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CICI – Call for Innovation with the Creative Industries
Published on 17 April 2020
Belgium
Prov. Vlaams-Brabant
This is the good practice's implementation level. It can be national, regional or local.
About this good practice
The Call for Innovation with the Creative Industries (CICI) was an open call set up by Flanders DC and IWT. In CICI companies and research organisations that wanted to collaborate the creative industries* on co-creating an innovative product, service, artwork, performance or study could apply for a grant up to €50.000. This grant was to be used to pay the creative or creative company. Depending on the size and type of the applicant, the project could get between 50-100% funding. The applicants could be from all kinds of sectors (so not limited to ICT). Many selected projects did, however, have an ICT focus at its core. There were two calls for projects where a roadshow across various locations in the region introduced this new type of call to interested parties. In total €1.31 million euro was attributed to the selected projects. Each project was guided by a process facilitator who managed the collaboration between two or more partners coming from completely different worlds.
The reason to initiate CICI was the challenge Flanders DC and IWT faced to convince companies to collaborate with creative industries on innovation projects. Both believed such collaboration could be very beneficial to companies to create a key differentiator with competitors: the players of the creative industries are often leading in using new technology and creatives often do have the ability to come up with new, creative solutions or ideas.
The reason to initiate CICI was the challenge Flanders DC and IWT faced to convince companies to collaborate with creative industries on innovation projects. Both believed such collaboration could be very beneficial to companies to create a key differentiator with competitors: the players of the creative industries are often leading in using new technology and creatives often do have the ability to come up with new, creative solutions or ideas.
Resources needed
In total €1.46 million was spent: €1.31 million on grants and €150.000 on managing the process, communication & marketing to create an outreach for the best practice. There was approx. €927.000 of co-financing by the selected companies. In total 218 person-days were spent on the project.
Evidence of success
In total 32 projects were funded. All but two were finished and a big number has led to products/services being introduced in the market. A short introduction to the 32 projects can be found here: http://cici.flandersdc.be/?slide=0 (dutch only). From apps to tackle Bi-Polar condition to portable hologram players, to a sculpture that automatically transfers light beams into sound and music.
Potential for learning or transfer
Globally the challenge of convincing companies in traditional sectors or researchers and scientist to collaborate on innovation with artists, creatives or creative companies is big. They often do not see the direct return on investment or potential. For this one has to “forcibly” create best practices that can convince those companies or researchers. This is not limited to Flanders but applicable everywhere. With the incentive of the grant and the guidance by process facilitators, CICI was able to convince over 100 applicant companies/organisations to explore such collaboration. So the call on its own already created much more interest in the co-creation process. The selected 32 cases were later on used in communication on the cross-fertilisation potential. It gave “working together with the creative industries” a face. It showed the concrete possible Return on Creativity. CICI has the processes (communication, selection, follow up) all worked out. These processes are easily transfs.
Further information
Website
Good practice owner
You can contact the good practice owner below for more detailed information.
Organisation
Flanders District of Creativity vzw (Flanders DC)
Belgium
Prov. Vlaams-Brabant
Contact
Project and Outreach Manager