Profiles of the month: Carlo Vuijlsteke and Isabelle De Voldere

Carlo Vuijlsteke and Isabelle De Voldere, ekip partners

Long-term expertise at the intersection of culture, policy, and innovation

Carlo Vuijlsteke and Isabelle De Voldere are senior policy advisors at IDEA Consult, each with more than twenty years of professional experience supporting the sustainable development of cultural and creative sectors.

Both play a central role in the policy formulation work of the ekip engine and are, together with other partners, responsible for delivering 13 Policy Labs throughout the project.

Carlo Vuijlsteke – Entrepreneurship, innovation, and creative ecosystems

Throughout his professional career, Carlo Vuijlsteke has developed deep expertise at the intersection of culture and creative industries with economy, entrepreneurship, and innovation.

“I have been involved in numerous projects supporting entrepreneurship in the creative industries and guiding creative entrepreneurs and businesses in their growth strategies while working at Flanders DC,” he explains.

Between 2013 and 2022, he also coordinated the international Districts of Creativity Network, bringing together 13 innovative regions worldwide to exchange good practices on stimulating creativity, innovation, and entrepreneurship, with a strong focus on crossovers with creative industries.

As a policy expert at IDEA Consult, Carlo has built extensive experience in policy support research, policy evaluation, and strategy development for clients including the European Commission, the Flemish and federal governments, and organisations across the cultural and creative sectors.

Isabelle De Voldere – Socio-economic analysis and policy development

Isabelle De Voldere began her career as a researcher at the Faculty of Economics and Applied Economics of KU Leuven and later at Vlerick Business School, focusing on sectoral and regional competitiveness, innovation, and entrepreneurship.

“This was the first time I started researching cultural and creative sectors, through mapping studies and economic analyses of creative value chains,” she explains.

Since joining IDEA Consult in 2008, she has further specialised in applied research and advisory work in cultural policy, innovation policy, and entrepreneurship policy. Over the past 15 years, she has developed a strong focus on the socio-economic position of professional cultural and creative actors, creative ecosystems, and the broader role of CCIs in society.

She has coordinated numerous projects commissioned by regional, national, and European authorities, covering topics such as finance, entrepreneurship, digitalisation, and cross-sectoral collaboration for innovation.

Policy Labs as a tool for systemic change

Within ekip, Carlo Vuijlsteke and Isabelle De Voldere focus on translating research and stakeholder insights into concrete policy recommendations through the Policy Labs.

“In the policy labs, we address specific policy challenges and develop recommendations that can better foster the potential of CCIs as innovation actors in open innovation ecosystems,” Carlo Vuijlsteke explains.

These recommendations are not only aimed at research and innovation policymakers, but also at policymakers shaping ecosystems at regional, national, and European levels.

Bridging policy gaps for CCIs

Despite growing policy attention on the role of CCIs in innovation ecosystems and societal transitions such as digital, green, and inclusive transformation significant gaps remain.

“Look, for example, at the growing body of research on arts and culture in health,” Isabelle De Voldere notes. “However, CCIs are still not fully recognised or integrated as innovation actors in research and innovation policies and funding instruments.”

Access to research infrastructures remains a major barrier for CCIs, limiting their ability to test and pilot innovations.

“Throughout the policy labs, we explore these barriers by examining areas where an open innovation approach that includes cultural and creative sectors is both necessary and desirable,” she concludes.