Regional Policy Improvement for Financially Sustainable Creative Incubator Units

Acronym: 
InCompass
Program: 
Interreg IVC
Funding: 
80% ERDF - 20% EU National Co-financing
Delegate Organization: 
Project period: 
Thursday, December 15, 2011 to Wednesday, December 31, 2014
Description: 

Incubator units for creative industries business start ups provide much needed space and act as vital support mechanisms and catalysts for the development of entrepreneurship and innovation in this sector right across the EU. The creative industries provide significant employment opportunities, and are now recognised as one of “Europe?s most dynamic sectors” with strong potential to contribute to growth and job creation. However, most survive only with some Regional Authority funding or subsidy and, with the current public funding cutbacks, many are now facing serious threats to their financial survival and ability to realise their full potential as a force for change and economic development. InCompass will focus on how they can become independently financially sustainable. Using a number of existing incubator units across the EU as the main study vehicle, the project will identify a number of existing good practices that are already providing levels of financial security and transfer them for collective adoption into, and improvement of, regional policy. The adoption into policy of the COMBINATIONS of these good practices will potentially offer "total financial sustainability solutions". The consortium has 15 partners: 7 regional/local authorities, 3 universities and research institutes, 2 business parks with incubator units, 3 economic and regional growth agencies. All are directly involved in policy development. 9 member states are involved across 4 geographic areas. The project involves a programme of: study visits and reports on good practice; thematic seminars to share the findings within the consortium; Regional Implementation Groups of stakeholders to assess the transferability of good practice and make regional policy recommendations.