‘Creative spill-over: benefits arising from the activities of Culture and Creative Industries (CCIs), including artists and creative professionals, which determine positive effects on other sectors of the economy or society.’
The Smart Guide to Creative Spill-overs, KEA European Affairs
As the leading city, Birmingham hosted the Creative SpIN final event on 21-22 April 2015. The two days of the event were organised in the Council House and in the Impact Hub.
The meetings were set up to showcase the outcomes of the three-year project. Participants from Birmingham institutions and the partner cities were present to share their experiences ideas and highlighted good practice examples on the topic of creative spill over. Participants were also reminded about the deadline for applications for the last URBACT funding call. The meeting was also the occasion to launch the Creative SpIN Smart Guide, by Philippe Kern from KEA European Affairs, as a help to implement policy measures to trigger Creative Spill-over.
Creative SpIN final event, Birmingham
What is Creative SpIN?
Creative SpIN is a three-year European project which is part of the URBACT funding programme. The project has been developed to trigger innovation through culture and creative industry in cities around Europe.
The objective of Creative SpIN is the creation of a strong link between creative talents and local businesses, which is seen as essential resources for innovation. Therefore this is an opportunity for European economies to encourage cross innovation for economic and social modernisation. The project seeks to address urban challenges taking into account the values of cultural investment, sustainability, governance and stakeholder involvement.
The benefits of interacting with creative industries represent a competitive advantage, and spill-overs, by:
- Developing new products and services through new ideas or designs,
- Managing efficiently human resources through creativity within organisations,
- Improving organisational processes through creative production and delivery methods,
- Supporting branding and communication strategies through a distinctive creative identity.
Examples of creative centres around Europe
Kortrijk is located in a manufacturing region of Belgium, and wanted to connect the manufacture tradition to creativity and innovation. The city used the opportunity offered by Creative SpIN to create the Budafabriek right in the city centre. An old textile factory has been converted into a creative and flexible building to link designers, students, artists, businessmen… The ground floor is dedicated to meetings, conferences or exhibitions, and the upper floors can be rented for a couple of weeks as a theatre or cinema for example.
The city of Rotterdam, Netherland, has focused its work on the research about the spill-over impacts on cities and their business activities through the ‘plans, probes and pop ups’ model, explained very well on the website. To sum up, creativity is a tool to create buzz, attract new people, and bring money.
All projects, city partners and publications can also be found on the Creative SpIN website.
