Call: Innovation Lab

In line with the objectives of the Programme, the CROSS-SECTORAL strand shall have the following priorities:

• to support cross-sectoral transnational policy cooperation including on promoting the role of culture for social inclusion and on artistic freedom and promote the visibility of the Programme and support the transferability of results;
• to encourage innovative approaches to content creation, access, distribution, and promotion across cultural and creative sectors and with other sectors, including by taking into account the digital transition, covering both market and non-market dimensions;
• to promote cross-sectoral activities aiming at adjusting to the structural and technological changes faced by the media sector, including enhancing a free, diverse, and pluralistic media environment, quality journalism and media literacy, including in the digital environment;
• to support the establishment and activities of Programme Desks in participating countries and to stimulate cross-border cooperation and the exchange of best practices within the cultural and creative sectors.

Objective

The Creative Innovation Lab shall incentivise players from different cultural and creative sectors to design and test innovative digital solutions with a potential positive long-term impact on multiple cultural and creative sectors. The Lab shall facilitate the creation of innovative solutions (e.g. tools, models and methodologies) that can apply to the audiovisual sector and at least another creative and/or cultural sector. Solutions should be easily replicable and have a potential for market penetration. For the purposes of clarity, the project does not necessarily have to be applicable immediately to the audiovisual sector but one that could easily be replicated in this sector.

For the purposes of this year’s call, apart from the overall general objectives, a thematic approach is also being adopted to ensure that projects that target the policy objectives of Creative Europe are rewarded. For the first year of the Creative Innovation Lab, the two themes that will be specifically covered are greening across the creative and cultural sectors as well as innovative education tools using creativity and creative sectors to tackle relevant societal topics such as disinformation.

Expected results

• Improve the competitiveness of the European audiovisual and other cultural and creative sectors through cross sector collaboration;
• Increase knowledge transfer between different sectors of creative industries;
• Increase the visibility, availability and diversity of European content in the digital age;
• Improve business models and use of data;
• Increase the potential audience of European content in the digital age.

Description of the activities to be funded under the call for proposals

The InnovLab support shall support the development of innovative tools, models and solutions applicable in the audiovisual and other cultural and creative sectors. It aims to support the competitiveness, cooperation, circulation, visibility, availability, diversity and increasing of audiences across sectors.

Special attention will be given to applications presenting adequate strategies to ensure more sustainable and more environmentally-respectful industry and to ensure gender balance, inclusion, diversity and representativeness.

In order to be eligible entities active in cultural and creative sectors must:

• be legal entities (public or private bodies)
• be established in one of the eligible countries (i.e.:Creative Europe Participating Countries, EU Member States (including overseas countries and territories) or non-EU countries (listed EEA countries and countries associated to the Creative EuropeProgramme or countries which are in ongoing negotiations for an association agreement and where the agreement enters into force before grant signature)

Natural persons are NOT eligible (with the exception of self-employed persons, i.e. sole traders, where the company does not have legal personality separate from that of the natural person.

Entities which do not have legal personality under their national law may exceptionally participate, provided that their representatives have the capacity to undertake legal obligations on their behalf, and offerguarantees for the protection of the EU financial interests equivalent to that offered by legal persons.

Associations and interest groupings — Entities composed of members may participate as ‘sole beneficiaries’ or ‘beneficiaries without legal personality’. Please note that if the action will be implemented by the members, they should also participate (either as beneficiaries or as affiliated entities, otherwise their costs will NOT be eligible).

• 3 legal entities from at least 2 different countries participating in the Creative Europe Programme,
• the consortium must present a diverse range of expertise across several cultural and creative sectors, including audiovisual

Proposal page limits and layout:

Please refer to Part B of the standard proposal template.The Application Form must be prepared by the consortium and submitted by a representative.

Character and page limits:

• page limit normally 70 pages 
• supporting documents can be provided as an annex and do not count towards the page limit
• minimum font size — Arial 9 points 
• page size: A4 
• margins (top, bottom, left and right): at least 15 mm (not including headers & footers)

Available Budget: EUR 6,320,000.00

Project budget(maximum grant amount): no limit

The costs will be reimbursed at the funding rate fixed in the Grant Agreement (60%).