The main purpose of policy assessment is to test innovation policies for the cultural and creative industries by simulating their potential outcome in a local context. This Facilitator's Guide, created by ekip, is designed to support the work of facilitating policy assessment within city ecosystems. Included in the guide is a step-by-step instruction of the processes, tools, and examples.
Welcome to the Faciltiator’s Guide! The purpose of this Guide is to support your work with facilitating policy assessment in city ecosystems. In this guide you will find a step-by-step instruction of the processes with a couple of examples. As with all types of facilitation, every situation is unique, and it takes training to craft questions that makes the participants think from new perspectives. It is also a matter of timing and listening carefully to the group.
Note that this version of the Facilitator’s Guide reflects the method developed and used by ekip partners for assessing the policy areas prioritised by ekip in a local context during 2024–2025. A future updated version will be published at the end of 2025. This guide is also available as a PDF.
The main purpose of policy assessment is to test innovation policies for the cultural and creative industries by simulating their potential outcome in a local context. Together with local stakeholders we explore what the policy recommendation could stimulate in terms of innovation. This leads to building the outlines of an innovation portfolio case and analysing what this would mean in terms of resources and support on a local level. The outcomes of the policy assessments are a series of case descriptions that bring unique perspectives from local contexts across Europe.
ekip’s approach of bringing policy areas on EU-level to a local level and simulate what they would mean in urban contexts across Europe is quite unique. We are convinced that policy development is well informed by testing what it would mean to implement it. This is an invitation and a support to cities to start that journey with the purpose of building and developing more open innovation ecosystems.
Who is it for and How Do Participants Benefit?
The target group for the workshop process are potential future innovation portfolio coordinators. These participants are drawn from various sectors depending on the chosen policy area, including government, municipal executives, innovation hubs, universities, CCIS sector representatives, businesses, NGOs, and regional/national institutions.
There are several benefits for the participants: the insights coming from analysing the ecosystem with its actors and resources in combination with gained knowledge of upcoming policies and trends that affects the cultural and creative industries. This enables the participants to better prepare their local innovation ecosystem for the future.
The Cultural and Creative Sectors and Industries
What do we mean by cultural and creative sectors (CCS) and cultural and creative industries (CCI)? The two terms are often used as synonyms. However, the cultural and creative industries focus more on the business aspects of creative activities as drivers of economic growth, innovation and employment. The term cultural and creative sectors on the other hand include publicly funded cultural services such as libraries, public broadcasting and national opera.
Definitions of these terms differ between different countries and institutions. Therefore, the categorisation of which sectors are included or not also differ. Based on the definitions and categorisation by EU institutions like EIT, the Creative Europe programme 2021-2027, Eurostat and several EU projects, ekip include the following sectors: Advertising & Marketing, Architecture, Audiovisual (film and recorded music), Performing Arts (theatre, dance, music, circus), Visual Arts (design, fashion, arts & crafts), Cultural Heritage (archives, museums, libraries), Books & Publishing, Gaming & IT and Education.
Generally speaking, what companies and organisations in the cultural and creative industries have in common is that they have cultural creation, art, culture or creative processes at the core of their production and/or business idea. Their value creation is depending on artistic, cultural or aesthetic competence.
The Workshop Steps
Each workshop has a focus on a specific policy area that is relevant for the cultural and creative industries. The chosen policy area – whether it is Immersive Tech or New European Bauhaus – shapes the content and profile of the participants are. However, the workshop process and method are the same. If you would carry out several assessment workshops in your local context on different policy areas, you will probably get a pretty good mapping of your innovation ecosystem over time. You will become more familiar with the different actors and available resources around you and more aware of the strengths and flaws of the local innovation ecosystem. In the best-case scenario, you will also have supported the birth of new innovation portfolios. What we learned from doing the first assessment workshops in Košice, Bratislava, Lund, Saint-Etienne and Rotterdam in 2024 was that at the end of the workshops, participants got eager to realise the portfolios and do changes in the innovation support system.
STEP 1. THE POLICY AREA identifying what is relevant and what evokes curiosity
STEP 2. THE CONTEXT identifying the relevance of the policy area in the local context
STEP 3. INVENTORY understanding your ecosystem in relation to the policy area
STEP 4. SETTING THE SCOPE AND AMBITION summing up the idea and ambition of the portfolio
STEP 5. THE PORTFOLIO CASE AND INNOVATION SUPPORT SYSTEM summarising the scope and identifying how it can be supported
STEP 6. CONCLUSION the facilitator summarises the main parts of the workshop to the group
STEP 7. INSIGHTS the group reflects on the process and what they have picked up
Material and Equipment Needed for the Workshop
To carry out the assessment, use the templates developed by ekip for the workshop. Whether the event is physical or online using Miro, participants will need;
Each step of the workshop corresponds with the numbered sections in the Innovation Portfolio Campus linked above. Facilitators will also need some kind of START-KIT WITH BACKGROUND INFORMATION on the policy area, emerging trends and introduction of key concepts such as open innovation, portfolios etc.
