ECBN - A Manifesto for Internationalisation

ACCESSA MAnifesto for Growth in europe’s CulturAl And CreAtive industries

ExEcutivE summary

Hamburg

Malmö

Rotterdam

Eindhoven

Ruhr Area

Luxembourg

Lugano

Paris

VicenzaBilbao

NorfolkLondon

Berlijn

Graz

Belgrado

Novi Sad

Warsaw

Nantes

Pecs

Istanbul

Athens

AmsterdamDublin

Bristol

SienaBarcelona

Leeds

Tallinn

Helsinki

Kosice

Slovakia

Porto

Stockholm

the european Creative Business network (eCBn) is a network of creative development agencies and creative centres. our mission is to support the cultural and creative industries to do business and to collaborate across eu-rope.

These five principles for effective internationali-sation have been developed by eCBn and our members. By adopting them, eCBn, our mem-bers and the european Commission can help to ensure the effectiveness of the support they give to europe’s cultural and creative industries to grow internationally.

EffEctivE intErnationalisation...• is led by individual businesses• needs face-to-face interaction• is for any competitive business

regardless of size or sector• needs european support• requires better data and evidence

april 2014

Who WE arEthe european Creative Business network (eCBn) is a net-work of creative development agencies and creative cen-tres. our mission is to support the cultural and creative in-dustries to do business and to collaborate across europe.

through the resources, expertise and connections of our members, we aim to enable creative enterprises, whatever their size, to scale up and flourish within the world’s largest market for creative goods and services.

we operate international exchange programmes, provide informed local access to markets, and facilitate creative trade missions. we work on european-funded projects that support the cultural and creative industries to grow interna-tionally.

Join us - www.ecbnetwork.eu

internationalisation1 takes skills, time, money, contacts, and knowledge to be successful. the absence of these resources is a major barrier for businesses looking to grow internationally, which we want to help the cultural and cre-ative industries to overcome.

In the UK, only one in five creative businesses exports at all. Yet we know that businesses that have international operations grow more quickly, have higher rates of job cre-ation, and are more innovative than those that don’t.

By adopting these principles eCBn, our members and the European Commission can provide effective support for our cultural and creative industries to internationalise. ef-fective internationalisation:

1 is led by individual businesses

2 needs face-to-face interaction

3 is for any competitive business, regard-less of size or sector

4 needs European support

5 requires better data and evidence

1 when we refer to internationalisation, we mean developing international activities both within and outside of europe.”

EcBN’s priNciplEs for iNtEr-NatioNali-satioN

1 Effective internationalisation is led by individual businesses

ECBN will ensure our programmes are not one-size-fits-all and that they are responsive to the individual business tak-ing part. this means greater resources allocated to under-standing each business’s unique context and needs.

the european Commission must trust creative agencies to adapt programmes to the specific needs of the businesses that they work with and know. some funds will need to be highly targeted at sectoral niches where particular opportu-nities are identified.

the huge diversity of business types, aims, and models in the cultural and creative industries means that tailored, responsive programmes are needed to support internation-alisation.

EcBN’s priNciplEs for iNtErNatioNalisatioN

What this mEans


2 Effective internationalisation needs face-to-face interactiondespite the growing importance of the internet and digital technologies in how people communicate, particularly in the creative sector, eCBn is convinced of the importance of personal contact, dialogue and interaction in the physi-cal realm. evaluations of successful internationalisation programmes show us that funding and facilitating face-to-face trade missions, where businesses meet new clients or collaborators over a drink, can have some of the highest returns on investment.

eCBn will creative the right balance between on- and of-fline meetings. We will pursue our activities such as trade missions, exchange programmes, events and ensure they are complemented by digital technologies by initiating the relationships that electronic communications can then build upon.

the european Commission should encourage the pro-grammes they fund to make the most out of face-to-face opportunities. encourage experimentation beyond staid seminars and bring in the latest models of interaction such as openspaces, unconferences, or labs, and follow this with robust evaluation to see what works.

What this mEans


3 Internationalisa-tion is for any compet-itive business regard-less of size or sector

Many businesses will benefit from internationalisation, but it is far easier for large firms with greater resources to in-vest. to address this imbalance, small businesses, creative start-ups and young entrepreneurs should be helped to connect, make partnerships and enter markets across eu-rope, and they should be encouraged to do so at an early stage in their growth. To ensure this support is effective, we should recognise that it is not enough to plant a busi-ness in another territory and expect it to thrive. first, the business must be competitive or helped to become so, and this may mean supporting it to adopt advanced technolo-gies, or in developing new and innovative business models. second, we know that internationalisation is a skill that takes time to learn - entrepreneurs must be open, flexible,

accommodating, and resilient to succeed at internation-alisation. so to ensure success, internationalisation pro-grammes should also help guide businesses towards other sources of support and guidance.

eCBn has a crucial role to play in helping smaller busi-nesses to internationalise and realize their full potential. our proven approaches, our support structures, and our facilitated development programmes mean we can have a significant impact in supporting SMEs. Our approaches – and our ties with other european and local programmes – to making sMes more competitive are also crucial in sup-porting internationalisation.

the european Commission has made great progress launching new programmes that are open and targeted at sMes, such as the Apps for europe challenges, but more needs to be done to make sure horizon 2020 funds (and others) are easily accessible by sMes. there also needs to be a strategic offer for businesses that helps them make a sustained engagement in new markets, by supporting them to undertake a longer, and more iterative, learning process in them.

