Creative Clusters: Typology and Support Schemes (Typology of creative clusters & International Pubic

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Creative Clusters: Typology and Support Schemes (Typology of creative clusters & International Pubic(-private) support schemes for development of creative spaces)

This document is prepared by Lidia Varbanova and Nikoloz Nadirashvili, international and national experts, respectively in the framework of the Project – “Designing a Creative Cluster Ecosystem in Georgia”. Its content reflects the opinion of contributing experts and can in no way be taken to reflect the views of the EU/UNESCO. 15 July, 2020

Table of Content I.

INTRODUCTION

II.

INTERNATIONAL PRACTICES IN DEVELOPING CREATIVE CLUSTERS: TYPOILGY AND SUPPORT SCHEMES 1. Creative clusters as catalysts for development of creative industries and creative cities 2. Key characteristics of creative clusters 3. Typology of creative clusters 4. Creative clusters in the digital realm 5. Examples of creative clusters 6. Business models and government support for development of creative clusters

III.

PRACTICES IN DEVELOPING CREATIVE CLUSTERS IN GEORGIA: TYPOILGY AND SUPPORT SCHEMES 1. Introduction 2. Examples of Creative Clusters 3. Mapping of Brownfields /Semi-furnished Infrastructure with Potential of Becoming a Creative Space 4. Support Schemes for Developing of Creative Clusters and Respective Legislation

IV.

RECOMMENDATIONS 1.

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V. VI.

Strategic and Policy Level Management and Operations Collaboration and Visibility Research and Education Financing and Support Success Factors

ACTION PLAN APPENDICES 1. Resources / Bibliography 2. List of Interviewees

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I.

INTRODUCTION

The global pandemic is changing the world in significantly high speed and in many dimensionseconomic, social, cultural, digital. Covid-19 certainly had a negative effect on all sectors requiring traveling and physical presence, including many arts and culture events and organisations, as well as sectors that are complementary to the CCI value chain, such as restaurants, hotels, transportation, tourism, etc. Despite, the global pandemic opened up new opportunities of living more among our communities, consuming more local products, reorganising our life to be more resilient, catalyzing both business and social innovations, using much more digital and online tools, including also for further increasing of cultural participation and democratising the arts. In the last few months we have received plenty of evidences worldwide that culture does contribute to the economic and social vitality of cities across the world.

The cultural and creative sector in many countries has already started the path to undertake changes and find medium measures and long-term strategies in support of culture, arts and creative industries, especially at city level. There is a strong need to find out and design new business models, new digital events, new formats of events, organisations and spaces in the cultural sector, new partnership alliances and collaborative forms of fundraising for creative ideas at local level.

Strengthening the connections with the local communities and cooperation with other sectors (environment, health care, social services, education, and others) is also of utmost importance for generation of new ways and vectors of work.

This global and local context in which we operate requires transformative actions in cultural policies at national and local level in order to create a favourable environment for the development of creative industries. CCIs are based on multidimensional pillars, amongst them is the development of creative cluster initiatives, which unite wider spectrum of creative practices converged with and are based on traditional and new business models. Understanding, mapping and applying effectively creative clusters’ forms is an important window of opportunity for Georgia that requires coordinated efforts.

This paper aims:  to identify the essence, key characteristics of “creative clusters” (CC) and offer a typology of their diverse forms of existence;  to map international practices and policies in establishing and developing CCs;  to analyse the state of conditions of CCs on the national level in Georgia: challenges and opportunities;  to provide recommendations and suggestions for further steps in order to raise awareness and assist legal framework needed for developing CC initiatives in Georgia.

The research for elaboration of this document was done during 3-months long period (AprilJune 2020). The methods of research for elaboration of this paper are:  Desk research of documents and publications. Relevant literature and online resources (national and international documents, such as: research and policy papers, support schemes, reports, official correspondence and webpages, etc.) was studied and analysed. The retrieved secondary data has been synthesized in order to deliver holistic and conceptual framework of the research subject in question.  Mapping and analysis of diverse cases from different countries.  Targeted in-depth interviews (online) with professionals and managers running CCs (written and verbal via online video-conference call) in Georgia and internationally. The stakeholders have been interviewed via in-depth email communication.

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II.

INTERNATIONAL PRACTICES IN DEVELOPING CREATIVE CLUSTERS: TYPOILGY AND SUPPORT SCHEMES

1. Creative Clusters as Catalysts for Developing Creative Industries and Creative Cities Culture is now recognised by many cities worldwide as a key resource for urban development and regeneration. The concept of a “Creative City”, evolving since late 1980s, is an important and inspiring trend in the local cultural planning for many cities worldwide. The focus of the creative city is on the creativity and talent of people at the local level as a potential to boost the economy, transform the image of the city, unlock the creative potential, combine resources in a creative way and attract international investments. Many cities worldwide undertake a mapping of their cultural resources (tangible and intangible one) for the purpose of involving them in the city cultural planning in an integrated way-in connection with city’s other development plans – infrastructure, tourism, health care, education, environment, etc. The importance of the “creative city” concept today, among other angles, is that it advocates for putting culture and creativity on the priority agenda in the urban planning and strategies.

“Creative City” is not only about boosting the economic development through creativity, but also, emphasizing on burning social issues at local level, such as: cultural diversity, social cohesion, creating livable conditions for the citizens, respecting human and cultural rights. Promoting creative solutions to urban social and economic challenges stays in the mission of UNESCO’s Creative City Network, created in 2004. Having over 240 members, this network works towards the common objective of “placing creativity and cultural industries at the heart of their development plans at the local level and cooperating actively at the international level.”1

Culture and Creative Industries (CCIs) are at the heart of developing of a Creative City as they connect four key fields: arts, culture, business and technology. Even if the specific model of CCI is unique for every city, one thing is in common: these industries are a significant factor for both social and economic development at local level. CCI branches play an important role for increasing productivity and competitiveness of a city on the global market, while at the same time enhancing cultural participation, strengthening social cohesion, collaboration and partnership at local level.

Creative cluster stays as a key concept in the theoretical resources and practices of developing of creative cities. Initially, “business cluster” as a concept was introduced by Michael Porter, emphasising on the geographical, sectoral or horizontal connections between companies that aim at increasing their joint potential to face a competitive environment 2. There is no common definition of what “creative cluster” stands for. The scope and characteristics of each cluster depend on the local context, which is usually very unique and specific for every city or region.

Most often, CCs are meant to have an emphasis on the geographical concentration of different organisations that combine in a compatible way their assets in order to seek and use local resources.

Diverse theoretical resources and research work defines CCs as:  communities of creative individuals who share common goals and resources, have a sense of belonging and are connected around creativity; 1 Source: https://en.unesco.org/creative-cities/home

2 Porter, Michael (1990). The Competitive Advantage of Nations. New York: Free Press.

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group of companies of similar or different type, with geographic proximity who establish relationships in order to spark an innovation in the sector of culture and creative industries;  part of a neighbourhood or a district in a city with a special creative spirit and infrastructure that motivates tourists and citizens to use creative places and spaces;  mutually dependent entities in CCIs and beyond who share communalities and competences to undertake a joined project that use local resources.

The term “cluster’ is used also as a virtual or online network that is connected via Internet or another digital mean.

Organisations that are included in a creative cluster can be different in their legal and governance structure-entrepreneurial startups, businesses, educational institutions, arts and cultural organisations, venues, service providers, financial institutions, research organisations, as well as individual artists, creatives and experts. In most of the cases these organisations are related to different phases of the value chain process-from production to dissemination and monetization of creative products and services.

From a policy and planning perspective, CCs are related to strategies of regenerating city’s district or neighbourhood that has been abandoned before. Transformation of abandoned factories into cultural and community centers by using diverse methods of public-private collaboration, is one of the ways to stimulate community collaboration and improve livability of a city.

2. Key Characteristics of Creative Clusters Creative clusters are proven cultural policy tool for transformation in many cities and regions of the world. They are an instrument for creative city development and implementation of culture-led regeneration strategies. As part of development of culture and creative industries, CCs are a way for creative businesses and companies to implement an effective strategy that is based on their competitiveness and market advantage. CCs operate in CCIs, although they all have a societal angle – the impact on the society and communities is an immense part of their activities and goals. It is important to also emphasise that CCs impact communities and local development. They offer public goods and services, shared spaces and resources.

Even if different in forms, locations and other parameters, the current research identifies that a creative cluster usually has several common characteristics:  Shared location, resources, facilities, assets. CC combines organisations and individuals on a mutual sharing principle.  Creativity and innovation. They stay in the focus of every CC and determine the programming policy and activities offered.  Complexity. Most CC are complex in their nature and programming. They also differ in terms of the level of complexity, which is usually rather high (see below).  Autonomy. CCs need to keep independence and autonomy in their programming and initiatives in order to work effectively. This is why many of them develop a mixed financial portfolio of external and internal sources, without being dependent on a single funding source.  Common mission and goals. Organisations, included in a CC, have common mission, goals and values that in most cases are related to both economic and social development.

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Regional proximity / locality. CC is regional, or local, existing in a specific geographic area.

Skilled creative labour. CC rely on creative individuals who are the key resource with their ongoing creativity, vivid interactions and collaborative pattern of behaviour. This is what makes CCs an integral and vital part of CCI sector in general.

Crossover innovation capacity and multidisciplinary angle. One of the key objectives for forming a CC is to sparkle innovation, both business and social one, especially innovations between sectors.

Social entrepreneurship. CCs are catalyst for startups in a city/region, especially the ones that have social aspects and not-for-profit goal, not only economic goals and commercial business models.

Synergy. CC brings together organisations and individuals who combine resources and competences in a way that leads to a higher end result than if working individually.

Creative clusters differ based on the following variables (see examples below):  Years of existence: As a relatively new phenomena, the “oldest” CCs exist for already 30 years, while others are very new and are set up recently. There are also CC that have been formed for only a few years, mainly based on external funding from government, corporations, foundations and individuals, and after completing the project, the CC has been dissolved. Some CC are very advanced and constantly develop during the years, diversifying their strategies, while others stay small and do not grow.  Initiator. CCs can be initiated by diverse organisations and individuals. In some cases a city council decides to form a creative clusters, considering economic and social policy objectives. In other cases, a group of creatives from one or different CCIs branches is the sparkle for formation of a CC. There are situations in which a CC is formed as a consortium between partners in order to attract specific external financing. A university, research organisation, IT company, cultural organisation of any type (non-profit, business or public) could also be an initiator of a CC, inspiring others to join. Some CCs are formed based on grassroots initiatives, coming from activists, or leaders of non-profit organisations whose mission is to connect arts with community, organise street festivals and other free public events.  Purpose. This variable is one of the broadest, because the mission and key objectives of the CCs are very different – individual support of cultural entrepreneurs, organisational capacity building, promotion of culture and creative industries on regional level, or other policy-related objectives.  Level: A CC can be formed at: o Organisational level (e.g. co-working spaces, shared premises, etc. o Level of neighbourhood or district (e.g. creative district). o City level (in cases where the whole city is branded as “creative city” based on many creative clusters.  Types of organisations. CCs are heterogeneous – they consists of different types of organisations – e.g. businesses, research organisations, educational entities, nonprofits, public organisations, etc. Organisational structures are also different-varying from very fluid and open, to quite agile and accepting only members who pay a fee.  Scope. Some CCs function in more than one branch of CCIs (heterogeneous), while others are specialized in one branch (homogeneous), e.g. textile cluster, film cluster, theatre cluster, etc.

Homogeneous clusters usually combine companies that have different positioning in the value chain-e.g. a production company, marketing company and a supply chain company. There are creative clusters that connect CCIs with other areas, such as business and innovation (e.g. creative incubators and accelerators).

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Involvement of new technologies. CCs can be a combination between culture, arts and digital technologies, or organising only around technological activities (tech clusters). Some tech clusters could be related to augmented or virtual reality and their implementation in the artistic fields.

Management and governance. CCs differ based on the way they are formed-some of them are informal structures (e.g. creative hubs, communities of artists and creatives), while others are formal structures and are part of the city policy strategic development (e.g. creative districts, mega-projects, creative suburbs). Some CCs are established legally as organisations in accordance to the country’s legislation (e.g. social businesses, non-profits, associations, or creative enterprises). The level of cooperation and partnership between members is different in these diverse settings.

Business models. CCs have diverse external funding and internal sources of revenues. Their incomes could be based on membership, paying fees for services, external financing, ongoing fundraising from different sources, and so on (see section 5 below).

Time: Some CCs are formed for temporary period of time in order to undertake a project, while others are long term strategic alliances between organisations involved.

3. Typology of Creative Clusters As mentioned above, creative clusters differ based on many variables, while at the same time having common characteristics. Figure 1 provides an overview of the types of CCs that are most common in the practice. They are separated in the figure for better understanding of the typology, although cultural and artistic practices show that their activities overlap - one CC could be part of another one. For example, creative hubs, incubators and accelerators could be part of creative suburbs and neighbourhoods. A cc in one branch of CCIs could also include an accelerator for creative ideas, or an arts collective could be a CC that covers two and more CCIs branches.

CC as Co-Working Spaces & Arts Collectives

CC between different branches of CCI

CCs as Communities of Artists and Creatives

Types of Creative Clusters

CCs as Incubators & Accelerators for Creative Businesses

CC in one branch of CCIs

Creative Neighborhoods & Creative Suburbs

Creative Zones & Districts

Creative Hubs

CCs as Mega Projects

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Fig 1: Types of creative districts

Creative neighbourhoods and suburbs Culture-led urban regeneration strategies in many post-industrial cities around the world have transformed abandoned places into cultural, artistic and social venues. These buildings - former military bases, old factories, flour-mils, old ships, local train stations, ruined industrial sites – have been isolated before from the rest of the city life and have generated a lot of economic and social problems. Creative neighbourhoods and suburbs are the result of culture-led urban regeneration The initiative for transformation of post-industrial abandoned buildings come from the local communities, artistic cooperatives, young people, networks, the civil society sector, or the local/national government. The key goals of establishment of a creative neighbourhoods and suburbs are:

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to preserve a historical site that is part of the collective memory of the city or the region; to improve the image of an isolated part of the city by transforming it into an area with good reputation for culture, leisure and entertainment; to attract visitors and residents in isolated areas and to serve them better by offering diverse “menu” of cultural and artistic programming; to improve the quality of life of the inhabitants by incorporating a quality urban design an architecture, and investing in public arts; to decrease unemployment, social exclusion, poverty and other social problems; to foster intercultural dialogue and create a peaceful local environment between diverse ethnic and minority groups of the population; to give a voice to artists, especially young and emerging artists, to experiment, create and network; to connect artistic/creative experiences with educational programs at all levels within a local context.

Establishment of such creative neighbourhoods and suburbs require a combination of influencing factors at local level, such as: public commitment and leadership, high level of engagement of the civil society players, initiation of a public dialogue and consultation with inhabitants of the respective region, collaboration between diverse actors such as urbanists, policy-makers, artists, architects, businesses and investors.

