cahier: kultur = kapital, global media city berlin

Cultural Clusters as a commodity for cities, plannable and makeable?Deltametropolis Association, October 2013

KULTUR

KAPITAL

2 Global Media City Berlin

PartnersErasmus University of Rotterdam Architectural Film FestivalStimuleringsfonds voor de Creatieve Industrie

TextIsabel Neumann, Yvonne Rijpers

PicturesYvonne Rijpers

ContactYvonne [email protected]+31 10 413 09 27

Webpagehttp://deltametropool.nl/nl/culturalclusters_as_commodity

Deltametropolis AssociationThe Deltametropolis Association is a broad public organisation that focuses on sharing sustainable development in Randstad Holland. The association brings together businesses, public interest groups, research institutions and governmental institutions. Deltametropolis Association enables and works towards creating a socially supported design of the Randstad metropolitan area, focused on welfare, prosperity and strengthening its international competitiveness. Deltametropolis Association offers a platform for discussion: it creates the space to develop new ideas and critically discuss Randstad Holland outside of the usual frameworks. It is a laboratory for prioritising innovative issues and for promoting the debate on the future of Randstad Holland. Through this, the association aims to promote new ideas on the development of Randstad Holland and to help apply these in everyday practice.

Apply for membership at www.deltametropool.nl/nl/membership

3Global Media City Berlin

Index1 Creative Cities and Cultural Clustering

Global competitionObservations

2 Berlin – Cultural MetropolisAlpha media city

3 Policy towards Cultural IndustriesChanging definitions Milestones

4 Policy = facilitating + creating networksLittle moneyNEMONAMore focus?

5 Policy = Sector Specific, not Spatial Cultural industries and real estateNow what?

6 Policy = advisory boards + formal administration Chamber of Industry and TradeNetworking is the key

7 Money = EU money + co-financingCo-financingInsecurity about the future

8 Lessons from BerlinSuccessful crisis managementStrengthen what you’ve gotNetworking and facilitating Long term but flexiblePoor but sexy – changes ahead

Our contacts

References


1Creative Cities and Cultural ClusteringAttracting the knowledge economy, the creative class and other drivers of the post-Fordist economy has become a central issue in policymaking. Strategies have been implemented in different locations, with different areas of focus and with variable levels of success, proving that there is no such thing as a recipe for city making. Nevertheless, it is interesting to take an in-depth look at seemingly successful strategies that appear to meet the demands of certain locations and their development needs.

Berlin is such an example: a city that has succeeded in coping with multiple structural changes, albeit with trial and error. After the reunification, Berlin set its urban strategy goals, policy and extended investments on developing the city into a prestigious service metropolis. However, it turned out to be an unattainable goal. What did happen: Berlin developed into Europe’s poster ‘creative city’. Today, it cannot be found in the top 10 in any of the many global cities rankings, but in other respects it has gained quite some importance. In any case, it is a city that offers a creative, diverse and truly urban setting. Having observed the changes that Berlin went through, from a fairly difficult initial position to what it offers now, many European cities are keen to try and duplicate or learn from the ‘Berlin formula’, if there is any...

The Deltametropolis Association has been interested in creative industries and cultural clustering for quite some time. Already in 2002 it published a cahier on creative cities, together with the Ministry of Housing, Planning and Environment. More recently, during the lecture and expert meetings cycles called ‘the International Perspectives’, cultural clustering was one of the main topics addressed. Following this, the association has decided to look more in-depth into cultural clustering, to find out what it actually comprises, what is specifically local and what is specifically global about it – in order to be able to see what we, in the Randstad Holland, can learn from other places.

The case study for this research is, not surprisingly, Berlin. This research will simultaneously be a PhD research of one of the Deltametropolis employees, meaning there is a close cooperation with the Erasmus University of Rotterdam. This cahier is the first publication on this research. In it, the Berlin creative industries and the policies surrounding it are highlighted. Through interviews with many stakeholders, it sketches an image of Berlin as a creative city, the process it went to since the reunification and the interplay between stakeholders and policymakers.


Global competitionThe rise of cultural industries (the driving force behind creative cities) is based on the commodification of culture. Cultural development plays a major role in economic regeneration; it breathes life into the economy and creates new forms of enterprise. By their very nature, these industries are usually highly visible and contribute to the physical advancement of the respective areas they are located in. These positive effects, and the fact that cities need to obtain and perpetuate an eligible position in the global hierarchy, makes that urban policies increasingly adopt strategies that encourage the creative economy. A critical factor for success of these policies is their ability to attract the creative class. Several authors (Florida 2002, Amin and Thrift 2004) argue that the creative class is being willing and able to travel and settle all over the world. This high level of physical flexibility has been fuelled by the changing patterns of mobility and the rise of trendy places (i.e. ‘the place to be’), in turn fuelled by the opportunities that globalisation and the new media have brought about (Castells, 1996).

Global networks of distribution and consumption spread around the world in (ever changing) nodes, within which production clusters that serve and sustain these networks are materialised and formed; these nodes are cities. An example of this in terms of cultural economies, are global media cities. Kraetke (2003) developed an alternative city ranking where the emphasis is not on corporate companies and finance, but on the presence of media headquarters and big offices. In this ranking, Berlin, Munich and Amsterdam are among the top: the so-called alpha media cities, next to the ‘usual suspects’ New York, Los Angeles, Paris and London (Kraetke, 2003).

With this research, we aim to get a better understanding of the driving forces behind the clustering of creative industries and the forming and perpetuating of cultural clusters on certain locations: i.e. their dynamics, their connectivity and both the local and global characteristics at work. The main questions addressed are: How does local cultural clustering work? How do clusters develop in connection to their (local) environment and their surrounding (global) network?

In order to get an in-depth look into these processes, the focus will narrow on one cultural cluster in specific and trace its development in time and space, against the background of changing transnational networks and changing local characteristics (such as policy, spatial development and the economic position of the city).

ObservationsWhat makes Berlin a creative city? Why is it successful? What are the local and global characteristics at hand? Who are the stakeholders? What kind of policy and funding schemes are involved? The aim of our Berlin fieldtrip in may 2013 was to find some initial indications on these questions. In order to do so, we met with a range of stakeholders from various institutions, and local administrative bodies to the Chamber of Industry and Trade Commerce. Interviews were also held with professionals in the field of research and policy advice. The different backgrounds and specialities of the contacts gave a broad view on the Berlin creative economy and the diverse strategies supporting it.


The extensive knowledge of our contacts and their often long-term experience in this field gave an understanding beyond pure fact-based data that can be found via desk research. The interviews helped explain the Berlin cultural economy and the policies fostering it. The input and evaluation given by our contacts helped getting a first glimpse on the Berlin practice and the lessons we could learn.

Many institutions are involved in developing policy for the creative industries. Our first findings on the policies regarding the Berlin creative industries will be a starting point to continue cooperation, discussions and further investigations on cultural clusters with actors in the related fields, member of the Deltametropolis Association and international partners. The findings and experiences can be used to reflect on similar policy issues that the Deltametropolis Association and its members encounter. Our main impressions will be elaborated further in this cahier. In short:

● Policy = Facilitating + creating networks

● Policy = Sector specific and not spatial

● Policy = Advisory boards + formal administration

● Money = EU funding + co-financing

The next two chapters will respectively address Berlin as a cultural metropolis and the policy towards creative industries, including the milestones throughout the years. After that, each main impression will be elaborated on in its own chapter. In the concluding chapter, lessons learned are summarized.


2Berlin – Cultural Metropolis Berlin’s reputation as a thriving cultural metropolis, rests on two main factors: on the one hand, there is a highly subsidised cultural sector with museums, archives and theatres; on the other hand, there is a broad field of cultural entrepreneurs, i.e. those working in the creative industries. The traditional subsidised cultural offerings in Berlin tend to attract mainly German public: topics addressed are adapted to themes that cater their interests and (theatre) productions are mainly conducted in German. They provide the basis for cultural tourism to the capital, where the major national institutions are situated. Museums are an exception to this rule, as they cater for a broader, more international public.

Berlin is an attractive city for international tourists: every year it attracts numerous tourists interested in its history, its formalised attractions, its rough urbanity and its broad cultural offerings. One of the main drivers behind the stream of young international tourists is Berlin’s electronic music and club scene. The influence of the Berlin club scene on the tourism to the German capital is best covered in the book ‘Lost and Sound – Berlin, Techno und der Easyjetset’ (Rapp, 2009). Next to attracting the ‘Easyjetset’, the city also proves to be an international gathering space for collaborations between professionals in the creative sector as well as branch events, such as the music week, fashion week and the Berlin International Design Festival (DMY). Together, these generate a socially constructed, new urban industry: socially constructed because it rests fundamentally on the exchange and interaction of its actors and new because it goes beyond the confines of old urban industries (such as printing and the publishing trade), subsequently forming new urban clusters of cultural production. Particularly in Berlin, these account for a considerable share of the regional economy and form the basis for intra-regional and supra-regional business networks.

Alpha media cityIn the global cities ranking Berlin merely reaches a gamma position, hence it’s a relatively small player. In terms of a media city, however, it ranks among the best cities globally and can be labelled as ‘alpha’ media city. The (spatial formation of) the media sector is exemplary for the geographical organisation of cultural industries in clusters: companies are situated in a limited number of large cities in the global urban system and within these locations, they tend to cluster in specific ‘districts’ – usually in the inner city areas (Kraetke, 2000; 2002). This accumulation of businesses has facilitated face-to-face contact and close networks between members, which indicates a shift in the function and meaning of certain locations for (creative) production.


An interesting example in this respect is electronic music. Technically speaking, music production is becoming increasingly ‘footloose’ – there is no need for two people producing music to ever actually meet face-to-face; everything can be easily arranged through computer programs and the internet. At the same time, personal exchange and get-togethers are still deemed important in order to contribute something relevant to contemporary tastes and markets. Moreover, it seems that although spatial proximity is not essential for production, something is still ‘in the air’ that makes it important to cluster in certain places. This is particularly relevant for cultural production beyond the mainstream (i.e. the ‘underground’), where information is not fully visible, but is exchanged through personal contact at certain local nodes. This so called ‘local BUZZ’, the face-to-face contact, or more diffuse ‘rubbing elbows’ enables circulation of information and it is the way networks and clusters perpetuate. Members of creative industries residing permanently at these local BUZZ hotspots benefit by being up to date on what is happening, and having access to peer-professionals and potential customers and markets (as these meeting sites, such as galleries or clubs, are usually also the sites used by the consumers of cultural goods). Moreover, international network meetings such as the Amsterdam Dance Event and Berlin Music Week have become highly important in gaining insight into what peers do and what the current state-of-the-art is, signifying that place (and time) still matters, be it in a different form.

