The Creative Ring initiative, initially developed by an EUfunded project called SPECIFI, is a new experimental community offering a physical and virtual networking place for artists, creative talents and stakeholders working in the creative industries. This booklet explains the structure of the Creative Ring project.

1. The network built by and for creative people.
www.creativering.eu

2. Welcome ………………………………………………………………….. 1
Introduction ……………………………………………………………. 2
Structure …………………………………………………………………… 3
Hubs …………………………………………………………………………... 4
Tools ………………………………………………………………………….. 5
Partners …………………………………………………………………….. 6
Projects …………………………………………………………………….. 7
Why be a member …………………………………………………. 8
What we ask ……………………………………………………………. 9
Contacts ……………………………………………………………………. 10

3. welcome

4. 1
A new generation of entrepreneurs and creative
individuals is emerging in our cities. They are creating new
jobs and opportunities in difficult times, not just by creating
and improving products and services on their own but also
by enriching and revitalizing existing economic activities.
This informal innovative community is increasingly being
discovered by scientific and cultural institutions such as
universities, cultural centers, academia and also by
corporations and local governments. They understand the
importance to build bridges between those different worlds
and communities as cross-fertilization will lead to
disruptive innovation.
However, in many cases these urban creative communities
are isolated from their counterparts in other cities, and do
not have access to Future Internet technologies and
solutions, which could be highly instrumental in both
the creation and the exchange of innovative content and
applications. As a consequence, the immense potential of
the European Creative Industries, in size as well as in
diversity, is currently not fulfilled.
In order to address this, the Creative Ring, initially
developed an EU- funded project called SPECIFI, is a new
experimental community and platform for sharing creative
and innovative content and activities all over Europe, using
advanced Internet technologies and networks. It is based on
an open collaboration between local artists and creative
industries, with universities, authorities and ICT companies
in each city and region. This way, the Creative Ring intends
to bring together solutions for infrastructure, useful and
proven FI systems and applications; the Creative
Industries can experiment or deploy these systems and the
resulting innovative content, scaling up their talent and
ideas.
Alain Heureux

5. introduction

6. 2
Culture is one of Europe’s greatest assets.
Economists and politicians have long overlooked the
importance and potential of the cultural and creative
industries, which have an immense value. They include
design, advertising, film and video, music, performing arts,
printing, publishing and broadcasting companies. Creative
Industries lie at the crossroads between the arts, business
and technology, making them a source of competitive
advantage. Indeed, the creative and cultural industries
account for 4.2% of the GDP of the Union, representing 7
million jobs and employing, on average, more young people
than any other sector (cfr E&Y Study : Measuring cultural
and creative markets in the EU).
Creativity is a powerful source of jobs and growth, a free
and renewable origin of energy, a resource which is
abundantly present in the countries of EU Member States. In
this spirit the Union has established a guarantee scheme to
enable the cultural and creative sectors to develop.
The Creative Ring initiative, initially developed by an EU-
funded project called SPECIFI, is a new experimental
community offering a physical and virtual networking place
for artists, creative talents and stakeholders working in the
creative industries. It aims to protect and develop the
potential of the European creative industries by maintaining
a virtuous cycle of creative talent and providing a
collaborative environment to exchange ideas, projects,
technical components and set up unprecedented
performances and collaborations. The Creative Ring’s
structure works on the three weaknesses of the creative
sector: fragmentation, a lack of technological tools or
platforms and a lack of sustainable business models.
“
The Creative Ring willovercome
fragmentation totruly valorize
Europeancreative talent.
Simon Delaere
– iMinds, coordinator of SPECIFI project

7. structure

8. 3
The project is building a long lasting sense of community by
connecting several creative hubs across the European
Union in a network build on four main pillars: hubs, tools,
partners and projects.
Hubs are the concrete and physical space of the network.
They are represented by inspiring buildings in European
cities which are hosting and gathering people active in the
cultural and creative industry. A Hub represents a cluster of
Creative Industries. Moreover e Every Hub represents a
community of creative industries
Partners are organization, institution and/or companies
sharing research objectives and working to promote
innovation, private-public collaboration and
experimentation for the Creative Industries. They supports
the project by promoting innovation in the Creative
Industries through the use of ICT, their research and
innovation activities in this domain.
Tools are the instruments which technically support the
innovation process within the creative network. The
Creative Ring supports its community with a direct access to
technology, by providing apps and software which can
improve the impact of its projects and scale-up their ideas.
Finally, projects are the ultimate and concrete goal of the
creative hubs network. They are the result of the
collaboration between hubs, first-rate creative activities
developed thanks to an intense artistic and technological
interaction.

