its future.
The city wants to make the most of its local as well as assets to testing spillovers, namely:
- Obitec (Association of Technology of Óbidos which manages ABC – creative industries incubator)
where spillovers could be tested;
- AIRO (regional companies association) and Óbidos.com (local companies association) to identify
companies in different sectors wishing to experiment new forms of innovation;
- CoLab (working space) as a place to host local actions on spillovers;
- ESAD (College of Arts and Design) as a partner to bring creativity in other learning contexts or in
companies;
- Schools of Óbidos where creative programmes have already been implemented and where spillovers
could be further tested;
- Fábrica da Criatividade programme to break silos and bring creativity in schools;
- The Instituto Politécnico de Leiria - IPL, the University of Coimbra, the Technical University of Lisbon,
ETIC (Professional school of communication and image) to test spillovers in university contexts.
- The national REC – creative economies network, of which the city is a member.
5. City’s expectations and potential contributions to the project
Through Creative SpIN, Óbidos expects to continue to develop its creative strategy and further
disseminate the extra value of creativity and creative industries. The local community is now more mature
and aware of what is happening in this area, and entrepreneurs from all sectors (agriculture, tourism,
traditional industries) are asking for stronger participation in projects on creativity and CCIs. It would also
like to reach the local inhabitants in a way that they are fully aware about the importance of creativity in
any aspect of life. Such expectations would be nurtured by the possibility to learn and share best
practices in a more competitive environment than the local or regional one.
The LAP, which will be drafted by a wide range of stakeholders – from the university to businesses
associations to institutions supporting the creative strategy in the city, should be a follow-up and
upgrade of the Local Action Plan already produced as an output of the former URBACT network Creative
Clusters in Low Density Urban Areas. For this LAP, the city would like to:
- Be more specific in the definition of creative spillover (especially in relation to tourism and ICT), as
it is believed that this is the future and the main purpose of creative industries.
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- Keep making Óbidos an ‘Investment Ready Place’ using our advantages of being small to work as
a lab where to test new policies for economic growth and attractiveness, education and social
innovations.
- Further develop Óbidos’ distinctive brand.
The city ensures its political commitment (the local mayor is very keen to support CCIs) and contribution
to the project by:
- Sharing experience and results coming from the Óbidos Criativa Strategy and subsequent
projects;
- Offering its small territory and motivated team with fresh ideas as a “test lab” where to
experiment new policies and measures to support spillovers. The small dimension can offer easier
connections with different stakeholders and better flexibility/adaptations when needed.
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IV. CONCLUSIONS
1. CCIs – an asset for the new economy
Innovation is an imperative of the new economy. Technological improvements and productivity gains are
not sufficient anymore to gain competitive advantage. Social values, symbolic meanings and aesthetics
need to be embedded in products and services in order to address an increasingly sophisticated demand,
both in the public and private realms. Apple’s global success results from the successful marriage of art
and technology, where the best of engineering has been mixed with artistic intuition leading to
technological innovation, distinctive design and the development of culture-led consumer electronics and
apps.
Academics, businesses and policy-makers increasingly look at CCIs as a source of creativity and
innovation.
Creative spillover is a new concept referring to the ability of CCIs to indirectly contribute to innovation
processes. The culture-based creativity and innovation that CCIs can generate is in turn linked to the
ability of creative professionals (from artists to architects, designers, film makers, advertising executives,
musicians ..) to challenge established conventions and traditional visions. Creative professionals are at the
core a people-led sector such as CCIs. They are used to work in open, collaborative and flexible
environments and they are used to improvise. These features are very much required in the current
economic context.
The ways creative people can contribute to innovation varies according to the sector, but often rely on
their capacity to (a) generate new ideas; (b) identify, retain and manage creative talents; (c) invest in
creative ideas and take risks. Businesses and organisations in any sector today need creativity to remain
competitive and the recourse to CCIs is a mean to trigger innovation.
More practically, CCIs can contribute to:
- Innovative products and services (such as the content driven iPod or iPad).
- Open and collaborative models of works and organisational models.
- Marketing/communication strategies to better brand companies, public organisations, or cities and
regions.
- Innovative public services by to foster communication and trust with citizens or increasing
participation of marginalised groups.
- An environment conducive to innovation that further attracts creative talents, new investors but
also visitors (soft location factor).
- New image and attractive places.
- Public policy governance and local development through the horizontal integration of culture in
other policies related to the economy, environment, urban planning, youth and entrepreneurship,
tourism, social integration, etc.
- The rise of a “creative class” through the setting up of multidisciplinary education programmes or
the clustering of companies making an area attractive for living and work.
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Some initiatives have been undertaken across Europe to better link sectors which do not normally work
together and which have difficulties at understanding each other 74 . Still, several challenges should be
addressed to connect CCIs with other sectors, namely:
- Lack of common vocabulary between different sectors at industrial level and departments at
policy level
- Absence of culture and creative industry in broader policy initiatives that relate to economic and
social development.
- Reticence or difficulty of CCIs to engage with other businesses and commercial interests,
although this is less of an issue for creative industries.
- Difficulty of getting faculties and high education departments to work together across disciplines
to foster interactions between technology, science, business and art /design.
Efforts should be made to identify and test tools and methods to stimulate spillover effects in the most
effective way across Europe. Opportunities should be created for people with different backgrounds,
profiles and skills to meet with a view to collaborate and innovate.
Cities are the best placed to trigger “Creative SpINs”: they know very well their cultural assets and creative
companies established locally, very often micro-enterprise. They are in a unique position to set the
ecology fostering interactions as their size facilitates exchange and learning. They can act as a test-bed to
experiment new forms of sustainable economic development enhancing creative spillovers.
2. Partners’ vision, challenges and strengths
The knowledge economy shift, globalisation and delocalisation as well as the current economic crisis are
obliging cities and regions to rethink their local economic development strategies. Both private and public
organisations constantly look into new ways to encourage and embody innovation in order to better
address socioeconomic challenges.
Vision
Creative SpIN partners are all actively involved in promoting a culture of innovation and competitiveness in
a tough economic environment. They are ready to set an environment conducive to creative spillovers as
a mean to trigger innovation.
All cities aim at:
- Encouraging harmonious urban development
- Better integrating foreign population
- Improving quality of life
- Making the city more attractive to investment
- Developing new economic activities and entrepreneurship, in particular amongst the youth
- Retaining talents (attracted by larger cities)
- Improving cultural participation
74 “People from technology don’t understand the creative process that these companies go through to make their products, and
they don’t appreciate how hard it is. And the creative companies don’t appreciate how creative technology is; they thing is just
something to buy. And there is a gulf of understanding between the two of them”, explains Steve Jobs,
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/comic-riffs/post/steve-jobs-his-10-best-quotes-about-art-andcreativity/2011/10/06/gIQAc0ZARL_blog.html
67

