The Bumpy Road to Result Consolidation

We all—at least in the Global North—regularly watch films and series, play games, and listen to music. But does that make us experts? Not quite. Yet, we assume a certain familiarity. So, it came as a surprise when the 14 representatives of the 22 projects in the REAVES platform began explaining our respective sectors to each other. Despite our shared audience experience, we quickly realized how different these three creative industries truly are.

Even the same terminology can mean vastly different things. In the games industry, “incubation” and “skills training” focus on start-ups and entrepreneurial skills—business development. In music and film, the focus shifts to individual artists or professionals, with training aimed at management, career-building, or technical skills. Financing, too, presents unique challenges and approaches across sectors.

From Surprise to Strategy

After this initial revelation, how did we approach consolidating our results? Projects, by nature, tackle specific challenges and seek solutions. Rather than starting with the results, we began with the challenges themselves. This approach builds a strong foundation for understanding the many facets reflected in our work plan: regional, industrial, cross-regional, and cross-sectoral impact. Interreg projects, in particular, aim for regional coherence and growth, but challenges and markets don’t exist in silos. While challenges may be shared, solutions often differ. Change is typically driven by external pressure or influential stakeholders within the industry. Projects give smaller stakeholders—such as start-ups, indie developers, and artists—and remote regions a voice in this process.

Strengthening Regional Ecosystems

A key part of our consolidation is strengthening regional ecosystem support through experience exchange. How do partners experience cooperation with public authorities? How do they engage and involve them? How well do they know the triple helix stakeholders—education, public authorities, and industry—in their region? Where does collaboration make sense, and what opportunities exist?

Five partners will establish triple helix talks in their regions: two capitals (Stockholm and Vilnius), one large but remote city (Tampere), and two remote areas (Norddjurs, Denmark, and the Szczecin area, Poland). Each brings a unique approach, offering a diverse set of examples for others to learn from.

Addressing Industry-Specific Challenges

Another major focus is on industry-specific challenges common across most projects: skills transfer and financing. Skills transfer involves supporting young and emerging talents—whether as professionals or entrepreneurs—in entering the market (through start-ups, incubation, or graduation) or in growing their careers (via accelerators or upskilling). Financing addresses how to secure funds for content production (investment, funding methods, timing) and how to market the content produced (publishers, distributors, platforms, VOD, concerts, pitches, etc.).

Looking Ahead

From these two fundamental vantage points —regional ecosystem support and industry-specific challenges—we will address all themes in our work plan over the next two years: sustainability, investment, industrial partnerships, incubation and training programs, education, public support, community building, cross-regional networking, and cross-sectoral cooperation. It’s a journey we’re equipping each other for, through exchange and consolidation.

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