Creativity Can Act as a Driving Force for Economic Development - Interview with INTELI's President

Within URBACT Creative Clusters we used to define INTELI (the only non-city partner in the network) as a think tank. Is it correct? Why the interest of INTELI in creative industries?
Yes, we define INTELI as a think tank or a policy research institution. Our mission is "contributing to a creative and innovative society, aimed at sustainable economic and social development".

The main aims of INTELI are the generation of innovative ideas and creative solutions to governance problems, the development of strategic information systems on industries and territories, and the production of recommendations to support political and social decision-making processes. We act as a bridge between government, science and society.

One of our strategic activities is linked to territorial innovation where we develop projects in the areas of culture and creativity. This interest of INTELI in the creative sector derives from its importance for economic and social development, urban regeneration and citizenship and community involvement in arts, economy and society.


You are rather well informed about the most outstanding projects promoting creative hubs in big European cities from Dublin to Helsinki, from Barcelona to Vienna. Do you see any advantage when trying these creative-based strategies from small and medium-sized towns?

In fact, we have been developing a knowledge system with case studies of creative hubs around the world. This activity started in 2004 within an INTERREG III C project called 'Intelligent Cities' where our team had the opportunity to visit several creative spaces and to interview regional and local stakeholders on site, such as 22@bcn in Barcelona (Spain), Arabianranta (Finland), The Digital Hub (Dublin), One-North (Singapore), Multimedia Knowledge Corridor (Malaysia). This data base has been enhanced through our participation in other European and local initiatives and our involvement in European and national networks related to culture, creativity and innovation.

This policy research and intelligence activity is part of our daily work, and it is very important for the development of joint projects with cities and regions at the national level.

However, our objective is not to promote policy transfer and emulation of creative development models for small and medium-sized cities in Portugal and Europe. The serial replication of this phenomenon can be avoided if creative strategies are strongly based on historic precedents, in the symbolic value of place and space and cultural heritage.


INTELI has been in charge of the URBACT Creative Clusters' contribution to the Green Paper of creative industries delivered this year to DG Education and Culture. What has been the perspective of URBACT Creative Clusters in such reaction?

The main message behind our contribution was that creativity can act as a driving force for economic development not only of large cities but also of small and medium-sized towns and even rural areas.

In fact, small communities have an important role to play in the European territorial structure, contributing to the development of a polycentric and balanced system and the strengthening of the partnership between urban and rural areas. These territorial areas are no longer synonymous with agriculture and decline. They can be competitive through the valorization of endogenous assets, the exploitation of unused resources and the in-migration of creative people who look for quality of life and quality of place. Their entrepreneurial spirit can be directed towards the creation of new companies or civic associations in areas such as arts, music, design, software, etc., enhancing the development of small creative ecosystems.

Thus, European creative-based policies and financing instruments should be adapted to the reality of small and medium-sized territorial areas, and not a "one size fits all" approach. Public policies and instruments oriented to the development of these communities cannot be identified merely with sectoral policies such as agricultural or territorial cohesion policies. These small and medium-sized towns must also be the target of R&D, innovation, culture, and environmental policies in order to induce the development of creative and sustainable communities where people can live, work, learn and play.

Due to the importance of territorial cooperation, we have also proposed the creation of a European Creative and Sustainable Small Communities Network with the aim of sharing experiences and best practices, developing joint projects and promoting the mobility of creative people between cities and regions. This could be a good approach to perpetuate the activity of the URBACT Creative Clusters' network.

Due to your nature as a non-city partner, your Local Action Plan on creative industries has been re-named as a Technical Action Plan. Could you please give us a brief description on its content?

Our URBACT Creative Clusters network has a specific characteristic: we are developing activities at local and network level, but we would also like to contribute to the wider discussion on creativity-based policies and strategies at European level.

As a result, INTELI is producing a Technical Action Plan called "Creative-based Strategies for Small and Medium-sized Cities" which intends to give voice to these territories in the European Union. It will include some theoretical insights on the importance of creativity and innovation for the development of small and medium-cities (particularly the ones integrated in intermediate regions) and a series of case studies of successful creative small communities in Europe, Australia, Canada and USA. Finally, we will propose some recommendations and policy measures in areas such as: supporting infrastructures (incubators, experimentation spaces, etc.), financing of creative companies, cluster and regional development, education and skills.

INTELI and also URBACT Creative Clusters are members of the so-called "European Interest Group on Creativity and Innovation". What can we expect from this group?

The EICI – European Interest Group on Creativity and Innovation aims to develop itself as the leading European network to promote and defend regional and local interests in European creative industries and innovation policy. It intends to actively influence EU strategies and funding on behalf of its members and thereby contributes to more creativity, competitiveness, social cohesion, sustainability and innovation in European regions and cities. The activities of the group are mainly associated to policy advocacy; EU project development; and communication, networks and collaboration.

The initiative became an official network in May 2010 and INTELI is a founding member of the association. In our opinion it can be more than just another network. EICI can become the European Think Tank on Creativity and Innovation.

Our specific interest is to intensify our intervention at the European level and to enhance the international visibility of our projects and partners. It is also an opportunity to exchange ideas, to develop joint projects with the other members and to promote our policy intelligence and advocacy activities.

This is not the only transnational project on creative industries for INTELI. In your view, what is the distinctive feature of URBACT II as framework?

INTELI is involved in some transnational activities on creativity and innovation, such as the INTERREG IV C projects CITIES – "Creative Industries in Traditional Intercultural Spaces" and CeRamICa – "Ceramics and Crafts Industries’ Increased Cooperation".

The distinctive feature of URBACT II is its methodological framework. The development of Local Action Plans with the involvement of local stakeholders (the so-called Local Support Groups) and the Managing Authorities of Operational Programmes by each city partner is a very challenging process.

The participation of INTELI in these networks is very important not only for knowledge development and exchange of best practices but also to integrate these experiences in regional and local projects in Portugal.


Read more:

• Creative Clusters - URBACT website
• Jyväskylä, The Human Technology City - Interview with Mayor Markku Andersson - URBACT website