01
The Policy Area
Presentation of the policy area and its relevance to CCSI. Either you or an invited ekip expert gives a short (10-15 min + 5 Q&A) intro to the subject based on the scoping paper in the start-kit. This can also be a recorded film by an ekip expert. Make sure that you as facilitator are familiar with the policy area and have a basic understanding of the city context you are working with.
Q&A: Allow for clarifying questions but steer the group away from discussion about if the policy is good or bad.
“My thoughts”: Ask the participants to write down what they think are the important keywords concerning the policy area and CCSI using the Innovation Portfolio Policy Canvas Also ask them to note what speaks to them, what makes them curious. The purpose here is to engage participants with the policy area and find a personal engagement.
02
The Context
Relevance of the policy area and local context: Now it is time to find the connection between the policy area, CCSI and the local context. In what way is it relevant? Who are the drivers of development in that area? For example, tech industry, the university, a municipal strategy or regional ambition, or a famous festival?
Innovation character: It is time to think through the innovation character of the policy area by taking a tour of the OPSI-model. Is there any new legislation coming (mission-oriented), or is this an area that is quite unknown and requires a lot of exploration? Or maybe both? The purpose here is to move through the OPSI-model and analyse together the different aspects.
Area of Interest (draft scope): Ask the participants to describe an area of interest for the local context. What are the challenges and opportunities of that area?
03
Inventory
The aim of doing the inventory of the innovation ecosystem is to get an overview of the innovation ecosystem in relation to the area of interest identified in the previous step. The participants identify the relevant stakeholders/actors and resources in the territory/city and how available these resources are. Note that an innovation ecosystem contains different actors, but also of projects, ideas, infrastructures, and resources. That means that an actor/resource can also be, for example, a big EU project.
In the innovation ecosystem there are stakeholders and resources that support innovation regardless of sector, such as incubators etc. Some exist only for the cultural and creative industries and/or for the policy area in question. When the participants see the combined picture of the generic support, the CCSI support and the policy area support, they will discover dense areas as well as gaps.
In the exercise, you facilitate the participants to list all the actors they can think of. Also ask them to note the expertise of these actors, who they are available for (public or a specific target group) and what they offer.
During the inventory it is helpful to list as many stakeholders and resources as possible to get an overview because in the next step, the participant will value who to work with in the portfolio. The Inventory is something that participants can do on their own. If you do a full day workshop, you can let the participants have 30-45 minutes to do this exercise on their own. Or this can be homework between the workshop events.
04
Setting the Scope and Ambition
Now it is time to formulate the scope. A scope sums up the idea and ambition that your participants have of the portfolio. It also describes the stakeholders, what drives them, the innovation character of the portfolio and the context. To get to this formulation, you can ask different questions.
Begin with asking if there are any existing frameworks, strategies, policies, missions that are related to the area of interest? It could be a city strategy, a bid for becoming European Capital of Culture, a regional initiative or mission.
What is the potential of the portfolio idea? Ask the participants to describe the potential impact it could have and for WHO. Who could drive the development?
The next question is about what would happen if one were very ambitious versus what would happen if nothing was done? The purpose here is for the participants to really explore the full potential and also the implications if nothing is done.
Finally, ask them to note what to them is short-term and long-term with the area of interest. This can be very different from case to case. Short term can be 3 months or 3 years. It is up to the participants to sense this.
–> Now it is time to move to the backside of the canvas if you are working on paper or to the second frame if you are using Miro.
05
The Portfolio Case and Innovation Support System
OUR PORTFOLIO CASE
Ask the participants to summarise the scope in key words at the top.
A. Which Subareas? Which are the different subareas of the scope that need attention? A subarea can be tech development or a new collaboration between different stakeholders – the logic is up to you and the portfolio. Try to lead the group to identify the subareas that need development. It can, for example, be a unique constellation of partners that combines different types of expertise. Some activities are transversal such as communication and, for example, events. These are activities that join up the different activities across the portfolio. For the first workshop with the group this is probably too detailed and can be discussed at a later stage.
B. Who could coordinate this potential portfolio? Could it be done by several organisations in partnership?
C. Who are the stakeholders? It can be worth clustering them according to function or type or what makes most sense. Place the different stakeholders in the different subareas. Some will appear in several.
THE INNOVATION SUPPORT ECOSYSTEM
Now it is time to move to the right side of the portfolio and have a look at what there is in the local system that supports the emerging portfolio. Start with identifying what exists in the support system:
Money & Manpower: grants, investment, development checks, loans or expertise.