The remarkable transformation of Berlin into Europe’s number one creative city (a reputation Berlin also had in the 1920’s) began after its reunification. Soon after, the ruins of the East-West divide were sprawled with creativity. Artists, fortune-seekers, musicians and the like entered the city, laying the foundations for the cultural takeover in Berlin. What started spontaneously as a reaction to a general vacuum of formal actors in this unique historical setting became the key instigator for Berlin’s economic and spatial development today, as well as a critical feature in the city’s management, which facilitates structural change and the transition of political and administrative structures. Creative industries have become greatly important for Berlin’s urban economy and policymakers nowadays are trying to steer the sector to encourage businesses and cultural entrepreneurs to establish themselves there by offering various incentives.

Nevertheless: for most artists living in Berlin, the city is not the site where they generate the major share of their income. Policymakers in Berlin are aware of the lack of local market representatives in the creative economies. Berlin is known for its slogan ‘Poor, but sexy’, and policies have thus enabled cheaper living costs, affordable real estate and the availability of space. However, despite doing so, they have not yet been able to fully address the lack of high incomes in the city, which would contribute to increasing the consumption of cultural goods and their attempts to close the value chain and direct sales and distribution to Berlin, i.e. supporting a local market, are comparatively small.


“I don’t think that there is any reason to consider Berlin as a creative city in terms of economics, however, it would be interesting to consider it a creative city in terms of cultural output. And even more than just cultural output, the involvement of people in the cultural production and so on. In that sense it is a creative city. It is very easy for a city such as Berlin, that has no real economy going on, to have an important percentage of creative economy, because there isn’t anything else there.”Ares Kalandides

13.108.932,00

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Tourism Berlin

Germany

Overnight Stays Number of Guests

International

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visiting restaurants

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sightseeing

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local drinks and food

shopping

museums, exhibitions

nightlife

guided tours

enjoying nature

visiting sports events

doing sports

swimming pool, thermal bath

What are you doing in Berlin?

Tourism in Berlin (Fig. 1)In 2011 there were 22,4 million overnight stays booked in Berlin’s commercial accommodations, 41,4% of the guests was foreign. The urban atmosphere, its history and the many sights are important reasons to visit Berlin. Visitors discover in fi rst respect a liveable metropolis and are on the quest for the ‘Berlin way of life’. They enjoy the many restaurants, bars and cafés and feel the buzz of the city.

Source: publication ‘Wirtschaftsfaktor für Berlin: Tourismus- und Kongressindustrie’ by

Berlin Tourismus & Kongress GmbH, 2012


3Policy towards Cultural IndustriesIn 1997, the Federal District of Berlin launched the programme Project Future (ProjectZukunft). Its aim was to restructure the Berlin economy and transform it into a service metropolis. Central issue in doing so was the provision of a citywide network for Internet and telecommunication. In this way, the local government aimed to boost the New Economy. At the time, the creative sector was not a priority, yet. It wasn’t until the early 2000s that the Berlin public authorities started addressing the needs of the creative industries. The crisis of the New Economy and the end of network expansion in 2004 (documented in the ‘Telecommunications Atlas’) led to a further search for durable paths of economic development in Berlin. Publications such as Richard Florida’s ‘The rise of the creative class’ and its successors drew attention to the importance of the creative industries and cultural entrepreneurs in the city and highlighted the urgent need for public authorities to boost their local economies.Since 2001, the music scene has been receiving support, mostly by facilitating network meetings. In 2004, creative industries became an official branch in economic policy in Berlin. This formal recognition laid the basis for the publication of the first Creative Industries Report in 2005. The report presents an inventory of the local creative industries and argues for its recognition as an important player in the city’s urban economy. The report also formed the first attempt to classify the creative industries and define its various submarkets. Outlining the sector is a necessary precondition for monitoring it. The presentation of the data and hence the development of the market forms the central body of the 2005 report, which is actually presenting data from 2002.

Despite the fact that the definitions of the different creative industry sectors have undergone several changes, their use in today’s administrative context provides a clear understanding of the developments of the sector.The definitions of the sectors are the framework for collecting data and the changes in definition over time give us insight into the modifications in policymaking and the changing discourse surrounding creative industries. The Expert Commission on Cultural Industries developed an official nationwide coherent (but not widely used) definition of creative industries. Another institutional milestone in the operationalization of the creative industries is recognition of it by the European Union and the subsequent redefining of established sets to acquire data on it.

Figures shown in the 2005 Report refer to the following sectors: publishing and press; music, film and TV-economy; art (including design, fashion, and applied arts); performing arts; advertisement; software; data processing and telecommunication; architecture and heritage.


Due to the integration of art and the design branch in the data collection, this sector formed the biggest one of the creative industries in Berlin in terms of the number of companies. However, the publishing and press market generated the most job opportunities and the highest turnovers. Further, the data reveals that the software, data processing and telecommunication sectors had the highest employment rates per company: on average, each company in the sector employed 11,7 people. In organisational terms, this sector and the publishing market are comparable to the ‘old urban industries‘: where production takes place by specialists in a divided system of labour. Contrary to this are art and architecture where, on average, less than 3 people work in a company. Freelancers have not been included in this survey, which makes the differences among these branches even more explicit. Overall, according to the 2005 report, the creative industries accounted for more than 18,500 enterprises in 2002, which together generated a turnover of more than 8,1 billion Euros and provided more than 90,000 jobs.

“So the first activities here started in the late 90’s, initiated by the so-called Future Initiatives. There have been many changes since then. In 2005 we adopted the creative industries, until then it was still missing. In 2008 there was a change in the classification of the economy and its branches on a EU-scale and we had to change the statistics again. In effect, at the moment we only have data from 2008 onwards.”Sylvia Fielder, Senate Administration for Economy, Technology and Research, on the collection of data concerning CI in Berlin.

Changing definitionsIn 2006, the debate on creative industries reached the rest of Germany, leading to more policy being developed and implemented. By then, the Expert Commission on the Cultural Industries in Germany had already debated on developing a shared definition of the sector for three years. This resulted in changes of the sector classifications; besides renaming some branches, the data for the design market became more separated, which shed light on the actual composition and performance of this sector. Even though the reclassification has made it more difficult to compare data, it has provided a more accurate understanding of the market, providing a basis for targeted supportive instruments. Of the approximately 4700 companies that were categorised as part of the 2002 art market sector, 2500 were put in the category of the design branch in 2006, generating the smallest contribution (380 million euro) of the overall turnover of the creative industries in 2006 (which totalled around 17,5 billion Euro). Just as in the art market and in the field of architecture, the number of employees per company remained comparatively low.


The fi lm and TV sector have experienced strong growth; the market has clearly benefi ted from the establishment of the ‘Media board Berlin Brandenburg’ and the introduction of funding support. This is refl ected in the growing numbers of companies as well as rising turnovers. The publishing and press market sector could improve signifi cantly through these means, as they usually exist (but struggle) without these supportive structures. The question remains whether this illustrates a real growth of economic performance, or if it merely is administrative growth, due to the adding of more branches into the creative industries category.

Changes in the terminology on economic activities within the European Union brought about changes in the compilation of data on the cultural industries. From 2009 onwards, the sector has been divided statistically into eleven submarkets: the previously merged publishing and press markets are now measured separately; data on ‘fi lm and TV’ are now collected in the divided statistical units of ‘fi lm’ and the ‘broadcasting sector’, according to EU guidelines the ICT sector is no longer a submarket of the creative industries, nor are telecommunications, IT-services and trade; the software and games industries still are.

Software Development/Telecommunications

Software Development/ Games/Telecommunications Software/Games

Music

Advertisement

Architecture and Heritage Architecture

Art

Design

Performing Arts Performing ArtsPerforming Arts

Film and TV Film

Broadcasting

Book and Press Book

Press

2002 2006 2008

Changing perspectives on the market |Definitions set the base for the collection of data on creative industries. Being an issue to economic sup-port just since a couple of years the changing definitions illustrate the attempts of authorities and steer-ing institutions to approach and develop an understanding of the sector. The varying perspectives on it indicate on the one hand emphasis given to certain sub-markets. They complicate on the other hand to follow the development of the creative industries over time and the use of data sequences.The illustration shows the changing composition of creative industries as an economic sector by sub-markets within ProjektZukunft.

Changing perspectives on the market (Fig. 2)Defi nitions set the base for the collection of data on creative industries. Being an issue to economic support just since a couple of years the changing defi nitions illustrate the attempts of authorities and steering institutions to approach and develop an understanding of the sector. The varying perspectives on it indicate the emphasis given to certain submarkets, however, they also complicate following the development of the creative industries over time. The illustration shows the changing composition of creative industries as an economic sector by submarkets within Projekt Future.


New modes of data collection/new modes of labour | The drop in the amount of companies in the art market is due to the new subdivision of the sector in the design and art market. In 2002 both markets were handled as a common branch.In the performing arts the general increase of companies went along with a decline in the numbers of employees per firm.

Source: data is compiled from the Kreativwirtschaftsberichte of the Senate Administration of Economy, Technology and Re-search (published in 2006 and 2008) and with data from the homepage of ProjektZukunft: www.berlin.de/sen/wirtschaft/abisz/cluster_kmk.html

0

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2006-09 2009-10

Performing Arts

Employees Number of Companies

New modes of data collection/new modes of labour | The drop in the amount of companies in the art market is due to the new subdivision of the sector in the design and art market. In 2002 both markets were handled as a common branch.In the performing arts the general increase of companies went along with a decline in the numbers of employees per firm.

Source: data is compiled from the Kreativwirtschaftsberichte of the Senate Administration of Economy, Technology and Re-search (published in 2006 and 2008) and with data from the homepage of ProjektZukunft: www.berlin.de/sen/wirtschaft/abisz/cluster_kmk.html

0

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Employees Number of Companies

New modes of data collection/new modes of labour (Fig. 3 & 4)The drop in the amount of companies in the art market is due to the new subdivision of the sector in the design and art market. In 2002 both markets were handled as a common branch. In the performing arts the general increase of companies went along with a decline in the numbers of employees per fi rm.

