CCAlps: the project and its goals

CCALPS - CREATIVE COMPANIES IN ALPINE SPACE

LESSONS LEARNED AND TIPS FOR POLICY MAKERS

CCAlps is a European project that promotes the Creative and Cultural Industry, one of the most dynamic and stra-tegic sector for the European economic growth. Funded by the Alpine Space European Programme, it has the aim to develop the competitiveness and the attractiveness of the Alpine Space area, by strengthening the relations between urban and peripheral areas. Lombardy Region is the lead partner of the project that involves a network

of nine institutions from six European countries: Italy, France, Germany, Austria, Slovenia and Switzerland. Hereunder there is an outline of the forthcoming final Dossier summarizing the lessons learned and the sug-gestions for policy makers. The aim is to discuss the summary with the partners and the participants of the Final Conference on December, 1st.

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10 regional Creative Camps CCIs involved

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SUPPORT

AIM

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BJECTIVES

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LTS

NETWORK(ING) AWARENESS

Increasing the awareness of public institutions about the role of CCIs as strategic flywheel of economic development

1. Analysis of the CCIs needs

2. Creative Camps

1. Hubs network and CCAlps platform

2. Transnational events

1. Best practices

2. Local and transnational events

LESSONS LEARNED

TIPS FOR POLICY MAKERS

Creating a transnational net-work among regional hubs (incubators, service centers, fab-labs and co-working centers)

Testing a model of pilot action to select innovative ideas, promote CCIs and assisting the meeting between CCIs and investors, SMEs, universities etc.

SUPPORT1. The analysis of the needs of CCIs (SMEs, start-ups, freelancers)The analysis of the needs of CCIs, introductory to the suc-cessive phases of the project, were conducted by all part-ners primarily through qualitative tools. The results have

Skill-building vs funding: we found a significant difference between the needs of freelancers and those of early stage start-ups. In the first case are required actions and targeted support services (business models and bussiness plan, access to forms of financing, effective communication, marketing and distri-bution services, intellectual property protection and legal issues) and B2B meetings with companies and institu-tions, in the second one a wider access to finance.

Communication: by adopting an ad-hoc communication is possible to reach a broad panel of CCIs especially in contexts with a high concentration of companies; by avoiding bureaucratic lan-guage and using new channels (such as network of ac-celerators/incubators, social networks, web radios, digital media, communities) can alert and make aware a large number of enterprises and freelancers.

broad implications on both on the project and, more gener-ally, on other actions of the partners.The main requirements that have emerged are the following:

Targeted actions: mature enterprises, startups and young freelancers have different features in terms of capacity and vision. A clear

identification of these needs allows to exploit more effec-tive support tools: targeted calls for ideas and support services in line with the needs. The design phase of these tools is an important aspect.

Creating stable communication channels between CCIs and public institutions to monitor the needs, identifying the tools to support and evaluate the results of the poli-cies. Methods and tools must be diversified and devel-oped at regional and local level, simplifying the language and using new channels (such as network of accelera-tors/incubators, social networks, web radios, digital me-dia, communities).

Making easier the access to support services and reduc-ing the complexity of administrative procedures, particu-larly in the pre-seed phase, both in terms of language and of presentation of ideas (contests, pitch events etc.).

Strengthening the initiatives of cross-fertilization be-tween CCIs and traditional sectors, with targeted actions (B2B meetings, ad hoc calls, platforms).

LESSONS LEARNED

TIPS FOR POLICY MAKERS

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Skill-building;Networking between CCIs and with companies;Cutting red tape for accessing funding (support interventions “taylor made”);Recognition of the role of the CCIs;Support to innovative projects with funds and investments.