The newly established venues in the creative neighbourhood are usually multi-functional, combining diverse artistic and educational activities. Some of them offer mainly entertainment programs, while others stress on contemporary arts offerings. In most cases, the new spaces offer indoor and outdoor spaces for multiple purposes: rehearsal studios, cinema halls, theater and dance stages, rooms for workshops, classes and lectures, spaces for debates and round tables, restaurants and bars, open green areas for relaxation and leisure activities. Many of them encourage emerging artists and offer debut stages, increasing the access of young people to culture.

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Table 1 summarizes some of the most common benefits and opportunities which creative neighbourhoods offer, as well as common challenges which they face in many cities.

Opportunities/benefits

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Transform non-functional abandoned infrastructure into multi-functional lively one Improve the landscape and the environment of a suburb Provide connection between past and present history of the neighbourhood Create new paradigm of a cultural and artistic environment Increase connections between arts, creative endeavours and the members of the community Improve the identity and increase the visibility of a city/region Encourage private investors and opportunities for developing publicprivate partnership Reshape and improve the quality of life of the citizens Sparkle innovation between sectors and boosting creative entrepreneurship as a result Engage youth in diverse forms of arts, culture, education and leisure activities Engaging the creative sector in policymaking initiatives, especially independent entrepreneurs and smallsize companies in culture and creative industries Offer spillover effects in other industries (e.g. tourism, transportation, IT, infrastructure, education, etc.)

Increase the sense of belonging of young people to local community Lower the crime level of a

Challenges

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Lack of long term sustainability because of change in political power or policies of external funding sources The newly created CC could turn into an organisation only for artists without a broad societal impact Infrastructural problems: isolation of these areas from the big cities and need to invest in transport and infrastructure Lack of sufficient attention to cultural identity and uniqueness of the space Offer of cultural programming that is not understandable by the wider public Not sufficient social and economic justification due to a location where the density of population is not high.

Absence of an initial broad public consultation for the need and usefulness of such venues Local neighbourhood opposing the transformation process because of inability to foresee the usefulness of the new venue Competition between arts organisations to run the newly established venues High costs for transformation: investing in the reconstruction might cost more than building new premises Inefficient business model due to high operational costs and low prices for offered programming

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suburb/neighbourhood Facilitate the social cohesion and dialogue between community members Strengthen the power and influence of creative communities on diverse areas of life Secure bottom-up approach in policymaking: hearing collective voices of artistic and creative communities Provide opportunities for volunteering Attract tourists and visitors Open new working places and secure diversity of workforce Provide positive impact on the local economy Table 1: benefits and opportunities of creative neighbourhoods

Creative zones and districts Creative districts play an important role in development of creative industries and creative economy in a city. They are a catalyst for the local economic development that is based on creative entrepreneurship.

Creative zones and districts are attraction for foreign and domestic investments, especially when developed in connection with industries with high potential for growth, such as IT sector, biotechnologies, renewable energy sources, robotics, augmented and virtual reality and others. They are also important for job creation and development of new working areas for creatives. Creative districts are also a booster for tourism in a city, and a motivator for people to live there.

There are also some negative aspects from the development of creative zones and districts, for example when a marginalized neighborhood is transformed into a luxury place, it becomes quite expensive for communities to live there.

Creative hubs “Creative hub” is a term that has many connotations, although in most of the cases it relates to physical or virtual places that bring likeminded people together, mainly working in the field of arts and creative industries (but not limited to that). The European Creative Hubs Network provides the following definition: “Creative hub is a physical space for creative & cultural professionals that offers the most effective way to support their growth, collaboration, interaction and development” 3. Some creative hubs are specialized in a specific branch of arts of creative industries (e.g. theatre hub, design hub, crafts hub), others bring professionals from many different areas. Hubs have a fluid form and open democratic structure-everyone can join or leave at any time. There is no membership fee or another form of participation on a paid basis. The form of a creative hub depends on several variables, among them: its purpose and reason of existence, the context of the city where it operates and the community settings (if offline). The initiators and organisers of the hub - “hub managers” or leaders, play a crucial role in the hub’s operations, as in many cases their energy and enthusiasm keep this form of creative cluster alive.

3 Source: European Creative Hubs Network FAQ: http://creativehubs.net/faq/

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They are also “connectors” between the creatives and the local communities. Creative hubs contribute indirectly to the growth of the local creative economy, as they are the place where a sparking innovative idea could be created and later on-commercialized in an effective business model.

Incubators and Accelerators for Creative Businesses In the practice of creative entrepreneurship, the terms “accelerator” and “incubator” are often used as similar concepts, however they have differences in their key purpose, operational and financial structure and other variables. Incubators and accelerators for creative ideas are considered as a type of creative cluster, because they fit to some of the characteristics of a cluster, provided above. Both “clusters” provide mentoring, training, technical assistance, and in some cases seed money for startup creative entrepreneurs. Table 1 provides an overview of the differences between the two.

Variables Incubator Accelerator Purpose Helps a creative entrepreneur to build Helps a creative startup to reach a next a business from ground up. “Incubate” level in the business development. an idea with the direction of building a Accelerate growth of an existing startup. business model around it, and later on-a company.

Focus Innovation (social or business) Scaling a creative business Application Select participants that have Rigid selection, highly competitive process disruptive ideas, in some cases based also on references.

Programs and Open-ended format: Planned activities that need to be followed Services In some cases offers co-shared space (training, mentoring, networking, etc.) offered for work.

Financial Typically a non-profit entity relying on Typically for profit entity, in most cases structure outside funding. Some incubators are privately run, accepting equity from part of a university or another participants’ startups for using the services structure. Do not take commission and having mentorship. In some cases from the participating entrepreneurs. provide seed investment.

Do not provide up front financing and does not expect equity in return.

Timing No fixed time; mentorship can extend Short time (usually 1-4 months) up to 2 years, depending on the needs of participants.

Table 2: Differences between “incubator” and “accelerator” for creative startups Co-working spaces Co-working spaces for creatives and artists offer shared resources – spaces, services, equipment and others. They can bring artists from one and the same industry branch (e.g. designers, film-makers, software specialists, musicians, etc.) to get together and learn from one another. Co-working spaces can target only female artists, or young entrepreneurs, or they can provide access for everyone in the creative businesses. The benefits of co-working spaces, among many, are the following: - Cost efficiency: decreasing the overhead costs in the structure of creative businesses.

- Equipment and space that is more suitable than the individual one.

- Networking environment where artists and creatives can get inspired and innovate because of the shared mode.

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There are numerous co-working spaces around the world with plenty of concepts for their offered shared services4.

4. Creative Clusters in the Digital Realm Creative clusters worldwide use digital technologies and online tools in five main ways: - Producing cultural/creative content in a digital format. This is in cases when a product/service does not exist offline, but only online. Development of entirely virtual programming is a trend in the arts, culture and creative industries field. The new media art, digital art, use of virtual reality forms are some of the ways by which this is happening.

- Selling cultural/creative products and services. Such ways include: lifestreaming, podcasts, online shops for selling paintings and other art objects, pdf and kindle editions of books, download of music and films on a paid basis, offering merchandising online, and others.

- Digital marketing. This includes all online and digital ways for dissemination, communication and promotion of cultural/creative products and services through variety of tools, such as: websites, blogs, social networks, online portfolio, online branding, PR online, hashtags, mobile devices, search engine optimisation and others.

- Fundraising and financing. Digital realm offer innovative way by which cultural/creative products and services of CCs could attract external support via diverse methods, such as: crowdfinancing, crowdfunding, donations online. It also offers ways for online business models, such as websites affiliation, advertising models, fermium models and many others.

Creative clusters could also exist entirely online, although in these cases they are called “virtual creative clusters” (VCCs). The dynamics and the rules based on which they exist, are different from the physical presence of CCs. In many cases these VCCs are called online networks, or virtual communities, because as mentioned above, the term “cluster” implies spatial co-location of the organisations included in the cluster. Digital creative clusters are found also in some of the sub-sectors of CCIs where new technologies are predominant, such as: software, IT, computer games, advertising and others.

The forthcoming Third International Conference on Cluster Research “Rethinking Clusters” at the University of Valencia, 25-25 November 2020 (to be held online) 5 will be emphasising on innovation strategies towards digitalisation and sustainability, innovative approaches in concepts, theory, methods and analysis of shaping creative clusters in the 21 st century, and in the digital realm.

The research highlights five key challenges and barriers in development of creative clusters in the digital realm, as follows: - Digital competences. Many CCs face issue with insufficient or irrelevant skills and competences of creatives (e.g. artists, clusters’ teams and managers) to work online and to properly use the new technologies. Also, time allocation to elaborate and implement digital strategy is not possible because of limited number of people involved in management of the CC. - Access to public funding. In many countries, government support is not directed towards digitalisation in arts, culture and creative industries, incl. creative clusters online.

- Shared resources. Digital CCs require also a physical presence and shared resources to decrease their overhead costs. Such resources are not always easy to access locally.

4 See: 11 Inspirational Co-working Spaces: https://www.creativebloq.com/inspiration/11-inspirational-co-workingspaces-to-make-you-more-creative and: Co-working Spaces for Artists and Creatives: https://www.coworkingresources.org/blog/coworking-spaces-for-artists-and-creatives 5 Source: https://www.rethinkingclusters.org/

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Lack of corporate support. Businesses in many countries prefer to invest in the “evening economy” and “leisure industries” when there is an urban transformation, rather than in creative and digital spaces.

Insufficient collaboration. Online technologies offer opportunities for collaboration, although from practical perspective CC teams and managers do not use digitalisation as a mean to collaborate and set up effective business models as a result.

Examples provided below also include some digital and online aspects of management and organisation of CCs in different countries and regions of the world.

5. Examples of creative clusters Bangkok Creative District6 History and objectives Bangkok Creative District contains three separate elements with individual histories:  Bang Rak is a district that’s reminiscent of a European quarter with Bangkok’s first paved road cutting through it.  Klong San, much more residential and local, is often the gateway into Bangkok’s west side.  The Chao Phraya River, the capital’s main vein, predates civilization in the region and is key to Thai culture.

These communities are authentic and connected with the past history and traditions of the district.

The mission of the District is “to function as a diverse, inclusive, independent and resilient ecosystem where existing creativity constantly begets new creativity”.

Activities The district offers co-working spaces, rentable spaces, network activities, collaborative events. The Creative District Foundation helps startups and people with creative ideas by providing support and encouragement.

Beirut Creative Cluster (BCC), Lebanon7

Mission and guiding principles BCC’s corporate purpose is to “promote the transformation of the Lebanese creative industries through strategic actions based on business cooperation, with innovation as a constant underlying goal”.

The guiding principles around which the strategic actions are based, are 8: 6 Bangkok Creative District website: https://creativedistrictbangkok.com/ 7 Beirut Creative Cluster: http://beirutcreativecluster.org 8 Source: https://www.thenextsociety.co/beirut-creative-cluster-0

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Fostering the competitiveness of the cluster and its members.

Supporting the development of an adequate business structure.

Encouraging and supporting internationalization.

Facilitating access to state-of-the-art expertise.

Encouraging specific business projects.

Launching activities based on co-operation and innovation.

Key areas and scope of work BCC covers several creative sectors such as: visual arts, design and communication, advertising, digital marketing, film production, and animation, as well as web, mobile and game development. The work is focused around three areas:  Collaboration for initiating innovation, knowledge exchange and partnership;  Promotion of the development of Lebanese creative products on the local, regional and international markets, and  Support, mainly in form of vocational training of creative industry professionals Operational structure BCC’s operations are organized around the General Assembly of Members and a Steering Board. BCC is composed of a consortium of agencies from across different creative sectors.

Creative Cardiff[1] History and objectives Creative Cardiff is a network, which connects people working in any creative organisation, business or job in the Cardiff region. The mission of the organisation is that “by encouraging people to work together we believe that we can make Cardiff the most creative place it can be”. The key aim is to bring together people from across the full breadth of the city’s creative economy–from dancers and marketing professionals to architects and app developers in order to encourage more innovation and creativity in Cardiff as a creative city.

Since its inception in 2015, Creative Cardiff has built a community of over 3500 creative organisations and freelancers across the Cardiff City Region. Through a range of initiatives, it is now widely recognised – in South Wales and beyond - as a catalyst (and a model) for creative collaboration.

Programs and services The network connects the creative economy across the Cardiff region, promoting and enabling collaboration for economic, cultural and social benefit. Creative Cardiff’s activity is focused around three main strands of work; fostering Connections & Collaborations, encouraging Enterprise & Entrepreneurship, and Telling Cardiff’s creative story.

Creative Cardiff offers online and offline ways of engaging - through a range of digital communications, events, research and projects which include:  An online network directory  Jobs & Opportunities website page including listing 4000+ jobs over the past 4 years  Mapping research to assess and visualise the cluster, it’s assets and workforce  English and Welsh language podcasts  Sub-network meet-ups e.g. Immersive South Wales, Coworking collective  Q&A events with leaders of the creative sectors 13

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Website resource pages e.g. funding + grant opportunities, information in a time of covid-19 200+ news and feature articles Community engagement projects e.g. Community Gateway

Target groups A wide network that includes individuals, freelancers, micros, small and medium sized businesses and stakeholders.

Organisational and financial matters

Creative Cardiff is supported by Cardiff University. Founding partners are: Wales Millennium Centre, BBC Cymru Wales and Cardiff City Council.

Strategic directions and future plans In 2018, Creative Cardiff built and led a partnership – including 3 Universities, City and Welsh Government, a range of strategic organisations and over 40 creative companies – for a successful bid to become one of nine AHRC/Industrial Strategy Creative Clusters in the UK. This brings investment of £9m into the region and will allow Creative Cardiff to significantly extend its research and development activity.

Creative Cardiff will be undertaking work to connect and engage the leaders of other UK and worldwide creative industries cluster networks in 2020 to achieve a better understanding of these entities and explore potential of future research and engagement collaborations.

The network will also look to develop its understanding of the wider city region as well as its offering for freelancers with a particular focus on enterprise and entrepreneurship.

Creative Industry Cluster, Hungary9

History and objectives The mission of the Cluster is “to enhance the profitability competencies of cluster members.”

It is established in 2007, as an institute of the Cultural Innovation Competence Centre, acting as an umbrella organisation for the creative industry of the region.

Some of the key objectives are:  To provide for the prerequisites of successful operations in the competitive market.  To promote the cultural innovation network and the coordinated cooperation of actors in the innovation industry.  To design and organise the regional marketing of a range of cultural products.  To develop and incubate the industrial and operative regulations governing cultural background activities and cultural operations.  To establish a suitable training system, according to the direction of development in the culture industry, including the organisation of professional further education.  To share experience with Croatian and Slovenian industry actors, to exchange methodology and results, and to assist their preparation.

9 Creative Industry Cluster, Hungary: website: https://www.kreativipariklaszter.hu/.

See also: https://www.clustercollaboration.eu/cluster-organisations/creative-industry-cluster-hungary-ciccassociation

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Activities The Cluster is experienced in: cluster to cluster cooperation, European cooperation programs, start-up incubation, creative industry development, internationalization methodology development. Support services include: direct advisory services, facilitation of collaboration between members, facilitation of cross-sectorial cooperation, support of knowledge transfer, provision and facilitation of access to training for members.

Creative Industries Cluster, UK10 Scope and objectives The cluster was launched in November 2018 with the key aim: ”to bring together world-class research talent with companies and organisations from across the UKs four nations in a first-of-its kind research and development investment”.