Source: data is compiled from the Kreativwirtschaftsberichte of the Senate Administration of

Economy, Technology and Research (published in 2006 and 2008) and with data from the homepage of

ProjektZukunft: www.berlin.de/sen/wirtschaft/abisz/cluster_kmk.html


Policy devices and booming sub-markets | The advertisement sector experienced a boom in 2000. After a drop in the numbers of companies, it is now experiencing a moderate growth and a con-solidation of existing firms in financial and employment terms. Today, the design sector experiences a general uplift and could be de-scribed as booming: departing from a relatively low performance, it now shows a steady and relatively high increase in number of companies and turnovers.

Source: data is compiled from the Kreativwirtschaftsberichte of the Senate Administration of Economy, Technology and Research (published in 2006 and 2008) and with data from the homepage of ProjektZukunft: www.berlin.de/sen/wirtschaft/abisz/cluster_kmk.html

1.125.476

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2006 2009 2010

Turnovers

Advertisement Design

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2006 2009 2010

Number of Companies


Policy devices and booming sub-markets | The advertisement sector experienced a boom in 2000. After a drop in the numbers of companies, it is now experiencing a moderate growth and a con-solidation of existing firms in financial and employment terms. Today, the design sector experiences a general uplift and could be de-scribed as booming: departing from a relatively low performance, it now shows a steady and relatively high increase in number of companies and turnovers.


1.125.476

555.931591.741

380.547

664.213 711.332

0

200.000

400.000

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1.000.000

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2006 2009 2010

Turnovers


18.814

9.692 9.735

1.827

10.574 10.235

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2006 2009 2010

Employment


2.552

1.098 1.068

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3.3723.657

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2006 2009 2010

Number of Companies


Policy devices and booming sub-markets (Fig. 5 & 6)The advertisement sector experienced a boom in 2000. After a drop in the numbers of companies, it is now experiencing moderate growth and consolidation of existing fi rms in fi nancial and employment terms. Today, the design sector experiences a general uplift and could be described as booming: departing from a relatively low performance, it now shows a steady and relatively high increase in number of companies and turnovers.





This rearranging of data has given the impression of decline in the performance of the creative economy. Since both sectors are organised as one cluster, the accumulated values give insight into the joint development of the sectors. Two things are noteworthy to mention about the overall development of the cluster: firstly, there has been a substantial growth in the number of companies in both ICT and the core creative industries; and secondly, a closer look at employment data and the development of turnovers reveals that the ICT sector is the main driver for the stabilisation and expansion of the joined policy cluster ICT, media and creative industries. In the cultural industries, the art and design market were regrouped; the remarkable growth rates that both sectors show are primarily due to the changed compilation of datasets. More detailed data on the film, the broadcasting, the book and the press market gives a better idea of the turnovers and employment situation. The ability of the press and broadcasting market to adopt the latest trends and topics appears to generate more sales, and they rely greatly on the input of many contributors.

By looking at the development of two sectors over time in the creative industries, the impact of policy becomes visible. The music sector received much attention from the administrative sphere in the very beginning of creative industry policymaking. However, it has been strong and quite well self-organised already for quite some time, and longer than many other sectors. One of the examples of this is the Club Commission, established in 2000 by stakeholders of the music scene. The music scene receives support from the Club Commission to conduct its networking activities. However, although there is a decline of production companies and a decrease in turnovers in the music sectors, individual companies within this sector barely make use of financial support or coaching. The design sector, on the other hand, has been officially recognised and supported since 2006 and is experiencing a very positive development. The sector shows a growing number of companies as well as increasing and relatively stable turnover and employment rates.

In general, the creative industries, including ICT and media, have performed quite positively since 2007: it generates 16% of the accumulated turnover of the Berlin economy (2010) and 22% of all companies in Berlin are part of this cluster. On the one hand, it could be said that the significance of this cluster for the Berlin economy is undoubtedly a reason to further support it. On the other hand, this success can also be seen as largely the result of targeted interventions to facilitate the potential of the market, mainly carried out in behalf of the Project Future, aimed at reshaping Berlin’s economy according to current and upcoming requirements.


SENATE OFFICE FOR CULTURAL

AFFAIRS

ProgramCultural Projects

Berlin

create Berlin

museum portal

institutional culture

SENATE ADMINISTRATION

FOR URBAN DEVELOPMENT

AND ENVIRONMENT

support of temporary

uses

health energyoptics logistics

ICT, media,

creative ind.

CLUSTER POLICY BERLIN

SENATE ADMINISTRATION

FOR ECONOMY, TECHNOLOGY AND

RESEARCH

PROGRAMPROJECT FUTURE

=Cluster

management ICT, Media, creative

industries

NETWORKSlocal

international

EVENTS/COMPETITIONS

outgoing incoming

INFORMATIONpublicationseducation

FUNDING

institutions policy fields

Cluster policy in Berlin (Fig. 7)Above a graphic impression of the cluster policy in Berlin, the different levels of administration involved and the most important policy fi elds.


MilestonesIn 1997, the Berlin government launched the programme Project Future. With the theme ‘Berlin on the way to the information society’, it’s aim was to innovate the urban economy. The cultural industries were not yet part of this structure, since initially, the main goal was establishing infrastructural assets as the basis of Berlin’s role within the New Economy. Now, the project supports five clusters perceived to be the most important for the urban economy. After Health, Creative Industries is the biggest cluster, involving approximately 25.500 companies and an annual turnover of 13 billion Euros. The other three clusters are Traffic; Mobility and Logistics; Energy Technology; and Logistics. To encourage the performance of the creative industries, the project has undergone many transformations. Key milestones in this development have been:

● From the start in 1997, regular events for the new economy, such as the ‘Future Talks’ were organized. The thematic focus on network expansion and telecommunications shifted towards new policy fields, one of which is the creative industries.

● In 2001, in close cooperation with the Berlin Club Commission, the ‘Music Initiative’ was launched to support networking among music producers and event organisers. It offered education on safety and security, but also on business related issues. The initiative helped representatives from the music scene gain access to institutions and gave them a formal voice in public debates and towards decision makers. As a consequence, in 2006, the Berlin music commission was established.

● The 2004 publication ‘Telecommunication Atlas’ marked the end of policies mainly focused on (digital) infrastructure. That same year, the creative industries were added to the programme.

● In 2004, the media board Berlin Brandenburg was established in order to support the film and broadcasting sector. Funding for individual projects in the realms of film, theatre, media, audio-visual content and media development became available.

● From 2005 to 2009, specific sub-market ‘bank talks’ were organised by the senate: i.e. meetings between banks and spokespersons from the creative industries, on topics such as funding requirements. These talks bridged the gap between (big) market-oriented financial institutions and cultural entrepreneurs.

● In 2005 - 2006, roundtable sessions for design were held; different actors in the administrative field were brought together and given the opportunity to exchange ideas with one another. These roundtables were coordinated for one year and aimed at raising awareness among peer-professionals and within formal institutions. A year later, this formula was repeated for the fashion and film market.


● In 2006, Project Future focused on consuming markets for design, thus developing strategies to approach new markets, by enabling labels to participate in a common presentation at international design fairs.

● In 2006, joint efforts by public authorities and Berlin designers led to the recognition of the city as ‘UNESCO City of Design’. This helped to further integrate Berlin in the international network of other creative cities.

● The Berlin Chamber of Industry and Trade has been organising network meetings, consultations, education and the endorsement of projects for temporary use. The Senate for Urban Planning and Environment complements these supportive structures by facilitating temporary use and framing the availability of public premises. To coordinate the different activities, institutions need to work together. Since 2007, this has been organised in a joint ‘Steering Committee for Culture and Creative Economy’. Specialists on recent topics are part of this committee.

● In 2007, a ‘Foreign Trade Concept for the Cultural Economy’ was established, forming the basis for the extension of the ‘Entering New Markets’ programme in 2010, which focused on the shift from classical branches towards creative industries. Through this framework, joint events and the support of presentation activities were enabled, an example of which is the stall of Berlin publishers at the London Book Fair.

● The ‘Design Reactor’ at the University of Arts is an incubator and training programme for graduate designers to prepare young professionals with skills needed to work in the creative industries.

● The ‘Venture Capital Funds Creative Economy’ and the ‘Creative Coaching Centre’ are supportive structures launched by the Berlin Investment Bank in 2007. The latter provides schooling and consultation in economic and business related issues; the former enables the provision of funding (i.e. growth capital and micro credits).

● In 2007, the working structure of economic policies in Berlin changed to encourage the development within five strategic clusters: Health Economy; ICT, Media, Creative Industries; Traffic, Mobility and Logistics; Energy Technology; and Logistics.

● This has led to new activities within Project Future, especially in the management of the cluster ICT, Media, Creative Industries. One person was made responsible for each sector, helping administrative employees to develop a certain expertise and a personal network in their field. This has made it easier to organise network events such as the first ‘Berlin Fashion Week’ in 2008.

● The new organisational patterns have opened up the possibility to renegotiate existing tools and incentive structures. Existing funding structures, which were solely used to support traditional industries, have now been opened up and adapted to respond to the requirements of the ICT, Media and Creative Industries cluster.


● Published in 2008, the second edition of the ‘Cultural Economy Report’ was less descriptive than the previous one. It focused on the development of strategies to support the creative economy and led to the implementation of more concrete projects and events initiated by Project Future.

● Serious Games was the first competition organised by the public authorities, aimed at the software and games sector. Since 2009, competitions addressing the changing sub-market of the creative industries have been held twice a year.

● Berlin’s entry in the network of ‘Creative Metropolises’ in 2009 posed the opportunity to present the creative potential of Berlin on an international stage. It gave insight into policies aimed at cultural economies elsewhere and allowed Berlin to reflect on the achievements of Project Future through the eyes of other cities. ‘Creative Metropolises’ is a network of eleven European cities in which creative industries obtain a major importance for urban and regional development. Participants are: Amsterdam, Barcelona, Birmingham, Helsinki, Oslo, Riga, Stockholm, Tallinn, Vilnius and Warsaw.

● In 2010, as part of Project Future, the Senate Administration initiated the first ‘Berlin Music Week’ for Economy. This was done in close cooperation with stakeholders in the music scene.

● The ‘Hybrid Platform’, launched in 2010, is an education centre for students and graduates of the University of Arts and the Technical University of Berlin. This joint education project facilitates exchanges with companies to encourage knowledge transfers between educational institutions and corporations.