9. hubs

10. 4
The Creative Ring hubs are the creative nucleus of the
network. Each hub represents a European city and its
creative community. It is the heart of the creative process
of the network, both in a physical and intangible way.
An hub should provide, at least, one building, a place
where the local creative community can converge to
experiment and develop their initiatives and to collaborate
in cross-regional projects with other members of the
network. It is also the place where young talent can meet-
up with institution and corporate.
A local hub is more than an aggregation point; it is a
lodestar for the creative sector in its own region. This
impleies that the hub maintains a thriving local creative
community and that it has the necessary institutional
support, The political support is crucial to embrace the
full potential of the Creative Ring.
It is also connected with one or more partners, such as
knowledge institutions and industry, providing the local
technology, know-how and empowering the innovation
process.
creative
community
political
support
partners
building(s)

11. tools

12. 5
The Creative Ring makes available new technologies to
artists and creative industries in many different ways. The
technology is offered to the Creative Industries as a set of
ICT applications and tools. Tools are state-of the
art pieces of information and Communication Technologies
enabling the Creative Industries and individuals that are
members of Creative Ring Hubs, as well as Partner
organizations, to collaborate on innovative creative
projects.
For example one of the tool today included in the Creative
Ring’s toolbox is Playground.
PlayGround app is designed to
combine smart devices, advanced
networks and IoT to create
interactive city journeys based on
artistic and other encounters.
The toolbox is the most dynamic part of the project,
evolving to ensure to the hubs the best tools to support
them in the innovative process. Tools also allow creative
industries to collaborate in real time, facilitating the co-
creation process within the network. Moreover Creative
Ring, through the toolbox, helps and promotes tools
ensuring scale up and interoperability of EU technology.

13. partners

14. 6
Partners are organisations that in themselves do not
represent a Hub nor a creative industries community. They
are organization, institutions and/or companies sharing the
objectives of the Creative Ring and working with Creative
Industries to promote innovation, launch collaboration,
organize event.
This includes regional and local governments, research and
innovation organization and key tools and technology
providers.
Privileged partners are organisations that already
belong to a network with which the Creative Ring has
concluded a Partner Network Agreement. These
organisations may join the Creative Ring as partners at a
reduced fee.
Today, one of the Creative Ring partners is
iMinds, the Flanders ‘digital research
centre and business incubator, established
by the Flemish government in 2004.
It works to introduce digital innovation in five key markets:
ICT, media, health, smart city and manufacturing.

15. projects

16. 7
The final aim of the Creative Ring project is to foster
the creativity of each city or region and to articulate this
energy between different hubs. Each project is a collective
intelligence laboratory where two or more creative
communities, rebrought together to collaborate on an
innovative concept, product, service or performance.
Every project should speed up cooperation,
experimentation and innovation, by developing connective
and collective intelligence thanks to a meaningful
interaction between hubs and tools.
These projects may be thematic (e.g. ICT for Tourism),
technology (e.g. a specific app to be tested) or event driven
e.g. a multi-site hackathon or arts festival). They may have a
defined lifetime or be open-ended.

17. why become a
member

18. 8
 You are a member of an international network that
can help you in exporting your innovative service
and product outside your local market;
 You can exchange best practices and be challenged
by others;
 You can co-create new or improved products,
services or cultural artefacts, by selecting the right
set of partners among fellow Creative Industries,
research and innovation institutions, local and
regional governments;
 We provide you with tools and ICT platforms that can
help you on your local activities and on collaborating
with other Creative Ring’s Hubs;
 You influence policies on a European level to best
foster innovation and co-creation in the Creative
Industries.

19. what do we expect
from you

20. 2
 Sign the letter of Intent and get the other layers of
your Hub activated and committed;
 Participate actively in the growing network activities;
 Communicate and share any activity of your local
creative industries promoting cross-border
experiences;
 Identify tool providers and get them engaged;
 Discuss strategies and share best practices.

21. contacts

22. 3
info@creativering.eu
www.creativering.eu

23. join the network!