There are nine clusters as follows:  The Bristol+Bath Creative Industries Cluster, bringing together several universities in the region and working with a range of industry partners from television, theatre, publishing and computing.  Business of Fashion, Textile and Technologies, aiming at exploiting the market advantage and design influence, and responding to the new challenges to sustain and accelerate the creative economy through the FTT sector (Fashion, Textiles and Technology).  Clwstwr – a national creative hub with increasing volume of film and television, produced in Wales.  Creative informatics cluster, putting stress on the creative talent who are able to lead datadriven innovation in the creative industries.  Future Fashion Factory – a cluster that explores and develops new digital and advanced textile technologies in order to boost the design of high value creative products.  Future Screens NI – assisting the opportunities for growth across film and broadcast, animation, games and immersive technologies in Northern Ireland.  InGame – Innovation for Games and Media Enterprise cluster, formed as a collaborative network around the expertise and experience of three universities.  StoryFutures – responding to the challenges of screen industries – from storytelling forms, to business models and R&D development.  XR Stories – harnessing the latest digital technologies, especially immersive and interactive tools for development of an innovative and commercially viable models of screen storytelling.

Operational matters The cluster is managed by the Arts & Humanities Research Council as part of the Industrial Strategy.

The budget of 80 million pounds is the biggest single UK government investment in the creative industries so far.11

Creative Industries Cluster of Vojvodina12

10 Creative Industries Cluster, UK: https://creativeindustriesclusters.com/ 11 Source: https://clwstwr.org.uk/about/creative-industries-clusters-programme 12 Creative Industries Cluster of Vojvodina website: https://www.kvik.rs/

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History and objectives The elaboration of the Cluster was initially defined in the Strategy for development of the Creative Industries Cluster of Vojvodina 2014-2017. The key objective of the cluster is to actively contribute to the creation of a positive environment for the development of creative and cultural industries. The founders and members of the Cluster are representatives of creative industries, individuals, creators, artists, entrepreneurs, companies and small and medium enterprises, together with representatives of public and educational institutions.

Key programs and activities The cluster helps its members and provides support in several ways:  Business development education  Networking and business cooperation  Development of new programs  Connecting with other industries and new markets  Information and assistance for applying for additional sources of financing (subsidies, loans, etc.)

Operational and financial aspects The Cluster is registered as a nonprofit organisation. The operational budget of the Cluster is approximately 30 000 Euro annually. The sources of financing come from: -Domestic funding – regional level of Vovodina (90%) 13 -International funding - associate partnerships (5%) -Business services - business plans, IP protection, etc. (4%) -Membership (1%) Strategic directions and plans The Cluster currently focuses of creative startups, micro and SMEs empowerment by organising competitions, meetups, training, info-days etc. in order to help direct growth and promotion of creative industries. The team is currently working on a new strategy development and programming for the next time period, based on the current situation, global experience and local needs.

Creative Cluster Kombinat, Rijeka, Croatia14

History and objectives Kombinat is an example of creative cluster as a community of likeminded young freelance professionals. They are engaged in development and realisation of projects in the field of creative industries.

Operations Team work and synergy in project management and seeking creative solutions to issues is the core of Kombinat’s activities. The community of freelancer have complementary skills and competences in diverse areas, such as: design, storytelling, photography, PR, IT solutions, and 13 Note: The Regional Development Agency of the Republic of Serbia supported the Cluster in the period 2014-2018 under the overall program for support of clusters: see http://rra-jug.rs/program-podrske-razvoju-inovativnihklastera-u-2015-godini/.

14 Creative Cluster Kombinat: https://kombinat.hr/

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others. Peer-to-peer exchange of knowledge and skills makes Kombinat also serve as a platform for future young professionals.

Services and clients Kombinat offers diverse creative services, such as: illustration, branding, photography, marketing, copywriting, event organisation, storytelling, design and production of web pages and applications, and others. Among Kombinat clients are: the Tourist Boards of several cities, Foundation for Partnership and Civil Society Development, Aestus, Storyttelling for Tech and others15.

CRU Cowork, Porto, Portugal16 History and objectives CRU is one of Porto’s first collaborative places – a creative hub, located at Bombardia-Porto Art District.

It was created in 2012. CRU is a place to attract talented, motivated and creative people to form a vibrant and diverse community and a shared place for them to work, to exhibit and to sell their creative products. The space has a coworking area, a gallery and a store.

CRU functions as a platform for launching independent projects, brands and authors while at the same time having a social mission to raise awareness about artistic creation.

Operational and financial matters CRU has around 40 creative people working at the space on a daily basis, and 50 brands represented in the store. The network consists of over 250 people: designers and entrepreneurs whose brands are represented in CRU store, and also partners, experts and trainers. Those artpreneurs and freelancers represent a wide range of CCIs,. Such as : design, architecture, photography, illustration, stage direction, journalism, translation, marketing, software development and social sciences.

CRU team is a combination of people with diverse competences and transdisciplinary profiles – from psychology, music, informatics, plastic arts, economics and photography.

CRU is legally registered as both non-profit organisation and a trade company to be able to run both projects with social goals, and raise money from self-generated activities, such as: membership fees, services offered, organisation of events and conferences, and others.

Creative Clusters, Coventry, UK

Electric Wharf17 is a new community of creative people living and working in a dynamic and attractive canal side environment. The buildings from the industrial past are converted in a modern style and offer unique spaces for businesses. Already more than 20 companies have established themselves at Electric Wharf and are growing amidst the live-work lofts office suites which make this development such an exciting concept in urban life. Electric Wharf has two major themes: environment and innovation.

FarGo18 is an artistically re-purposed industrial space in Coventry City Centre, designed 15 Source: https://kombinat.hr/en/associates-clients/ 16 CRU Creative Hub Website: https://cru-cowork.com/en 17 Electric Warf website: http://electricwharf.com/ 18 FarGo website: www.fargovillage.co.uk

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exclusively for creative, independent businesses and like-minded visitors. Located on Far Gosford Street, a recently regenerated area of the Midlands with a rich cultural heritage. This creative cluster runs as an entirely independent entity. It is an eclectic mix of over 40 independent businesses, among them: a craft brewery, artisan food, vegan shop, printing, a museum and more. There are also regular events and festivals taking place at FarGo. The online shop19 offers diverse creative and design products and artworks.

GoDown Arts Centre, Kenya20 History and objectives The GoDown Arts Centre is established in 2003, in a space that was formerly a car repair warehouse.

The Centre has contributed significantly to the growth, recognition and visibility of local artist by fostering and facilitating collaborations and encounters between artists from different disciplines and different parts of the world.

As a home for Kenyan creativity in arts and media, GoDown serves as a place where creative ideas can be generated, mingled and cross-referenced. The Centre promotes professional development through training workshops that are held throughout the year, while creating an environment for innovation and collaboration between artists.

Premises The present space occupied by the GoDown is a renovated 10,000 sq meters warehouse with studios, rehearsal and performance spaces. The GoDown also has an exhibition gallery where exhibitions can be shown, and meetings or performances held.

Programs  Capacity building (artists in residence, classical music, contemporary dance)  Public programs (exhibitions, music competitions, seminars, collaborative events);  Advancing the sector (conferences, festivals, summits, etc.)

Uniqueness and strengths  The first of its kind in East Africa  Diverse programming: the training and development of artists, alongside sector impacting events  Combination of inexpensive, wide-open spaces with basic facilities for performances, studios, rehearsals and exhibitions.

19 FarGo onlineshop: https://www.fargovillage.co.uk/online-shop/ 20 Website: GoDown: https://www.thegodownartscentre.com/

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Accessible and appropriate location

Luxembourg Creative Industries Cluster21 History and objectives This creative online hub gathers Luxembourg’s creative players under one single digital roof. The key objective is “to bring creative professionals closer together in order to exchange, collaborate, share information, stay informed and foster a close-knit community feel”. The cluster brings together interconnected players in order to increase their innovative potential.

The creative sector spans to 12 distinct branches, including architecture (engineering/town planning); crafts and manufacturing; visual arts; films and audiovisual; design; fashion design; interactive media & gaming; marketing and communication; literature; digital media and publishing; performing arts and music.

The key objectives of the cluster are22:  To raise awareness and inform the markets  To encourage collaboration between members  To increase the visibility and market access of members  To enhance entrepreneurial skills  To act as an expert intermediary between the government, institutions and professional chambers and the creative.

Operational matters The cluster is managed by Luxinnovation 23 – an agency that fosters innovation, supports the Government’s economic development objectives and ensures that Luxembourg continues to attract internaional investments, companies and skills.

The cluster is interactive – it offers members to join with no fee and create a community. Each member can upload event and share information in the field of creative industries. The platform is searchable by keyword and is an instrument to search competences and share knowledge among creatives.

Partners Supporting partners of the cluster are: businesses, institutions or non-profit organisations with a direct connection to the creative and cultural sector. These partners offer different expertise - from business advice, infrastructures (co-working spaces) and governing financial instruments to training programmes that benefit creatives.

Activities Some of the major activities include: organisation of workshop to develop export capacities, other events, gathering and offering resources, announcements for jobs or internship, networking and collaboration.

One-North, Singapore24

21 Luxembourg Creative Industries Cluster: https://creativecluster.lu/ 22 Source: https://www.luxinnovation.lu/cluster/luxembourg-creative-industries-cluster/ 23 Luxinnovation: https://www.luxinnovation.lu/ 24 Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One-north

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History and objectives The aim of this 200-hectare business park in Singapore is to attract domestic and international knowledge workers and knowledge intensive businesses to “work, live, play and learn” and thehrefore enhance economic competitiveness and knowledge-based economy of the country.

There are three key industry-focused hubs - Biopolis, Fusionopolis and Mediapolis to support the growth of Singapore’s biomedical sciences, info-communications technology and new media.

Target groups This centre of innovation and creativity is targeting technopreneur community, venture capitalists, innovators, researchers, students and media enterprises.

Operational structure and location The area “Buone Vista” where the Centre is built was chosen because of its strong transportation links, infrastructure and proximity to Singapore’s science parks, the National University of Singapore, the National University Hospital, Singapore Polytechnics and Holland Village.

The long-term project was developed based on a masterplan by JTC Corporation on behalf of the Government of Singapore. JTC corporation is a quasi-governmental agency in charge of planning, promoting and developing industrial facilities and infrastructure.

There are three phases of development in the period 2000-2020, with an expected overall costs of S$ 7 billion.

ICT, Media and Creative Industries Cluster, Berlin-Brandenburg, Germany 25

History and objectives Established in 2011, the objectives of the cluster are 26:  to be an important player of the digital, media and creative industries in the region of Berlin-Brandenburg, and to explore and promote new application areas – also across clusters;  to give business and technology support to companies, investors and scientific institutes in the region.

Services and activities The focus of activities is primarily in four areas: digital economy, ICT, Media and Creative

25 Website: https://digital-bb.de/en 26 Source: https://www.clustercollaboration.eu/cluster-organisations/cluster-ict-media-creative-industries-berlinbrandenburg

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Industries. The cluster organises sector-related working groups and workshops, initiate technology transfer and collaborative projects at different levels of complexity (regional, national and international level). It also supports stakeholders in the development of projects (consortium building, themes sharpening, milestone/budget planning).

The cluster provides support services, such as: facilitation of cross-sectorial cooperation, support of technology transfer, innovation management, access to public financing and others. It is also specialized in digitalization and new technologies, such as: games and interactive media, Artificial intelligence, 5G, blockchain, IoT, Cloud computing and others.

Operational structure and financial matters The cluster is jointly managed by the two regional economic development agencies of Berlin and Brandenburg, Berlin Partner für Wirtschaft und Technologie GmbH (BPWT) and Wirtschaftsförderung Land Brandenburg GmbH (WFBB).

The cluster is funded by European programs and is not based on membership-every stakeholder that is active in ICT, media or creative industries is part of the cluster by default.

Cooperation The cluster collaborates transnationally with: Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Poland and Sweden and international collaboration with China and USA. Impact HUB, Prague, Czech Republic27 History and goals The HUB is the Czech part of “THE HUB network”, established in 2005 in London. It was founded in 2010 and in 2016 its members exceeded 600. The HUB currently operates in three cities: Prague (two hubs), Bruno and Ostrawa as an inspirational co-working space, helping startups to accelerate, network and advance.

The mission of the HUB is to support the development of startups, companies and nonprofits, taking the role of a mentor that points out the right direction, giving an expert response to every question and valuable contacts that can make everything easier 28. The HUB concentrates on social innovation, making an impact, and also allows people from diverse areas to participate and network in order to catalyze creative ideas that lead to successful implementation of creative ideas.

Programs offered  Impact first – directed towards nonprofits and social businesses  Climate change – assisting projects addressing environmental issues  Ideation – two months program for early stage entrepreneurs with ideas  Social impact award – targeting young social business innovators  Start it @CSOB – program for existing teams that have innovative idea The HUB also offers spaces for rent, such as: conference hall, dance floor, meeting room, garden for unique events. It has hosted hundreds of events and cooperated with large companies as well as individuals.

27 Prague HUB website: https://www.hubpraha.cz/en 28 Source: https://www.hubpraha.cz/en/acceleration/

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Organisational and financial matters The HUB is registered as a limited company, playing the role of a social enterprise. Most of its financing comes from its members and tenants/renters – around 75% are self-generated revenues, another 25% come from external sources-e.g. corporate support and public funding, mainly European funds.

Corporations support the HUB from their marketing of CSR budgets, enriching the value for their business by connecting with the communities and creative people.

The hub has 65 people full time (before coronavirus breakout they were 125), and over 200 mentors and experts.

Kapana Creative District, Plovdiv, Bulgaria29 History and objectives The key goal of Kapana District is to develop the potential of this central urban zone as an area of discovery, innovation and experimentation the sphere of culture, cultural management and the creative industries. Kapana is part of Plovdiv city, having a unique history and architecture.

Starting in 2014-2015 this part of Plovdiv became pederstianized and many of the buildings in this were reconstructed - turned into art galleries, boutique shops, bars for wine and craft beer.

The District is an attractive place for artists, curators, artisans, architects, cultural managers, urban specialists, writers and musicians.

Activities and events One of the major events taking place in this Creative District is the annual festival “Kapana” , attracting local and international artists and offering theatre performances, music events, movie screening and more. Three of the major Bulgarian cultural festivals changed their location from Sofia to Plovdiv-One Design Week, One Architecture Week and One Dance Week 30.

Operational matters The project is part of the programme of Plovdiv- European Capital of Culture in the cluster “Urban Dreams” dedicated to long- term and sustainable interventions in the urban landscape, reinvention and revitalization of the desolated spaces and providing them with new cultural functions.

Strategic vision The long term perspective is to transform Kapana District into a popular and desired brand in the national and international context for tourists and creatives.

MOB, Barcelona31

29 Kapana Creative District website: https://visitkapana.bg/en 30 Source: https://theculturetrip.com/europe/bulgaria/articles/plovdivs-kapana-creative-district-from-decay-to-arthub/ 31 MOB Barcelona website: https://mob-barcelona.com/

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MOB Barcelona (Makers of Barcelona, is a creative hub with three spaces and is a home to Barcelina’s first community of entrepreneurs and creatives. MOB’s mission is to support entrepreneurs by offering them the infrastructures, connections, trainings, advices and business opportunities to successfully kickstart & manage their business.