- Calling upon artistic interventions to change perceptions and stimulating citizens’ participation to
art and culture.
Partners see the development of CCIs as an opportunity to contributing to these objectives. Several
partners have launched policies to support the development of CCIs - Birmingham and Rotterdam, but also
Essen and Kortrijk for some years now. Bologna has a strong cultural policy moving toward a CCIs’ policy
while Tallin, Košice, Wrocław and Mons are developing a strong strategy on the back of their investment
as European Capitals of Culture.
The project wants, however, to go beyond this vision of CCIs contributing to socioeconomic
development and attractiveness. It considers policy tools and mechanisms to connect CCIs with other
sectors of the economy and society to trigger creativity and innovation.
The visit in the partner cities show that a “CCIs-led innovation vision” is already present and backed by a
strong political will at the highest level. Culture investment is integrated in the cities’ policy as intrinsically
linked to the future prosperity of the city. This was confirmed to the Lead Expert by the Mayor of
Birmingham, Wrocław , Kortrijk, Košice and Mons as well as by the relevant political authorities in charge
of CCIs in Rotterdam and Essen.
Challenges
Creative SpIN partners’ ambitious vision is confronted with several common challenges:
- Desindustrialisation or delocalisation ongoing processes (notably Košice, Rotterdam, Birmingham)
- Weak attractiveness of talents and investors as well as tourists (all partners)
- Urban regeneration (Rotterdam, Essen, Birmingham)
- Development of entrepreneurship, including new forms of entrepreneurship and business models (all
partners)
- Fight against unemployment (all cities)
- Difficult social integration (notably in Birmingham and Rotterdam)
- Building on a strong cultural policy to make local CCIs more sustainable (Mons, Bologna, Essen)
All cities believe that CCIs and, notably, creative spillovers can help face such challenges.
Strengths
The project’s partners have a number of features which can importantly contribute to setting up the right
environment to stimulate creative spillovers, from a favorable policy vision to assets which can facilitate
interactions and exchanges between CCIs and other sectors.
At policy level, partners have:
- Foremost, a strong political will at the highest level to support CCIs
- A strong belief that culture investment is a major source of local economic development
- Willingness to experiment and take the risk of artistic disruption in processes
- The conscious that the crisis is the opportunity to assess way of doing and thinking and those
interactions between various skills and competences is the way forward
- A strong competitive spirit to avoid marginalisation by competing cities
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Each city features a rich pool of institutions and tools, which have the potential to significantly contribute
to the project. These include:
- Strong cultural institutions and operators (for example, City of Birmingham Simphony Orchestra,
Rotterdal Philarmonic Orchestra and the Scapino Ballet, Le Manège and Mundaneum in Mons, the
Godrowski Institute in Wrocław , the Cineteca in Bologna, Aalto Theater and Lichtburg cinema in
Essen, etc.)
- Creative incubators and/or working spaces (Atelierhaus, Unperfect house, and Generation- Kult House
in Essen, Custard Factory in Birmingham, Schieblock, Creative Factory in Rotterdam, Buda Fabric in
Kortrijk or the upcoming creative centres at Kasárne/Culture Park in Košice and at Tallin North – Tallin
Creative Hub)
- Science parks (Initialis in Mons, Aston Science Park in Birmingham, the Technology Park in Wrocław,
Tecnological Park and ABC incubator in Óbidos)
- Investment funds (Creative Investment Fund in Birmingham, new loan fund for the media sector in
Rotterdam)
- Creative districts/clusters (Kreativquartier North Essen, Kasárne/Culture Park in Košice, Custard
Factory and Jewellery Quarter in Birmingham, Buda Island in Kortrijk, Manifattura delle Arti in Bologna,
Tallin’s port area)
- Education institutes and research centres: from Bologna – which hosts the oldest in Europe – to the
Erasmus University Rotterdam with its large university hospital to Birmingham City University, to the
Technical University of Košice, technical university Politechnika Wrocławska in Wrocław, to the
Tallinn University Baltic Film and Media School to the ESAD - School of Art and Design, not far from
Óbidos. Important research centres are the Wrocław Research Centre EIT + and the Microsoft
Innovation Centre in Mons.
All partner cities are beset with very strong cultural traditions and specificities. They are representative of
the patchwork of culture and diversity that characterise the old continent. Some cities share a strong
industrial past, a dramatic history linked to the impact of the World Wars and a rich historical heritage
often very well preserved (particularly Essen, Warsaw, Rotterdam, Bologna, Košice and Tallin). This can be
an important source of inspiration to shape the society of the future.
Moreover, several cities have still a strong ICT sector (particularly Birmingham, Wrocław, Mons, Košice and
Tallinn), which offers the opportunity to test spillovers in area of high interest for most cities in Europe.
At management and governance level, it is interesting to note that the programme will be managed
essentially by local agencies or departments in charge of economic development which can more easily
trigger interesting interactions with local cultural operators, institutions and companies.
Finally, a significant number of Creative SpIN’s partners have been or will be involved in the ECoC initiative.
Such engagement not only show a clear interest to brand the city through culture, but also allows city to
learn about the sustainability of cultural investment, management of a big international event and related
projects as well as about networking different local stakeholders, both from cultural and economic fields.
Creative SpIN can very much build on the expertise gained in relation to these topics.
3. Creative SpIN – themes to be tackled, method, approach and expectations
Main themes/process
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Creative SpIN aims at identifying and testing tools and methods to better connect CCIs with other sectors
of the economy in order to stimulate indirect effects (“creative spillovers”) and contribute to innovation.
Research has been carried out on the topic, but there is still little evidence proving CCIs’ contribution of
innovation and few practical efforts trying to build bridges between creative companies and other
sectors.
At the beginning of the Development Phase the work plan of the project was focused on three main subthemes:
- Finance, on the ground that better access to finance will enable the development of the CCI sector
and create a more attractive ground for cross-sector interactions.
- Higher education, based on the need to better connect universities (an important pool of creative
talents) with the business world and foster cross-sector collaboration.
- Creative agents, in order to identify beneficial complementarities between people with very different
mindsets and connect them via specialised mediators (“creative agents”).
During the Development Phase, partners gathered together to identify the practical steps to be
undertaken to reach the project’s objectives. Instead of focusing on three sub-themes, partners preferred
to establish a three-stage process with a view to come up with concrete knowledge and projects on
creative spillovers and methods to stimulate them. This focuses on:
Processes - From the partners’ discussion, it emerged clearly that, although some partners have already
tried to work across sectors, there is a great need to define which tools and methods really work both in
businesses and public organisations. Partners would like to identify and practically test such methods –
such as Dragon Den’s competition in a reverse form, a World Café with people from different fields, etc. –
in order to identify what works best. Partners decided to concretely identify and test processes by
organising/implementing activities with innovative formats at local and transnational level.
People/Skills - Cities also identified education/learning contexts as a specific field to be explored. The
interest specifically lies in encouraging schools, universities but also vocational institutes to shape
polymaths 75 (the future “Leonardo Da Vinci”). Some partners also want to train creative people in order for
them to be more “business equipped”. Partners therefore agreed to treat education as a separate stage of
the project entirely focused on the encouraging spillovers in different learning contexts as a kind of
prerequisite to shape creative talents for creative economies and societies. During the discussion it was
indeed also agreed to address not only university (as initially foreseen) as this approach was considered
too limitative. Creative can (and have to) be stimulated in different environments and at any age. Managers
and employees have to be more creative to adapt to changes, young students’s creativity needs to be
trained in order to create the future generation of creative talents. Furthermore, limiting to universities
would be riskier as university are often closed and difficult to access, while schools may be more willing
to collaborate (but of course this changes from one country to another). Also, learning sometimes works
better outside formal institutions (vocational education) as people are more motivated and come if really
interested. Partners are therefore free to stimulate creativity in different learning contexts according to the
local needs and specificities (for instance Bologna, Tallin and Birmingham want to focus on university,
