RCIA

Welcome to the Regional Creative Industries Alliance website

- a project striving to shape better regional policies towards a modern business ecosystem using the transformative power of creative SMEs as a key competitiveness factor

RCIA aims to improve the Structural Funds policy instruments related to the SME competitiveness through interregional policy learning. This is done by:

• Focusing on supporting creative SMEs to set impulses for higher growth
• Positioning Cultural and Creative Industries (CCI) as “the missing link” throughout sectors and disciplines regarding innovation and competitiveness
• Increasing the attractiveness and innovative image of a city/region/country (attract talent, create & retain jobs in the territory)
• Positioning CCI as a pillar of the competitiveness policy.

By exchanging 20+ good practices between regional policy-oriented stakeholder groups and implementing the learnings through 8 regional action plans we aim to increase the number of collaborations between creative SMEs and companies from the wider economy. This shall lead to a higher competitiveness of both types of SMEs and eventually to new products and solutions developed through cross-sectorial collaboration. RCIA intends to

1. Strengthen the creative SMEs competitiveness by improving their skills (development/execution of business plans, interaction with investors, mentoring programmes) and to support their growth on global markets
2. Adapt various funding mechanisms to the particularities of CCI (including the possibility of capacity building measures for banks)
3. Increase the awareness of the companies from the wider economy on the transformative power (added-value) of creative SMEs for their own competitiveness
4. Develop/adapt/improve the eco-system from classic spatial cross-collaboration into a holistic approach.