Activities and services MOB consists of a co-working space, academy, creative agency and collaboration hub.  The co-working space offers conference rooms and Skype boots, high speed internet, printing and scanning facilities. MOB offers legal services with in-house lawyers.  MOB Creative Agency assists creative entrepreneurs to innovate by analysing their needs and coming up with added value solutions. MOB team is specialized in diverse areas, such as Apps, VR, Big Data, marketing actions and more.  MOB Academy offers classes, workshops, hackatons and markethons, as well as bootcamps for current and future creative entrepreneurs.  MOB Ventures include: FabCafe, ReacS, KUBE, and other collaborative and personalized ways to support creative entrepreneurs.

MTNS MADE Creative Industries Cluster, Australia32

History and goals This Cluster aims to grow and strengthen the creative industries in the Blue Mountains, by facilitating collaboration, exploring new market opportunities, providing access to training and networking and marketing the region as a world-class creative hub. The Cluster is created in 2015 as a collaborative initiative Services offered Among the key services which the Cluster offers, are the following:  Monthly Salon for sharing stories, ideas and connections  Annual creative industries symposium  Creative match-making of members for collaborative projects  Brokering contracts and agreements between creatives and commercial opportunities  Shared co-working space  Positioning MTNS MADE as a brand to promote the region as a world-class creative hub.  Representing Blue Mountains creatives at art fairs across the state, and contributing events to significant festivals such as Vivid Ideas Sydney.

Operational matters The Cluster is an initiative of Blue Mountains Economic Enterprise (BMEE)33, the peak

32 Website: https://mtnsmade.com.au/, See also: https://www.clustercollaboration.eu/cluster-organisations/mtns-made-creative-industries-cluster 33 Website: https://bmee.org.au/

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economic development agency for Blue Mountains, whose mission is to stimulate economic development through advocacy, investment and industry development. BMEE receives operational funding from Blue Mountains City Council. The cluster does not have formal membership, but it serves a community of around 2,700 creative professionals living and working in the region. Across the creative professions are several creative industries branches, such as: design, visual arts, film, sound and music, publishing and performing arts.

Over 500 creative professionals are already listed on the MTNS MADE directory where users can read their stories, view their portfolios and contact them directly. Some of the creative are born in the region, others are refugees and people coming from diverse marginal groups.

Creative practitioners from all over the world come here to live, to work, and to connect with our thriving creative community.

Open Hub Creative Cluster, Romania34 History and goals

Founded in 2010, the Open Hub Association did not start as a Cluster but as a non-profit organisation with the aim of raising support and interest in the local community. As most members who rallied to the association were creative entities, it was only natural to promote this emerging industry in our South-East community. Therefore, in July 2017 the Board laid the foundation of Open Hub Creative Cluster. The Open Hub Association's initiative to develop a cluster in the creative industries came as a result of identifying this need for interconnectivity among institutions and companies in the creative industries in Galati.

The goal of the cluster is to highlight Galati (South East region of Romania) as a core of creative thinkers through actions that are in line with the Cultural Development and Communication strategy of Galaţi Municipality 2016-2025.

Some of the key goals include:  Creating an environment conducive to the sustainable development of its members and of the economy as a whole;  Creating a centre of creativity that can lead to an important growth of employment in Creative Industries;  Supporting Creative Industries (ICs) by organizing various training activities: courses, seminars and workshops specific to entrepreneurs and creative companies (intellectual property, international investment, investment phases, return capital/investment,

34 Website: https://openhub.ro/ Source also: https://www.clustercollaboration.eu/cluster-organisations/open-hub-creative-cluster

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elevator pitch, etc.); Promoting innovation in advertising and marketing processes, architecture, graphic design, audio and video creation, IT, and other creative domains;

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Representation of Creative Industries (IC) interests in front of state bodies;

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Attracting resources (investments, venture funds, etc.) for the development of the creative sector.

Services offered  Access to private funding (connecting to investors, seed-capital, venture-capital, crowd-funding, etc.)  Access to technology services  Promotion of activities (marketing/ visibility)  Access to training  Innovation Management / Support of innovation processes (internal, external)  Access to third countries market The main international collaboration of the cluster is with: Australia, China, New Zealand, United States, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Norway, Romania, Serbia and Sweden.

Operational and financial aspects Open Hub functions legally as a non-profit organisation. The cluster’s main funding sources are revenues from members and international or national funding through diverse project funding.

Strategic directions The intension is to expand and have annual membership fees, as well as to become a Digital Innovation Hub for the region as well as to offer specialized support and programs that support the digital transformation. Strategic directions are also focused on internalization, networking, extending of collaborative actions and programs. Currently Open Hub works on an ambitious application for creating an Innovation Hub in the city, with R&D infrastructure, Data center and other activities.

Sectie-C, Eindhoven, The Netherlands35 History and objectives Sectie-C opened doors 10 years ago as a unique and vibrant space for designers, authentic doers and independent thinkers who seek possibilities instead of looking at limitations. They made shared workshops, co-working spaces, studios, garden premises, labs and more. The famous Dutch Design Week also takes place here every October and attracts yearly around 25.000 visitors to the exhibitions, open studios and events.

Sectie-C team believes in the connection between creatives and community, the feeling of being a “family” and having an open democratic structure that supports experimentation, mutual learning and collaborations. Sectie-C is an organic collaboration platform of more than 250 creative entrepreneurs, artists, photographers, designers, musicians, communicators, and craftmakers. Many of inhabitants of the space are well known beyond borders while at the same time contributing to transforming Eindhoven into a creative city.

35 Sectie-C website: https://www.sectie-c.com/

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Operational and financial matters Sectie-C is a non-profit organisation consisting of a foundation with an association of renters who contribute to the association in order to be represented at the owner of the buildings. The foundation creates a vision to grow and develop the identity of the space and to secure a legal structure and future financial sustainability.

Transylvania Creative Industries Cluster36 History and goals

This was the first cluster of creative industries in Romania. The cluster was created with 45 founding members – representatives from the sectors for creative industries: advertising, architecture, arts, crafts and antiques, design, fashion, film, video and photography, software, electronic games, music, theater and other arts.

The main goals of the Cluster refer to:  Increase the capacity for research, development and innovation  Support to the potential of the creative industries and its application in the public and private sectors. 

Promote and encourage entrepreneurship in the creative industries sectors

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Identify opportunities for collaboration and networking, as well as participation in events to represent the sector.

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Attract resources (investment, European funds, state aid schemes, hedge funds, etc.) for the development of the creative industries.

Financial matters The main financial sources for the Cluster are: members’ fees and European, national as well as local funding, based on projects.

Woodstock Design District, Cape Town, South Africa37 History and key features Woodstock is a suburb of Cape Town, which has a history of a manufacturing neighbourhood and housing for workers at lower prices. Closing of factories in this part of the city lead to gradual transformation of this district into a design-driven social change place. This “creative revolution” started with the Old Biscuit Mill which was renovated and transformed into a space for design studios and a venue for the weekly neighbourhood market. Gradually, numerous design businesses, galleries, agencies and restaurants appeared around the Old Biscuit Mill and brought a spirit of freshness into

36 Transylvania Creative Industries Cluster website: http://creativetransilvania.ro/en/

See also: https://www.clustercollaboration.eu/cluster-organisations/transilvania-creative-industries-cluster 37 Source: Woodstock Design District: 5 creative businesses to know (November, 2019): http://wid.co.za/blog/woodstock-design-district-5-creative-businesses-to-know/

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this neighbourhood. Woodstock Design District is a place where artists can meet with the general public and can create long lasting connections. The Woodstock Design District Map is a curated guide that shows the highest density of design studios and art galleries in the country - created by the Guild Group and Monday Design.

Zlin Creative Cluster38 History and objectives

This is the first cluster in the Czech Republic focusing on the creative industry. Established in 2016 and followed on from the preceding activities of the independent workgroup Creative Zlín who was one of the first to undertake a mapping of the Zlin region creative industries.

The vision of the cluster is “to constitute one of the important centres of the creative industry in the Czech Republic by 2020, particularly in the areas of design, audiovisual, marketing communications and architecture.”

Objectives of the cluster are:  To support the creative work in strengthening the competitive advantages and image of Zlin region based on smart specialization in creative industries  To develop human resources and increase employment in the Zlin region in the creative fields.  To stimulate the development of creative start-up companies.  To assist the research and development in the field of creative industries, building a common innovation infrastructure, capitalization of synergies from the collaboration, visibility, promotion and internationalization of cluster members.

Services The key services of the Cluster include:  Facilitating the access to public support  Trend-scouting (Ideas for innovative projects)  Dissemination of information  Promotional activities  Support of knowledge transfer Operational matters The cluster comprises of representatives of the public, private, non-profit and educational sectors from creative and related fields in the Zlín agglomeration. It is set up as a voluntary association of organizations and individuals, engaged in activities in the audiovisual field, design, architecture and advertising.

6. Business Models and External Support for Development of Creative Clusters Financial sustainability is one of the key issues in keeping creative clusters active in a long period of time.

Possible sources of incomes and revenues depend on the variables when constructing and organising a CC, mentioned in section 2.2. above. Below is the summary of the business models for CCs establishment and running:

38 Zlin Creative Cluster website: http://kreativnizlin.cz/en/

See also: https://www.clustercollaboration.eu/cluster-organisations/zlin-creative-cluster

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State-subsidized The first option is establishing a CC with public money, coming from a local authority (municipality, city council etc.), government agency (one or several ministries), or European funding. This approach could be stable only if the decision-making authority has secured a long-term budget for the CC development.

In many countries due to changes in political power, this option seems to be not that stable. In some cases, the ownership is kept public, while the CC is run by a non-profit organisation. Such a governance structure is a bottom-up approach, which has proven a better sustainability.

Self-financed The second option is when a CC builds up its business model, based primarily on self-financing and selfgenerated revenues from variety of sources, such as: membership, offering paid services (workshops, information, mentoring, coaching, etc.) and rent of spaces for creatives and artists. In this case, the rent is lower than the one offered on the market, and this is an important benefit for the artists, although it is hard to negotiate with the property owners lower prices for rent. Another benefit in renting co-space and places for creativity is the flexibility-an artist can rent it for a few months, and not for a whole year.

Diverse sources of financing and revenues The third option is a balanced combination between external funding sources and self-generated revenues. Sources of external financing differ – they could be: pubic money, foundations (local, national, international), European commission programs, or universities. Examples include, among many: FutureLab in Eindhoven39, having 60% public funding and 40% self-generated revenues, and Creativehubs network40 which made a transition from European funding to self-sustainable model. Belgium government provides funding for innovation projects, but requires partnership between university, researchers and creators.

Corporate support The fourth option is based on private investment schemes as a way to elaborate a business model. Such investments come from corporations, or individuals, in diverse forms – e.g. coalition of business companies, an investors, having an equity in the future business. Corporate support could come from commercial companies, banks, insurance companies, real estate companies, or construction companies – in cases when CC is connected with renovation of a building (an example is Volkstrant Building in Amsterdam41). In the cases of business accelerators for creative ideas that act as commercial entities, creative entrepreneurs pay a fee to the accelerator for joining, and private individuals (angel investors and others) hold an equity in the future growth of the startups.

Crowdfudning and crowdfinancing42 are becoming popular methods worldwide for support of creative industry projects, including also projects of creative clusters. Examples of some of the well-known and widely used on national level platforms are the following:  BigIdea43, Ukraine: Allowing collection of funds for ideas supporting systematic change and open society in diverse fields such as: literature, music, research, education, health care and research.

39 FutureLab website: https://futurelab-eindhoven.nl/ 40 Creativehubs network website: http://creativehubs.net/ 41 Source: Volkstrand Building Research: https://www.volkshotel.nl/en/blog/art-cult/volkskrant-building-research/ 42 Note: Crowdfunding is based on donations, while crowdfinancing is an investment by individuals who have a stake/share in the future company. The first one is philanthropic-based, the second one –investment based.

43 BigIedea website: https://biggggidea.com/projects/

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CrowdCulture44, Sweden: Project creators can attract funding from private investors, as well as from state funds.  Goteo45, Spain: A successful platform for starting and implementing projects with social impact.

Apart from monetary contributions, it is possible to collaborate through services, material resources, infrastructure or by participating in specific micro tasks needed for the development of projects. Goteo also has a unique financing methodology carried out in two rounds lasting 40 days each.  Ulule46, France: founded in 2010 as the first platform that can collect funding also offering a presale of the product/service.  Wemakeit47, Switzerland: The largest Swiss platform for creative industries, supporting people to sell design products, develop apps, publish coopery books, support startup companies, as well as non-profit organisations to develop their communities.  Ulej48 and Talaka49, Belarus: the first crowdfunding platforms in the country, allowing collecting funds for good purposes.

There are also innovative business models for support of CCs, based on collective ownership, buildings where the ownership belongs to a “social housing agency”, accumulating profits to reinvest in the property development.

Below are examples from several countries of cultural policy instruments on regional and national level and innovative business models in support of CCs development.

Baltic Creative CIC50, Liverpool History and objectives Baltic Creative CIC started with a group of visionaries at local level who wanted to find a way to stop the displacement of creative and digital businesses by developers and market forces. They wanted to stop the negative cycle of creative companies and artists moving into rundown areas for cheap rents, and then being forced out when a profit-driven developer takes over the building. This bottom-up development led to regeneration of the area for the sake of the community.

Baltic Creative CIC was set up to support the growth of creative and digital industries in the Liverpool city region by providing a variety of flexible and affordable commercial property to start-ups, micro businesses, SMEs, freelancers and entrepreneurs.

Financial aspects and business model51 Baltic Creative CIC elaborated a business model where the creative and digital sector owns the property it was renting and is able to reinvest. With the help of Liverpool Vision, the Community Interest company secured a 4.5 million pounds grant from the European Regional Development Fund ERDF and the National Water Development Agency NWDA and used it to purchase and refurbish 18 warehouses in a semi-direct area of Liverpool, called the Baltic Triangle, and then opened it for Liverpool’s best and brightest creative and digital businesses.

44 CrowdCulture website: https://crowdculture.se/en 45 Goteo website: http://en.goteo.org/ 46 Ulule website: https://www.ulule.com/ 47 Wemarket website: https://wemakeit.com/?locale=en 48 Ulej website: https://ulej.by/ 49 Talaka website: https://www.talaka.org/projects/filter?type=3 50 Baltic Creative CIC website: https://www.baltic-creative.com/ 51 Read Baltic Creative CIC Annual Report 2019: https://www.baltic-creative.com/wpcontent/uploads/2019/11/BALTIC-CREATIVE-Master-version-for-web-compressed-2-10-year-Report-210-x-210-1.pdf

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The properties are asset-locked and the profits are accumulated in a CIC Fund, used exclusively for: reinvesting in the property, reinvesting in the tenants, or reinvesting in CCI sector.