2. Creative Camp The Creative Camp, the pilot project CCAlps, is a system of activities designed to facilitate the development of inno-vative projects proposed by young creatives and CCIs. The methodology, tested in a first edition in 2013, has been per-fected by the partners in the second edition in 2014, which included the following interconnected step:

In the first edition of Creative Camps (2013) the following topics have been explored: multimedia and communication for tourism and cultural heritage, fashion, service design, green city, sustainable innovation for culture and tourism, production and transmedia storytelling, audiovisual for tourism, applications for mobile devices, “the book of the future.” The international edition of June, 2014 was based on a unique cross-sectoral theme: service innovation.

Scouting: each partner selected projects and start-ups respecting the criteria of transparency, starting from the needs and the specificities at local level (in terms of areas of innovation, number of projects, scope of activities);International mobility: a two-day international full time workshop was organized on Lake Constance with the aim of providing knowledge to young partici-pants mainly on the issues of copyright, the business model and the pitching;Networking between creative people and knowledge exchange were simplified by the coexistence of crea-tive people from all partner regions for two full day;Mentoring: after the workshop on Lake Constance each

partner supported projects with activities able to fill the gap between the idea and its feasibility in a specific market or territory (design thinking + business devel-opment);International events to present the best projects and networking. In June 2014 Cross Creativity startups have met investors, institutions and public stakehold-ers. The presentations of creative hubs and investors have confirmed some choices and provided new in-

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Scouting: ideas, skills and motivation of teams are an essential as-pect. TThe selection process should also include an in-terview aimed to bring out motivation and attitudes to project development. The centrality of these issues also emerged from the opinions of the investors.

Mentoring: support activities have focused on particular aspects of innovation in the cultural and creative sector, with three different instruments:

Supporting pre-seed phase:the Creative Camp allowed to verify the importance of public support in the pre seed phase, which is less cov-ered by private investors;

Using the model of Creative Camp as a reference for the design of the pre-seed phase, from scouting of ideas and teams, to implementation and test of the pre-commercial ideas for innovative products/services;

Strengthening and funding “creative mobility”: the international mobility is strategic for the develop-ment of innovative ideas, both in terms of institutional networking with European Union member countries. The exchange process should go on as part of the Creative Europe Programme and, at national and regional level, in the new phase of the Structural Funds Program 2014-2020.

riences and expertise regarding the development of the innovation process (related to a service or events). The relations between CCIs, SMEs, institutions and associa-tions showed a “fluid” dimension. The open question, even on the basis of other experiences, is whether and how to rearrange this phase in system.

Evaluation: the participants gave a positive evaluation to the Creative Camps.

Efficacy of the process: we are collecting data on the efficacy of the process in terms of starting-up and financing of the projects carried out within the pilot action; the connection between the two phases of pre-seed and start-up business, requires fur-ther study.

International mobility: the Creative Camp, in parallel with other experiences, highlighted the importance of international mobility in this sector.

Urban and rural areas: the impact of the Creative Camp was more relevant in the urban areas. The replicability of the model implies a reflection about the focused actions that can promote better synergy between creative people in urban areas and needs, actors and opportunities in rural areas. Topics such as agriculture, tourism and social and cultural in-novation are some of the areas to explore.

Timing: to maintain a high level of motivation in the development of an innovation path, activities must be concentrated in a limited and defined period of time.

Collaboration: the idea behind the Creative Camp was to select and sup-port collaborative projects. The collaboration emerged especially as exchange of knowledge, sharing of expe-

LESSONS LEARNED

skill building: with ad-hoc skills development paths;business Model Generation: the business model gen-eration is the most appropriate tool to support the de-velopment of a clear and sustainable value proposition;cross disciplinary mentoring: the mentoring activities have provided the intersection of two complementary skills, design thinking and design management with business development (marketing, finance and busi-ness plan).

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TIPS FOR POLICY MAKERS

NETWORK(ING)1. The network of hubs and the web platform www.ccalps.eu

2. Transnational events

One of the objectives of the CCAlps project was to iden-tify a virtuous model of transnational network of enti-ties (public or private) that offer services to support the growth of the cultural and creative sector. These subjects were identified with the term hubs defined as “physical or virtual places that offer business services to support their business and competitiveness. Hubs are: incubators, service centers, virtual platforms, development agencies, co-working centers, research centers, residences for art-ists, fablabs etc.