● In 2011, Planet Modulor was opened: a shopping and service facility for cultural entrepreneurs, as well as home to several studios. The project was initiated by the DIY-retailer ‘Modulor Material Total‘, but receives wide support by the Senate for Economics, Technology and Research and Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg.

● The ‘Design Board’ was established in 2011 to develop a shared strategy between the market scene and policy officials. Just as the Media board for the film and media sector, this board also aims to allocate of money for suitable projects. The funding tool is called the ‘Design Transfer Bonus’. Beyond organisational and monetary incentives, it also comprises an educational programme.

● A new sub-market gained attention in 2012: the art market was supported within the international network event ‘Berlin Art Week’. This event is likely to be repeated on a regular basis.

● In 2012, Berlin joined two international networks: the ‘European Creative City Alliance’ and the ‘Cross-Innovation Alliance’, offering the opportunity to exchange strategies among affiliated locations and get insights in recent research on what is going on: reflection is often the starting point for new policy strategies.


● senate administrations ● municipal level institutions ● chamber ind. & trade ● stakeholders creative ind.

● steering committee cultural economy ● advisory boards at the

chamber ind. & trade ● project based cooperation

● network organisations

● initiation of projects/ networks ● sector specific round

tables ● connections to politics/

administration ● financial support of

networking

INSTITUTIONAL NETWORKS

PROFESSIONALNETWORKS

INTERNATIONAL NETWORKS

● exchange ● built-up international

connections and reputation ● incentives for research and

documentation ● evaluation of sector

policies

● UNESCO creative cities ● baltic metropolises ● creative metropolises ● european creative city

alliance ● cross innovation alliance ● ...

● Opening New Markets ● supporting fair

contributions of Berlin creative entrepreneurs

● Senate ETR

● initiation of Berlin Music Week, Art Week, Fashion Week ● support of initiatives from

the ‘scene’

● Senate ETR ● local professional networks ● international partners

EVENTS IN BERLIN

EVENTS OUTSIDE BERLIN

● senate ETR ProjektZukunft ● chamber ind. & trade ● cooperation with

professional networks/associations/research institutes/universities

● information for investors ● documentations ● (scholarly) articles ● strategies for the sector

INFORMATIONPUBLICATIONS

INFORMATIONEDUCATION

● senate ETR ProjektZukunft ● chamber ind. & trade ● networks/associations ● universities ● Investment Bank Berlin

(IBB) ● concrete projects

● university-linked business-training centres ● professional education

institutions ● workshops/information

events on certain topics ● coaching/consulting

actors activities








networking







policies





● Senate ETR


the ‘scene’


EVENTS IN BERLIN





INFORMATIONPUBLICATIONS







actors activities








networking







policies





● Senate ETR


the ‘scene’


EVENTS IN BERLIN





INFORMATIONPUBLICATIONSINFORMATIONPUBLICATIONS








actors activities

FUNDING ● IBB (ESF+ERDF+state) ● Senate ETR

● funding for the whole sector = strategies, communication by the Senate ● funding of firms (IBB)

What Project Future does |Networking can considered to be at the core of policies aimed at the cre-ative industries in Berlin and Project Future (ProjektZukunft) is the policy device of the economic administration. It aims to respectively build and maintain links to the cultural entrepreneurs and other stakeholders. By doing so, it contributes to the visibility of the Berlin Creative Industries beyond municipal as well as national borders. Supporting local professional networks strengthens the sector and helps it to meet expectations the international reputation of Berlin as one of the leading European creative cities brings about. Administrative networks help to bridge gaps between the many stakeholders involved: on the one hand administrative bodies, on the other hand politics and sector networks. The organisation of events, but also the support of initiatives from the scene is a crucial element of Project Future. Information on and for the sector is important for possible investors, start-ups as well as city officials. Public funding provided by the European Union and the state Berlin is used to support the creative industries. Money used for Project Future is sup-posed to support the creative industries as a whole. Financing of individual companies is administered by the Investment Bank Berlin (IBB).

What Project Future does (Fig. 8)Networking can considered to be at the core of policies aimed at the creative industries in Berlin and Project Future (ProjektZukunft) is the policy device of the economic administra-tion. It aims to respectively build and maintain links to the cultural entrepreneurs and other stakeholders. By doing so, it contributes to the visibility of the Berlin Creative Industries beyond municipal as well as national borders. Supporting local professional networks strengthens the sector and helps it to meet expectations that the international reputation of Berlin as one of the leading European creative cities brings about. Administrative networks bridge gaps between the many stakeholders involved: on the one hand administrative bod-ies, on the other hand politics and sector networks. The organisation of events, but also the support of initiatives from the scene are crucial elements of Project Future. Information on and for the sector is important for possible investors, start-ups as well as city offi cials. Public funding provided by the European Union and the state Berlin is used to support the creative industries. Money used for Project Future is supposed to support the creative industries as a whole. Financing of individual companies is administered by the Investment Bank Berlin (IBB).


Old urban industries/new urban industries | Looking at numbers of employees, it strikes that there are both branches that base their activities on the established modernist mode of the division of labour as well as ones that do not. The former branches, such as the broadcasting sector, but also the software market, have relatively many employees; here companies still have specialised departments meeting the demands of different tasks. On the other side, we observe very small-sized companies in the arts, design and architecture sectors. Here, the high-share of self-employment and freelance contracts is reflected.


17

3

9

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Software/Games

Music

Architecture

Design

Employees per Company

2006

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Broadcasting/FilmArt

Software/Games

Music

Architecture

Design

Employees per Company

2006

13

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9

10

32

2009

Old urban industries/new urban industries (Fig. 9)Looking at numbers of employees, it strikes that there are both branches that base their activities on the established modernist mode of the division of labour as well as ones that do not. The former branches, such as the broadcasting sector, but also the software market, have relatively many employees; here companies still have specialised departments meeting the demands of different tasks. On the other hand, we observe very small-sized companies in the arts, design and architecture sectors. Here, the high-share of self-employment and freelance contracts is refl ected.



ProjektZukunft: www.berlin.de/sen/wirtschaft/abisz/cluster_kmk. html


Creative Industries as part of the policy ‘Cluster Media, Creative Industries and ICT’ |The Creative Industries, part of the cluster ‘ICT, media, cre-ative industries’ has been growing intensely in number of compa-nies. However, when looking at turnovers, it becomes apparent that even though growing more moderate in numbers of com-panies, the ICT-sector is an important driver of the cluster: existing firms grow substantially and generate high turnovers and employment rates.


12674043

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Creative Industries as part of the policy ‘Cluster Media, Creative Industries and ICT’ |The Creative Industries, part of the cluster ‘ICT, media, cre-ative industries’ has been growing intensely in number of compa-nies. However, when looking at turnovers, it becomes apparent that even though growing more moderate in numbers of com-panies, the ICT-sector is an important driver of the cluster: existing firms grow substantially and generate high turnovers and employment rates.


12674043

13409662

22892675

24535717

0 10000000 20000000 30000000

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2010

Turnovers


24626

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0 5000 10000 15000 20000 25000 30000

2009

2010

Number of Companies


155861

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48284

53567

0 50000 100000 150000 200000

2009

2010

Employees


Creative Industries as part of the policy ‘Cluster Media, Creative Industries and ICT’ (Fig. 10 & 11)The Creative Industries, part of the cluster ICT, Media, Creative Industries has been growing intensely in number of companies. However, when looking at turnovers, it becomes apparent that even though growing more moderate in number of companies, the ICT-sector is an important driver of the cluster: existing fi rms grow substantially and generate high turnovers and employment rates.





4Policy = Facilitating + Creating Networks

Facilitating and networking are core elements of the Berlin policy aimed at the creative industries.

Jürgen Schepers, branch coordinator for the creative economy at the Chamber of Industry and Trade, claims that the importance of networks in the creative industries sector is rooted in the fact that it has only recently become an official policy field: “Together with the digital economy, it is the youngest branch of our time and politics needed the time to adapt to this development.” Since until recently there was no policy support, the creative economy and its entrepreneurs had to rely on their ability to self-organise: “There was a very pro-active approach and networks established themselves.”

Berlin-based researcher Suntje Schmidt describes these as communities of practice: “People involved in similar practices, people who share an interest, who share an idea, who share the understanding of a problem. They breed ideas and develop dynamics to realise them”.

In the early 2000s, these self-organising activities and the success they brought about didn’t go unnoticed with decision makers and in 2004, the creative industries became an official policy field. Sylvia Fiedler from the Senates Administration for the Economy describes: “At that point we actually said, there are new entrepreneurs in action and we have to support them now.” These strategies have now been anchored in the economic administration in Berlin, which has been adopting the networking abilities of the entrepreneurs as a central policy tool. Policymakers discovered that the cooperative strategies between cultural entrepreneurs and in the communication with policymakers could be improved. According to Ares Kalandides and Jürgen Schepers: “There are a lot of little initiatives going on in Berlin and lots of people wanting to do something. Some out of necessity, because there is very little money out there, meaning cooperating is an opportunity to get something done that wouldn’t be possible otherwise. Part of these initiatives fail, which is also part of the habitus of these kinds of initiatives and the cultural entrepreneurs themselves, who often don’t accept any kind of leadership from anyone.”


Jürgen Schepers emphasises that the value of the cultural entrepreneurs is in their knowledge of what is happening and when. In some sub-markets however, they are not well structured and the question ‘what do you actually want?’ does not produce a satisfying answer. Here, targeted orientation is necessary in order to be successful.

Little moneyFollowing these observations, policies were developed. The biggest challenge, or restriction, was that there was little economic support (i.e. money) to be divided. Instead, symbolic resources could be offered to help create a strong network. As Bastian Lange puts it: “Initially, it was more about recognising the value of the cultural economy by the formal institutions, without actually putting money in it.” The inclusion of Berlin in the UNESCO Creative City Network in 2006 has been an important reward of these efforts. “Even though local authorities would hardly admit it”, says Bastian Lange, “the focus on strategic networking arose out of a difficult situation, namely that there was little money to distribute and no central attention for this issue.”

Up until today, the difficult economic situation of Berlin restricts the funding abilities, which is reflected in the limited staffing of Project Future. Describing the difficult situation for fashion Daniel Roos says: “Officially the Senate is fostering this sector, but in terms of human resources, they have only one person who is actually responsible for that.”

