Creadis3: developing culture and creative industries

How can we implement Culture and Creative Industries (CCIs) in public policies in accordance with territorial development? How can we integrate cultural policy into strategies for economic development? What can be done to ensure that the CCIs increasingly contribute to territorial development? The European project Creadis3-Smart Creative Districts aims to foster a positive and attractive ecosystem for the development of CCIs, both in the Basque Country and five other regions in Europe (Slovakia, Central Finland, Emilia-Romagna, Wallonia and Western Greece).

How can we implement Culture and Creative Industries (CCIs) in public policies in accordance with territorial development? How can we integrate cultural policy into strategies for economic development? What can be done to ensure that the CCIs increasingly contribute to territorial development? The European project Creadis3-Smart Creative Districts aims to foster a positive and attractive ecosystem for the development of CCIs, both in the Basque Country and five other regions in Europe (Slovakia, Central Finland, Emilia-Romagna, Wallonia and Western Greece).

The Basque regional minister for Culture and Language Policy, Bingen Zupiria, presented the project yesterday at a meeting at the Historic Archive of the Basque Country, together with Joxean Muñoz, vice-minister for Cultural Development, and Miren Arzalluz, director of the Etxepare Basque Institute. Led by the Basque Government, the project will raise the profile of the Basque Country – a region that is gaining importance in the sector – within the European economic framework, and cultural policies in the Basque Country will be benefitted. The Etxepare Basque Institute will coordinate the regions taking part in the project.

The Creadis3 project will be implemented from2017-2021 and will have a budget of 1.46 million euros. 85% will be funded by Interreg Europe (European Regional Development Fund) and the Basque Country will be allocated 475,279 euros.

The initiative has two objectives: to coordinate the public policy agenda of the territory and assist in the creation of more efficient policies to drive innovation and economic development in the regions of Europe. In short, the aim of this project is to improve institutional governance and strengthen the contribution of CCIs to territorial development.

There are also a number of secondary objectives:

• Promote the administrative collaboration at different levels to facilitate synergies between the different authorities in charge of CCIs.
• Structure better cultural and economic policies to achieve effective innovation policy for CCIs.
• Support international territorial attractiveness to increase investment in the creative potential of each territory and retain entrepreneurs.
• Enhance collaboration within the local ecosystem of centers, laboratories, clusters, incubators, universities, science parks, etc.
• Improve growth between cultural and technological sectors.
• Support the internationalization of SMES through the creation of capabilities and new business models in the field of research and innovation.

The project will be developed over two phases. Between 2017 and 2019, a diagnosis and plan of action for the participating territories will be carried out. Between 2019 and 2021 the plan of action will be launched followed by an evaluation of the results.

Project Background

The background of this project has much to do with the emergence in 2014 of the Regional Initiative for Culture and Creativity (RICC), an informal European network formed by 25 regional governments. This network made it possible to further cooperation between European institutions and stakeholders in innovation in the field of CCI.

After developing a variety of jobs and studying the weight of the CCIs, the RICC network came to the conclusion that there was a lack of strategic CCI agendas at the regional level. According to their findings, greater coordination was needed to create positive conditions and a favorable environment to develop the potential of the CCIs and strengthen their innovation.

The Basque Country has taken the initiative in implementing the recommendations of the Regional Initiative for the Culture and Creativity (RICC). The Department of Culture, in close collaboration with the Basque Delegation to the EU and the RICC network, requested European funds to develop the project.

Cultural and Creative Industries in the Basque Country

Beyond the traditional definition of culture, the CCI perspective encompasses a variety of cultural disciplines (design, fashion, gastronomy, video-games…) that are around us, mainly those positioned in the area of art and industry.

In the Basque Country, it is recognized that culture, creativity and CCIs are a source of economic growth with high potential for local and regional development. This sector comprises more than 14,000 companies, employs 71,000 people and contributes between 3% and 6% to GDP, according to a report published in 2014 for the Basque Government.

In the Basque Country, the cultural and creative industries (CCI) were incorporated into the Basque smart specialization strategy in October 2015. Within this strategy, culture and creativity have been identified as an opportunity. The Basque Country is well positioned to move forward in this field.