HORIZON-CL2-2027-01-HERITAGE-01 : Towards a consolidated culture and creativity driven European innovation ecosystem

Expected Outcome:

Projects should contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:

• The number and impact of CCI^[1]-driven innovations in Europe are increased thanks to a wide uptake of evidence-based measures stemming from EU-funded research. These results are followed up with appropriate assessments and Key Performance Indicators.
• Innovation driven by the cultural and creative industries continues to be boosted beyond project funding through a long-term economically sustainable ecosystem.
• A vision of European CCIs as an essential engine of sustainable innovation and competitiveness is broadly established, making CCIs a natural part of European, national, regional and local innovation efforts.

Scope:

The transition towards a consolidated culture- and creativity-driven European innovation ecosystem represents a strategic imperative for Europe’s future competitiveness and societal resilience. In an era where technological advancements alone no longer guarantee competitiveness, the CCIs emerge as essential drivers of transformative change and prosperity. It is necessary to unlock the innovative power of Europe’s cultural and creative industries both in themselves and as drivers of innovation in other economic sectors. CCIs shape new technologies and can contribute to user-driven innovation, open innovation, cross-sectoral innovation^[2] and to creative entrepreneurial ecosystems for regional development. CCIs are often the first to find productive uses for new technologies and establish meaningful connections between different technologies, thus paving the way for wider uptake that improves productivity and competitiveness in the wider economy. Europe’s CCIs can thus act as a crucial technology incubator, in addition to their wider societal contributions such as to cultural wealth, social cohesion and resilience.

Significant research and innovation efforts have been made to boost CCIs and strengthen them as engines of innovation. Notably, Horizon Europe’s Cluster 2 has launched more than 30 R&I projects with the collective objective to boost a culture and creativity driven European innovation ecosystem, establishing a collaborative platform for this purpose^[3]. Furthermore, the European Institute for Innovation and Technology has established a Knowledge and Innovation Community for the Cultural and Creative Sectors and Industries^[4], and a Large-Scale Partnership for the Cultural and Creative Industries Ecosystem has been set up under the EU Pact for Skills^[5] .

The challenge is to build on, consolidate and complement, as appropriate, the key results such as technologies, solutions, methods, networks and platforms developed by these R&I projects and initiatives as well as by other relevant actions, with the objective to achieve long-term impact in terms of thriving CCIs that proactively engage in innovation and achieve significant economic growth.

The project funded under this topic should build on and improve existing innovation ecosystems to make them effective for the CCIs. Difficulties to properly boost CCI-driven innovation need to be overcome, such as those linked to CCIs consisting mainly of small and micro enterprises with difficulties to fit into commonly applied innovation support models based on fast-growth startups, challenges in properly valuing the IPR of CCIs, inconsistencies between cultural and innovation policies, or issues linked to the particularities of CCI entrepreneurs. Solutions should go beyond common practice in innovation support and deploy for example portfolio approaches that make clusters of organisations investable entities. The project does not need to seek standardised approaches that work across the full diversity of the CCIs and of EU Member States and Associated Countries but should allow for taking local contexts into account. Nevertheless, the project should seek to establish common principles and active knowledge exchange across Europe.

To properly follow up the results of its work, the project should develop suitable Key Performance Indicators and assessment frameworks, including with a base line for the initial situation.

In order to achieve an enduring impact, the project should ensure long-term economically sustainable ecosystems. To be effective, it is important that the project, as appropriate, builds on previous work as well as complements and links to ongoing related initiatives. The long-term sustainable ecosystems should therefore, as appropriate, build on existing networks and/or platforms, and should involve the key stakeholders, covering most EU Member States and Associated Countries as well as a wide range of CCIs. Proposals should include an outline of the sustainable and adaptable economic model envisaged, but do not need to describe it in full detail.

In order to engage entities which are not part of the project consortium, such as important innovation support actors or CCIs, projects may award financial support to third parties. Such support can only be given in the form of grants.

The Commission estimates that a project duration of at least 5 years is appropriate, in order to be able to achieve the expected long-term impacts.