EU funding is an important factor in relieving this situation and through co-funding schemes it has enabled the realisation of many different projects. In order to sustain these, networks continue to be the main tool. Sylvia Fiedler explains that Project Future is aimed at supporting the creative industries or a sector as a whole, so not single companies, but entire branches: “We initiate annual events and competitions with the involvement of producers from the respective field. By doing so, we cooperate closely with the different networks in the sectors, such as the Stock market Association of Publishing Houses and we try to support these networks as much as possible. For example, there is the Club Commission – a network that is supported with ERDF-money (European Fund for Regional Development). Our activities, such as the competitions, have also ignited new networks.” Fiedler explains networking has been the starting point when approaching new subject areas: “What are the recent topics? And what are the protagonists already working on within these topics that we could cooperate with? In this sense, we always try to keep our ears open to where the sector is heading.” Keeping up to date and being well informed about what is going on is the result of the long-lasting maintenance of contacts and trust building, one of the key qualities of the policymakers involved. Confidence and a steady network is a guiding principle for the policies for the cultural economy. Not only policymakers, but also other important actors in the field have put this central in their project approach, making networking and exchange a major part of the success in the Berlin cultural economy. An example of this is a venture such as the Navi Charlottenburg, an educational facility that enables mutual access to companies and graduates from the Technical University and the University of Arts, or lectures and workshops given in The Supermarket, a bottom-up initiative venue in Brunnenstraße that is slowly revitalising the street in the Wedding district.


NEMONATo understand and realise the potential of this multilevel approach to networking on a project and neighbourhood level, we visited the project NEMONA ‘Netzwerk Mode und Naehen Neukölln’ (network for fashion and sewing in Neukolln). Daniela Fleig, manager at NEMONA, explained why this project is exemplarily for Berlin: “If there is little money and staffing, authorities always make an effort to conduct networking. In this case it is the Economic Support Unit of Neukölln consisting of one and a half FTE that has been very supportive.” Fleig believes that if a city has enough money, it doesn’t feel the need to do many things; however, if a city has no money (or around a debt of 60 billion Euros), then it seriously has to develop ideas. Fortunately, Berlin learned to let the actors take their own initiative and follow these. Projects have received political support, help in applying for external funding and gained relatively easy access to the institutional sphere.

The concept behind NEMONA is to create a local network between fashion designers and textile workshops, or rather seamstresses. Both have been anchored in Neukölln for many years. Sewing is most often done by female members of the migrant community. Drawn in by cheap rents, young textile designers have located here as well. This opens up possibilities for a local textile production scene. However, this is easier said than done: the seamstresses and designers come from a different background and move in different environments.

Do the designers know producers and vice versa? Do they produce for them? And if not: are they interested? These were the issues NEMONA started addressing. Neukölln labels claim to make fair fashion, which to NEMONA also means: local production. So NEMONA aimed to create a network to strengthen the fashion industry in Neukölln as well as the connection to the neighbourhood and its residents. Networking at a project level is different to networking in policymaking. Fleig explains: “The initial idea was to bring people together and see if they can do things together. NEMONA is therefore deliberately not a virtual, but a face-to-face network. Our expertise is to gather the people and ask them for their claims and to place them, to launch initiatives and to see how we can contribute to what is missing. But our job is also to be in touch with the Economic Development Unit, the Senate, with other networks such as Create Berlin, the International Design Centre and so on. We aim to look again and again, what is offered and what is something our members could participate in.”

“Moreover, other institutional actors gain importance on the local and interpersonal level, such as the ‘district management’ and the employment agency. It very much comes down to personal contact and establishing trust between people, for instance by approaching the migrant community which most seamstresses are part of. But not only contacts, also approaches shift: whereas policies and local authorities often seek to solve problems on a political level, projects such as NEMONA use their network to offer pragmatic help.” Fleig explains it is getting more difficult to find available and affordable space in Neukölln, since the neighbourhood is getting more popular and thus more expensive. NEMONA uses its extensive network to locate cheap spaces and has quite a good view on when shop spaces become available. This information is disseminated to people in their network who are looking for available space. With the continuous changing needs and requirements of actors and the market, NEMONA also continuously extends its network.


More focus?Although the emphasis on networking in policies is widely accepted in Berlin, there is also criticism, mainly because many think the focus is too limited. Bastian Lange: “What is the aim of the policy? Is it just a way to demonstrate what is already there, or does it have an impact? Besides this, it could also make sense to increase the interaction between some sectors, for instance between design and music. But this involves thinking about a format, where these people meet, what their expectations are?” Ares Kalandides also notes that cross-sector approaches are not part of the networking activities: “If you are a good designer, you don’t have to be a good business person. More important is that the designer finds a good business partner to work with – so these need to be connected.” He further critically explains: “They never seriously thought about value chains. But these are industries that are mostly driven by distribution and retail. If you don’t work on that, what can you do? You need retail outlets, you need retail infrastructure and distribution structures.”


Chamber of Industry and TradeIndustrie- und Handelskammer (IHK)In Germany there are 80 Chambers of Industry and Trade: ‘in-stitutions of the economy for the economy’. All German companies operating in the country are members of these chambers, with the exception agricultural enterprises, those belonging the crafts and those with a turnover below 17.500€/year. Membership fees are paid in accordance to the economic capabilities of the companies.The chambers use these funds to consult companies in their aspirations to grow, provide startup and businessplan coaching beyond ‘market prices’ and to lobby for entrepreneurs in local politics and the administration. The chambers are democratically organised and governed by an assembly elected by its member companies.

Source: http://www.dihk.de/wir-ueber-uns/wer-wir-sind/ihk

ERDF - European Regional Development FundThe ERDF aims to strengthen economic and social cohesion in the European Union by correcting imbalances between its regions. In short, the ERDF finances:• direct aid for investments of companies (in particular small and medium sized) to create sustainable jobs;• infrastructures linked mainly to research and innovation, telecommunications, environment, energy and transport;• financial instruments (capital risk funds, local development funds, etc.) to support regional and local development and foster cooperation between towns and regions

The ERDF hence intervenes in the three objectives of regional policy:• Convergence• Regional Competitiveness and Employment ● European Territorial Cooperation• Specific Territorial Characteristics

Source: http://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/thefunds/regional/index_en.cfm

ESF - European Social FundThe ESF sets out to improve employment and job opportunities in the European Union. It intervenes in the framework of the Convergence and Regional Competitiveness and Employment objectives. ESF and ERDF-funds are complementing each other in the practice of many projects. The ESF supports actions in member states on the following areas:• adapting workers and enterprises: lifelong learning schemes, designing and spreading innovative working organisations;• access to employment for job seekers, the unemployed, women and migrants;• social integration of disadvantaged people and combating discrimination in the job market;• strengthening human capital by reforming education systems and setting up a network of teaching establishments.

Source: http://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/thefunds/social/index_en.cfm


5Policy = Sector Specific, not Spatial

The strategies focus on the creative industries as a sector, rather than a spatial formation – even though cultural entrepreneurs of certain sectors obviously accumulate at certain locations.

When people think about cities and their cultural capital, they often tend to think about particular districts where cultural industries are located. In Berlin however, the administration doesn’t think of the creative industries in these terms. Sylvia Fiedler: “We have an inner city West and an inner city East, and because of this, the creative economy is scattered all over the city.” Often, when talking about clustering, it is about understanding why people and/or companies settle nearby, what kind of amenities they need and how visibility can be raised for what is already there. This is only partly applicable to understanding Berlin’s strategy. With respect to the spatial formation of the cultural economy, Bastian Lange remarks: “Does a cluster constantly have to be spatially fixed? What type of spatial understanding actually goes along with a cluster? I mean, I know from the UK, from England, but also from Dublin and from these kinds of cities that a cluster is spatially rooted; it’s a certain district, you know where to go. For me, this is not so applicable to Berlin and not even to other cities. Sometimes it might make sense, and sometimes not. It can be completely useless, you know.” According to Lange, a cultural cluster is first and foremost a concept, which is invented by policymakers in order to plan.

In Berlin, the creative industries are acknowledged, but the spatial features of the city (beyond cheap rents) aren’t recognised as location factors for cultural entrepreneurs. Schepers believes in a ‘placeless’ creative class: “The cultural entrepreneurs do not, for the most part, depend on a certain location. They go where the conditions are good for them, where they can meet people like them and where they can evolve. And if this breeding ground is not provided here, then they simply move to Warsaw or Budapest. I reckon we live in an age today where people can start their own business with a smartphone and laptop.”


However, in 2008, the Senate Administration for Urban Development and Environment did a first attempt in mapping the spatial distribution of creative industries in Berlin and, after, compiling a sequel in order to follow the changes. Monika Faltermeier explains that the source of the data used to map the location of the cultural economy was provided by the Chamber of Industry and Trade and the health insurance for artists and that location shifts are clearly traceable over longer periods of time. “In the beginning, it was the neighbourhoods Mitte and Prenzlauer Berg, then people moved to Friedrichhain and now it is Neukölln”, says Jürgen Schepers. Faltermaier nevertheless doubts the visibility of this in the data that was gathered: “The locations of the cultural economy sectors in Berlin have probably not changed significantly since the last report has been issued; even though the location of the cultural economy sectors may have been changing partly, these location shifts are too small to be recognised in statistics at the city-level scale.”

Cultural industries and real estateMost of our contacts in Berlin mentioned gentrification as a threat for the creative industries and Berlin as a creative city in general. In this respect, location shifts, even if statistically invisible, could be of relevance for the sector and the policymakers. Evidently, changing location is a strategy to cope with rising rents, changing rules and regulations and so on. This has been a successful strategy up until now, however, this cannot always be the answer, or as Schepers puts it: “I don’t think that the cultural entrepreneurs will ever discover the heartland of Hellersdorf or Marzahn.” In other words: there are restrictions in how far the cultural entrepreneurs will be moving away from the thriving neighbourhoods and the heart of the city.

Berlin administration has gotten concerned over rising rent prices and its impact on the cities’ cultural economy. This has led to new guidelines for selling publicly owned land. The Berlin municipal department that owns and sells land is now no longer selling only to the highest bidder; it also takes the development plans for the sites into account, trying to make sure that the creative industries are not pushed out everywhere. Schepers explains that particularly the avant-garde and underground scene generate valuable business ideas and function as the breeding ground for new initiatives. These are exactly the scenes that rely on cheap space and intermediate uses, so it is important to keep accommodating them.

