ekip Events

Putting the outcome of ekip into motion Pre-event briefing material developed by ekip.

Europe has written the Creatives into its strategies. It has not yet written them into its systems.

For more than three years, ekip has worked for a reset of innovation ecosystems — one where the Creatives are integrated with their key skills to transform other sectors and industries through co-creation and Open Innovation. That work is now done. The question is what happens next.

On 23 October in Eindhoven, ekip brings its findings to the people who have to carry them: creative professionals, design communities, policymakers, CCI platform leaders, and academics.

This is not a results presentation. It is a working morning about how an innovation policy platform creates value and competitiveness for Europe — and who moves it from recommendation to practice.

The day is organised together with Dutch Design Foundation at Dutch Design Week.

AGENDA

09:00 – Coffee and registration

09:30 – Welcome by ekip

09:40 – Keynote

10:00 – Panel #1

10:45 – Panel #2

11:30 – Panel #3

12:30 – Networking lunch

16:00–19:30 – CreativeNL Live, drinks and standing food

DETAILED PROGRAM

Keynote “How do the Cultural and Creative Industries come into play contributing to the competitiveness of Europe?”

Panel #1 – From manifests to action EU Presidencies have made ambitious CCI manifests. How do we move beyond them, and from national strategies into delivery?

Strategies have been adopted across Europe. Implementation is where they stall.

Key questions:

• What have the Presidency manifests actually committed to, and what has followed?
• Where do national CCI strategies break down between adoption and delivery?
• Who owns implementation when a strategy crosses ministries?
• What makes a CCI strategy measurable rather than declarative?

Background: ekip’s mapping of CCI strategies across Europe

Panel #2 – Universities as ecosystem builders 4th Generation Universities aim to develop the innovation ecosystems around them. Can that work drive ekip’s Building Blocks recommendations into practice?

Ecosystems need infrastructure, not intentions. Universities are among the few actors positioned to host it.

Key questions:

• What makes a university a 4th Generation actor in its own ecosystem?
• Which of the ekip Building Blocks can universities realistically carry, and which cannot sit with them?
• What has to change in how universities work with creative professionals outside academia?
• Which incentives currently prevent this from happening?

Background: ekip’s Building Blocks recommendations — coming soon

Panel #3 – The roles that don’t exist yet New jobs shaping the future of the CCIs are emerging. How do we match these insights to the communities taking on the roles?

The work is already being done. The job titles, funding lines, and qualifications have not caught up.

Key questions:

• Which roles are emerging, and who is already filling them in practice?
• How do we recognise competences that map onto no existing job family?
• What do the new personas mean for education, funding, and procurement?
• How do CCI communities step into orchestration roles rather than delivery roles?

Background: the 10 new personas and CCI roles from ekip’s trend reports 

THE RECOMMENDATIONS ON THE TABLE

Representatives from key organisations are invited to discuss European innovation policy with the Creatives in focus, and how policy drives action in ecosystems. ekip’s strategic recommendations:

• Integrate and embed the CCIs structurally across the upcoming EU programmes, horizontally and vertically.
• Break down policy silos and enhance cross-policy approaches.
• Redesign innovation ecosystems around Open Innovation, built for how CCIs actually work.
• Shift to funding models that integrate creativity and innovation — portfolio-based financing and investment, with intermediaries as orchestrators.
• Build a long-term European foresight engine to keep CCI innovation policy ahead of the curve.

WHY THIS DAY MATTERS

Three years of work end in one of two places: a report, or a system that behaves differently. This is the day we decide which.

Europe’s competitiveness will not be determined by how much innovation it funds, but by how well its systems let that innovation take hold.

More information on the keynote speaker and panellists is coming soon.

Registration deadline: 16 October. Register here, or at the bottom of the page.

The ekip partners look forward to meeting you in Eindhoven on 23 October.

The Swarm logic, a core concept of ekip: https://ekipengine.eu/europe-has-the-talent-what-it-lacks-is-smart-activation/

Open Innovation 3.0, a core concept of ekip: https://knowledge-bank.ekipengine.eu/resource/open-innovation-3-0-empowering-europe-through-cultural-and-creative-industries/

Strategic recommendations by ekip: https://ekipengine.eu/what-should-europe-do-next/

About Dutch Design Week

Dutch Design Week (DDW) is about the design of the future and the future of design. Over nine days, Eindhoven fills with creativity and ideas, across more than 120 locations — exhibitions, lectures, award ceremonies, debates, and gatherings. DDW showcases the work of over 2,500 designers and draws more than 300,000 visitors from around the world.

DDW is committed to developing and exchanging expertise and talent, and explicitly invites different perspectives. As the design profession turns increasingly to social and other relevant issues, five missions frame what society needs and what drives designers: Thriving Planet / Living Environment / Digital Futures / Health & Wellbeing / Equal Society.

Dutch Design Foundation (DDF) connects designers and clients, accelerates research and creation, and provides an international platform through Dutch Design Week — while inspiring businesses, governments, and organisations to use design as a driver of innovation and societal transition.

www.ddw.nl

www.dutchdesignfoundation.com

About the ekip innovation policy platform

ekip is a Horizon Europe funded flagship project designed to boost innovation capacity in ecosystems by including the Cultural and Creative Industries — the missing piece. Creatives are not “nice to have.” Their competences are essential for driving progress on the green and digital transformation and social inclusion, and for handling complex innovation processes with diverse stakeholders.

Rooted in Open Innovation, ekip brings broad stakeholder groups together to co-create evidence-based policy recommendations, shaping ecosystems where collaborative, cross-sector, and open innovation are standard practice. ekip is run by a European consortium of 5 universities, 4 cultural and innovation consultancy firms, 4 cultural and creative organisations, 4 cities, and over 50 CCI network organisations.