Background to the project

The concept of Creative SpIN has a dynamic and expandable source of innovation to explore through its CCIs.  Almost 3% of the European GDP and 6% of employment is secured within this sector (KEA 2006).  These figures indicate there is much scope for development in this increasingly growing sector, whereby competitive advantages can often shape the success of organisations through their dedicated approach to partnership working.

Europe has a unique source of innovation to explore and it is widely anticipated that the innovative concept of Creative SpIN will become a mainstay of economic development, encouraging entrepreneurship and promoting success.  Shared interests between parties and key allies can also support wider government aims of partnership working through the involvement of integration whereby the sharing of expertise and business acumen can assist the Creative SpIN concept.

The Creative SpIN project seeks to address the urban challenges in and around eleven large European cities that have developed shared interests and retain a vision to celebrate the concept of "knowledge".  Recent strides taken in partnership working have enabled many European cities to establish that the strengthening of knowledge and expertise is now of paramount importance to the lifeblood of our economies.

Within Creative SpIN, core themes such as cultural investment, sustainability, governance and stakeholder involvement will be examined in great detail, which will not only delve into specifics of the forthcoming project, but also contribute to the wider objectives of society.

The role of cities involved is to act as a catalyst in the delivery of innovation and inspire a "testbed" culture, whereby the confidence of stabilising the economies can be worked towards.  A sustainable and integrated model of socio economic development will inspire partners to combine aspects between socio economic sectors and cross industrial relations.

The project will look into ways of establishing the best environment to stimulate spillovers.  The three main strands of Creative SpIN are:

Finance - whilst CCIs have enormous growth potential, they often experience difficulties in accessing finance.  By improving cross-sector interactions and understanding between investors and CCIs, access to finance opportunites will improve.

Higher Education - universities are a great source of creative talent and have the potential to be a primary source of highly skilled employees.  By forging greater links with the business world, enhancing entrepreneurs capacity building and fostering cross-sector collaborations, universities will play an important role in linking the academic and business worlds.

Creative Agents - Creative SpIN partners will broker interactions and facilitate the exchange of needs and experiences between businesses, creative people and educational institutions.  The project will also explore how specialised mediators can build bridges between people with very different mindsets, and identify effective ways to stimulate cross-border collaboration and facilitate clustering/networking between different sectors.

As the former industrial heartland of England, Birmingham has undergone a renaissance, investing heavily in innovation, science and the creative sector.

It is exciting to be involved in a project which seeks to bring together new combinations in the economy, linking the growth of manufacturing and science within Birmingham's creative economy.

Birmingham will gain from the project, along its stakeholders and the Greater Birmingham & Solihull Local Enterprise Partnership.

Small to Medium enterprises (SMEs) will also benefit from the opportunities which arise from connecting CCIs with other sectors to promote cross innovations, thereby contributing to the knowledge based economy.