The role, function and operational model of this network (first local and then transnational) has been defined through a series of activities:

The transnational events have been another tool for the networking. They represented a moment of discussion on the topic of CCIs enterprises and an opportunity to share the CCAlps projects results and exchange good practices with the project partners and local stakeholders, beside of being a place of testing of the contest between the CCIs imple-mented as part of the Creative Camp.The international events were three, all held in Lombardy:

The result was the development of a working model based on the sharing of knowledge, experience and tools through the web platform CCAlps www.ccalps.eu. The platform has been implemented as a showcase and place for sharing and exchange, available to the hub and enterprises of the cultural and creative sector.

workshops and round tables that allowed CCAlps partners to map these subjects and to involve them in the design of the network model;a transnational workshop that involved the CCAlps partners in developing an appropriate business mod-el for the international network of hubs (in synergy with Incompass and Tavolo Milo projects).

It’s a start (2012):a first trial of the process of scouting and pitching for young start-uppers. It involved more than 200 international guests including many institutions.Culture, Creativity, Growth (2013): it brought together participants of the Creative Camp Lombardia who presented 24 innovative projects in the cultural and creative sector. It involved a panel of experts and investors to evaluate the projects and 300 guests between com-panies, institutions and stakeholders.Cross Creativity (2014): it saw the participation of the start-ups supported in the second edition of the Creative Camp, from all partner coun-tries. Cross Creativity has been an “Expo of start-ups”, based on a series of events dedicated to the cultural and crea-tive sector (pitching, presentations to investors and hubs, talks by experts) where creative people could meet and talk with investors. The event was attended by 300 creatives and about 1000 people.

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Hub:Incubators, co-working centers, accelerators represent a growing sector which is very attentive to CCIs and social in-novation. Several hubs already have an international organi-zation that can be strengthened within the Alpine Space.

Good availability to the exchange and sharing of informa-tion and experience, reduced availability of a structured collaboration;

Resources: hubs can be an important resource for the public institu-tions, as:

Transnational public events are important moments of networking and facilitate the construction of virtuous rela-tionships between institutions, hubs, and investors, while communication to citizenship should be further intensified.

Promote structured partnerships between hubs and pub-lic institutions, on the basis of specific granting procedure in order to strengthen/create a public-private network to support the Cultural and Creative sector (to foster scout-ing activities, transnational mobility and mentoring in the pre-seed phase).

Promote collaboration between the Alpine Space hubs to encourage exchanges, as well as the transnational mo-bility of CCIs and creative people.

Support international events both as showcases for the communication of results and ideas and as networking opportunity for creative workers, investors and public in-stitutions.

Including hubs and investors in programs and projects (at local and European level) as partner for medium-long term collaborative activities.

TIPS FOR POLICY MAKERS

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connection with CCIs and freelancers for the identifi-cation of needs (antennas on the territory);

points for collection and selection of ideas of ideas in the pre-seed phase; location of support paths, includ-ing international mobility;spaces for networking activities with investors (in view of further steps of the company development);actor that encourages the creation of a community of creative professionals that can operate through the exchange of expertise and services (incubators, in-novation centers, etc.);

LESSONS LEARNED

AWARENESSThe increased awareness of the role of CCIs as factors of innovation and economic growth for the whole Europe is another important goal of the project. This goal was constantly pursued during three years, starting from the definitions and taxonomy (CCIs, hubs etc.), through the sharing of the evaluation criteria of the projects, to the de-sign of international and local events that involved public and private stakeholders at different levels. These events highlighted the potential role of CCIs as flywheel for social and economic development.In some cases, CCAlps represented a real “laboratory of knowledge and experimentation” of the policies im-

plemented in this sector, following the publication of the Green Paper on CCis of the European Commission and the subsequent report to the European Parliament on cul-tural and creative sector.

