4. Mobilise your financial and human capital
Before undertaking cultural initiatives, it is necessary to map resources available.
Culture and the creative sector face more difficult access to finance in a time of
scarcity of resources available.While it is increasingly difficult for the sector to obtain
public funding, adopting sustainable models of support to artistic creation such as
public-private partnerships and diversifying the sources of financing have shown to
be efficient in bolstering long-term cultural projects. Policy-makers are encouraged
to facilitate access to finance for artists and cultural entrepreneurs, in particular to
streamline access to European sources of funding.
CCS should also look at alternative funding streams such as crowdfunding, sponsoring
or other forms of arts and business collaborations.
In addition, SMSC can count on non-financial resources such as facilities (cultural or
industrial heritage, vacant spaces etc.), infrastructure, training or advice that are as
important as monetary grants for culture and creative organisations to grow..
Also important is to dialogue with and count on the local population and other
stakeholders. As shown throughout the study, bottom up approaches have proved
to be very successful in launching culture based initiatives that in some cases are
even taken on by the public administration afterwards. Involving the local community
through consultation or volunteering, but also networking with other institutions,
constitute as many ways to trigger engagement, participation and legitimacy of cultural
initiatives at the local level.
Public policies should therefore encourage networking and encounters between
different stakeholders to allow new initiatives to blossom.
5. Open up to international collaborations
Taking part in international projects can greatly benefit the cities and their cultural
operators. Internationalisation has indeed been identified as a challenge for cultural
workers and the circulation of artworks notably due to their local character in a
multicultural globalised environment.Transnational collaborations provide artists with
the best tools and environment to nurture their creativity: they put an end to the
isolation they could encounter during the creative process, allowing peer-learning
and opening collaboration opportunities.
In this prospect, European and transnational projects do not solely constitute a source
of funding, but also favour the exchange of knowledge and bring visibility to local
projects. This way they can catch the attention of artists from outside, helping to
attract creative people and businesses to the city.
They constitute a sizeable opportunity for SMSC to go beyond the local realm and
favour direct contacts between counterparts in other European cities.As the CreArt
network shows, they are also good platforms to exchange know-how and
experiences and to get inspired by others.Through sharing best practices, they allow
artists, cultural operators and municipalities to learn from different experiences in
similar urban contexts and improve working methodologies for all stakeholders.
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