The new rules in land allocation give cultural entrepreneurs more security for long-term use, which gives them the opportunity to deploy themselves spatially on a more stable basis. Questions on spatial formation of the cultural economy and input for policy concerning this are approached in a mutual exchange through the networks of the various involved stakeholders. The Chamber of Industry and Trade, for instance, hosts the advisory board for the ‘creative economy and real estate sector’ in order to work with real estate owners in a joint task force. According to Jürgen Schepers, this network has attained positive results that go beyond official strategies. He also explains that Berlin clubs have recently adopted the same networking strategy to prevent conflicts: before settling in a certain area, they first approach the district government, residents, businesses and nearby shop owners.


Now what?A high vacancy rate was one of Berlin’s big advantages in comparison to other cities, for example for the club scene, but also for other kinds of cultural activities, such as free zones for art exhibitions. Schepers explains that Berlin’s vacancy rate today reaches 2,3 per cent at its maximum. This means it is time for the politicians and policymakers to think about how to sustain ‘mixed cultures’ and not choke the important breeding grounds. Therefore, the city is actively researching ways to set up targeted interventions, not only for the cultural economy, but also for residents and other economic sectors in Berlin. Suntje Schmidt is involved in a research which is focused on the kinds of spaces that cultural entrepreneurs use in Berlin. These appear to be very changeable over time, which means that planners need to think and plan much more in terms of fluid spaces in order to sustain breeding grounds for the cultural economy. In the past, Schmidt also conducted a research for the Senate department on ‘creative labs’, i.e. (temporary) spaces that come and go. She thinks that this may be a particular attribute to the creative industries in Berlin.

Ares Kalandides for one perceives the spatial formation and the declining vacancy rates as the most interesting and challenging feature for policymakers. Settling strategies for sectors such as design are difficult to unravel, since these are usually hidden in the economic policy, according to Kalendides. Lange explains that the design sector had almost not been included in the economic or cultural policy; it was considered to be part of spatial development. However, later it was decided to not give the lead to the spatial planners, but rather put it in the hands of the department of economics. This has obviously been of influence at the specific strategic make-up of policies. Lange considers the policy fields and the division between cultural and economy policy to be quite dogmatic: culture is only considered in terms of cultural values and economy only in terms of employment rates and growth – quite a generalised approach. An answer to the diminishing vacancy rates and the resulting moving patterns, does ask for a more integrated approach than the aforementioned.


Locations of Cultural Entrepreneurs in Berlin |Policies fostering creative industries in Berlin are mostly non-spatial. However, there is a noticeable spatial division in the settling patterns of companies in the creative industries. This map shows the locations of creative enterprises in Berlin. Apparently, they prefer downtown loca-tions within the Berlin-S-Bahnring. The highest densities can be found in Mitte, Friedrichshain, Kreuzberg and Prenzlauer Berg.

Source: map is provided by the Senate Administration for Urban Planning and Environment

Locations of Cultural Entrepreneurs in Berlin (Fig. 12)Policies fostering creative industries in Berlin are mostly non-spatial. However, there is a noticeable spatial division in the settling patterns of companies in the creative industries. This map shows the locations of creative enterprises in Berlin. Apparently, they prefer downtown locations within the Berlin-S-Bahnring. The highest densities can be found in Mitte, Friedrichshain, Kreuzberg and Prenzlauer Berg.

Source: map is provided by the Senate Administration for Urban Planning and Environment


Institutions pushing the Creative Industries | Policies targeted at the creative industries are mostly not spatial. The lead in policy making is the Senate Administration for Economics, Technology and Research (ETR), and not the Senate Administration for Urban Develop-ment. The Creative Industries are included in the cluster management for innovative and promising economic sectors; they are considered to be part of the cluster ‘ICT, Media, Creative Industries’. The Berlin Chamber of Industry and Trade has been undertaking branch coordination for creative industries and is an important net-worker and advisor for Berlin companies, with close ties to the Senate Administration of ETR. The Senate Office for Cultural Affairs focuses its activities on the realms of the arts, performing arts, collections and other forms of creative and cultural enterprises that are considered public goods and services. The Senate Administration for Urban Development and Environment is mainly focused on the support of temporary use.

health industry servicestraffic

BRANCH COORDINATION OF THE IHK

trade tourismcreative industries

CHAMBER OF INDUSTRY AND TRADE BERLIN

PROGRAMCREATIVE ECONOMY

=Branch

Coordination Creative

Industries

start-up support

business consultancy

decentralised service

centres on district level

networking among

creative ind., administration and politics

institutions policy fields

Institutions pushing the Creative Industries (Fig. 13)Policies targeted at the creative industries are mostly not spatial. The lead in policy making is the Senate Administration for Economics, Technology and Research (ETR), and not the Senate Administration for Urban Development. The Creative Industries are included in the cluster management for innovative and promising economic sectors; they are considered to be part of the cluster ICT, Media, Creative Industries. The Berlin Chamber of Industry and Trade has been undertaking branch coordination for creative industries and is an important networker and advisor for Berlin companies, with close ties to the Senate Administration of ETR. The Senate Offi ce for Cultural Affairs focuses its activities on the realms of the arts, performing arts, collections and other forms of creative and cultural enterprises that are considered public goods and services.The Senate Administration for Urban Development and Environment is mainly focused on the support of temporary use.


Government Levels and Administrative Institutions (Fig.14)The administrative units in Berlin are rooted in the federal principals of Germany; Berlin is an independent city as well as one of the constituent States of Germany, meaning the Governing Mayor of Berlin is the head of government and presides over the Berlin Senate and is hence the equivalent of the Minister-President of the other German states. The Senate of Berlin is the executive body governing the city, which, at the same time, is a state of Germany. According tot the Constitution of Berlin, the Senate consists of the Governing Mayor of Berlin and up to eight Senators appointed by him. Each Senator presides over a Senate Administration (Senatsveranwaltung).

The Senate Chancellery (Senatskanzlei) staff coordinates the Senate’s policies and supports the Governing Mayor. Being a Federal State Berlin consists of smaller administrative units, 12 boroughs (Bezirke). Each borough is governed by a borough council (Bezirksamt) consisting of five councillors and a borough mayor. The boroughs are not independent municipalities; they are limited and subordinate to the Senate of Berlin. Figure 14 (next page) shows the different administrative levels. The darker shade indicates that institutions are involved with the creative industries. Policy instruments described here are assigned to the state level of Berlin. The department structure of municipal administration is exemplary picked for Tempelhof-Schöneberg, since each municipality makes up a similar but not equivalent own composition of administrative bodies.


State - Berlin

Senate Offices under direct control of the Governing Mayor

municipal - Districts (Bezirke)Federal level - Germany

Federal Government Institutions

Speaker in the EU and Federal Government

Press Department of the senate

Head of the Senate Department

Senate Office for Cultural Affairs

Senate Administration for Work, Integration and Women

Senate Administration for Education, Youth and Science

Senate Administration for Finances

Senate Administration for Health and Social Affairs

Senate Administration for Interior and Sport

Senate Administration for Justice and Consumer Protection

Senate Administration for Urban Planning and Environment

Senate Administration for Economy, Technology and Research

District Administration

Department for Finances, Personell and Economic Support

Department for Education, Culture and Sport

Department for Youth, Regulatory Offence and Citizen Services

Department for Construction

Department for Health, Social Affairs and Urban Development

Charlottenburg - Wilmersdorf

Friedrichshain - Kreuzberg

Spandau

Lichtenberg

Mitte

Tempelhof - Schöneberg

Neukölln

Treptow - Köpenick

Marzahn - Hellersdorf

Steglitz - Zehlendorf

Pankow

Reinickendorf

State - Berlin

Senate Offices under direct control of the Governing Mayor

municipal - Districts (Bezirke)Federal level - Germany

Federal Government Institutions

Speaker in the EU and Federal Government

Press Department of the senate

Head of the Senate Department

Senate Office for Cultural Affairs

Senate Administration for Work, Integration and Women

Senate Administration for Education, Youth and Science

Senate Administration for Finances

Senate Administration for Health and Social Affairs

Senate Administration for Interior and Sport

Senate Administration for Justice and Consumer Protection

Senate Administration for Urban Planning and Environment

Senate Administration for Economy, Technology and Research

District Administration

Department for Finances, Personell and Economic Support

Department for Education, Culture and Sport

Department for Youth, Regulatory Offence and Citizen Services

Department for Construction

Department for Health, Social Affairs and Urban Development

Charlottenburg - Wilmersdorf

Friedrichshain - KreuzbergFriedrichshain - Kreuzberg

SpandauSpandau

LichtenbergLichtenberg

MitteMitte

Tempelhof - SchönebergTempelhof - Schöneberg

NeuköllnNeukölln

Treptow - KöpenickTreptow - Köpenick

Marzahn - HellersdorfMarzahn - Hellersdorf

Steglitz - ZehlendorfSteglitz - Zehlendorf

PankowPankow

ReinickendorfReinickendorf


6Policy = Advisory Boards + Formal Administration

Advisory boards are the bodies where decision makers, cultural entrepreneurs and other stakeholders meet up and develop strategies to strengthen the creative industries and the city.

Lange explains: “You have the label commission, the club commission, the music commission...for the media, you have the media board, when you look at design, you have ‘Create Berlin’, a network of designers and so forth... There is no personal and institutionalised relation to what the state calls ‘cluster policy’. So yes, Berlin has a cluster policy, but then the next question would be: How does it work? How is everything connected in a concrete way?”

Lange regrets the lack of personnel at the city administration and is critical about the overall lack of coordination concerning the policies aimed at the cultural economy. If there is no department specialised in organising the coordination of strategies, another method is needed. This is where the advisory boards come in; they form a key platform for mutual information and coordination.

Sylvia Fiedler describes the work with advisory boards in the Senate administrations as follows: “We don’t really have any regular meetings with other specific departments, institutions from lower levels of the administration or even the actors. Most is connected to specific projects we try to elaborate together, but there is hardly anything more than that. An exception is the steering committee on cultural industries, which was established in 2008/09. The Chamber of Industry and Trade is part of it, so is the Senate Administration for Culture and Economics, the Senate Administration for Urban Development and representatives of the different branches. If a meeting is centred on a specific topic, people are invited to join in and give their views.


Meetings like these take place three to four times a year. Topics discussed are approached politically, or we develop submittals in the House of Representatives and smaller inquiries. But we also advocate the position of members when it comes to legal amendments in the Federal Government that could affect the sector.”

