The Creative Cross-Innovations for Sustainability | Benchmarking
What is the current status of developments in regard to cross-innovation practices? What funding instruments and other supportive systems exist? What kind of methodologies are used by those who practice cross-innovation? Where do education and training curriculums exist in relation to cross-innovation? Globally: where do cross-innovations develop, and why?
The NPDC´s “Creative Cross-Innovations for Sustainability” project produces new information about current developments in creative cross-innovations. This information gathering exercise locates creative cross-innovation developments across various continents. Although this process is limited in volume and focus, it provides new knowledge about the locations of the latest capacity areas, clusters of excellence and key actors internationally. The benchmarking process is led by Johanna Kouzmine-Karavaïeff, an external expert commissioned by the NDPC.
Meet the Expert
Johanna Kouzmine-Karavaïeff specialises in cultural relations, cultural diplomacy as well as in creative economy with a special focus on cross-sector collaboration. She is a founding partner of Artisans of Innovation and in March 2022 she co-authored the report “Artists, Designers & Business in Cross-Sector Collaboration – Untapped Potential for Systemic Change” exploring context, challenges, opportunities and recommendations”.
Just recently Johanna did a study on cultural economy development for the Ministry of Finance in Algeria in the context of the EU-Algeria Association Agreement. The study provided mechanisms intended for policy transformation.
Benchmarking Process
During the first phase (starting in January 2023), a virtual benchmarking process will be carried out. In this phase, a brief set of questions related to developments of creative cross-innovations is sent out to a limited number of creative professionals, organisations and institutions related to the matter. Based on these answers, another round of information gathering will be conducted. On the basis of these results, the NDPC will continue the process by making study visits to the most acknowledged “hotspots”. An analysis of the benchmarking will be shared later in the year of 2023 in the form of an open webinar and online article. Stay tuned to find out more!
If you know of any organisation or expert related to creative cross-innovation that we should include in our information gathering process, give us a hint here.
More about creative cross-innovations
Creative cross-innovations in terms of creative cross-overs is a cross-disciplinary process where professionals from the arts, culture, and creative fields (Culture and Creative Industries – CCIs) share and exchange information, working methods, skills, competency, creative approaches to other sectors and traditional industries to collaborate in new ways with professionals from other fields.
The aim of this type of cross-sector collaboration is to tap into the potential of creative know-how, to promote new thinking, exploring new ways of doing, boost product – process – and business model innovation, creative co-creation and novel types of cross-innovations within society, e.g. in the fields of research & technology, health and wellbeing, business and industry, urban development, pedagogy, sustainability, peace and security, etc.
The study “Collaboration and Innovation in the Northern Dimension Countries” (NDPC 2021) mapped cross-innovations and their potentials. The study asserts that creative cross-overs have a lot of potential for societal impact, but the underlying potentials are not yet being realized.
Read more about the project here.