Infrastructure & Place: available equipment, labs, workshops etc.
Shaping Frameworks: missions, strategies, tenders that are in line with/support the scope of the portfolio.
Other
CCSI: what enables people from the cultural and creative sectors and industries to take part and drive innovation?
After the participants have identified what exists, ask them to have a look at the portfolio again: what would be a good support for the portfolio? Maybe it is something new like seed funding or it might be access to a testbed that has limited access?
06
Conclusion
It is now time for you as facilitator to “mirror” what you have heard from the group in a summary. The purpose is to reflect back what the group has identified during the workshop. It is worth mentioning the scope, its local relevance, the potential, the stakeholders. Point out opportunities and existing support, but also questions, gaps and what would need further research. Check with the participants if what you have said makes sense for them and if it is a fair description. Refrain from explaining what they should do next. Then discuss with the group the questions listed in the canvas.
What are the key elements and who are the key actors needed for the portfolio to start, thrive and succeed?
Any other aspects that are important when looking at the portfolio from an ecosystem view?
What is the development over time?
What are indicators of progress and success?
Which innovation support parts can back up the portfolio?
What is the key enabling factors for innovation and CCI?
What impact could your innovation portfolio and support system have on other contexts and innovation areas?
07
Reflecting on the Process (Insights)
Ask the participants to reflect on the process. Let the participants think individually first before it is shared with the group:
What did they observe?
What were their thoughts?
What were their feelings?
What do they want now?
Thank the participants and congratulate them on their first portfolio work. Don’t forget to mention that you will send them a case description and the Miro board (if digital).
After the Worskhop
The assessment workshop has a big potential for sparking new innovation portfolios in your local context. But how do you track changes in your local innovation ecosystem related to a portfolio when so many different actors are involved?
The Lund Innovation Ecosystem Portfolio Tracking (LIEPT) model is a strategic framework to support and track innovation within complex, collaborative ecosystems. The ekip team has adopted and further developed the LIEPT model to accommodate the needs of the cultural and creative industries and cross-innovation. The more details and specific data of actors, resources etc. in the local ecosystem that is inserted by the participants during the workshop, the better your baseline for a LIEPT model tracking will be. That is, if you wish to follow and analyse changes in your innovation ecosystem related to one or several innovation portfolios, the assessment workshop is a good place to start.
To build a LIEPT baseline for tracking changes over time, the following documents from the workshop are crucial:
Together these workshop documents provide a snapshot of the character of the innovation area and the ecosystem. Please send them to the Future by Lund team, katarina.scott@futurebylund.se and birgitta.persson@futurebylund.se. Depending on the quality and detail of the data, we might be able to provide you with a draft visualisation.
City Case Descriptions
One of the outcomes of the policy assessments is a series of case descriptions that tells the story of how different local actors identify relevant projects, ideas, resources and initiatives and start drafting an innovation portfolio. This case description only reflects the views of the workshop participants. It doesn’t aspire to give a comprehensive picture or analysis. Each City Case Description is a unique perspective from a local city context across Europe that we hope will inspire and ignite action.
Below you will find explanations of the keywords and concepts used in this Facilitator’s Guide.
THE PORTFOLIO FRAMEWORK
The Portfolio Framework refers to important existing or emerging missions, strategies, plans, laws, directives that have an impact on the portfolio. It can be a new EU directive like for example the Digital Product Passport. It can also be a new trend like the digital meetings during Covid.
INNOVATION ECOSYSTEM INVENTORY
The Innovation Ecosystem Inventory takes stock of the actors and resources in a place specific ecosystem that are relevant for a certain area of interest, for example New European Bauhaus and CCSI. The relevant actors could be generic actors who support innovation in general such as incubators, science parks, public institutions etc. Some are specific actors that are relevant for the area of interest and CCI.
The inventory also notes different types of resources. Some support all kinds of innovation such as funds, grants, innovation checks, incubator programmes, time slots in infrastructure and labs etc. Some are specific for the area of interest. They might be embedded in someone’s operation such as project funding, company incubator and grants, investments, research grants, CCSI grants, resource centres lending machinery, residencies etc. It is worth noting who these resources are accessible for.
INNOVATION CHARACTER
When exploring the innovation portfolio, it might be useful to consider the character of the innovation at hand. There are four key characters: enhancement-oriented innovation, adaptive innovation, mission-oriented innovation, and anticipatory innovation noted in the OPSI-Model.
Innovation Zone
The Innovation Zone Model categorises activities in the innovation process into yellow, green, and blue zones to represent different innovation phases. The model functions as a map for the partners to orient themselves and gain an understanding of when and how to do what.
