The challenge isn´t creativity but connectivity

Like a bird swarm in perfect sync, Europe’s creatives can enable open innovation to turn diversity into strength. Photo: iStockphoto

The creative and cultural industries (CCIs) are vibrant, innovative and central to a dynamic society. Yet despite their economic value and cultural importance, they often operate within systems that struggle to support their growth and integration into wider innovation ecosystems.

From design studios and architecture firms to fashion, digital creation, theatre and film, CCIs are rich in ideas and experimentation. However, they are frequently misunderstood especially when it comes to scalability and collaboration beyond their own sector.

“It’s a sector with a lot of small companies, and they’re used to being extremely creative,”
says Charlotte Lorentz Hjorth, Coordinator of ekip.
“But when it comes to scaling up, the structure around them isn’t built for it.”

Innovation in isolation

The challenge isn’t creativity – it’s connectivity.

Many creative entrepreneurs are highly educated in their craft and form companies with peers who share similar artistic values. Unlike tech startups, however, they rarely bring in commercial roles such as CFOs, marketers or product managers early on.

“You are so shaped by your own identity, deeply embedded in your business idea,”
says Charlotte Lorentz Hjorth.
“It’s your own creation. It should last all the way.”

This strong personal connection to creative work can make partnerships feel risky, especially when tools, frameworks or trusted intermediaries are missing.

The role of intermediaries

A major obstacle for CCIs is the lack of structural support. While tech startups benefit from incubators, accelerators and investors fluent in scaling, CCIs often navigate fragmented landscapes alone.

This is where intermediaries innovation hubs, cultural institutions, municipalities and universities become critical.

“It’s not always about joining an incubator,” says Charlotte Lorentz Hjorth.
“Sometimes what’s needed is a space where people from different fields can meet, collaborate and learn.”

Open innovation approaches help move the focus from individual company growth to partnership-driven innovation, creating shared frameworks for collaboration across sectors.

Scaling the swarm

CCIs don’t operate like traditional industries. They function more like swarms: decentralized, agile and project-based. Yet funding and policy structures are still designed to support single, scalable entities.

“We need to make the swarm logic visible,” urges Charlotte Lorentz Hjorth.
“If we keep supporting just the individual organization, we’ll never unlock the full potential of these micro-enterprises.”

The answer lies in distributed support systems that strengthen creative clusters networks of companies, universities and institutions that co-create value together. Examples already exist in places like Future by Lund in Sweden and Cike in Slovakia.

Toward a co-creative future

The future of CCIs depends on ecosystems that recognize and nurture collaboration rather than competition.

“What we see is an opportunity to use creatives’ own ways of working but within a new regulatory framework,”
says Charlotte Lorentz Hjorth.

By embracing swarm logic and flexible partnerships, innovation ecosystems can evolve into mobile, adaptive networks where each project fuels the next.

“The innovation ecosystem of the future will not consist of large, fixed colossi,”
she concludes.
“It will be flexible networks, constantly moving forward without borders.”

What needs to change?

To unlock the full potential of the CCI sector, several shifts are required:

• Intermediary infrastructure
  Support structured spaces for open innovation physical and organizational where creatives can experiment, collaborate and scale.
  
• Cross-sector partnerships
  Embed CCIs into partnerships with public institutions, universities and large companies, recognizing creative expertise as essential.
  
• Policy shift
  Move from “supporting” creatives to co-creating with them. Concepts such as Innovation by Production can guide this transition.
  
• Recognition of innovation
  Redefine innovation beyond patents and technology. Cultural, experiential and systemic innovations matter.
  
• Cultural change in institutions
  Governments and academia must loosen rigid structures and allow more room for experimentation.
  

FACTS