By working with local organizations Collab 4 HySust partners has seen firsthand that changing the way CCIs work has a ripple effect on their communities, generating positive economic and social impact and co-creating new possibilities.
CCI organizations in many EU countries, including Bulgaria, Greece, and Serbia, where a cultural or creative incubator is still a distant dream for artistic and creative organizations will benefit fromCollab 4 HySust directly by

1. Participants
2. Developing a pilot
3. Network & shared learning
4. Partnerships
5. Policy and CCI industry Events

These countries’ innovation may potentially be a focus for start-ups in other industries (particularly fintech, automation, science, etc.). CCI’s are a driving force for change and are related to sustainability, according to national and municipal authorities in Italy throughout different areas, as well as in the North of Europe (in Denmark).

Even still, options for incubation addressing emergent demands, such as the issue of living in a world where people are displaced owing to a global epidemic or conflict, are limited.

The project’s impact will extend beyond just the local level, however. By facilitating the exchange of knowledge between different European regions and organizations with diverse needs, Collab 4 HySust aims to build a more robust and interconnected creative ecosystem. Through collaboration, learning, and sharing best practices, the project seeks to empower creatives and cultural leaders to make meaningful and sustainable contributions to their communities and to the wider European cultural landscape.

For the last two years, the European cultural landscape has been confronted with the issue of resilience in a spectacular fashion. Small and micro-sized cultural and artistic organizations, as well as mid-sized museums and galleries, and even bigger public institutions, have had to strengthen links with their regular audiences and rethink how they reach new ones (including online) without alienating current devoted audiences. CCIs’ entrepreneurial abilities are becoming more strongly tied with data-driven initiatives, which are most commonly used in areas like as cultural tourism and music.

Some areas, such as the performing arts, are experiencing a digital change in a different way, but they are also extending their potential to reach digital audiences.

In March 2022 the consortium conducted a survey among CCI organisations from Italy, Bulgaria, Serbia, Greece, and Denmark, asking them to rate the importance of addressing crossover needs areas in their work choosing among: sustainability, resilience, digitalisation and inclusion. The 54 surveyed organisations including also a couple of responses from France and Poland demonstrated high interest in working on issues related to digitalisation, inclusion, sustainability and resilience.

The conclusion of the survey clearly shows that crisis situations such as the COVID-19-related restrictions on ‘normal’ cultural and economic activities or, more recently, the negative impact of conflict in neighboring EU regions (e.g Ukraine), provoke change. However, projects supporting the CCI sector in such circumstances often stop short at the ideation phase and the experimental value faces problems of sustainability due to lack of internal capacity or lack of policy support for addressing cross-cutting priorities.

Since 2020 the 5 partners in Collab 4 HySust CCI have developed a number of valuable pilots and demonstrators of structured experiments that have led to clear, measurable results. Most importantly, they have developed know-how and processes that can be shared.

In Collab 4 HySust CCI we will demonstrate experience and structure a process to scale these efforts to the EU level. This would allow 15 cultural and artistic initiatives from different European countries to work within two needs areas:

• 1Audiences and Hybrid Approaches and
• Sustainability in Processes of Collaboration. The project will enable select CCIs to:

1. Identify and formulate a need in the priority areas addressed by the project
2. Benefit from guidance using dedicated expert support matching the identified need
3. Receive the microgrant to undertake an incubation-based prototyping effort leading to a demonstration or improved result for future implementation
4. Benefit from shared know-how and direct networking as an EU added value

Collab 4 HySust will leverage the expertise of its partners and their networks to prioritize systematic focus and internal resource reorganization in its efforts to drive effective reconnection initiatives. This approach emphasizes the importance of accessing new resources or repurposing underutilized assets that are available to CCI organizations.

The initiative also provides a platform for the cultural and creative industries to play a role in contributing to the European Green Deal. It encourages operators to adopt more eco-friendly practices and work closely with their audiences to foster the development of resilient communities. By fostering collaboration and cooperation among stakeholders, Collab 4 HySust aims to create a more sustainable and equitable cultural landscape across Europe.