Art Incubators, Lithuania52 History and objectives In Lithuania there has been development of specific ‘art incubators’ in the period 2007-2013, as follows: four in Vilnius, and one in each of the following cities: Klaipėda, Telšiai, Anykščiai, Utena, Alytus, Raudondvaris, and Kaunas. Key objectives: -

to support young artists (not less than 50% of residents of art incubators were young artists or entrepreneurs from creative industries); to motivate creative industries development; to stimulate the creation of new jobs; to lower the risk of new creative businesses and to assist enterprises and individuals having innovative ideas. to encourage local creative communities to cooperate and develop their businesses and to help them contributing to the sustainable development of a city.

Services The services offered included: providing start-up assistance, rent of premises at preferential prices, technical and office equipment, assistance in drafting and implementation of business plans, organising events for arts entrepreneurs, providing methodical, technical, training services and consultation on preferential terms.

Financial aspects The art incubators were co-funded by the national budget and the European Union structural funds. In this period, (74 million Euros investment totally in the Lithuanian culture and creative industry sector, including for the creation of these art incubators.

Partnership The National Association of Creative and Cultural Industries was established to support cooperation between artists, culture and art organisations, NGOs, business, science and educational sectors and to support their participation in diverse targeted events. An important part of financial aspect of partnership is that at least one shareholder was the state, a municipality, or an association.

Creative Clusters, Ukraine53 An overview The policy of creative industries development in Ukraine is closely connected with organising of

52 Sources: https://en.unesco.org/creativity/policy-monitoring-platform/establishment-development-art 53 Source: Skavronska, Iryna (2019). Creative Clusters and the Position of Ukraine in the Market of Creative Products. Research Paper, UNICTAD: https://unctad.org/meetings/en/Contribution/cep2019-22-10contribution_en_Ukraine.pdf

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creative clusters. There are several Cultural clusters – especially in the field of crafts, but not only.

Examples include: Cluster of folk artistic crafts “Suzirya” (Ivano-Frankivsk region) 54 and Krolevets Creative Cluster (Sumy region), Interregional Cluster of Folk Textile Crafts (Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk, Kyiv and Poltava regions), Cluster “Gogol places of Poltava region” and Cluster for Rural Development “Sorochinsky Yarmarok” (Poltava region). Another “cluster approach” towards development of CCI is the revitalization policy in the country – transformation of former plants and factories into creative spaces and hubs several places such as: Ivano-Frankivsk (Promprylad), Lviv (ReZavod) and Kharkiv (Fabrika.space).

Trends in development of creative clusters in Ukraine  The most developed sub-sectors of the creative industries are: advertising, IT sector, media, design, animation, and handicraft.  Creative industries have an important impact on the foreign trade of Ukraine.  The country creative, especially craftsmen, are very active in Etsy website 55, specialized in ecommerce of handmade or vintage items and craft supplies.  There is no specific institutional environment for cluster development as in according to the legislation “cluster” is not an economic entity.  There is a lack of official statistical information on economic and financial characteristics of clusters in the country.

Creative Clusters Ireland: School Excellence Fund 56 Background Creative Clusters is a pilot initiative of the Department of Education and Skills of Ireland, led by and in partnership with the 21 full-time Teacher Education Centres (Education Support Centres Ireland - ESCI) and funded through the Schools Excellence Fund – Creative Clusters Initiative.

Creative Clusters is an important initiative of Creative Youth – A Plan to Enable the Creative Potential of Every Child and Young Person, which was published in December 2017 as part of the Creative Ireland Programme. The Creative Youth Plan aims to give every child practical access to tuition, experience and participation in art, music, drama and coding by 2022.

Operational structure A Creative Cluster will typically consist of between three and five schools collaborating on the design, implementation, evaluation and dissemination of an innovative creative learning project which supports them to address a common issue or challenge. Creative Clusters will include schools at different stages of their journey in using creativity in the classroom.

It is envisaged a further 21 clusters will be established in 2020.

54 Source: Creation and Implementation of Cluster Model of Folk Artistic Crafts Development, Ukraine: http://personal.pu.if.ua/depart/svitlana.kropelnytska/resource/file/Investment_project_Suzirya.pdf 55 Etsy website: www.etsy.com 56 Source: Schools Excellent Fund - Creative Clusters, Ireland: https://www.education.ie/en/SchoolsColleges/Information/Curriculum-and-Syllabus/cap_creative_cluster_guidelines.pdf

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Financing Each Creative Cluster will receive funding of €3,000 per school in each cluster over a two year period to implement their project in the 2020–2022 school years. Assessment of applications is based on four key criteria: the rationale for the application, benefits to teaching and learning capacity and commitment of all the schools in the cluster to participate and Children and Young Peoples Voice.

Creative Еstonia57 Mission/Objectives:

Creative Estonia aims to bring together different stakeholders and facilitate contact between creative professionals and businesses, policymakers, students and businesses from other sectors. The vision of Creative Estonia is “Estonian creativity to the world”.

Activities

       

Developing and maintaining a creative industries web portal (in 3 languages) Collection and research of information and cases on creative industries Online advice, networking support for creative companies Publications-best practices, reports and mapping projects Events-seminars, conferences and others Raising awareness about creative industries through media Assisting cooperation with neighbouring and other countries Cross-innovation hackatons on: healthy food, e-Governance, circle economy, textile industry and other areas.

Partnership Creative Estonia has diverse partners at national, regional and international level – creative organisations, governmental and inter-governmental bodies, cultural institutes, associations and others.58 IDM Südtirol, Italy59 History and Objectives IDM (Innovation Development and Marketing ) Südtirol is a trailblazer for the economic development in South Tyrol Region of Italy. The key goal is to boost the local creative industries and make it more competitive, as well as to encourage internationalisation and innovation, with a particular focus on small and medium-sized companies, and to promotes investment in South Tyrol.

Activities

57 Creative Estonia website: https://www.looveesti.ee/en 58 See: https://www.looveesti.ee/partnerid/ 59 IDM Suedtirol website: https://www.idm-suedtirol.com/

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IDM Südtiro provides services to businesspeople and entrepreneurs, aiming to ensure sustainable growth and development that will boost the competitiveness of local firms. It also targets tourism marketing activities that strengthen the South Tyrol brand, as well as agricultural marketing that provides a showcase for the quality products from the region.

The portfolio of services includes information events, representation at trade fairs, orientation trips for entrepreneurs and tailor-made export projects. The cluster supports companies to develop products from the initial idea to market launch.

A special focus of activities is to help film-makers bring their projects to life. The Film Fund & Commission department offers practical support for individual location scouting and recruitment, initial advice about the general legal and tax conditions, and other services. Targeted initiatives and a wide range of further trainings available for local film professionals strengthen South Tyrol’s position as a film location and boost the development of its film sector 60 III.

PRACTICES IN DEVELOPING CREATIVE CLUSTERS IN GEORGIA: TYPOILGY AND SUPPORT SCHEMES

1. Introduction

There is just one traditional creative cluster case in Tbilisi (Fabrika Tbilisi). The demand of both: the representatives of CCI sector and general audience towards expending this number, thus initiating and developing CCs, is constantly increasing.

Based on the Survey61, the respondents highlighted the importance of this topic 62: “It is very important topic; respective research activities followed by planning and development will lead to the intensification of cultural processes”; “Such spaces are of vital importance for developing arts”; etc.

Moreover, the respondents listed the functions/activities to be implemented in CCs that are to come. Some mention, that CCs must possess cultural, entertainment and innovations profiles.

This is the list, provided by the respondents, about the components to be harmonized in the premises of CCs: educational and exposition spaces, the spaces for entrepreneurial activities, such as crafts workshops, ceramic studios, artists’ studios, concept shops, spaces for performing arts (theatre workshop, amongst them for young members of society), discussion and debate halls, library, publishing house, research centers, offices for CCIs and NGOs, co-working spaces, yoga center, food spots, etc.

In order to develop the recommendation package for decision- and policymakers from public, private and civil sectors, Sub-chapter 3 provides the basic data regarding the 1. state of condition of CCs in Georgia; 2. draft list of the brownfield sites with the potential to become CC; 3. overview of the crucial legislative challenges hindering directly/indirectly the development of CCs and CCIs in general. The Recommendation and Action Plan sections within the deliverable 60 Source: https://www.idm-suedtirol.com/en/services-for-companies/film-fund-commission.html 61 Online Survey “Your Recommendations about Creative Spaces” was distributed via social networks on July 8, 2020. The aim of the Survey is to collect following information: [1] the patterns of consuming CCs in Georgia; [2] the data of the brownfield sites with the potential of becoming CCs; [3] the portfolio of unrealized CC projects.

62 Although the connotation of the term “Creative Cluster” is varies amongst the citizens of Georgia, partially because of the lack of awareness and absence of relevant policies on the national level.

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provide the instructions to be further adapted within the Policy Paper aimed at developing creative cluster ecosystem in Georgia.

2. Examples of Creative Clusters Fabrika Tbilisi63

Location: 8 Ninoshvili Street, Tbilisi, Georgia History: Multiverse Architecture (MUA, Architecture and Design Office) has been committed to urban & architectural projects since 2010. The heads of the Office, Gogiko Sakvarelidze and Devi Kituashvili developed concept of transforming former Soviet sewing factory into contemporary creative hub in spring, 2014 and later on, in Autumn 2014 they started to collaborate with the potential private investor “Adjara Group”. On December 31, 2016 Adjara Group bought the building for $7,000,000.00 and transferred the administration of the building to MUA. The building is situated beyond the central area of Tbilisi. Since the launch of the project the area became subjected to gentrification.

Aims/Objectives/Mission: Fabrika Tbilisi is a for-profit initiative with strong sense of corporate social responsibility and objectives, respectively. As a symbol of renovation, recreation and reinvention, the hub is genuinely interested in hosting and supporting enthusiastic individuals (both, as guests and as residents); mixes different traditional and creative businesses within its premises and as a result provides wide range of “experience portfolios”; maintains the active vibe by facilitating creation, sharing, co-working, socializing, etc.

Key Programs/Projects: In the premises of Fabrika Tbilisi activities are initiated and run mainly by “the residents” (in total: 20 residents). The types of the residents vary: 4 Concept shops (creative entrepreneurship):  Black Dog Shop: “The studio is mostly focused on book design, creating new fonts of […] Georgian alphabet and all kind of printed design; the shop is also offering art books, copies of vintage posters, artists’ postcards and stickers, hand-made notebooks and hand–printed tote bags.; in addition Black Dog Shop hosts pop-up exhibitions.”  Ceramic Studio 1300: “A team of 4 girls make handmade ceramics: faceted mugs, misshaped plates, honey and jam spoons and other pieces of functional artworks. The Studio also cooperates with different Georgian artist and produces ceramics decorated with artists’ unique paintings; in addition, the Studio offers workshops.”  Cru Graffiti Shop “The only Graffiti Store in Tbilisi with high quality sprays, markers and other necessary tools for street art. Following branded merchandise is also provided: hoodies, hats, bags and other accessories; the shop also organizes the international 63 Fabrika Tbilisi website: https://fabrikatbilisi.com

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 

urban art festival “Fabrikaffiti” annually.”

Flying Painter: Atelier store and studio.

Funduki: Family business; “The shop is packed with furniture and clothes. Besides the furniture, Funduki offers very souvenirs, all natural and colorful waffle towels, t-shirts and tote bags, rompers and jackets with Funduki’s original prints.”

Two Education and co-working spaces:  Creative Education Studio: “Creative Education Studio is a place which proves that it is never too late to learn something new. They prove it by more than 900 students who have already attended various courses here and lot of them did it either after their working hours or after their main university courses.; CES provides students with skills and knowledge claiming that more than 70% of their hard-working student find job in creative industries, such as design, audio and film directing, editing and music composition.”  Impact Hub Tbilisi: “Impact Hub is a co-working space with the international community that unites more than 20000 people in 100+ Hubs all around the world.

The doors of this co-working place are 24/7 open for membership card holders; Besides the inspiring facilities of the co-working space, Impact Hub provides educational events, conference facilities, the programs for social entrepreneurs and thought-provoking conversations about society’s most important problems or challenges.”

Six miscellaneous spaces:  Camora Basement: “This old school barbershop offers classic haircuts, hot towel straight razor shaves and a range of professional grooming services for a new generation of gentlemen.; they offer a course of 25 lessons of the art of grooming and haircutting.”  Margo Skate Shop: “Offering both old school and new school brands of boards & wheels as well as fashion for “skate-hooligans” from “Mango Club” and “Tamra”  Multiverse Architecture: “MUA unites a group of young architects led by Gogi Sakhvarelidze and Devi Kituashvili, committed to architectural, design and urban projects.”  Plant Shop: “Here people find all kind of indoor and outdoor plants, succulents, exotic bonsai trees and some perfect British roses right from the Great Britain. All these beauties can be placed in decorative ceramic pots hand-painted by young Georgian artists. Plant Shop also offers plant protection means, replanting and care services, stylish garden instruments and other accessories.”  Tsibakha Game Club: “Tsibakha Game Club has more than 150 board games from classic chess and backgammon to strategy games, two or multiplayer elimination games, games where you need not only luck but also logic and smartness.”  Voodkast Records: “The vinyl shop is the meeting space for those who are in love with music. Here the visitors can find not only local production, but also the labels by DJ-s from other countries visiting Tbilisi for the big electronic music events.”

In addition, with the abovementioned thematic spaces, Fabrika Tbilisi hosts up to 6 food spots 35

and the biggest hostel in the South Caucasus region.

Target groups: The majority of the target audience consists of youth and young members of society, both locals and travelers.

Financial aspects and business model: Along with the investment of $7 million by Adjara Group for purchasing the building, MUA collective took credit from the commercial bank for renovating the former sewing factory and making it ready to host the residents. Fabrika Tbilisi is registered as a joint-stock company; its incomes come from: a. rent by the residents; b. space rental and subsequent services (such as catering) and c. the revenue generated via hostel & in-house food spots. At present the joint-stock company managed to earn the profit however, the break-event point is not reached (considering $7 m. initial investment). MUA collective is in charge of managing Fabrika Tbilisi (only the hostel is administered by Adjara Group).

Supporting partners: Adjara Group (LLC), the initial investor.

Strategic Direction: N/A; MUA is committed to renovate, recreate and reinvent urban spaces with the focus on the industrial heritage. In this regard, the collective received the grant from LEPL Creative Georgia for the project – “The Research of Industrial Heritage”. The objectives of the project are to build up the database of unused, industrial brownfields and to come up with project ideas/concepts as a result of the series of workshops with young architects, designers and urbanists.

Knowledge Cafe64

Location: 3 D. Aghmashenebeli Street, turn III, Tsnori, Georgia History: Tsnori is a small town in Kakheti region (Eastern Georgia). For more than 20 years the citizens were deprived of institutionalized cultural experiences until Nana Bagalishvili and Keti Molashvili established Tsodnis Café (Knowledge Café) – multifunctional space for social interaction and development.

Aims/Objectives/Mission: To facilitate the distribution of knowledge to the region; strengthen social entrepreneurship and increase the level of education on the local level.

