Creative Industries
Welcome to the Creative Industries Page!
The cultural and creative industries (CCI) are an essential part of economic development, providing a high volume of jobs and supporting many other business sectors. Especially in an increasingly digital world, CCI play an important role in marketing, growth and internationalisation activities, often supporting innovation through acting as a catalyst in cross-sector activities.
The breadth of the services that CCI include is vast, covering a multitude of individual sectors such as:
- Music Industry
- Literature
- Fine arts
- Film and broadcasting
- Performing arts
- Architecture and Design
- Press and advertising market
- Software and Games Industry
Such a breadth converts into a strong economic impact, with CCI reaching over 168 billion EUROS in 2018 and employing nearly 1.2 million people across Germany.
In 2007, the German Federal Government launched the Cultural and Creative Industries Initiative to ensure support for this fast growing, high value sector. We at Steinbeis 2i GmbH also wish to see this sector thrive and grow, and are therefore supporting the industry in a number of ways; through individual EU grant-funded projects, our membership in various networks which support businesses and regional governments, information about the various funding and financing opportunities available to CCI businesses, and through providing guidance about and access to the relevant support agencies in the Baden-Württemberg region. We have provided further information on each of these areas on this page.
However, if you have any other support requirements or questions regarding CCI support, please don’t hesitate to contact the team.
Our Projects
EU-Projekt RESTART4Danube
Purpose:
Boosting Creative Industries in Urban Regeneration for a Stronger Danube Region
Aims:
- Address the lack of transnational cooperation & coordination on an institutional level which is hindering R&I potential of the Danube region (DR)
- Enhance the capability of SMEs to adapt to innovation needs
Expected Outcomes:
- Atransnational creative urban regeneration network
- Internationalisation and exchange of best practice
- Implementation of open innovation projects
- Strengthen capacities of SMEs
Contact:
Miljana Cosic: ,
Irina-Maria Coifescu:
EU-Project- INEDIT
Purpose:
open INnovation Ecosystems for Do It Together process
Aims:
- To create an Open Innovation Community to jointly conceive and design sustainable furniture globally and then produce it locally and in a resource-saving way.
- To bring recycled, smart and personalized products to the market in the shortest possible time
Expected Outcomes:
Creativity of the customers, the professionalism of the designers and the experienced production specialists are brought together in a ‘Do-It-Together’ approach
Contact:
Ivo Zeller:
EEN Network- Creative Industries Sector Group

As part of our ongoing work to develop support services to Creative and Cultural Industries (CCI) companies, S2i is a member of the EEN Creative Industries Sector Group. This sector group contains representatives from Business Support Organisations across Europe who work together to support companies in their respective regions to find partners, conduct technology transfer and commercialise their products and services. Our strength comes from working together to highlight local companies and opportunities that could be relevant to other customers within the network.
If you are looking for partners and would like to discuss the opportunities that this network can offer, please contact Faith Blakemore:
Districts of Creativity Network

Founded in 2004, the Districts of Creativity (DC) Network unites 11 regions around the world to share and develop practices on stimulating cross-disciplinary creativity in society to foster innovation and prosperity in business, culture and education as well as to promote the exchange of experiences and best practices. Currently, the global network covers regions from the USA to China and from Scotland to India.
On behalf of the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Labour and Housing Baden-Württemberg, the Steinbeis 2i GmbH is the Baden-Württemberg contact for the "Districts of Creativity" network and consequently participates in the annual creative meetings in the various regions, with the aim of giving Baden-Württemberg a global platform for its creative sector and, above all, to stimulate a dialog between creative professionals from Baden-Württemberg and those from other regions. To make this possible, the network organizes the annual "Creativity World Forum" and various exchange trips (Reverse Missions).
Funding and Financing Opportunities
Horizon Europe- the new European Funding Programme
Cluster 2 of the new Horizon Europe funding programme will be focused on ‘Culture, Creativity and Inclusive Society’ and will have a numerous amount of calls focused on areas such as film, gaming, creativity and cultural heritage. The new programme of calls is due to be released in spring 2021 and we will provide further information here as soon as the information is released.
Alongside this, many of the other clusters will offer calls where there will be opportunities for CCI companies to cross-collaborate on a range of different topics. All calls will be available via the European Commission’s Funding and Tender Portal, however, we will be highlighting calls on our website throughout the Horizon Europe programme period, so check back here regularly for up to date info on call developments.
If you are interested in such programmes and would like to discuss potential partner opportunities, please contact Faith Blakemore:
Private Investment
Steinbeis is actively involved in supporting innovative companies to find and secure investor financing, including companies within the CCI sector. Working with a large pool of global investors and partners, we can support your company through evaluation, investment readiness and investment packaging support. If you are keen to explore the investment routes we have available, please contact Faith Blakemore:
Other Funding Opportunities
As and when we find further funding opportunities, including competitions, open innovation challenges, national initiatives etc, we will also be highlighting these here. This will be updated regularly so do keep checking back to make sure you are up to date on new developments.
- OSHA Film Award: https://osha.europa.eu/en/healthy-workplaces-campaigns/awards/hw-film-award
- German Film Fund: https://www.bundesregierung.de/breg-de/bundesregierung/staatsministerin-fuer-kultur-und-medien/medien/filmfoerderung
- Stuttgart Festival of Animated Film: Call for Entries - ITFS - Internationales Trickfilmfestival Stuttgart

Our Creativ-Newsletter
Register now for our creative newsletter and receive the latest information on events, funding measures and networking activities.
Soon you will find the newsletter registration here.
Networks & Initiatives
Network with initiatives and networks in Baden-Württemberg and Europe:
Animation Media Cluster Region Stuttgart (AMCRS)
Creative Network Ostwürttemberg
Film Academy Baden-Württemberg
Film Commission Region Stuttgart
IHK Netzwerk Kreativwirtschaft
Media Initiative Region Stuttgart
MFG Medien- und Filmgesellschaft Baden-Württemberg mbH
Nationale Kontaktstelle Kreativwirtschaft
Netzwerk Kreativwirtschaft Baden-Württemberg