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New innovation policies will support ecosystems for the Creatives

Illustration head, brain

Lund University and partners have been awarded a grant of € 6 million from the European Commission to develop innovation policies for the cultural and creative industries. New innovation policies are needed to support ecosystems in the sector with better access to funding and incubators so that more ideas can be realised. The ekip project starts 1 June.

Complex innovation processes involve many actors and include experimentation, testing and exploration of ideas. With the support of an entire ecosystem of large and small companies, institutions, organisations, researchers, and citizens, it will be easier to test new concepts, attract investors and get new companies and businesses up and running more quickly.

“The challenge is that good support mechanisms for these networks and open ecosystems are lacking. The ekip project, European Cultural and Creative Industries Innovation Policy Platform, aims to this change this” says coordinator Charlotte Lorentz Hjorth, Lund University.

An engine for innovation policies

The 17 partners of ekip bring specific competences to the innovation policy platform. The process of formulating policies to develop innovation ecosystems for the creative industries is compared to an engine. More than 40 CCI network and organisations across Europe are engaged to start the policy engine by defining and giving the engine data about policy areas. The data is then analysed, prioritised, and further processed and brought to the Policy Lab. In the lab, new formulations are produced, iterated, and tested in partner cities ecosystems.

The plan is to run 15 such processes through the policy engine. To make sure that the policies are scaled and implemented, the final step is managed by an Observatory. A model called LIEPT (Lund Innovation Ecosystems Portfolio Tracking), will be implemented to follow the effect of the policies in ecosystems.

“The cultural and creative industries are very important both as creators of meaning and for the transformation that needs to take place across the world. There is a great need for new policies for innovation, and this important EU project will make good use of research and expertise in innovation at Lund University and our strategic investment in culture and creative industries", says Erik Renström, Vice-Chancellor of Lund University.

New policies key to green transformation

An example where ekip´s innovation policy engine can be used is to facilitate the new directive of digital product passports. As a part of the EU Green Deal, all products in the EU must be traceable and inform how they meet criteria for responsible and sustainable production. Here, the ekip policy engine could suggest how local innovation ecosystems can use policies to support the development of new textiles and clothing that have ID tags with information. This enables circular processes and recycling in new ways, supporting the green transformation in EU.

"With Lund University as the lead partner for ekip, we will become a key player in Europe's cultural and creative industries and be at the forefront of the development of ideas for innovation in the area. This strengthens our image as a cultural university", says Anna Lyrevik, advisor for Arts and Culture to the Vice-Chancellor.

 Partner organisations of ekip

Lund University (Sweden), Creative Business Network (Denmark), The Netherlands Institute for Sound & Vision (Netherlands), The University of Edinburgh (UK), Delft University of Technology (Netherlands), Creativity Lab (Estonia), MSCOMM (Greece), The Polytechnic University of Milan (Italy), Technopolis Consulting Group (Belgium), IDEA Consult (Belgium), Humak University of Applied Sciences (Finland), Icoolhunt (Italy), City of Rotterdam (Netherlands), Metropolitan Institute of Bratislava (Slovakia), Creative Industry Kosice (Slovakia), Cité du design-Higher School of Art and Design of Staint-Étienne (France), New Moment (Slovenia).

 

Contact

Charlotte Lorentz-Hjorth

charlotte [dot] lorentz_hjorth [at] fsi [dot] lu [dot] se (charlotte[dot]lorentz_hjorth[at]fsi[dot]lu[dot]se) +46 46 222 41 19

Anna Lyrevik
ann [dot] lyrevik [at] rektor [dot] lu [dot] se (ann[dot]lyrevik[at]rektor[dot]lu[dot]se), +46 46 222 70 29