Chamber of Industry and TradeAdvisory boards also work together with the Chamber of Industry and Trade. Jürgen Schepers is part of the Creative Industries advisory board, which currently consists of 47 members, all decision makers within a certain sub-market or related field. The Chamber of Industry and Trade represents the interests of the economy and related markets and ideally this comprises all sub-sectors. Schepers set this up three years ago and it has become very successful since then. Within the framework of the advisory boards it is important that members are in permanent exchange with local politicians and political parties. The topics addressed are quite general and meant to be interesting for the all sectors of the creative industries. The position of the creative industries is discussed; information is exchanged, so that members are updated on what is important for the branch.

The Chamber of Industry and Trade functions as a facilitator and mediator. The aim of the activities is to involve formal actors from the administrative sphere, but also ‘credible’ representatives of the scene with strong networks and institutions that would otherwise “put their own (sectoral) interest first” (Schepers). An important part of creating a successful advisory board is having people in it from the administrations and formal institutions that have a certain reputation and know the field inside out. Schepers himself, for example, has been working in the sector for 15 years.

The advisory boards are not only useful for bridging the gap between formal actors and the scene: the regular meetings are also important for keeping the multi-layered administration updated on what is happening in the field. Schepers explains: “This is probably specifically German: there is the Senate [state Level = state ministries], the Senate administrations [state Level = Executive] and all the municipal districts [municipal level]. The districts basically act on their own and could be linked much better with the sphere of the Senate.” Considering the complicated multiplicity of actors, it is understandable that the administration itself also stresses the need for regular exchanges of information.

Networking is the keyAs a member of some of these advisory boards, Bastian Lange provides an insider view from the participants’ perspective: “I am participating in two advisory boards for the Chamber of Industry and Trade. We find ourselves working with big financial leaders, the investors; through these boards they are easily accessible and we can talk to them. It gives us the feeling that we are also part of the team of decision makers, which to a certain degree makes sense. In these advisory boards, we get up to 40 members of the creative industries selected by the Chamber of Commerce and Trade to represent the cultural economy of Berlin. We can make suggestions and recommendations, which will be reported to the head of the Chamber of Industry and Trade in Berlin.


We are the voice of the cultural economy in Berlin, so to speak; what we say will be communicated to the mayor. And so we are trying to get closer to the decision makers and tell them what is important, what they have to look at, where problems lie concerning spatial development and other topics.” Lange considers it his own role, as a scholar, to communicate the heterogeneity and variety of the sector, because some sectors in the association tend to focus purely on their own needs without realising that a heterogenic approach can also be important for them.

According to Kalendides, the extensive networking activities and the involvement in advisory boards proves there is a big drive for working together in Berlin. However, he also sees a problem: “…any kind of creative institution that comes too close to the government is regarded with suspicion by the others in the sector.” Moreover, the activities of the administration are mainly focussed on facilitating economic promotion and do not follow the true logic of the sector. As Lange points out: “Policy really needs to support those who are there; those who are relevant; those who are the reason this cluster has been invented in the first place. Is it meeting this requirement, or is it simply a tool to internally organise administration?” From this perspective, the impact of the advisory boards and networking is questionable. Furthermore, Kalandides thinks there is too little knowledge about what is really happening in the field. So, the main question is: are advisory boards suited to make up for the lack of overall policy coordination?


7Money = EU Funding + Co-financing

The EU is currently one of the biggest funding providers, through co-funding schemes with other stakeholders, which is mostly federal and municipal money.

According to Kalendides, building or supplying infrastructure is not a policy focus; however, promoting networking and strengthening existing networks in the creative industries at different levels is. In order to do so, financial means are necessary. Networking is also part of a European policy: i.e. the European Fund for Regional Development (ERDF) and the European Social Fund (ESF), mainly supporting educational projects. This is why a lot of policies and projects are focused on these two funding strategies. Kalendides explains that most programmes in Berlin are financed for up to 50 per cent by the European Union: the other half is provided for by the municipality and, in some cases, by the state. For Project Future for example, the whole strategic policy is co-financed by the EU. Purely state money would not be sufficient for Berlin to finance all the programmes it would like to implement, therefore, the EU is a valuable partner: through co-funding schemes, many projects can be financed and partners supported.

The Investment Bank Berlin (IBB), a publicly administered bank, financed by state and ERDF-money, is also involved in funding structures. The IBB finances the Creative Coaching Centre, which provides support, for instance by developing business plans, organising distribution or identifying target groups.

Sylvia Fiedler explains that Berlin is currently benefiting from high structural support from the EU: “Up until now, we are still part of EU2, but this funding period is ending soon. We are now busy compiling new plans, but we do not know yet if we will get sufficient funding. A lot of funding has been shut down and the emphasis is now shifting to the fields of innovation, technology and classical economical enterprises. Facing this change, we have to reconsider our role as well.”


In the early years of policymaking for the creative industries (before it was official launched as a policy field in 2002/03) there were very few financial resources and there was no EU-funding yet. Along with the recognition of the serious problems of the economic state of Berlin, the opportunity arose to develop new policy fields and instruments to address these. For the creative industries, this meant the official recognition in economic promotion strategies and subsequently the development of special funding and supporting schemes for it. Fiedler explains that venture funds were launched to provide for risk capital for the start-up phase. These supportive services are an indicator of the weak structural economy of Berlin and its sparsely populated hinterland in Brandenburg. The difficult financial situation, institutionally as well as on the level of individual households, makes it difficult to establish complete value chains. Schepers: “In terms of ratios, I think it will remain the case, as is now, that the creative potential is situated here, but that 70-80 percent of the customers are not located in Berlin. The change in supportive structures hence prompts important issues for Berlin’s urban economy.”

Co-financingDaniela Fleig familiarises us with the funding structures behind NEMONA, shedding light on the practical side: “We are funded by the ESF. It roughly works like this: the ESF is the big pot, which is sub-divided among all EU-countries. Germany receives its share and then divides it to the federal districts of which Berlin is one. To make it possible to apply for the money, it is broken down into a programme, in our case PEB (partnership for development and occupation). The programme is coordinated on a municipal level by the District Association for Economy and Employment. To apply for the funding, we made a business plan for the project, presented it to the local Economic Support Unit, who then proposed to apply for PEB. We then had to present the project to a district committee, because the EU programme demands a democratic process where people can voice their opinions on whether the project makes sense or not. They approved. Now we have applied for the second project, which has also been granted.”

The pooling and coordinating of the funds for single projects is a complicated process. Fleig explains: “Funding by the ESF this means that 50 percent of the money comes from the EU, and the other 50 percent has to be co-financed. There are several structures that the EU recognises as co-financing. We have a cooperation-partner in Berlin, the Agriculture Stock Exchange (Agrarbörse); an organisation for education and job creation schemes. At the moment, they finance us; they can connect their activities to ours and in that way adopt our project as theirs. In the co-financing of the Agrarbörse, money also comes from the federal district of Berlin: namely from the Senate Administration for Employment, Social Affairs and Integration.”

Insecurity about the futureThis funding situation has obviously provided many opportunities for Berlin’s cultural economy. On the other hand, the reliance on external money also creates an insecure situation. Referring to his network in the fashion business, Bastian Lange explains: “I may financialluy support your fashion fair for two years, but in the third year the money may be given elsewhere.”


“So, people may have relied on investments from the public government for two years. But in the third year they can be turned down, or their budgets may be cut by 50 percent, which then ruins a lot of hard work that was put into establishing it and building the networks around it in the first place.”

Beyond questioning the routines and necessities to keep newly established and long-term strategic projects going, Ares Kalandides wonders what the optimal way of using the funding may be: “The state often adopts existing instruments to finance the cultural economy. For example, the IBB uses a particular instrument called ‘opening up new markets’. But this cannot just be applied to all projects and it is a scheme that is very difficult to use in projects related to the cultural economy because you basically have to pre-finance everything before you get it back. On top of that, pre-financing is usually not an option – there may simply be no money to do that. The question therefore is: are the strategies that are ‘adapted’ to the cultural economy targeted enough? And do they actually fit in the micro-entrepreneurial structures of the sector?”


8Lessons from BerlinIn Berlin, there were two interplaying processes at the base of the current creative industries and its surrounding policy. On the one hand, the actors, the cultural entrepreneurs, were already there. They were drawn by the high vacancy rate, the hedonistic atmosphere after the wall came down and the open climate where ‘anything goes’. On the other hand, the public administration was in crisis, an economic one as well as a crisis in policymaking. The public administration had to admit that after ten years of post-change delirium of joy, Berlin would not be the prospering 5-million-inhabitant-city that it was expected to develop into after the reunification.

Successful crisis managementDuring the 90s, it was custom to pump millions of Deutsch Marks into attracting international corporations in order to foster the re-establishing of Berlin as a capital. After ten years of doing so, the federal district of Berlin found itself not only confronted with the failure of this plans but also with massive debts and the general mistrust of the national government that it was able to facilitate resources in a responsible way. This meant the administrative bodies had to fundamentally reorient themselves. They had to meet strict budgetary restrictions and directed themselves to tourism, food industries and to a certain extend still production as the main pillars of Berlin’s urban economy. This was also the point in time they realized that new actors had taken up a position in Berlin: cultural entrepreneurs.

This said, it could actually be stated that the strategy of aiming at the creative industries as a city, is often a strategy of cities in crisis. Think of Manchester, the Ruhr area, but also of the Cultural Capital of Europe initiative of the European Union – economically healthy cities do not choose creative industries as one of their main policy focuses. It wasn’t until the realisation came that Berlin would not again be a huge industrial success that the focus shifted and it is only for this reason that the creative industries have been supported and fostered already for quite some time. The fact that Berlin has become a global media city is closely related to on the one hand the basis that was already there and on the other hand the conscious effort made by the municipality to make use of the fertile creative ground in order to attract major creative companies that will actually give the city more status, such as Universal or MTV which moved its headquarters to Berlin.

Berlin proves that a shift of focus in policymaking may bring about an unexpected success for an initially failing urban economy.


Strengthen what you’ve gotSo, the starting point for strengthening the creative industries was the general recognition of a bad performance of Berlin’s urban economy and, after that, a close look to which branches actually were already successful, without interference of public authorities and massive funding. This brings us to the second lesson of Berlin: make use of that what is already there and try to strengthen that. In that sense, the answer to the question if there is a recipe for city making must be: no, since the opportunities and possibilities depend on the local characteristics at hand, i.e. the ingredients for the recipe are different in every city...

It is no coincidence that early on in Berlin, the electronic music scene was supported by new policy; this was a sector that had already been successful in a DIY-setting for some years. Clubs opened and closed, national international deejays and producers moved to Berlin, record labels were set up, distribution channels were established and the later infamous Love Parade had already been organised since 1989.