Essen on schools, Rotterdam on vocational education).
Projects - Partners would like to test the effectiveness of the tools and methods identified and come up
with concrete projects which could clearly show the effects of CCIs on other sectors. Also, cities
75 A polymath is person whose expertise spans a significant number of different subject areas.
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expressed the need to exploit this project in a way that can be relevant for sectors of their interest.
Partners identified the following sectors where spillovers will be concretely tested:
- Manufacturing – including food
- Healthcare
- Tourism
- ICT/R&D
- Urban development – including green energy, climate change and port
- Education services
Cities will work together on sectors of common interest by co-organising sector-focused actions at
international level (for instance Mons and Tallin on tourism). These actions – which will build on the results
of the “Processes” stage - will also enable partners to understand in which sectors creative spillovers are
more likely to be generated.
The three initial topics are not put aside but integrated in a more comprehensive learning and exchange
process. Finance, for instance, will be dealt with when trying to find out and test processes and tools to
better connect CCIs with other sectors, including companies which can invest in creative ideas or
investors. Connections with potential investors will be pursued also after the project when promoting the
ideas coming from out from Creative SpIN through the creation of an online gallery. Higher education has
been enlarged to all learning contexts as a kind of prerequisite to shape creative talents able to bring
creativity in any other socioeconomic context. Finally, creative agents could be only one of the tools to
stimulate spillovers. This topic can therefore dealt with both in phase 1 “Process”.
Method
Partners will carry out actions along the three-stage process both at national and international level, the
idea being of nurturing transnational activities with the results of the activities carried out at local level.
Local activities will organised at local level on the themes Processes, People and Projects. These will then
feed into transnational activities focused on the same topics. Transnational activities will also include a
sector-focused session aimed at stimulating spillovers in the targeted sectors. An example of how the
project will be structures is illustrated below:
2013
J F M A M J J A S O N D
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In 2014, partners will focus again on the themes with a view to build on the results of the previous year. In
2015, the focus will be on the final conference - which could take the format of a TED conference – and
dissemination of results and good practices outside the partnership through participation to local and
international events on related topics. Several promotional tools will be used, among which a video of the
project and an online platform to spread the innovative projects and ideas which came out from Creative
SpIN. The platform could be used to find investors or partners to implement the ideas, also beyond the
duration of the project.
Approach
The activities carried out at local and transnational level will follow three main principles:
- Experimentation – the project wants to avoid being prescriptive in the development of spillover
tools, processes and methods. Possible methods and formats to be used in local and transnational
actions have been identified by the partners (World Café, Hack Days, etc.). However, partners
have the freedom to identify, test and experiment new formats (this is all about creativity and of
making use of local experiences and knowledge).
- Cross-learning – The main project’s idea is to learn about how processes involving creative
professionals and CCIs can generate innovation. Inspiration can be found in other
sectors’processes aimed for instance at taking investment decision or in embarking on R&D.
Those processes should be tested with the involvement of disruptive thinking and crossdisciplinary
interactions. Inspirations will come from games and shows (Dragon Den in reverse for
instance – not entrepreneurs but creative people pitching their ideas).
- Sustainability – the project wants to find tools and methods which can be used far beyond the
project. Local and transnational actions will address the conditions needed in order to ensure the
sustainability of spillovers and spillover actions, beyond public support and after the end of the
Creative SpIN project (stakeholders’ motivation and needs, financial resources, etc.).
Expectations
Creative SpIN ultimate purpose is to break silos across disciplines, to trigger creativity in businesses and
organisations by encouraging people as artists, creative professionals (in advertising, design, architecture)
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cultural institutions and industries to engage with other sectors to share their competences and skills, to
make engineers more creative and artists more business “equipped” for instance, to value imagination and
intuition in investment decisions, and to develop a new language that facilitate understanding across
disciplines and sectors not used to work together.
The main themes, approach and expectations of the project can be graphically summarised as follows:
4. Added value of the network
Creative SpIN’s added value lies in the following:
- From theory to practice: although research is still not exhaustive, one of the main concerns for
policy makers and practioners is the need to define and test tools and methods to stimulate
spillovers. The project will contribute to practical knowledge by testing spillovers across:
o Varied sectors (list the sectors
o Europe’s cultural diversity (partners are representatives of EU’s cultural diversity)
o Cities with different sizes
o CCI sectors in different stages of development
- The project builds on the European Capital of Culture process and gives an additional dimension
to culture investment made by cities in this context for the development of the future economy.
- Different and complementary levels of expertise for mutual learning but with a shared interest in
culture as a tool for local economic development. Strong political willingness to explore the topic
and support the project has been identified in all city partners.
- Great assets in different fields (finance, university education, incubators, etc.) and motivated and
skilled people will take part to the network activities through the ULSGs.
- Opportunity to test solutions and provide recommendations to big, medium and small cities to
the benefit of the whole Europe - big, medium and small cities are involved so recommendations
could fit different kinds of cities.
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- Occasion to offer practical tools and methods to face European challenges (not only relevant to
the cities of the network): the network will address a topic of general interest (how to improve
innovation) while testing the innovative potential of the CCIs sector (not enough exploited but
increasing becoming of interest for academics, practioners and policy-makers).
- Visibility and dissemination opportunities because the network objective is linked to the EU 2020
Strategy and the subject of innovation. Strong visibility is also provided by the European Capital of
Culture events well as many other international events hosted by partner cities (Košice ECoC in 2013, Mons
ECoC in 2015 and Wrocław ECoC in 2016; Forum d’Avignon in Essen in 2013; annual meeting of UNESCO
Creative Cities Network in Bologna in 2013, etc.).
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European Commission. (2010a), European Competitiveness Report 2010 Commission staff working
document SEC(2010) 1276 accompanying document to the Communication — An Integrated Industrial
Policy for the Globalisation Era: Putting Competitiveness and Sustainability at Centre Stage (COM(2010)
614) (SEC(2010) 1272). Brussels.
European Commission. (2010b), Communication: Europe 2020: a strategy for smart, sustainable and
inclusive growth COM (2010) 2020. Brussels.
European Commission. (2010c), European Competitiveness Report 2010 Commission staff working
document SEC(2010) 1276 accompanying document to the Communication — An Integrated Industrial
Policy for the Globalisation Era: Putting Competitiveness and Sustainability at Centre Stage (COM(2010)
614) (SEC(2010) 1272). Brussels.
European Commission. (2010d), Communication: Europe 2020 Flagship Initiative Innovation Union
COM(2010) 546. Brussels.
European Commission. (2011a). Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on
Specific provisions concerning the European Regional Development Fund and the Investment for growth
and jobs goal and repealing Regulation (EC) No 1080/2006. Brussels.
European Commission. (2011b). Communication: Horizon 2020 - The Framework Programme for Research
and Innovation, COM(2011) 808 final, Brussels.
European Commission. (2011c). Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council
laying down common provisions on the European Regional Development Fund, the European Social Fund,
the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development and the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund for
Rural Development and the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund covered by the Common Strategic
Framework and laying down general provisions on the European Regional Development Fund, the European
Social Fund and the Cohesion Fund and repealing Regulation (EC) No 1083/2006. Brussels.
European Commission. (2011d). Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on
the European Social Fund and repealing Regulation (EC) No 1081/2006. Brussels.
76

