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Design has been already identified as an innovation driver for the creative businesses which has also been illustrated by a range of INTERREG IVC good practices. Cross-sectoral (with other creative industries beyond design), technological and scientific support potential is not yet sufficiently used by CCI companies. Policies should allow experiments and support programmes which can fail, and see that CCI innovation also involves risktaking. And how could INTERREG IVC contribute more intensively to innovation support policies for creative businesses? Regional and local creative industries policymakers expect added value from INTERREG IVC regarding the exchange on evidence-based policy in partnership with the European Design Innovation Initiative and wish to address the issue of smart specialisation with CCIs during INTERREG IVC events. In addition, the organisation of interregional design innovation camps for CCI companies could be a further tool to be explored within INTERREG IVC partnerships.
3.3.5 Creative Spaces With creative spaces, we address new working environments hosted by creative workers, as we have seen from co-working spaces. Co-working is a style of work that involves a shared working environment, often an office, and independent activity. Unlike in a typical office environment, the individuals co-working are not usually employed by the same organisation. Typically, it appeals to work-at-home professionals, independent contractors, freelancers or people who travel frequently and who end up working in relative isolation. These types of working situations are also typical for many creative entrepreneurs. We suggest that new place-based urban and regional policies include self-organised creative spaces with involved neighbouring citizens in order to ensure local participation as well as local value creation. Co-working also involves the bringing together of a group of people who are still working independently, but who share values, and who are interested in the synergy that can be brought from working with like-minded talented people in the same space. It addresses several issues related to regional and urban development – namely the use of space and the integration of (creative) entrepreneurship into local development. Furthermore, the concept might contribute to overcoming some development challenges like the use of empty premises as well as the restrictions in public budgets. Co-working spaces are mostly self-organised, so we can refer to these initiatives as ‘self-organised spaces’ (i.e. without public funding), that represent innovative virtual and physical spaces, where creative agents can benefit from new services while undertaking their creative practices. There is an impressive large and growing independent scene of creative spaces that make use of digital technology, open data, open innovation in combination with cultural spaces, new place-making processes and new business models, for example in the field of social entrepreneurship. Several INTERREG IVC projects in creative industries have identified practices aimed at creating cross-sectorial working spaces (for example ORGANZA and Creative Growth). Nevertheless, finding the best way for public policy designed to create growth and jobs through creative industries to support these bottom-up approaches remains a challenge. Policy models that focus on creating a favourable environment seem to be the most promising.
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