Key Programs/Projects: The organisation implements wide range of projects in the frames of multifunctional reading hall, bookshop, café and educational center. During 4 years of the existence they have implemented 8 projects, including 517 activities with 5,205 participants and 1419 individual donors. The list of projects includes entrepreneurship bootcamps, creative workshops, literature club, film club, public discussions (topics: ecology, corporate social responsibility, arts, etc.), club for elderly people, e-agro school, etc. Moreover, with the support of individual donors, the organisation provided subsistence and new media equipment/gadgets for the 64 Knowledge Café website: https://codnebi.ge

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locals during the pandemic.

Financial aspects and business model: The revenue of Knowledge Café comes from 3 sources: 1. Crowdfunding; 2. Donations (from Civil Society organisations and corporations/private companies) and 3. The revenue from café and bookshop. The initial capital comprised 19,000.00 GEL and voluntarily contribution by the organizers. Annual operational budget equals 36,000.00 GEL. Aimed at purchasing the land and constructing the building (at present they are residing at temporary space), the organisation implemented large-scale crowdfunding campaign and with the support of 1,500 citizens collected 79,000 GEL. Supporting partners: Open Society Georgia Foundation, ACCESS by USAID and multitude of private organisations/corporations, including leading commercial banks and small-scale cafes.

Strategic Direction: As soon as the organisation collects the money for constructing the space, it will gain self-sustainability and in addition to the existing program/projects it will implement a robotics school and will run a conference program. Moreover, the organisation is aimed at supporting and initiating the creation of alike organisations across the region and beyond.

MAUDI65

Location: Didube, MAUDI Factory History: MAUDI was founded in 2019 by Liza Zhvania, Lado Shonia and Dimitri Eristavi with an idea to create a new arts platform, encouraging artists’ more direct involvement in shaping the scene of the industry and forming connections locally and internationally; moreover, the initiators were looking for the space providing the facilities to create large-scale expositions and/or thematic events.

Aims/Objectives/Mission: Located in Didube, an industrial district of Tbilisi, MAUDI contributes to decentralizing the local art scene, placing it within the busy compound, composed of workshops and building material suppliers, surrounded by a bazaar and transportation knot.

Key Program/Projects: MAUDI is a not-for-profit art space in Tbilisi, run by artists. It hosts a variety of events exhibitions, music sessions, film screenings, theater plays, public talks, and more.

Space is made up of interlocking parts, a lobby serving as a social hub, a large exhibition hall, the workshop space, performance space, and an office. Connecting these spaces allows artists to produce works on site, with direct relation to the surroundings. Although each niche has its own purpose/rationale the overall space management has fluid policy echoing the needs of specific projects.

Financial aspects and business model: Initial investment was 40,000.00 Gel, which the initiators took as a loan from natural persons. The projects initiated by the MAUDI (NNLE) collective are implemented with the support of State open calls; as for the projects; when it 65 MAUDI website: https://www.facebook.com/maudiatmaudi/

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comes to collaborative projects, partners are responsible for the funding.

Supporting partners: State/Governmental organisations, Municipality, Program stakeholders, private loan givers.

Strategic Direction: MAUDI is aimed at becoming more self-sufficient by attracting the funds in order to cover operational budget (communal expenses, rent, etc.).

Propaganda.Network/Stamba D Block66

Location: 14 Kostava Avenue; Tbilisi, Georgia / Stamba D Block History: Propaganda was institutionalized in 2017 with the support of a businessman, Temur Ugulava, the founder of LLC Adjara Group. Propaganda is committed to the development of visual arts by supporting creative practices of the Georgian contemporary artists across the country and beyond its borders. By extending over the 4 th floor of Stamba D Block, Propaganda plays vital role in transforming Stamba into creative cluster-like structure. Stamba (the bundle of 4 blocks) is situated in the center of Tbilisi and comprises two hotels (Rooms, Stamba), up to 5 food spots, design shops, independent artists’ and Propaganda’s studios.

Aims/Objectives/Mission: Rooms and Stamba Hotels are within the chain of international Design Hotels (please, refer to dezeen and cool hunting reviews); therefore, their design/visual approach is always conceptual and artistic. Alike other projects run/supported

by Adjara Group, Stamba surrounding is eager to act as a creative hub for like-minded guests, amongst them, international travelers. In this regard, the mission and motto of Propaganda – “Environment, where contemporary art initiates change” goes hand-in-hand with Stamba’s overall strategic direction.

Key Program/Projects67:  Collective Studio: “by providing working space, basic work materials, and tools, the “Collective Workshop” program is aimed at supporting creative work of the artists. The studio is located in a building of Stamba Hotel (Stamba D Block); therefore, the artists who work in Collective Studios have the opportunity of networking, communicating and initiating collaborations with colleagues and various active representatives of the art scene”.  Guest Organizations: “Propaganda, along with independent art professionals, hosts like-minded organizations with similar objectives and strategic outlook”.  Print Workshop: “The workshop is equipped with textile and paper print machinery and invites artists and creative entrepreneurs to work on-location.”  International Residencies: “International Residencies had hosted international creative professionals from December 2018 onwards. The program promotes the mobility of artists, curators and art researchers and as a result, supports the exchange of artistic 66 Websites: https://propaganda.network ; https://stambahotel.com 67 Implemented by Propaganda.network in the premises/in partnership with Stamba / Adjara Group

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 

experiences internationally by providing studios at Stamba D Block.”

Oxygen_Tbilisi_No_Fair: “On May 17th, 2018, Propaganda presented Oxygen, the first edition of the annual contemporary art exhibition uniting 35 participants (independent artists, collectives, and institutions) at Stamba D Block space.”

Sonic Arts Lab: Sound studio under Propaganda.network provides sound-related services to Propaganda in the frames of different projects and also has its own development strategy and programming aimed at developing contemporary sound art.

Financial aspects and business model: Propaganda is funded by Adjara Group/ the businessman, Temur Ugulava on monthly basis. In the frames of this support, Propaganda staff manages Collective Studio, Guest Organisations, Print Workshop and International residencies programs; Sonic Arts Lab. is a sub-project implemented on voluntarily basis by the manager of the Lab. Oxygen is co-financed by LEPL Creative Georgia, Tbilisi City Hall and Propaganda; the budget for the annual exhibition amounts up to 60,000.00 GEL. Supporting partners: Adjara Group, LEPL Creative Goergia, Tbilisi City Hall, Goethe InstitutTbilisi (for temporary exhibition and educational programs).

Strategic Direction: “Propaganda is aimed at developing, internationalizing and making contemporary art accessible, the mission of Propaganda on the one hand, is to promote professional development of the artists, increase their visibility and provide them with convenient working environment and on the other hand, to initiate/support research-based and educational projects.”

Tbilisi State Academy of Arts68

Location: 22 Griboedov Street, Tbilisi, Georgia History: Tbilisi State Academy of Arts was founded in 1922 and it was the first higher educational institution specializing in arts in Georgia and across the Caucasus and one of the three academies, along with those of Leningrad and Riga, in the former Soviet Union. From the second half of 20th century the Academy developed the Departments of Textile and Costume Design, Woodwork and Metalwork and of Industrial Art, followed by the Department of Plastic Decoration and the creation of the Faculty for Applied Arts in 1961. Thus, for more than 60 years Academy is in charge of developing industrial and applied arts skills amongst the students and therefore, contributes to the ecosystem of CCIs on the national level. From 2018 onwards, Academy is committed to the Project “Upstart” focused on strengthening entrepreneurial skills amongst the students, both from practical and theoretical backgrounds.

As “Upstart” represents extracurricular activities and facilitates the clustering of the stakeholders, it can be considered as the catalyzer for the Academy to transcend the boundaries of traditional institution of higher education and act as the regional hub for creative entrepreneurs.

68 Tbilisi State Academy of Arts website: https://art.edu.ge/acgeo/

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Aims/Objectives/Mission: Along with the traditional educational rationale, the Academy is aimed at strengthening entrepreneurial and craftsmanship amongst the students; the former requires interaction with the professionals beyond traditional arts sector (e.g. the subfields of business administration), while the latter represents the foundation for developing creative handicraft and industrial products. As a result of this multidisciplinary focus, Academy expects the development of a new approach/strategy for creating cultural/creative products and services.

Key Programs/Projects:  Upstart: In the frames of the Project, there are two main dimensions: 1 st, the Project envisages updating the curricula and enriching them with the courses in arts management and marketing, entrepreneurship, etc. 2nd dimension incorporates the formation of the “creative incubator”. In the frames of the incubator creative ideas are expected to be transformed into profitable business ideas with the support of specially trained tutors and mentors. Moreover, the feature of the projects is multidisciplinary, therefore requiring from the students of the Tbilisi State Academy of Arts to cluster with the professionals and students from other fields.  Fablab: (at present the operations of Fablab are on hold) The Studio is envisaged to be the platform for producing crafts/applied arts prototypes and the functioning of the Fablab has to go hand-in-hand with the operations of the business/creative incubator in the frames of the project – Upstart.  Lectures on interdisciplinary approach: Academy regularly holds the lectures by the professionals from the United States of America aimed at strengthening students’ skills in developing creative projects considering interdisciplinary approach.

Financial aspects and business model: “Upstart” is funded by the British Council in the frame sf the UK-supported program – “Creative Spark” (budget N/A). The fees for the staff on behalf of the Academy is partially covered by the Academy (therefore, State budget). The equipment for the Fablab was purchased with the support of the Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development of Georgia (Budget 300,000.00 GEL); here, again, the staff assigned to administer the Fablab is paid by the Academy.

Supporting partners: The Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development of Georgia (Fablab); The Embassy of United States of America (The series of lectures); The British Council Georgia (UpStart).

Strategic Direction: At present Academy is committed to the development of the action plan (related to Upstart project).

3. Mapping of Brownfields / Semi-furnished Infrastructure with the Potential of Becoming a Creative Space

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The brownfields and abandoned/unused infrastructure in general, usually built in the Soviet times (Industrial Heritage), represent the property of State, e.g. the property of the Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development of Georgia or a municipal property. Due to the intense trend of privatization in 1990s, there is a multitude of unexploited buildings with the potential of becoming creative hub/clusters under private ownership.

The list/titles of the buildings to be followed is comprised of the physical spaces either partially representing creative space or having the potential of becoming one.

The Radio City: Adjara Group bought brownfield (former Radio Factory) from the Tbilisi City Hall for $8 m. in order to transform it into a creative economy platform aimed at integrating artists, manufacturers, educators, entrepreneurs and professionals of diverse backgrounds into a synergistic ecosystem. Radio City’s territory extends to 117 950 m 2 land area and 48 265 m 2 structure area which will be used – amongst others – for international festivals, exhibitions, art fairs, artists residencies, co-working spaces, creative ateliers and studios. Adjara Group has the obligation to invest at least 20 m. GEL in its development. The project is divided in several phases and follows phased development strategy. Adjara Group is planning to collaborate with USAID Economic Security Program implemented by DAI and EBRD to find consultants for concept development and business model creation, but sourcing for consultants has been paused due to covid19. In addition to the core values of learning and mastering, inventiveness, collaboration and synergy, equality and inclusion, ecology and sustainability, Radio Factory project is concerned with the local context: “With an emphasis on the advancement of Gldani and Mukhiani communities we serve as an opportunity platform open to all individuals and enterprises striving to innovate, create, learn, master, and grow while engaging in collaborative processes with other members of the community.” The development concept follows following pillars: Adaptive reuse, Green house (renewable energy, air quality control and display, Low VOC materials69, air improving indoor plants, vertical farming, energy-efficient windows, zero/minimal waste policy, recyclable materials, in-house recycling center, minimized water consumption, waste and rain-water management, bike-friendly infrastructure, etc.) , Cluster approach, Synergetic ecosystem, Creative economy, Collaborative activity and Community involvement, Grant funding and Public-Private Partnership. The first phase is planned to be completed in 2021, followed by the second phase to be completed in 2022; the final phase is expected to be completed in 2023. The cluster approach is implemented by getting together following components/dimensions: offices, co-working spaces, craftsmanship and light manufacturing, retail, education, arts and design, fashion, film & TV, recreation. Synergetic Ecosystem is based on the value chain of win-win-win cooperation mode, consisting following phases: consulting, design, crafting /producing, packaging, marketing, showcasing, retailing. In the frames of the Collaborative resource centers the tenants and the community members will be provided with vocational training opportunities, collaborative workshops, career counselling, consulting on funding opportunities, hosting event space, networking opportunities. Adjara Group aims at:  identifying and exhausting all existing grant funding opportunities for the radio city;  cooperating with primary grant providers on starting new programs;  assisting Radio City tenants in acquiring grant funding.

69 (toxicity) (paint, cleaning supplies, etc.)

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In addition to the international donors, Adjara Group plans to collaborate with Enterprise Georgia and Georgia’s Agency of Innovation and Technology (both are LEPLs under the Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development of Georgia), as it envisages the Radio City as the primary platform for relevant micro, small- and medium-sized startups and businesses. Also, Adjara Group plans to cooperate with the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sport of Georgia and Tbilisi City Hall to implement project-specific policies and programs.

In addition to the Radio City, Adjara Group acquired two large-scale infrastructural assets (TEDZ and Bread Factory). The former one is under the stage of conceptual development, as for the latter - it is partially furnished and will host reading club, café, music hall, etc.

Besides private initiatives, there are the cases of creative space development projects initiated by the representatives of non-governmental sector /civil society later supported by the State/ municipal authorities, e.g. New Mediatheque and Contemporary Art Gallery project is developed by visual artists, arts professionals and the members of civil society – the idea of the project is to transform unused cable station located in recreational zone into a creative hub. The initiative is supported by Tbilisi City Hall, by conferring temporary right to use the building (usufruct) to AHU Foundation (NNLE, represented by the initiators of the project). Also, there exists another example of the State/ municipality supporting the realization of private creative initiative by conferring temporary right to use the infrastructure on the regional level (Project “Ak Tusheti”).

Number of LEPLs (organisations within the system of different ministries) and other statesubsidized organizations possess spatial assets they usually rent out not necessarily to the “relevant” organisations. There are the cases when part of the property of a scientific institution has Spa Salon as the tenant. The major source of revenue for these LEPLs is the State/Government and usually the budget is not sufficient to cover the payroll and other key operational costs of the organisation. Therefore, they are forced to rent out the spaces regardless of the profile of the tenant. As a result, the conceptual consonance between the host and the resident is not always justified. However, there are examples, when LEPL, while announcing the tender puts special requirements for the potential winner-residents, such as representing arts/culture sector. For example, Georgian Literature Museum rents out its spaces to Theatre collective and the residents which operate Crafts retail store, Documentary film office and photography studio. Although this collection of the organisation can be held as the steppingstone for forming creative cluster environment in the premises of the Georgian Literature Museum (Garden), clustering does not take place as a result of the absence of relevant policies and strategy all residents would obey and would be engaged in.

The Online Survey “Your recommendations about Creative Clusters” resulted in drafting the list of the unused, abandoned urban spaces society considers worth having the potential to be transformed into creative cluster.

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Tbilisi: “Maudi Factory” (as a whole) 70, 116 Akaki Tsereteli Ave.; Old shooting pavilion, 158 David Aghmashenebeli Ave.; Caravanserai71, 8 Sioni Street; The building of The Georgian National Academy of Sciences and neighboring cable car station, 52 Rustaveli Ave. 72; „Zakvo”73 building, Tamarashvili Ave.; Spatial Steel Tubes on Rike Park; Cinema “Apollo”, 135 Aghmashenebeli Ave.; Former railway stations in Didube and Samgori; Vast majority of abandoned buildings on Kakheti Highway (till the Tbilisi Airport).