The constant monitoring of good practices, at regional and national level, was part of this process, showing how the policies for the cultural and creative sector have spread and strengthened in all partner countries, with different intensities, but with recurring lines and tools, summa-rized below.

1. The best practices of the partners: a summaryPrograms and funding initiatives at the local scaleSupport for the pre-seed phase (concept, prototyping, production, distribution) in order to create value, support marketing and encourage private investment in the start-up phase;Contests to promote new contacts between young people and businesses, both on the demand side and the supply; Integrated programs of education and advanced train-ing, services, consulting and networking, fund-raising, experimental development of products, pilot projects and

Service providers and platforms

Networks/Clusters/Foundations for innovation to foster interaction and dialogue between interdisciplinary crea-tive sectors, other disciplines and traditional manufactur-ing industries;

Specialized clusters with the aim of creating synergies within a specific sector to stimulate innovation;

Public/private partnerships among local authorities, uni-versities and companies to promote both the technologi-cal transfer and innovative products targeted to the inter-

Specialized service centers

Organizations specialized to inform and stimulate busi-ness policies for the promotion and protection of intellec-tual property and patenting; in particular for SMEs (also through communities of practice).

Programs and initiatives for the internalizationInitiatives for the internationalization of CCIs on major foreign markets through participation in trade fairs and exhibitions, support in seeking business opportunities in foreign markets, training and consultancy on foreign trade;

Mobility programs of freelancers (unemployed) and CCIs at European level for the development of innovative prod-ucts, through incubators and training agencies.

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The awareness of the role of CCIs in partner countries is high and has grown in the three years of the project.The internationalization is a central element of the poli-cies in many partner countries.The good practices of the partners show that specialized programs and centers (related to a single sector) coexist

with programs and centers that aim at sharing and con-taminating different disciplines and sectors. The cross-fertilization between the creative industries and tradition-al sectors seems to be an essential element of public and private initiative.

Towards Europe 2020, continue the exchange of knowl-edge between the countries of the Alpine Space. The aim is to develop programs and intervention methods that strengthen the European dimension, through shared paths of internationalization and transnational mobility of creative workers and CCIs.

Not just start-ups: work for the development of innova-tive products/services through actions of cross-fertiliza-tion between the cultural and creative sector and tradi-tional sectors, including public administrations.

LESSONS LEARNED

TIPS FOR POLICY MAKERS

IDEAS MATTER…TEAMS EVEN MORE invest on ideas, motivation

and teams (pre-seed phase)

CREATIVE CAMP FOR EVERYONE

support training paths on creative camp model: not just bussiness

plan, but scouting + design thinking & mentoring + european mobility +

public events

AAA LOOKING FOR CREATIVE PEOPLE

promote a new public and private procurement addressed to young creative workers, freelancers and

ccis (cross-fertilisation)

UNITED WE STANDstrenghten the relationships between

policy makers, investors and incubators to create an eco-system

able to increase the opportunities for ccis (public-private networking)

LESS FORM, MORE PITCHING

simplify the processes and renovate the language: pitching to give space

to ideas and share good practices

SHOW THEM OFFimprove and promote transnational events as showcases for innovative projects, sharing and networking places

A TICKET FOR EUROPE enhance international mobility for the idea development within the alpine space

EUROPE FOR REAL collaborate to the creation of a european network of hubs and investors in the alpine space in connection with ccis and public institutions

CREATIVE PEOPLE BIG BANG: FROM THE CITY TO THE ALPS these suggestions are preliminary to the common objective of boosting the connection and the opportunities between rural areas and ccis located in urban areas

A NETWORK TO BE KEPT ALIVEuse and continuosly stimulate ccalps web platform as another important sharing and networking place

TEN TIPS FOR POLICY MAKERSFOR THE VALORIZATION OF CCIs IN THE ALPINE SPACE (AND BEYOND…)

CCALPS - CREATIVE COMPANIES IN ALPINE SPACE

To download research deliverables:

www.ccalps.eu

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