• Innovatielabs vierkant
    • Title: Innovation Labs
    • What: innovative projects that contribute to a strong creative and cultural sector
    • Input: CLICKNL is responsible for the knowledge and community part of this program
    • Duration: 2021 - present
    • Key words: innovation
    • Project partners: Creative Industry Stimulation Fund (leader), Ministry of OCW, National Culture Funds, SIA
    • Website: www.innovatielabs.org

For an agile and resilient industry

Innovation Labs

The Innovatielabs program gives an impulse to new resilience in the cultural and creative sector. The Stimuleringsfonds Creatieve Industrie, on behalf of all state cultural funds, and CLICKNL implement the program on behalf of the Ministry of OCW. Innovation Labs for the cultural and creative sector is an initiative of former Minister Van Engelshoven of OCW, in response to the recommendation of the Council for Culture from the advice 'Onderweg naar Overmorgen'.

The program is a joint project of the six national cultural funds and CLICKNL with the goal of giving this sector the opportunity to experiment with new ways of working and earning models to help the sector become more agile and resilient also in the longer term after the covid-19 pandemic.
The minister made available (including implementation costs) €5 million for Innovation Labs. This amount was to be made available for projects by makers and institutions to make the cultural and creative sector more resilient and agile.

After an initial phase in which the intended focus of Innovation Labs was tested by three quartermasters, a call was opened in September 2021. Through this open call, the Stimuleringsfonds Creatieve Industrie and CLICKNL issued an appeal to institutions and creators to develop applicable knowledge and working methods that benefit the sector's agility and resilience. Sixteen projects were selected from the 174 proposals received. Together they represent diverse cultural and creative disciplines, from film to service design, and connect more than 120 parties, from individual creators to international organizations.

  • Intensive cooperation

    As icing on the cake, with the help of funding from SIA (NWO), about four lecturers are involved in Innovation Labs, which further flesh out knowledge development for the entire sector. These lectors and their assistants also participate in the knowledge & community program, as well as organize meetings with teams where necessary or mutually beneficial. The budget for these researchers is not at the expense of the rest of Innovation Labs.

Second open call

Due in part to the great interest in the first open call and its success, a second call has been opened at the request of OCW in 2022 with a total amount of €7.5 million. The projects that will run in this second edition are expected to be announced in April 2023.