Regions: Factories in Zestaponi74 and Rustavi; Former Children’s Hospital in Borjomi Park, Borjomi; Culture Center at Akhalkalaki.

These are the results of the first phase of the online Survey. Throughout July-August 2020 more responses will be analyzed and in combination with the Virtual Regional tour and public information requested from the state/governmental agencies, the first complete database of brownfields and other types of abandoned buildings having the potential for becoming creative spaces will be developed (please, refer to the Action Plan below).

4. Support Schemes for Developing CCs and Respective Legislation 

Privatization and Transfer of Use

One of the cornerstones for developing CCs on the national level is to exploit the possibilities of the brownfield sites. Majority of the sites represent State and/or municipal property and their transfer into use/privatization75 is regulated by the Law of Georgia on State Property.

Privatization: State property can be privatized by [1] electronic and/or public auctions ([1.1] unconditional auction and [1.2] auction with conditions), [2] direct sale, [3] competitive direct sale and [4] the transfer of the property free of charge.

If a state property is privatized by a conditional auction, in the cases determined by the Ordinance of the Government of Georgia, the initial privatization price of the state property may be less than the market price. When the state-owned immovable property is privatized by direct sale, competitive direct sale or by transfer of title free of charge the procedure is subjected to the decision of the Government of Georgia.

70 At present there is only one creative space (MAUDI) at Maudi Factory.

71 Caravanserai hosts Tbilisi History Museum and runs the program for temporary exhibitions (usually, for contemporary visual arts exhibitions and festivals). The ground floor is exploited by private small-scale touristic shops. The overall concept of the building is not coherent.

72 The space hosts different organisations, such as the Academy itself, Georgian Cinematographers’ Union, media office, etc. Although the building resides on the main avenue and at the very central location, the citizens have limited information about the concept and rationale of this building.

73 Property of LLC TBC BANK. 74 Glass and textile factories.

75 Also, State property can be subjected to “transfer of management rights”, meaning to transfer of the right to manage a state owned ownership interest and shares (ownership interest and shares) to natural or legal persons or to other entities.

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If the state property to be privatized is on the balance of a Self-Government Unit, the Unit is in charge of the auction not the Government of Georgia. In collaboration with the local Assembly the Self-Government Unit is capable to privatize the property via direct sale as well. However, the Units do not have capability to transfer the property to private owner free of charge.

Transfer for use:

State property shall be transferred for use for a definite or indefinite period, for consideration or free of charge, and with or without an auction.

Here again, even if the property is on the balance of a Self-governing Unit, the Unit stays in charge of the transfer of the property for use only via auction. The rest has to be consolidated with the Government of Georgia.

Existing legislation shows that the Government has legal power to transfer the property for use and/or privatize it, if it decides so. However, the existing experience shows that privatizing/transferring the property for use for cultural purposes is not common 76.

The absence of guidelines, related to transferring the property for use/privatizing the property for cultural purposes (based on existing practices), hinders the possibility to identify the cornerstone of the problem related to the exploitation of state/municipal properties. There is a question where the key issue lies: is it in the ineffective legislation, or in the sophisticated bureaucracy and the absence of the units/staff in charge of mediating between the initiators of creative spaces projects and the decision-makers and policymakers at the state/municipal organs owning the properties in question. 

Social Entrepreneurship

Considering the structure of creative clusters, the concept of social entrepreneurship plays important role: multitude of CCI organisations are committed to design/develop creative content and commercialize different types of creative products and services, respectively. Moreover, there are many examples when these products/services are developed by specific groups of society, amongst them the vulnerable members of society, such as women, IDPs, LGBT, etc.

Although there are number of ongoing cases of CCI organisations, following the corporate culture of social entrepreneurship (e.g. Knowledge Café), the elaboration of respective legislation has been representing the challenge for over many years. While non-profit organisations in Georgia have the right to be engaged in economic (commercial & entrepreneurial) activities, according to the existing legislation (although the lines do not provide clear instructions77), they are deprived from being engaged into economic activities as priority. Considering the worldwide trend, when the main sources of revenue for NGOs (53%) comes from entrepreneurial/commercial activities, followed by public funding (35%) and private donations (13%), the elaboration of the legislative framework for regulating social entrepreneurial activities is of vital importance. 78 The Center for Strategic Research and Development of Georgia started to advocate the elaboration of the legislative framework for social entrepreneurship since 2015. After three 76 However, there are cases of the initiatives “Ak Tusheti” and “Mziuri Mediatheque and Contemporary Art Gallery”.

77 http://www.civilin.org/pdf/Guidebook-final.pdf 78 The Johns Hopkins Comparative Nonprofit Sector Project, Global Civil Society: An Overview, 2003, gv. 29

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years (in November, 1, 2018) ten MPs of the Parliament of Georgia initiated the Draft Law on Social Entrepreneurship (authored by the Center for Strategic Research and Development of Georgia & natural person, Levan Alapishvili). At present the law is subjected to evaluation by different committees (The leading committee in charge is the Sector Economy and Economic Policy Committee). It is expected that the draft law will be presented on the plenary session throughout July/August 2020. The main aim of the law is to implement the status of “Social Entrepreneurship” within the legislation of Georgia in order to raise the awareness of the stakeholders regarding the concept and the rationale of the entities following the corporate culture of social entrepreneurship.

The document interprets Social Entrepreneurship as entrepreneurial activity aimed at ensuring social equality, employment of the vulnerable groups of society and at achieving social goals in the fields of education, culture, health protection, sports and environmental protection. It permits both for-profit and non-profit organisations to be granted the status of “Social Entrepreneurship”. In case of for-profit organisations, if granted with the status, they are obliged to reinvest 70% of the profit to the operations of the organisation serving social needs.

Although the Draft Law does not incorporate determined stimulation mechanisms, it is expected that the adoption of the law will intensify the process of developing specific support, amongst them, stimulation mechanisms for Social Entrepreneurship. 

Crowdfunding and crowdfinancing

Since the funding and relevant sources for CCIs and CCs, respectively are limited in Georgia, crowdfunding, one of the types of external funding, has the potential to be a catalyzer for financial sustainability of CCs. The existing practice shows that amongst three types of crowdfunding, only the “philanthropic” model is applicable (e.g. the case of Knowledge Café).

Loan- and Equity Based crowdfinancing is not practiced do to the absence of respective fiscal policies and legislation. Through loan-based crowdfunding initiative groups (those who are unable to acquire a traditional loan and/or wish to find feasible alternative ways) may approach other professionals for a loan in return for interest.79 Equity-based crowdfinancing, which is raising capital from the crowd through the sale of securities (shares, convertible note, debt, revenue share, and more) – faces same challenge related to unelaborated fiscal policies and respective legislation. 

Philanthropy and Charity Donations

Please, refer to Deliverable 2 - “State of Condition of the Draft Law of Georgia on Philanthropy, Charity and Social Partnership" & "The overview of the stimulation mechanisms in terms of philanthropy in different countries".

IV.

RECOMMENDATIONS80

79 Read more at: https://www.equitynet.com/crowdfunding-terminology/loan-based-crowdfunding 80 Note: these Recommendations will form the forthcoming Policy Paper (to be elaborated in September 2020)

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On national level, Georgia needs to elaborate a “Cluster-based creative economic development strategy”, consisting of specific schemes for its implementation with the assistance of key stakeholders. The recommendations below summarise the results of the study/Deliverable 1.

They are addressed to: decision and policymakers from State and Self-Governing Units across Georgia, different types of external funders, amongst them businesses, individual donors and (inter-)/national donor organisations, and leaders and managers of CCs, representing but not limited to CCI sector.

1. Strategic and Policy Level

    



Formation of a permanent CC-focused multi-stakeholder team, consisting of the representatives of public, private and civil sector from different life areas, such as: education, youth policy, social and economic policies on national and local levels.

Creating special units within the frames of relevant public organisations with designated staff for consulting services on CC-related projects and their initiators and teams.

Adapting the public-funding schemes and programs to envisage as a priority the establishment and development of different forms of CCs and ensuring their sustainability.

Including consultation elements in cultural policy bottom-up approach: Including the representatives of civil society and private sector in the urban regeneration strategies and in the related decision-making processes.

Increasing the awareness of CCs managers regarding the best international practices of developing the business model of CC-focused spaces, including the stimulation mechanisms, such as offering the spaces to potential tenants on process that are lower than the market one.

Increasing the awareness of municipalities Self-Governing Units, related to the spillover effects of CC-focused infrastructure and improving cooperation between municipalities in Georgia on the issues related to CC development: possibly setting up of a Creative city Network of Georgia 81.

2. Management and Operations

 

 

Elaborating of strategic business plans of the existing CCs in Georgia (in cases they don’t have one), incl. looking at innovative business models of maintaining the centers in a long term.

Directing CCs programming towards developing cultural competences of the community members, e.g. thinking and acting culturally with regard to the city and specifically to the local audiences, creating a rich cultural life, encouraging imagination, gaining understanding of shared knowledge and sense of belongingness to a place.

Increasing the awareness related to volunteering in developing CCs ecosystem by emphasizing on the importance of the economic value of volunteering, including on legislative level.

Focusing on a multidisciplinary and cross-sectoral programming in the LLCs development, balancing traditions and innovations.

81 See as example: Creative City Network of Canada: https://www.creativecity.ca/

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 

Using advanced digital technologies in the creative and production process, as well as in the management and operations. Active use of Web 2.0 tools for promotion of CCs activities.

Increasing the awareness related to the sustainability angle in the operation of creative venues: e.g. concern for low energy consumption, garbage recuperation and composting, use of organic materials, decrease of carbon footprint and others.

3. Collaboration and Visibility

   

Organising joined advocacy and lobbying campaigns aimed at strengthening the role of artists and arts collectives in Tbilisi and across the regions.

Identifying the organisations to be in charge of developing data about Georgian CCs for a wider dissemination of Georgian examples of CCs among international networks and online portals – their programs, achievements, events and management models.

Improving the local connections between CCs and non-cultural organisations (women networks, social centers, hospitals, local community clubs, volunteering and amateur organisations) Improving the local collaboration between CCs and the “conventional” cultural organisations (museums, operas, theatres, etc.).

4. Research and Education

      

Strengthening collaboration between CCs and local schools, training institutions and universities (especially programs on arts and culture), long-life learning organisations.

Disseminating case studies based on CCs practices among educational institutions and training centers in Georgia, dealing with arts and cultural management.

Organising focused training programs on capacity building, international cooperation, business models, fundraising and marketing for the senior personnel of CCs. Initiating studies for measuring the economic, social and cultural impact of the CCs in Georgia – on the communities, the region, and the country.

Establish a Georgian Think-Tank (online and offline), with international consultants involved, on issues related to the power of arts and creativity in urban regeneration policies.

Developing the data of brownfield sites, both the property of State/municipality and private property, with the potential of hosting CC-focused creative hub.

Conduct in-depth research amongst the general audience in order to collect the information about the most demanded profile of CCs (by identifying most demanded functions/dimensions).

5. Financial Support and Legislation



Securing regular forms of communication between potential public and private funders of CCs, including businesses that are more oriented toward issues outside of culture and arts (such as public health, social issues, economy, environment, education, science, etc.).

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 

   

Offering long-term concessions forms to cultural organisations for using empty industrial building to be transformed into CC (on criteria related to creative programming, economic efficiency and sustainability).

Providing targeted grants to startups as the backbone for development of CCs - for specific projects, or purchasing of equipment, or use of space at preferential rent, etc., as partnership scheme between diverse funders (the state, foundations, businesses, private donors).

Attracting wealthy individuals and business corporations in the reconstruction process and further maintenance of the centers.

Providing diverse ways to generate revenues from lively activities and membership in CCs. Developing public support schemes for CC projects, e.g. joint call of the State organisation committed to the development of CCIs, such as LEPL Creative Georgia and the Self-Governing Units across the country.

Aimed at widening the opportunities for external funding, advocating the development and adoption of legislative framework regulating philanthropy and crowdfunding.

7. Success Factors Experts and CC managers share several key factors that determine the success of starting and developing a creative cluster, as follows:  Observe what is already existing in the specific place and built up on organisation, initiative or coalition that already exist in the city/region.  Mind the uniqueness and the resources of the place, understand the context in which the CC operates.  Set up a partnership framework. Take your time to choose the right partners at the beginning and keep them involved by setting up a “win-win” situation with mutual benefits for all parties involved.  Secure am inspirational leader that does not only start the CC, but also has a community orientation and is able to build coalitions of partners around cluster’s development.  Secure diversity of likeminded people, involved in the cluster, in terms of professional affiliations and background; keep their belief in the collective impact and their motivation to contribute to the cluster.  Create a “family feeling” and a safe internal environment before connecting with external partners.  Balance the initial “startup passion” with the ability and competences to manage the creative cluster further; secure a CC leader that is also a good “connector”.  Put in place a governance structure that “regulates the freedom” and keep the passion in an organised way. o Make the organisational structure of the CC fluid and open for constant change, do not over-structure.  Organise mixed events in order to bring together companies and people from different sectors.  Offer mixed programming combining traditional art forms with new media, digitalization, new technologies in order to attract young audiences and users.  Keep all the time a collaborative mode in the CC as a lively place of sharing and interactions, and trust with the community.

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

Keep an ongoing contact with local communities and engage them, make them feel the ownership on the CC by diverse entertainment, educational and other activities (e.f. restaurants, bars, parties, open stages, etc.)  Increase the transparency via involving media in activities and results of the clusters-both conventional and social media.

The political will and the long-term commitment of initial funders, or investors, is of utmost importance for the success of a CC. Government authorities should recognise CCIs as an important area in the strategic cultural plans at national and local level. The understanding that CCs are part of development of creative industries, having also social goals, is of utmost importance for decreasing the fear of creatves that creative clusters can increase commercialization and decrease the public funding.

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V. Action Plan # Activity

Description

Stakeholders

Jul.– Aug. 202082

1 Develop the CCI. related data, amongst them the data on brownfields and local CCI organisations, existing support schemes, etc. across the regions and Tbilisi.

LEPL Creative Georgia and the national expert will conduct virtual regional tour across the regions (in total 10 meetings) with the representatives of the Self-Governing Units from the regions in order to retrieve relevant information to be further considered within the Policy Paper.

Local Expert; LEPL Creative Georgia

x

2 Study . consumption patterns and most demandable profile of CCs.

Online Survey is being spread in order to retrieve following data: The information about the consumption patterns of existing CCs and the list of components general society thinks must be envisaged in the frames of new CCs.

Local Expert;

3 Incorporating . “Deliverable 1” into the Policy Paper, along with the content of Deliverable 2.

The Policy Paper (the main deliverable in the frames of the Project) has to envisage the main findings of this document, including incorporating this Action Plan and the Action Plan from Deliverable 2.