What this mEans


4 Effective internationalisation needs European supporteuropean programmes and regulations often have sup-port for internationalisation embedded within them, but this support needs to be made more prominent. for instance, the european Capital of Culture programme has played a major role in facilitating the internationalisation of the cul-tural and creative industries, as demonstrated by Kosice 2013’s active entrepreneur exchange programme. Another example is europe’s shared – and enforced – framework for intellectual property which provides a huge opportunity for creative businesses looking to internationalise. But with-out a more explicit emphasis on internationalisation within these programmes, we cannot understand what provision is already there and how our members can complement or promote them.

eCBn will push the european Commission to become bolder in its support of internationalisation. we will cam-paign to make new funds, like those coming from hori-zon 2020, to be overt in their recognition of trans-national partnerships and to ensure the major european cultural programmes, like the european Capital of Culture, promote their work in making internationalisation happen.

the european Commission should explicitly recognise that internationalisation is, or should be, at the heart of all its programmes and regulations, even technical ones such as in the development of european regulations on intellectual property.

What this mEans


5 Effective internationalisation requires better data and evidence

the sector lacks evidence of the importance of interna-tionalisation for the cultural and creative industries and the effectiveness of the programmes that support it. We have some limited evidence of exports (for instance, in data already provided by unCtAd) but programme evaluations are rarely published, so we know little of what really works.

eCBn has an important role to play in collating evidence and deepening our understanding of how internationalisa-tion works. this should form the basis for advocacy and debate, ensuring that the discussions, data, research and case studies which remain scattered at a local level are made accessible.

The European Commission should make a difference in two ways. first, by funding more studies into internation-alisation, building on the work of the oMC Group on in-ternationalisation and the policy learning platform of the european Creative industries Alliance. second, by ensuring that independent, accessible evaluation is conducted and shared as a condition of its funding programmes. without a clearer understanding of what works, support for these sectors will progress only slowly.

What this mEans

a rEmiNdEr: Why thE cultural aNd crEativE iNdustriEs mattEr

Europe’s cultural and creative industries are a major driver of economic growth. they are responsible for jobs and prosper-ity and have significant indirect economic benefits that make them a crucial compo-nent of a successful economy.

in EuropE, onE in tWEnty WorkErs arE in thE cultural and crEativE industriEs

the cultural and creative industries are a broad and di-verse sector which ranges from advertising and crafts to performing arts and video games. in 2008 the cultural and creative sectors contributed an estimated 4.5% to eu Gdp, and employed nearly 4% of europe’s workforce. they are also a growth sector, with global trade in creative goods increasing at 9% each year in the decade prior to 2011.

our cultural assEts bring significant Eco-nomic advantagEs

Europe’s cultural heritage has a significant economic ben-efit, as we know at ECBN from our work on the eCreative project, which helps the creative industries to benefit from europeana’s rich digital content. Cultural meaning is also an important part of europe’s dominance of the luxury goods market, of which european brands make up over 70%.

thE cultural and crEativE industriEs hElp drivE innovation in our WidEr Economy

in addition to direct economic value, the cultural and cre-ative industries play a vital role in catalysing innovation across the wider economy, whether through the products and services they provide, or as a means of originating and spreading new ideas, knowledge and ways of working. for example, design and other creative services such as ad-vertising are firmly integrated into the operations of almost all businesses – from the development of new products through to how they are marketed and sold. design is no longer an ‘add-on’ to manufacturing industries, but rather the crucial determinant in how businesses achieve a com-petitive advantage.

thE sEctor hElps crEatE attractivE placEs that pEoplE Want to visit and Work in

the cultural and creative industries also have other, broad-er economic linkages, with industries such as fashion, music and film all strongly connected to leisure, retail and tourism. More recently, the creative industries have been closely associated with boosting civic pride, destination marketing and regeneration.

hoW thE manifEsto Was dEvElopEd

this manifesto was developed as a collaborative document; a working draft was presented at the european Creative Business network’s policy forum on 06 february 2014.

contributors

in particular, we are grateful to Mikolt Csap (dG Connect), Carsten schierenbeck (dG enterprise and industry), dorota nigge and Catherine Magnant (dG education and Culture), tom Campbell (Ktn (uK)), ragnar sill (ee), nesto nongo and faustina diaz (Ministerio de educación, Cultura y deporte (es)) and all attendees at the eCBn policy forum for their comments and thoughts. we always welcome feedback to help steer our future work: [email protected]

Ecbn managEmEnt tEam

leo van loonManaging [email protected]

callum leedeputy [email protected]

ExEcutivE board

board and associatE mEmbErs

forum attEndEEs bernd fesel (chair)european centre for

creative economy (ecce)

mehjabeen priceCreative england

Michal HladkyKosice 2013

dG education and Cultureenollpeopling (Bilbao)Catalan institute for the Cultural Companieshamburg Kreativ GesellschaftdG enterprise and industryeccePeacefulfish / Media Dealserasmus universityeurope AnalyticadG ConnectQuartier de la Création / Samoa-Nanteslittle MountainCreativity labMinistry of Culture, spainCreative industries Ktnravensbourneeurope Analyticapermanent representation of the slovak republic to the european union

eeC european economic and social CommitteeCreative industries styriahellenic Ministry of Culture and sportseuropean Business & innovative Centre networkMinistry of finance, MaltaCreative england university of urbinohouse of slovak regionsGobierno de espana Culture and Media Agency europeinstitute for Creative economy, KosiceBulgaria Ministry of Foreign AffairsCity of rotterdamwelsh GovernmentMinisterio de educación, Cultura y deporte

ECBN - A Manifesto for Internationalisation

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