European Commission (2011e), Directorate-General for Research and Innovation, Innovation Union
Competitiveness Report, Brussels.
European Commission (2012), Communication on Promoting cultural and creative sectors for growth and
jobs in the EU, Brussels.
European Council. (2009). Conclusions on Culture as a Catalyst for Creativity and Innovation. 2941st
EDUCATION, YOUTH AND CULTURE Council meeting. Brussels.
European Council. (2010). Conclusions on the Contribution of Culture to Local and Regional Development.
3013th EDUCATION, YOUTH AND CULTURE Council meeting. Brussels
European Council. (2011), Conclusions on cultural and creative competences and their role in building
intellectual capital of Europe. 3128th EDUCATION, YOUTH, CULTURE and SPORT Council meeting Brussels,
28 and 29 November 2011.
EU Presidency. (2008). Conclusions on the Launching the new cycle of the renewed Lisbon Strategy for
Growth and Jobs. (7652/1/08). Brussels.
"Rotterdam maakt werk van Creativiteit, Gezamenlijk advies EDBR/RRKC", August 2006 (Combined advise
to City Council on Creative industries by Economic Development Board Rotterdam and Rotterdam
Advisory Board for Arts and Culture).
77

Birmingham
Partners
ANNEXE I – Partners’ profiles in brief
What are the
problems and
challenges faced by
the
partner city in
relation to the
selected topic?
What are the policies and
concrete actions developed by
the partner city so far in
relation to these problems and
challenges?
What could be the scope
of the
Local Action Plan to be
developed by the partner
city
within the framework of
the
network?
Who will be involved in the
initial URBACT Local
Support Group to be set
up
during the Development
phase
by the partner city?
What is the experience of the
partner city in terms of
working through
transnational exchange in
relation to the selected topic?
What is the potential
contribution of the partner
city to the network activities
and what does the partner
expect from the network?
The City of
Birmingham would
like to build on its
industrial past and
creative potential by
addressing the
following challenges:
- Retaining
graduates
- Facing the skill
deficit
- Reducing social
tensions and
building on
cultural
diversity
- Improving
image of the
city
- Stimulating
entrepreneurshi
p
- Improving
Access to
finance/matchin
g funds
(especially for
SMEs)
A selection:
- City Deal
- City Centre Economic Zone
- Science City strategy
- Digital Birmingham
- Smart City Commission
- Marketing Birmingham
- Creative Birmingham
Partnership Board
- Creative Industry support
programme
- Creative Birmingham
- CIF and CAF
3 main focus themes:
- Graduate retention (how
to encourage creative &
science-based graduates
to collaborate).
- Access finance
(providing VC and seed
finance to enterprises to
support spillovers)
- Incubating innovative
companies.
Additionally, the idea of
assessing the potential of
“Fab Labs” and new coworking
spaces are of
great interest to the City.
Representatives for the
LSG in Birmingham will be
drawn from the:
- City Council,
- Birmingham City
University (BCU),
- Chamber of
Commerce,
- representatives of
sector groups
(Medilink, Science
City, Custard Factory,
architects and urban
planners)
- HEIs and Third Sector
organisations
(Initiative for Social
Entrepreneurs, social
media experts)
- EU’s Climate KI to promote
green technology issues in the
city.
- Making Knowledge Work
(2012-2014 INTERREG IVC) has
established specialists to broker
linkages in the Birmingham
Research Park and Birmingham
Science Park.
- Creative Metropoles aimed at
facilitating exchange on
identifying existing policies and
successful instruments used to
support creative industries.
- ECCE Innovation (INTERREG IVB
NEW 2008-2011) one of the key
partners of the ULSG (BCU) was
a partner. The project was aimed
at fostering the innovation
capacity of CIs in order to
access new markets.
Contribution:
- Extensive experience in the
field of CCIs
- Great assets in the field of
education, access to finance
and other support
tools/agencies to learn
from/to be involved
Expectations:
- Improving match-making
fund needs through
collaboration with the
private sectors to support
new ideas.
- Flourishing of new
collaborative projects and
initiatives in the field of
digital media, video games
(and serious games),
audiovisual, design,
architecture and social
media in collaboration with
the automotive, medical and
green energy sectors.
- Enlarge the scope of
innovation policies and
include CCIs
78

Rotterdam
Rotterdam would like
to promote the
contribution of CCIs
to economic, social,
cultural and physical
development of the
city.
The challenges to
this are:
- Retaining/attrac
ting creative,
highly-skilled
talents
- Improving the
image of the
city
- Attracting
people to/
revitalising the
inner city
Several CCIs policy programmes
have been put in place in the
following areas:
- Housing facilities
- Networking
- Cross over stimulation
- Subsidy budget
These include the following
outcomes (a selection):
- Creativity starts here
programme
- Installation of the Rotterdam
Media Commission
- Directing city/region for
Architecture at national level
- Forthcoming CCI programme
including a ‘Cultuurplan’ (long
term subsidy scheme for
cultural sector)
The LAP should focus on:
- Creative Spillovers
between CCIs and two of
the key sectors in
Rotterdam:
o Medical Sector
o Ports & logistics
industries
- Partnerships between
CCIs, educational
institutions
and
governmental bodies.
The City will support these
creative spillovers through
several measures. One is
the active participation of
two Aldermen of the City
Government, who are very
committed to these goals
to spur innovation and
spillovers. Second is to
facilitate matchmaking
events and other meetings
to bring different worlds
together. Talented and
fastgrowing CCIs will be on
a hotlist for invitations to
business events organised
or supported by the city.
The City will also use its
influence to push other
actors to support CCIs and
to offer them more
(growth) opportunities.
- Department of
Culture
- Creative Factory
- Department of City
Development
- Local Creative
Industries working
group (being
installed)/ includes
representatives of
creative industries
and higher education
institutions and
Universities of
Rotterdam / S.
Janssen TU Delft
- National innovation
network CLICK
- Creative Industries
Institute (national
institute to be
situated in Rotterdam)
- Rotterdam Media
Commission
Rotterdam takes part in several
international networks in the field
of social, cultural en economic
topics and policy:
- Working group Creative
Industries (Eurocities)
- Cultural Forum (Eurocities)
- ECCE, INTERREG projects
on facilitating market
access to CCIs.
Furthermore, Creative Factory
(member of the USLG) is one of
the founding parties of ECBN /
European Creative Business
Network, which has its
headquarter in Rotterdam.
Partners are cities, creative
development agencies and
creative
hubs/residencies/quarters.
Contribution:
- Deep knowledge of CCIs
and Experience with CCI
policy
- Results from previous
initiatives in the field of
cross over
- Local facilities to facilitate
networking and exchange
(e.g. Creative Factory)
- Great educational offer
Expectations:
- Improve health care service
delivery
- Improve Rotterdam’s Green
Port accessibility through
the help of visualisation
technologies and animation.
- Identify state-of-the art
methods to create
spillovers in other fields
such as tourism, access to
finance, technology and
new media
- Develop a metrics to
measure spillover effects
and policies supporting
them
79