Local and International Experts of the Project

x

4 Sharing . international best practices to the stakeholders.

In the framework of Tbilisi Architecture Biennial (edition 2020) 3 international representatives (experts/the managers of CCs/the representatives of State

International Guest speakers from Knowledge provider countries

x

82 In the frames of the Project 83 In the frames of the Project 84 In the frames of the Project

Sept. – Dec. 202083

The representatives of the regional Self-Governing Units General Audience.

General Audience

Jan. – May. 202184

Jun. – Sept.

2021

Sept.20 21 onward s

5 Peer-2-peer . learning abroad

6 Developing the . skills and increasing the awareness related to CCs in the regions 7 Advocating and . lobbying the development of the legislative regulations related to social entrepreneurship, crowdfunding and philanthropy.

organisations with CC-focused support schemes) will share the experience to the representatives of local CCI sector.

4 day study visit of representatives of stakeholders from Georgia in success case country/city regarding creative hubs/clubs' development (4 representatives from the decision making bodies and stakeholder team + 2 Creative Georgia representatives) Series of workshops and seminars in the regions.

Taking part in sectorial meetings regarding the legislative regulations related to social entrepreneurship, crowdfunding and philanthropy.

The representatives of Georgian CCI sector.

National Expert, the representatives of public sector of Georgia.

x

National Expert/ LEPL Creative Georgia

x

x

x

National Expert/ LEPL Creative Georgia

1

V.

APENDICES

APPENDIX 1: Resources Books and Articles

Bagwell, Susan (2008). Creative Clusters and City Growth. In: Creative Industries, Journal Vol.1, No:1 Baltic Creative CIC: Annual report 2019: https://www.baltic-creative.com/wpcontent/uploads/2019/11/BALTIC-CREATIVE-Master-version-for-web-compressed-2-10-yearReport-210-x-210-1.pdf Bergman E and Feser E (1999) Industrial and Regional Clusters: Concepts and Comparative Applications. West Virginia University.

Boix, Rafael; Lazzeretti, Luciana; Hervas, Jose Luis & De Miguel, Blanca (2008). Creative clusters in Europe: A microdata approach, Ersa: http://wwwsre.wu.ac.at/ersa/ersaconfs/ersa11/e110830aFinal00471.pdf Branzanti, C. (2015). Creative clusters and district economies: Towards a taxonomy to interpret the phenomenon. European Planning Studies, 23(7).

Centre for Livable Cities, Singapore (2018). Urban System Studies. One North: Fostering Research, Innovation and Entrepreneurship: https://www.clc.gov.sg/docs/default-source/urbansystems-studies/uss-one-north.pdf Cooke P and Lazzeretti L (2008) Creative cities, cultural clusters and local economic development. Edward Elgar, Cheltenham.

Digital Creative Sectors in Coventry: Trends and Potential (2017): A report for Coventry Great Place project by Stephen Roper (Warwick Business School), Areti Gkypali (Warwick Business School), Jane Sanderson (Coventry University) and Lorraine Morley (Morley Associates): Ltd)https://warwick.ac.uk/services/vco/exec/registrar/acb/acb.04_digital_creative_industries_in _coventry.pdf Evans, Graeme (2009). From Cultural Quarters to Creative Clusters –Creative spaces in the new city economy, Stockholm: Institute of Urban History: https://bura.brunel.ac.uk/bitstream/2438/6475/2/Cultural%20quarters%20&%20urban %20regeneration-evans.pdf Florida R and Mellander C (2008) Music Clusters: A Preliminary Analysis. The Martin Prosperity Institute.

Gordon, I. R., & McCann, P. (2000). Industrial clusters: Complexes, agglomeration and/or social networks? Urban Studies, 37(3), 513–532. https://doi.org/10.1080/0042098002096.

Glowacki, Michael & Jackson, Lizzie (2019). Organizational Culture of Public Service Media: People, Values, Processes: (https://www.creativemediaclusters.com/images/Glowacki_Jackson_2019.pdf Jong, de V. (2012). Nodes of Creativity. Unlocking the Potential of Creative SMEs by Managing the Soft Infrastructure of Creative Clusters. Erazmus University Rotterdam.

Kind, Sonja & Meier zu Köcker, Gerd (2012) Developing Successful Creative & Cultural Clusters.

Measuring their outcomes and impacts with new framework tools. Projectzukunft, Berlin Komorowski, M. (2017a). A novel typology of media clusters. European Planning Studies, 25(8). https://doi.org/10.1080/09654313.2017.1303823.

Komorowski, Marlen & Picone, Ike (2020) Creative Cluster Development. Governance, Placemaking and Entrepreneurship. Routledge.

Landry, C. (2008). The creative city: A toolkit for urban innovators. London: Earthscan.

Lazzeretti, L., Capone, F., & Boix, R. (2012). Reasons for clustering of creative industries in Italy and Spain. European Planning Studies, 20(8).

Machado, A. F., Simões, R. F., & Diniz, S. C. (2013). Urban amenities and the development of creative clusters: The case of Brazil. Current Urban Studies, 1(4), 92–101.

Ministry of Tourism and Culture, Ontario (2010). Ontario’s Entertainment and Creative Cluster. A Framework for Growth: http://www.mtc.gov.on.ca/en/publications/Creative_Cluster_Report.pdf NESTA (2010) Creative Clusters and Innovation. Putting Creativity on the Map: https://media.nesta.org.uk/documents/creative_clusters_and_innovation.pdf NESTA, Hivos, British Council: Creative Hub Leader’s Toolkit: https://creativeconomy.britishcouncil.org/media/resources/Creative_Hub_Leaders_Toolkit.pdf Nielsén, T., & Power, D. (2011). Priority sector report: Creative and cultural industries. Retrieved from Publications Office of the European Union website: http://ec.europa.eu/DocsRoom/documents/615/attachments/1/translations/en/renditions/pdf .

Porter MJ (1998) “Clusters and the new economics of competition”, Harvard Business Review, November-December.

Pratt A (2004) “Creative clusters: towards the governance of the creative industries production system?”, Media International Australia incorporating Culture and Policy, pp. 50-66.

Sandel, Terry & Skarveli, Lilia (2016). Mapping exercise: How could creative industries foster innovation in tourism in the northern dimension area? Country Report –Lithuania, funded by the European Union.

Schools Excellent Fund - Creative Clusters, Ireland: https://www.education.ie/en/SchoolsColleges/Information/Curriculum-and-Syllabus/cap_creative_cluster_guidelines.pdf Skavronska, Iryna (2019). Creative Clusters and the Position of Ukraine in the Market of Creative Products. Research Paper, UNICTAD: https://unctad.org/meetings/en/Contribution/cep2019-2210-contribution_en_Ukraine.pdf V4 Creative Incubators: Guide to Places and Spaces of Creative Incubators in Central Europe, Ed Zora Jaurova (2015). Budobs, Budapest: http://www.budobs.org/files/v4_creative_incubators.pdf Wu, Weiping (2005). Dynamic Cities and Creative Clusters. Policy Research Working Paper; No. 3509. World Bank, Washington, DC: https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/8863 Zenna Creative (2019). The Anatomy of a Creative Cluster. Inspiration from Global Creative Initiatives.

Online Resources

11 Inspirational Co-working Spaces: https://www.creativebloq.com/inspiration/11-inspirationalco-working-spaces-to-make-you-more-creative 30 Munster Schools are Part of Creative Cluster (September, 2018): https://www.irishexaminer.com/breakingnews/ireland/30-munster-schools-are-part-of-creativecluster-871151.html 1

Accelerators and incubators- https://www.sbir.gov/node/822177 Accelerators versus incubators –What startups need to know (June 2018) https://www.techrepublic.com/article/accelerators-vs-incubators-what-startups-need-to-know/ Bangkock Creative District will Inspire you to Dream Bigger (February, 2019): https://www.advocate.com/travel/2019/2/05/one-night-bangkok-exposes-citys-little-knowngems Clusters are at the Heart of the Creative Economy, Charles Armstrong: https://creativeconomy.britishcouncil.org/guide/clusters-are-heart-creative-economy/ Co-working Spaces for Artists and Creatives (December, 2018): https://www.coworkingresources.org/blog/coworking-spaces-for-artists-and-creatives Creation and Implementation of Cluster Model of Folk Artistic Crafts Development, Ukraine: http://personal.pu.if.ua/depart/svitlana.kropelnytska/resource/file/Investment_project_Suzirya. pdf Creative Clusters Lead to Creative Communities (May, 2011): https://www.huffpost.com/entry/creative-clusters-lead-to_b_844074? guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAA AB9xFHpptgXMYyP06jkPY6JdIHIlsovyMuckrrB1JBMaxJuavWNr_z6RZz6OvDaCeSGTMbDRLjAi2uNb9q4Zx GzvWHG6MAjZmvnwNH8SdViBlZtp05wR6xvPj-9c7skTp5h7CGP94y2bsehhWD85X57dU3WsWDMALHt7zd8ctZ Creative Hubs, British Council: https://creativeconomy.britishcouncil.org/projects/hubs/ Creative Industries Cluster Programme, UK: https://clwstwr.org.uk/about/creative-industriesclusters-programme Establishment and Development of Arts Incubators, UNESCO Diversity of Cultural Expressions: https://en.unesco.org/creativity/policy-monitoring-platform/establishment-development-art How Creative Clusters Spur Innovation (September 2016): (https://www.livemint.com/Companies/o2NfSYxi5cxV2NyyNr95gK/How-creative-clusters-spurinnovation.html Hubs, Clusters and Regions, John Newbegin: https://creativeconomy.britishcouncil.org/guide/hubs-clusters-and-regions/ Luxembourg Creative Industries Cluster: https://www.luxinnovation.lu/cluster/luxembourgcreative-industries-cluster/ NESTA Names Eastbourne as a Creative Cluster (August, 2018): https://techresorteb.com/nestanames-eastbourne-as-a-creative-cluster/ One-north: A Vibrant Centre of Innovation (May 2019): https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/advertorial/one-north-a-vibrant-centre-of-innovation11510004 Ontario Investments Driving Innovations and Creative Cluster Growth (February, 2017): (http://www.mtc.gov.on.ca/en/creative_cluster/cluster_report_driving_innovation.shtml Plovdiv’s Kapana Creative District: From Decay to Art Hub: https://theculturetrip.com/europe/bulgaria/articles/plovdivs-kapana-creative-district-fromdecay-to-art-hub/

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South Africa Should Turn to “Creative Clusters� to Boost the Arts: (May 2018): https://theconversation.com/south-africa-should-turn-to-creative-clusters-to-boost-the-arts96294 Startup accelerators-virtual programs (April, 2020): https://venturebeat.com/2020/04/01/startup-accelerators-forge-ahead-with-new-virtualprograms/ Woodstock Design District: 5 creative businesses to know (November, 2019): http://wid.co.za/blog/woodstock-design-district-5-creative-businesses-to-know/ The key role of business incubators and accelerators in Latin America - https://www.adamicrofinance.org/en/covid-19-crisis/fiche-covid-19-crisis/2020/05/key-role-incubatorsaccelerators-latin-america Volkstrant Buliding Research (December, 2014): https://www.volkshotel.nl/en/blog/art-cult/volkskrantbuilding-research/ Websites of Clusters

Bangkok Creative District, Thailand: https://creativedistrictbangkok.com/ Beirut Creative Cluster, Lebanon: http://beirutcreativecluster.org/ Creative Cardiff: https://www.creativecardiff.org.uk/ Creativehubs network: http://creativehubs.net/ Creative Industry Cluster, Hungary: https://www.kreativipariklaszter.hu/ (only in Hungarian language) Creative Industries Cluster Vojvodina - https://www.kvik.rs/home (in Serbian language) Creative Industries Cluster, UK: https://creativeindustriesclusters.com/ Creative Cluster Kombinat, Rijeka, Croatia: https://kombinat.hr/ CRU Cowork, Porto, Portugal: https://cru-cowork.com FutureLab website: https://futurelab-eindhoven.nl/ (Only in Dutch language)

GoDown Arts Centre, Kenya:: https://www.thegodownartscentre.com/ ICT, Media and Creative Industries Cluster, Berlin-Brandenburgh - https://health.clust-er.it/en IDM Suedtirol - https://www.idm-suedtirol.com/ Impact HUB, Prague, Czech Republic: https://www.hubpraha.cz/en Kapana Creative District, Plovdiv, Bulgaria: https://visitkapana.bg/en Luxembourg Creative Industries Cluster: https://creativecluster.lu/ MOB Barcelona: https://mob-barcelona.com/

MTNS MADE Creative Industries Cluster, Australia: https://mtnsmade.com.au/ One North Cluster, Singapore: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One-north Open Hub Cr, Czech Republic: http://prague.the-hub.net Transylvania Creative Industries Cluster, Romania: http://creativetransilvania.ro/en/ Zlin Creative Cluster: http://kreativnizlin.cz/en/ Support Programs and Crowdfunding Platforms

Baltic Creative CIC: https://www.baltic-creative.com/ BigIedea: https://biggggidea.com/projects/

Cluster 2020 Live: http://www.cluster2020live.eu/ Creative City Network of Canada: https://www.creativecity.ca/ Creative Estonia: https://www.looveesti.ee/en/ 3

CrowdCulture: https://crowdculture.se/en Goteo: http://en.goteo.org/ European Creative Hubs Network: http://creativehubs.net/ Schools Excellent Fund - Creative Clusters, Ireland: https://www.education.ie/en/SchoolsColleges/Information/Curriculum-and-Syllabus/cap_creative_cluster_guidelines.pdf Talaka website: https://www.talaka.org/projects/filter?type=3 Ulej website: https://ulej.by/

Wemarket: https://wemakeit.com/?locale=en APPENDIX 2 List of Interviewees 1. Dr. Dane Anderson, Senior Lecturer in Strategy, Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Director of Programmes in Executive Education, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK 2. Koen Snoecx, Collision expert & -maker at www.luscinus.be, Belgium 3. Dr Marlen Komorowski, Researcher, consultant and lecturer with a focus on creative cluster research, senior researcher at imec-SMIT-VUB and impact analyst at Clwstwr, a programme at Cardiff University, UK/Belgium/Germany 4. Dr. Michal Glowacki, Lecturer and researcher, Faculty of Journalism, Information and Book Studies, University of Warsaw, Poland 5. Mies Loogman, Designer & Creative Strategist, Chairwoman Association Sectie-C, Eindhoven, The Netherlands 6. Dr. Pawan V. Bhansing; Independent researcher and consultant on dual leadership, creative business centres, and organizational values, The Netherlands 7. Petr Vitek, Co-founder at Impact Hub & Tilia Impact Ventures; Member of the Board at Česká spořitelna Foundation, Prague, Czech Republic 8. Svitlana Kropelnytska, Assoc.Prof., Department of Finance, Project and Educational Center "Agents of Changes", Vasyl Stefanyk Precarpathian National University, Ukraine 9. Tania Santos, Founder/<amaher, CRU Cowork, Porto, Portugal 10. Tatjana Kalezic, Independent Expert for Innovation and Creative Business Development, Founder of the Creative Industries Cluster of Vojvodina, Managing Director of the Serbia Start Up Association: Novi Sad, Serbia 11. Dr. Yosha Wijngaarden, postdoctoral researcher, dept. Arts and Culture Studies, Erasmus School of History, Culture and Communication, Erasmus University Rotterdam, The Netherlands

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