appendix about departure
(e) For departure, funding the right project at the right time is one of its major goals. When departure was founded in late 2003 it was Austria’s first independent business development and service center for entrepreneurs of the creative industries. Today it is a successful example for innovation funding in Europe. In its function as business promoter departure is a subsidiary of the Vienna Business Agency and part of the economic affairs department of the City of Vienna. By establishing departure the City of Vienna has realized in time what an enormous potential the city’s creative companies possess, and that they are not only an important lifestyle element, but a significant economic factor.
departure expertpool Entrepreneurial experience and know-how in the field of the creative industries are made available for the companies funded by departure. For this purpose the departure expert pool has been established in Austria. The funding programs departure pioneer and departure experts support the utilization of consulting services. Under the motto “to learn from the best” targeted entrepreneurial knowledge transfer is a central issue of both programs. departure thus provides “smart money”: financial support combined with specific success-oriented assistance. Experts from the fields of economy, law, marketing, public relations, advertising etc. were admitted to the pool. Experienced, successful personalities from the fields of fashion, music, audio-vision, multimedia, design, literature, media, publishing, art market and architecture act as mentors and are an essential part of the departure expertpool. On the website expertenpool.departure.at around 90 experts are available, who can be retrieved online by branches of industry or specialization, or found by full text search.
Tailor-made funding: the four departure programs departure’s activities center on the integration of cultural output into the Viennese and Austrian economy by increasing the number of sustainable business set-ups in the field of the creative
industries and by enabling growth and expansion for SMEs through targeted funding measures. Four funding programs are available for companies of the creative industries: departure classic departure focus departure pioneer departure experts All four programs are based on the De-minimis-ordinance of the European Union limiting the funding a company is entitled to receive over a period of three years to a maximum of 200,000 euros.
departure experts departure experts was initiated for existing companies and aims at supporting the growth of micro and small enterprises by means of qualified expert/coach knowhow. departure experts provides assistance in the fields of classic company growth but also for opening up new markets or for the reorientation of the company. Maximum funding also amounts to 15,000 euros. The projects to be funded are selected by departure together with external experts. The legal bases, guidelines, deadlines and submission details can be found at www.departure.at
departure classic and departure focus departure classic and departure focus are classic project funding programs addressing established entrepreneurs or founders of enterprises. Funds are awarded on the basis of evaluations performed by a jury of experts. Criteria for the decisions of the jury are the degree of innovation and the novelty of the project, the artistically creative content, the economic sustainability and adequacy of project planning as well as synergies for participating companies and for the business location Vienna. Maximum funding amounts to 200,000 euros. Projects for departure classic may be submitted all year round, projects for departure focus can be submitted once a year. With topic specific calls such as “music to sell”, “dSign Up!”, “re:Design” Lifestyle Advertising“ and „focus: Architecture“ departure responds to up-to-date requirements and supports current trends in the creative industries.
departure pioneer The target group of departure pioneer are young talents with a creative idea as a basis for their enterprise. In this case maximum funding of 15,000 euros is available. The projects to be funded are selected by departure supported by external experts. At least 30 percent of the funding have to be used for expert knowhow in connection with the business set-up. departure poineer aims at increasing the number of sustainable company set-ups in the field of the creative industries in Vienna.
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