Essen
- Urban
regeneration
(especially the
northern part of
the city and the
university
quarter)
- Stopping
emigration and
retain
inhabitants
- Attracting
(young) talents,
companies and
investors
- Developing
artistic and
creative
entrepreneurshi
p
- Improving
international
visibility
- Atelierhaus
- Art Walk
- Unperfect house
- Generation- Kult House
- Kreativquartierand Creative
Masterplan for Essen-North
since 2011
- Grüne Mitte Essen
- Support scheme for individual
artists (Kreativwirtschaft als
Zukunftsbranche und
Hoffnungsträger für Stadtund
Regionalentwicklungen)
- Creative Stage / Showcase
and a Regional Creative Class
Network
- Culture and School funding
programme
The Local Action Plan
would implement
innovative motivational
schemes and multi-level
governance tools (City,
Region, Europe) to
stimulate spillover effects:
- At city level (through
the exchange of
experience on actions
and funding
programmes)
- Among the
international
businesses based in
the city with the
collaboration of local
universities.
- In long-term urban
planning and realestate
development -
crowd-based and
open-source
techniques are
needed to attract the
next generation of
companies, workers
and investors in
creative projects
having an impact on
urban development.
- Creative industries
from Essen-North,
- Career centre for
Folkwang and the
State University
Essen,
- Chambers of
Commerce as well as
Real Estate Owners
- investors &
foundations from the
visual arts and design
sectors (Thyssen-
Krupp Foundation).
All these stakeholders are
part of the Creative
Masterplan for Essen-North
since 2011. Otherwise will
join following an open call
to be launched by the city
at the beginning of the
Implementation Phase.
- Projects started in the
context of European Capital
of Culture 2010 – e. g.
Twins Project, Design
Kiosk, Contemporary Art
Ruhr (CAR).
- Essen is partner of the
Forum d’Avignon since
2012, researching and
exchanging know-how on
culture investments and
city attractiveness in
Europe.
Contribution:
- Available spaces to
stimulate and test spillovers
(e.g. Atelierhaus)
- International events taking
place in the city which
could link to Creative SpIN
for transnational exchange,
experimentation of tools
and methods or
dissemination activities (e.g.
Forum d’Avignon in 2013,
red dot international
competition)
- Connection and experience
with international partners in
education and creative
industries field, in the
context of ECoC
- Connections in place
between the local industry
and the cultural sector
Expectations:
- Urban regeneration
- Stimulating artistic and
creative entrepreneurship
- Retaining local talent
80

Bologna
- Facing the lack
of “industrial
dimension in
CCIs”
- Improving
connections
between the
creative area
and the
traditional
economic
sectors to
innovate the
traditional
industrial basis
- Retaining
students after
graduation
- Strategic Plan
- IncrediBol
- Manifattura della Arti
- ASTER
- EmiliaRomagna STARTUP
The LAP will support
creative spillovers with
focus on:
- business training for the
creative sector
- innovative connections
between CCIs and
traditional economic
sectors
- creating opportunities for
the students in innovative
and creative fields after
their studies
- Municipality of
Bologna
- Bologna Province
Emilia-Romagna
Region
- ASTER
- University of Bologna
- IncrediBOL! Project
- SMART i+P, Smart Metropolitan
Areas Realised Through
Innovation + People, with the aim
of taking the experience
developed by a wide range of
existing user-driven, open
innovation initiatives in Europe,
and applying this experience to
the challenge of transforming
public services and develop
‘smart’ cities.
- CIVITAS MIMOSA, Making
Innovation in Mobility and
Sustainable Actions, aiming at
developing demonstrating
actions to be seen as a model for
the promotion of sustainable
urban mobility at EU level.
- iCity, Linked Open Apps
Ecosystem aiming at opening the
public digital information
infrastructures for its re-use by
third parties to develop services
of public interest.
Contribution:
- Strong cultural offer and
expertise in cultural
management.
- Visibility opportunity and
international links: thanks to
the strategic position, the
deep cultural tradition, the
presence of very important
Fairs, and the presence of
the University, Bologna has
a very strong creative
environment and can offer
an important international
stage for the project and
its partners.
- Survey model to explore
creative inputs in companies
Expectations:
- Develop/transfer creative
skills and competences
in/to the traditional fields of
the economy (especially
manufacturing) through
actions and initiatives
developed with the help of
the local University.
- Development of a pilot
project matching creative
people and the traditional
economy in the
manufacturing/food field.
81

Kortrijk
- Strengthen CCIs
to obtain
sufficient
critical mass
- Support talent
becoming new
businesses
- Optimize the
creative
potential of its
inhabitants,
students, high
schools
knowledgecenters
and
businesses
- Co-ordinate the
local initiatives
to support
creativity and
innovation
through a local
strategy and
action plan,
supported by
all relevant
stakeholders.
- Budafabric to interlink
designers, product
developers, entrepreneurs,
students, artists and
academics and enhance
cross-pollination
- Designregio Kortrijk to
introduce design-thinking in
SMEs and the society
- Center for Entrepreneurs for
start-ups
- Kortrijk IN – network involving
all decision makers at
government, economic,
academic level
- European Innovation Festival
with a focus on open
innovation, co-creation and
user-centered design
The LAP will focus on:
- Creating an
atmosphere and
attractive
environment for
creativity and
innovation in the city
- Support innovative
spinoffs and start-ups
from the high schools
and universities
- Stimulating spillovers
between education,
artists, creative
industries and the
local SME’s and
companies. The work
of Budafabric as
brokerage
infrastructure will be
key in this sense.
- Keep introducing
design-thinking and
open innovation in
SMEs
- Obtaining a critical
mass by clustering
universities, research
centers, creative
industries and local
companies
- City Council
- Local universities
- VOKA (the Chamber
of Commerce)
- Intercommunal
Development Agency
Leiedal
- Designregio Kortrijk
- Center for
Entrepreneurs
- Artcenter Buda
- Municipal Agency
Buda
- Flanders in Shape
- Microsoft Innovation
Center
- Innovation Center,
- Interieur Foundation,
- Representatives of
sector groups.
- Admire - 7the Framework
‘Pro Inno’ (2006-2008) on
design management in SMEs
and the creation of the
European design
management award (DME).
- Innovation Festival What If
- 7 th Framework Program
‘Pro Inno’: in collaboration
with Barcelona, Milan, Lisbon,
Vilnius and Talinn, the city
has organised and hosted
the Innovation Festival
2009-2012.
- Profit : Interreg IVB
NWEurope (2011-2014) on
the interaction between
sports, innovative
technology and health.
- Smart Cities (2008- 2011)
on ICT supporting public
services
- Proud : Interreg IVB NW
Europe on using design for
co-creation and innovation.
The City is also partner of the
network Eurotowns and
associated partner in Eurocities.
Contribution:
- Share its experience on local
policies and strategies
aimed at enhancing
creativity, entrepreneurship
and design-thinking
- Budafabric will offer spaces
and facilities to create
spillovers, including a fablab
in order to test and learn
about spillovers during the
whole project period.
- Extensive experience with
EU projects
Expectations:
- Collaborate with
international partners and
experts in order to
effectively implement its
local development strategy
which already tries to
promote a spillover
approach to art and culture.
- Gather the different existing
initiatives on creativity and
innovation under the LAP in
order to create better
coordination, to the benefit
of the entire agglomeration.
82

