Welcome to the new innovation policy platform for the cultural and creative industries in Europe

Redesigning how Europe starts innovation, with creatives at the core.

ekip is a collaborative platform designed to strengthen innovation capacity in ecosystems across Europe and better connect the Cultural and Creative Industries with policy experimentation and open innovation.

ekip is a collaborative platform designed to strengthen innovation capacity in ecosystems across Europe and better connect the Cultural and Creative Industries with policy experimentation and open innovation.

Highlights

Discovering what's in focus across Europe's cultural and creative innovation landscape

The challenge is that good support mechanisms for these networks and open ecosystems are lacking. The ekip project, European Cultural and Creative Industries Innovation Policy Platform, aims to change this.

CHARLOTTE LORENTZ HJORTH,
LUND UNIVERSITY

CHARLOTTE LORENTZ HJORTH, LUND UNIVERSITY

City Cases

Prototyping innovation policies with (and within) European cities

EVERY CITY WE WORK WITH, FROM TAMPERE TO THESSALONIKI, CONTRIBUTES WITH A UNIQUE PERSPECTIVE TO HOW INNOVATION POLICY CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE FOR THE CULTURAL AND CREATIVE INDUSTRIES ACROSS EUROPE.

BIRGITTA PERSSON
PROJECT MANAGER,
FUTURE BY LUND

Birgitta Persson

THE EKIP PROJECT HELPS TURN IDEAS INTO INNOVATION POLICY THAT ACTUALLY WORKS.

MARTJIN VAN DER MARK
INNOVATION LEAD,
CITY OF ROTTERDAM

MARTJIN VAN DER MARK

News & Updates

Exploring the latest insights, activities and developments from the ekip network

July 2, 2026

ARTICLE

Building innovation ecosystems – the case for intermediaries

Recent EU policy debates—captured in the Letta and Draghi reports—have sharpened a familiar concern: Europe needs to better orchestrate its innovation resources. The ambition is clear. ...

July 2, 2026

ARTICLE

Creatives Are in Europe’s Strategies. Now Comes the Hard Part.

Cultural and creative industries are finally visible in national strategies across Europe....

July 2, 2026

ARTICLE

Europe’s Creative Innovation Gap: Why Cities Are Turning to ekip

From Stockholm to southern Italy, a growing number of cities are seeking answers to the same question: how do you actually build innovation systems for the Cultural and Creative Industries?...

June 11, 2026

ARTICLE

ekip amplifies Creative Industries in Namibia–EU partnership talks

The Namibia–EU Business Forum 2026, held from 11–13 May in Windhoek, marked a significant step forward in strengthening economic cooperation between Namibia and the European Union. ...

June 1, 2026

ARTICLE

Innovation reshapes cultural and creative industries, opening new funding and business models

Cultural and innovation policy are increasingly interconnected in shaping the future of creative industries....

May 20, 2026

ARTICLE

Where Art Meets Algorithms: New Frontiers in Deep Tech and the Creative Industries

As Europe accelerates its push into deep tech, Finland is emerging as a driving force in connecting it with the Cultural and Creative Industries. ...

May 20, 2026

ARTICLE

ekip: a project that became a journey

From early ideas to European influence, Rickard Bucksch, ekip’s former Policy Officer at the European Commission’s DG Research and Innovation, reflects on a journey shaped by collaboration, experiment...

April 16, 2026

ARTICLE

From Fabric to Future: How DPP is Transforming European Fashion

The transition toward a circular and sustainable fashion industry is gaining momentum across Europe, driven by both environmental urgency and evolving policy frameworks. ...

Events

Featuring upcoming events across the creative and cultural innovation ecosystem

JOIN THE ekip COMMUNITY – CONNECT, COLLABORATE, AND SHAPE POLICY TOGETHER

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