Mons
Mons is a city that
suffered and still
does, from a
deindustrialisation
process that has
started in the 70’s.
The main challenges
to overcome are:
- Creating more
and new jobs
- Stimulating
entrepreneurshi
p
- Improving the
city’s image
and
attractiveness
(for tourists,
companies and
investors)
- Developing a
more
comprehensive
vision of culture
(both among
policy makers
and citizens)
- Integrating
culture in an
economic
development
strategy
Elio Di Rupo has strongly
supported Mons to be recognised
the cultural capital of the Wallonia
region as well as its candidature to
ECoC 2015.
Numerous infrastructures and
several initiatives have been put in
place such as (a selection):
- The Maison du Design
- New museums to be ready by
2015
- the new train station designed
by Calatrava
- UNIMEDIAR, an initiative of the
University of Mons to
stimulate innovative actions in
enterprises, especially in the
field of performing art
And, in Mons region:
- the Museum of Contemporary
Arts (MAC’s)
- the Pass, a museum to spread
scientific culture.
The LAP the entire
agglomeration which
represents about 250,000
inhabitants.
Mons’ LAP should focus on
concrete projects with the
academia and brokerage
actions in the field of
tourism, design, ICT. For
example, a lack of
collaboration between the
Design center and the
School of Fine arts has
been identified. Getting
them to work together on
new forms of
entrepreneurship will be
one of our goals. For this,
we can take inspiration
from La Maison de
l’Entreprise (Business
Innovation Center) which
has a strong expertise in
promoting
entrepreneurship or Café
Europa, a Mons 2015’s
concept gathering people
with different backgrounds
and skills to discuss
together and find solutions
to common problems.
- City of Mons
- La Maison du Design
- Le Manège (cultural
center)
- Mons 2015
Foundation
- Progress (social
economic agency)
- Virtualis (consortium
of new high-tnew
High tech companies).
Mons has taken part to several
transnational projects, but the
indirect effects of culture are
something the city has recently
started exploring. The city is
keen to learn more.
Mons is involved in the Interreg IV
A project Mons is partner of is
“Memory of the great war” very
much focused on tourism. The
objective is to prepare new
tourism paths in order to
discover the places of the Great
War by 2014.
Moreover, most of the ULSG’s
members do also have expertise
in the field (Maison du Design is
member is the INTERREG 3pod
and Le Manège of Transdigital).
Contribution:
- Mons 2015 as a platform to
test spillovers and give
visibility to Creative SpIN at
EU level
- Sharing results from first
experiments on creative
spillovers
- Collaboration from
established local institutions
active in different fields
(from the Maison du Design
to Le Manège)
Expectations:
- Learn from other cities to
develop CCIs policies and
support tools and attract
CCIs to the region
- Integrate culture in
economic development
strategies
- Build on Mons 2015 to test
spillovers (especially
between art and new
technologies) and create
synergies with Creative
SpIN
83

Wrocław
The city of
Wrocław is trying to
work its way “out of
the shadow” of
Poland’s capital city
through the creation
of a modern,
dynamic, cultural and
innovative city.
The main challenges
to make the most of
the existing situation
are:
- Better
connecting
businesses,
universities and
policy makers;
local, innovative
companies are
not seen as
attractive
employers and
compete with
international
brands in terms
of attraction of
well-qualified
people;
- Setting up
mechanisms to
turn talent into
new innovative
businesses;
- Internationalisati
on of
Wrocławbased
creative
businesses
- Improving
access to
finance.
- Improving
image, visibility
and
attractiveness
(investors,
companies,
talents).
Wrocław has put lots of efforts in
building its reputation as business
leader in this part of Europe. The
city has made some key
investments in research centres
and created an institutional support
system that links science
(Wrocław Research Centre EIT
Plus), business (Wrocław
Agglomeration Development
Agency) and education (Wrocław
Academic Hub).
In the field of CCIs, it has launched
Creativro, a specific programme
devoted to companies in the fields
of games production, digital
effects and special animations.
The LAP will focus on:
a) culture & technical
knowledge, which includes
support to creativity in
vocational schools and
prevention of old industrial
buildings from decay;
b) industrial design and
entrepreneurship for
product and innovation
management
c) mobile applications and
software solutions in a
variety of fields:
manufacturing & industry,
cultural events, conference
apps, city promotion
abroad, etc.
Around 10 people coming
from the following
institutions:
- Wrocław Agglomeration
Development Agency –
(Marcello Murgia/Michal
Teklinski)
- Wrocław Academic Hub
(Maciej Litwin)
- Wrocław European
Capital of Culture 2016
(Adam Chmielewski)
- Wrocław Cultural
Division within the
Municipality of Wrocław
(Jaroslaw Broda)
- Wrocław Economic
Development Division
within the Municipality of
Wrocław (Joanna Wozna)
The city of Wrocław took part
in the following transnational
projects:
- URBAMECO (URBACT II) aimed
at the socio-economic
revitalisation of the old trade
routes.
- Project Via Regia Plus (Central
Europe Fund) focused on the
implementation of joint ventures
aimed at improving the
accessibility to metropolitan
areas, developing effective
models of territorial cooperation
and regional governance, and
creating a tourist offer along the
corridor Via Regia.
Contribution:
- Strong knowledge and
experience in ICT and
science
- Tools and methods to
outsource research costs
and share benefits of
innovative research (from
the science field)
- Tools and methods to link
the academia and the
business world
Expectations:
- Learn how such crosssectoral
cooperation (now
focused on technological
and science companies and
research centres actives in
the field), could be
extended to and include
CCIs.
- Learn about tools to better
support experimentation,
innovation
and
entrepreneurship and
stimulate private
investment, enhance
business capacity and
internationalisation of
creative industries.
- Fruitful exchange with Mons
with which it shares a similar
story and European tile as
Capital of Culture.
- Help prepare the ground for
Wrocław 2016 as an
opportunity to further
develop and give
international visibility to
Wrocław -based CCIs.
84

Tallin
The city needs to
face:
- Improvement of
international
visibility and
attractiveness
(stop the brain
drain)
- Tourism
development,
particularly
beyond the
city centre
- Improve quality
of life
- Repopulate the
city centre
Tallinn Innovation Strategy 2009-
2013
Manifesto – a Tool for Strategic
Development across the Creative
Economy
Tallinn Cluster Development
Programme 2009-2013
Tallin Creative Hub
Tallin Creative Incubator
- A concrete incubation
project on “Creative
Spillovers” to be
developed at the
Tallin Creative Hub’
Development Centre
under the supervision
of the ULSG.
- A lobby and
communication plan
“CROSS is a key
concept” aimed at
influencing 2014-
2020’s Operational
Programmes in
Estonia. CCIs and
cross-disciplinary
spillovers should
appear as a priority.
City Department of
Enterprise
City Departement of
Culture and Heritage
Baltic Media and Film
School
Estonian Design Center
Enterpise Estonia
Research Center of
Contemporary Culture
(University of Tallinn)
INTERREG IVC project “Creative
Metropoles” - Public Policies and
Instruments in Support of
Creative Industries”
INTERREG IVA “Cultural Tourism
2011” to enhance collaboration
and the creation of new culturebased
quality tourism products.
Contribution:
- Share experience and
learning points coming from
previous relevant projects
(e.g. those involving CCIs
and universities or arts and
science students) carried
out by the Tallin Creative
Hub or in the context of
ECoC
- Five multidisciplinary
platforms are in place
(among which one on
tourism) as a possible tool
to gather stakeholders and
stimulate spillovers
Expectations:
- Develop the necessary
know-how to generate
spillover effects in Tallinn.
- Concrete ractices/projects
to apply/implement and
share Influence the
governmental body of
Estonia in charge of
Structural Funds to put CCIs
as a priority for the period
2014-2020
- Find experts to bring
international influence in
Estonia on the topic of
spillovers.
- Create new tools and
interdisciplinary approaches
to cultural tourism with the
contribution of CCIs,
universities and businesses
in technology, tourism and
related sectors.
- Improve international
visibility for local CCIs
- Create international partners
for the members of the
ULSG
85

Košice
- Improving
visibility and
attractiveness
- Developing the
future economy
- Stopping the
brain drain
- Developing
integrated,
multilevel
policies for
CCIs at local
and regional
level
- Košice 2013 and group in
charge of CCIs
- Masterplan for CCIs
- Kasárne/Culture Park and new
multimedia centre
- Centre for Supporting Culture
and Creativity (CSCC) – for
companies, civil groups and
artists
The LAP will link to the
Masterplan for CCIs with
focus on:
- Mapping projects in
order to find
potentials, gaps and
opportunities for
creativity to help
companies’ maximise
their economic and
social returns.
- The Arts and Business
programme which will
be launched as part of
Košice 2013. This
could be used to test
new projects, to
offer artists training
on business plans and
strategies, to propose
workshops and test
new approaches for
problem solving, etc.
- Benchmark
activities/reports
- City of Košice
- Košice region
- Košice 2013 NGO
- Coalition Košice 2013
- Technical University
Faculty of Arts
- Economic Faculty TU
Košice
- Local civic
associations/ngo
- Institute for Creative
Economy
- Cultural centers -
Tabacka - Lukaš
Berberich
- DIG new media gallery
- private sector – T-
Systems, Ness,
OneClick
Collaborations with ECoC cities
Cross boarding projects and
activities within th European
Creative Business Network
(K.A.I.R., trade missions, etc.)
Contribution:
- A strategic geographical
location – Košice could
advocate for the project in
Central and Eastern Europe
- Strong potential in the ICT
sector (ICT companies
could be involved to
develop and test digital
tools)
- The Creative Factory and
new spaces being
established as a place to
test spillovers
- Coalition 2013+ and the pilot
actions that will take place
among their members
Expectations:
- Develop and implement the
local strategy (Masterplan)
as well as multilevel policies
to foster the new economy
- Learn from international
partners to avoid trial and
error phase and benchmark
local activities
- Create new partnerships or
bilateral collaborations for
new transnational projects
in 2014-20
- Generate spillovers in the
ICT industry, but also
tourism and manufacturing
sectors, building on the
connections already in place
thanks to Coalition 2013+
- Better link the arts sector to
the business worlds, both
by improving business skills
among creative people and
bringing creativity in
companies
- Improve quality of life,
visibility and attractiveness
-
86

Óbidos
- Need to
diversify the
number and
quality of
services in
sectors such as
tourism
- Attracting new
businesses to
the technology
park (which will
start to be built
at the end of
2012)
- Improve active
participation of
citizens to
cultural
activities,
- Find new
sources of
funding for
cultural
activities
- Continue to
“inject”
creativity in the
education
system (as a
follow-up to
previous
programmes).
Master plan with focus on culture,
creativity and innovation.
- Integration of the master plan in
the regional strategy on innovation
vision called INOV C.
- Creative Breaks project on
tourism.
- São Tiago Bookstore, a major
bookstore inside a ancient church
- Mercearia Criativa where
designers, producers and retailers
can work together to create new
products and new forms of selling,
from storage to branding.
- Creation of the municipal
company Óbidos Criativa dealing
with urban regeneration and
creativity
- Tecnological Park
- ABC Incubator
The LAP will be a followup
and upgrade of the LAP
produced as an output of
the former URBACT
network Creative Clusters
in Low Density Urban
Areas.
Scope of the future LAP:
- Stimulation of
creative spillovers,
especially in relation
to tourism and ICT.
- Keep making Óbidos
an ‘Investment Ready
Place’ using the
advantages of being
small to work as a lab
where to test new
policies.
- Further develop
Óbidos’ distinctive
brand.
- Municipality
- Municipal company
Óbidos Criativa
- Business associations,
- Schools
- Representatives from
the creative class
- Óbidos Technology
Park
- Tourism
entrepreneurs,
- Citizens’
representatives
- Universities
- Entrepreneurs from
sectors going from
organic farming to
manufacturing.
- URBACT Creative Clusters
network (Lead partner)
- Comenius Regio partneship
with Reggio Emilia (Italy) on
creative education.
Óbidos is also member of
different thematic associations
and has strong connections with
the creative entourage of Brazil.
Contribution:
The city ensures its political
commitment (the local mayor is
very keen to support CCIs) and
contribution to the project by:
- Sharing experience and
results coming from the
Óbidos Criativa Strategy
and subsequent projects;
- Offering its small territory
and motivated team with
fresh ideas as a “test lab”
where to experiment new
policies and measures to
support spillovers.
Expectations:
- Continue to develop the
Óbidos Criativa Strategy to
further disseminate the
extra value of creativity and
creative industries.
- Learn about and share best
practices in a wider and
more competitive
environment.
- Reach the local inhabitants
in a way that they are fully
aware about the importance
of creativity in any aspect
of life.
87

ANNEXE II – List of people visited
Birmingham
Jerry Blackett – Birmingham Chamber of Commerce, Chief Executive
Mark Foley – Head of West Midands ERDF Programme at the Department for Communities and Local
Government
David Hardman – Chief Executive Officer Science Park Aston
Suresh Patel – BCC Business Enterprise Manager Birmingham
Raj Mack – BCC Head of Digital Birmingham
Patrick Willcocks – BCC Head of European Funding
Sue Summers – Chief Executive of Finance Birmingham
Mohammed Zahir – BCC Head of Business Enterprise and Innovation
Rotterdam
Luc Beurskens – Chairman, Communication Platofrm Rotterdam
Hugo Bongers – Professor in Cultural Diversity, Hogeschool Rotterdam (Rotterdam University)
Hajo Doorn – Director, WORM
Peter Haasbroek - Preliminary officer, National institute for creative industries
Jan Hoogesteijn – Director, Rotterdam Media Commission
Patrick van‘t Klooster – Director, Institute for Architecture Rotterdam (AIR)
Kristian Koreman – Director, ZUS / Zones Urbaines Sensibles
Leo van Loon – Director, Creative Factory
Korrie Louwes - Vice-Mayor (Labour Market; Higher Education; Innovation; Participation), City of Rotterdam
Chantal Olffers - sr Policy adviser, City of Rotterdam
Philip Pouwel – Director, Jazz stage BIRD
Olga Smit - sr Policy adviser, City of Rotterdam
Paul Rutten - Independent advisor Creative industries
Essen
Andreas Bomheuer, Head of Culture Department, City of Essen
Alfons Wafner, Advisor Culture Department, City of Essen
Dr. Uwe Schramm, Director and Curator of “Kunsthaus Essen”
Heiko Salmon, Executive Assistant “Unperfekthaus”
Dr. Claudia Drawe, Director of Internship Office (Praktikumsbüro), University Duisburg-Essen
Bernd Fesel, Consultant, ecce
Anika Ellwart, Project Assistant „Creative.Quarters Ruhr“, ecce
Bologna
Silvano Bertini, Responsible for the Economic Department of the Emilia-Romagna Region
Giorgia Boldrini, Local Coordinator of the “Creative SpIN” project, Responsible for IncrediBOL project, Head
of Unit Intersectorial project, Innovation, Labour, Coordination of events, city promotion (Municipality of
Bologna)
Paolo Bonaretti, Director of ASTER (the Consortium for Innovation and Technology Transfer in Emilia-
Romagna)
Tiziana De Nittis, Economic Department of the Province of Bologna
Mauro Felicori, Director of the Economic Development and City Promotion Department (Municipality of
Bologna)
Nicoletta Giusti (Assistant Professor - Dept. Of Business Economy)
Marco Gaiani (Full Professor - Dept. Of Architecture)
Matteo Lepore, Deputy Mayor for International Relations, City Marketing, Innovation, Smart City and Digital
Agenda (Municipality of Bologna)
Luca Roffia (GIOCA, Graduate degree in Innovation and Organization of Culture and the Arts)
Veronica Innocenti (DAMS, degree course in Art, Music and Show Disciplines)
88

Francesca Polluce, Economic Department of the Province of Bologna
Kortrijk
Dries Baeckelandt - City Development, City of Kortrijk
Franky Devos - Coordinator Budafabriek
Fanny Galle - Project Manager PROUD, Designregio Kortrijk
Frans Van Den Bossche - Director Strategic Department, City of Kortrijk
Mons
Marc Barvais, Mayor of Mons (replacing Elio di Rupo)
Denys Bornauw –technology consultant of the city of Mons
Mauro del Borrello – Director, Le Manège
Barbara Sylvester – Coordinatrice, Maison du Design
Pierre Lacroix – Director, Office du Tourisme
Xavier Roland, Ville de Mons - Département Culture
Stéphanie Thibaut – Strategic Development Manager, Maison de l’Entreprise
Patrice Thiry – Director, La Maison de l’Entreprise
Wrocław
Creativro hub, participants: Ziemowit Poniewierski – Can’t Stop Games, Radosław Paklikowski – Mobile
Factory, Jan Stasienko – Lower Silesia Higher University, Wojciech Woziwodzki – Tequila Mobile, Michał
Dusiński – Xantus.
Dominika Kawalerowicz – national projects coordinator, Wrocław European Capital of Culture 2016
Małgorzata Dynowska - Head of Business Development, Wrocław Technology Park
Tomasz Gondek - Member of the Company’s Management Board, Wrocław Research Centre EIT
Michał Janicki, Wrocław Vice President
Ewa Kaucz - Vicepresident of the Board, Wrocław Agglomeration Development Agency
Maciej Litwin – Director of Wrocław Academic Hub
Maciej Rojowski – Director of Business Support Unit, Wrocław Agglomeration Development Agency
Maciej Mielcarek - Director of marketing and sales (assistant met), Aduma
Piotrek Sobczak, Director B2A, PiLab
Košice
Mr. Ondrej Bernát (Director of the Košice region office)
Vladimír Beskid – Art Director, Košice 2013
Radoslav Blahovec – PhD Student on behalf of Mr. Oto Hudec– Head of the regional studies, TU Košice –
Faculty of Economy
Michal Hladký – Responsible CCIs Strategy, Košice 2013
Ms. Jana Kavácsová, City of Košice, Head of the Culture Department
Košice 2013, NGO representatives – Jan Sudzina (managing director), Vladimir Beskid (artistic director),
Jakub Urik ( Development projects, Foreign Affairs) Michal Hladky (Creative industry)
Koalition 2013+ representatives:
T-Systems Slovakia – Thomas Bogdain (CEO), Mr. Džbor
Vojčík and Partners – JuDr. Leo Vojčík
PeeMDee Ing.Arch Peter Murko
OneClick – Vladimír Kmeť
Geodeticca Ing. Vladimir Kudlička, Ing. Radomír Reviľák
Slovak Chamber of Commerce Mr. Ľudovit Korotnoky
IT Valley (IT Cluster) Mr. Jozef Ondáš
Juraj Koban Dean, TU Košice – Faculty of Arts
Juraj Koban – Dean of the Faculty of Arts, Technical University of Košice
Richard Raši - Mayor Košice
Jana Sasfajová, representative of the City strategic department
89

Melinda Sasáková – project manager for Creative Industry projects
Ján Sudzina – Director, Košice 2013
Tallin
Maris Hellrand - Communication Manager, Foundation Tallinn Creative Hub / Kultuurikatel
Mr Indrek Ibrus – Head of Cross Media Department at Baltic Film and Media School
Mr Herkko Labi - Project manager & concept developer, Foundation Tallinn Creative Hub / Kultuurikatel /
Ms Elena Natale - Head of Development, Foundation Tallinn Creative Hub / Kultuurikatel /
Marge Paas - Communication Manager, Foundation Tallinn Creative Hub / Kultuurikatel /
Mr Tarmo Pikner – Researcher at Tallinn University
Ms Evelyn Sepp – Member of Board Tallinn Creative Hub
Mr Jaanus Vahesalu – Head of Enterprise Department Tallinn City Government
Ms Katrin Savomägi - Tallinn International Relations Department
Óbidos
Miguel Silvestre, Coordenador | Economia da Criatividade e Inovação, Óbidos Criativa EEM 76 .
76 No site visit has taken place due to time constraints. Óbidos has replaced the city of Seville (which the Lead Expert has visited)
in mid-October.
90