This is an interesting point for cities, which, for example, aim to be ‘design capital’ or try to attract a sector of the creative industries that has no roots in the city in the first place.

Networking and facilitatingThe order of events resulted in the fact that there hardly was any money to support the new policy areas, so policy is heavily focused on facilitating and networking. The main goal is to strengthen the strong sectors and initiatives and foster what is already there (instead of trying to establish new branches or draw other parts of the ‘cultural elite’). This has implications for the skills of the policymakers involved. They need to build and maintain an excellent network in their field of focus with the cultural entrepreneurs as well as other stakeholders. Furthermore, it requires a hands-on attitude and close cooperation and frequent meetings between all stakeholders. Network events, roundtables, advisory boards and such are all organised around this goal. What was born out of need, actually turned out to be quite a successful approach (although opinions differ whether it could be even better), since it brought about a long-lasting network of stakeholders in the creative industries that cooperate on several projects (inter-) national events and so on. Together they extend their networks, try to create new opportunities and cooperate towards a stronger cultural economy of Berlin.

Long term but flexibleWhen looking at the way policy has been developed, what stands out is that there is consistency and openness at the same time. Especially Project Future is an example of a longterm project that has on the one hand the openness to adapt to changing conditions and on the other hand the consistency to actually foster (sectors of) the creative industry in an effective way. The overall aim, to strengthen the urban economy, has never changed. However, over the years the project has adapted to new sectors, topics and approaches to attain this goal. Typical of Berlin is also the long-term involvement of key persons in the policy field, people with very specific knowledge and ties to the sector of the creative industries they are working on.


This brings us to another interesting facet to learn from the Berlin policy approach, something we actually want to look into some more in the future; the close ties between policymakers, stakeholders, creative entrepreneurs and other stakeholders, such as the chamber of Industry and Trade and numerous scientists and professionals in the field of urban planning, social geography and the likes. There seems to be a relatively small network of people that are all in one way or another involved in trying to foster and support the creative industries. It is interesting to see how these networks have developed, who the stakeholders are, what their own interests are, what the impact is on policy making, on the focus on different sectors and the dividing of funding.

Poor but sexy – challenges aheadAs more than one of our contacts pointed out, the origin of Berlin’s success might well be in its lack of means: the DIY-mentality and the power of creating something with little means and little financial support is very strong and much more so than in other cities. ‘Poor but sexy’ is a slogan Berlin is often associated with – a very true slogan since the city is still very much attractive for cultural entrepreneurs of all sorts, even when it’s widely known that one often doesn’t become rich when moving here.

However, Berlin might find itself on a turning point; for cultural entrepreneurs to be willing to move here despite the fact they won’t be earning much, means that the costs of living, that for a long time have been one of the lowest among German cities, have to stay low. Otherwise, how would one be able to survive? However, it is exactly here, that changes have been occurring lately. Ironically, it could be said Berlin is suffering from its own success; neighbourhoods are gentrifying fast, international investors interfere in the housing market, big corporations move into the city and are welcomed with open arms. This means that the ‘anything goes’ and ‘everything is possible’ atmosphere is slowly but surely changing; rents go up, clubbing is troubled by plans for new developments, complaints of new neighbours that have paid the jackpot for their new apartment – some famous clubs have already been forced to close or relocate.

At the same time, intensifying the fact that Berlin is on a crossroads, the European Union funding scheme is about to change. Up until now, Berlin (and Brandenburg) benefited from the fact that it is situated in former Eastern Germany, thus getting much more funding and funding opportunities than many other Western European cities. In 2014, EU rules will change and it is very well possible that this exception will vanish, thus causing a sudden decline in cash flows to the city and its federal government. Whether this will actually happen and what the outcomes will be, is yet unclear, but it is clear that when it will happen, this will bring about a revision of the existing policy concerning creative industries and will be obviously of influence on the existing field of creative industries in the city, making Berlin a very interesting case to watch closely.


Our contactsMONIKA FALTERMAIER works at the Senate administration for the

Department of Urban Planning and Environment. This department is mainly involved with policy for the creative economy in the context of Berlin’s spatial development. Faltermaier is involved in research on the administrative processes surrounding the creative industries and has regularly published in the ‘Creative Industries Report’. Beyond encouraging intermediate use, the Urban Planning Department conducts no policy specifically targeted to support the creative industries.

SYLVIA FIEDLER is the coordinator and contact person for the press and the publishing market in Project Future. She is employed at the Senate administration for the Department of Economics, Technology and Research. Since 2004, Project Future has developed itself into the main incentive for local authorities to foster the creative industries. Fiedler is also involved in collecting and compiling statistical data on creative industries as a basis for governance and policymaking. She believes that the success of policy addressing the creative industries lies in the realisation and fostering of its potential through targeted means.

JÜRGEN SCHEPERS is the branch coordinator for the creative economy at the Chamber of Commerce and Trade in Berlin. Since 2004, this institution has been supporting the Berlin creative economy and its entrepreneurs with educational programmes, networking and connecting the cultural entrepreneurs with investors and decision makers. Schepers is the contact person for the entrepreneurs and is responsible for coordinating various activities. He is also a member of several advisory boards, where decision makers and stakeholders of the creative industries are brought together.

SUNTJE SCHMIDT holds a PhD in Urban Geography and has been working at the Institute for Regional Development and Structural Planning in Erkner since 2002. She is involved in research projects on the dynamics of economic areas. Her topic of focus is innovation ecologies and the role that communities of practice play within them. In 2012 she published her research on ‘Acting on Multiple Stages: how musical actors construct their labour-market vulnerability and resilience’. In 2012/13, she conducted a study on creative labs and patterns of spatial inhabitation of creative industries in Berlin for the Senate for Economy, Technology and Research, which will be published in late 2013.


BASTIAN LANGE holds a PhD in Economic Geography. His field of interest and work is the creative industries from an academic as well as a practical point of view. After several years of professional occupation with well-known research institutes, he now shares his broad knowledge of the sector in a more practical sphere. With his own company ‘Multiplicities’, he works as a consultant in the specific contexts of policies, strategies and spatial issues. Apart from this, Lange is a member of two advisory boards at the Chamber of Industry and Trade in Berlin.

ARES KALANDIDES is an urban planner and managing partner at InPolis a company focused on urban development and economy. His expertise lies in urban economics, particularly the creative industries and place branding. Kalandides has worked in projects of various scales: from single urban quarters up to projects on a regional scale. He is also co-author of several books on urban governance and research, particularly in the design sector in Berlin. He teaches at the Hertie School of Governance and the Humboldt University of Berlin. Earlier, he also worked as a policy advisor in Berlin.

DANIEL ROOS is a geographer working as a freelancer at the Technical University Berlin. He was involved in the establishment of the VENTURE Campus: a start-up education centre for Technical University students and graduates. His expertise is in acquisition and the management of EU-funding for projects fostering the knowledge economy. Besides this, Roos is also a voluntary member of the district management association Reuterkiez in the neighbourhood Neukölln.

DANIELA FLEIG is a planner with a special interest in urban economics. She specialises in city marketing instruments and projects. For the InPolis Association, she is currently conducting the project NEMONA (Netzwerk Mode und Naehen Neukölln – Fashion and Sewing Network Neukölln), which brings together upcoming Berlin fashion designers and skilled handicraft textile producers, mostly with migration backgrounds. Fleig sees NEMONA as an attempt to consider this sector of the creative industries in Berlin as a production cycle, bringing together intellectual and technical skills. NEMONA is a project that sprang from Berlins encouraging policies towards the creative industries.


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University Press DocumentaryMISCHER, B. & YURIKO, N. director & writers (2012) Bar25


Charlottenburger Innovations-Centrum (CHIC ) (formerly known as NAVI Charlottenburg) is a start-up centre situated in the direct neighbourhood of the Art Academy and the Technical University. Close by, more university research institutes can be found. The aim of CHIC is to bring together students and graduates of both schools, with researchers and practitioners of their field of interest. In doing so, business ideas can be created and prepared for the market. The centre explicitly supports interdisciplinary approaches and seeks to generate knowledge spillovers.

Visiting: Marie-Elisabeth-Lüders-Straße 1, 10625 Berlin

Web: www.izbm.de/6.html


SUPERMARKT Supermarkt is as a creative resource centre in Wedding, close to the district Mitte and Alexanderplatz. It is situated in a former supermarket and consists of an event space (the former shop floor) and four offices that are rented out as co-working spaces. In these studios, freelancers can book single tables within an attractive office infrastructure. There is also a public café, meeting point for users of the buildingand others, especially other Wedding-based freelancers, which creates interaction with the neighbourhood. Supermarkt opened in 2012 and is managed by a collec-tive of experienced freelancers under the guidance of curator Ela Kagel. Supermarkt is an example of a low-cost solution to enable a professional work environment for freelancers in the creative industries. It was co-funded by the EU with ERDF money, as part of a programme to strengthen the economic base of this neighbourhood.

Visiting: SUPERMARKT Brunnenstr. 64, 13355 Berlin

Web: www.supermarkt-berlin. net


HeikonautHeikonaut serves as an example for the changing spatial practices of cultural entrepreneurs in Berlin. Firstly it shows that cultural entrepreneurs shift locations, away from Mitte into more affordable, traditional housing areas on the ‘edges’.Heikonaut is situated in Lichtenberg, an area far beyond the attention of international visitors and investors. It’s organisers from the company ‘anschlaege.de’ have trans- formed a former kindergarten into a co-working space for mainly design companies.

Visiting: HEIKONAUT Sewansttrasse 122, 10319 Berlin

Web: www.neu.heikonaut.anschlaege.de


Moebel Horzon Moebel Horzon was an early player in the Berlin creative industries. It produces furniture with a very clean and simple design. During the first four years of its existence, the branch of products consisted of only one shelf module. Through the years, it developed into what it is now. It was founded in 1999 by Rafael Horzon, nowadays icon of the bohemians taking over Berlin in the nineties. Moebel Horzon is situated in Torstrasse in Mitte. Back then, this was uncultivated ground for cultural entrepreneurs. Nowadays, Mitte is home to the more established members of the creative industries. It is a preferred spot to set up branches of global brands, many internationally well-known high-end fashion shops and expensive apartments can be found here. For today’s start-ups, especially in the realm of creative industries where competition is high and earnings are low, Mitte is not the right neighbourhood anymore.

Visiting: MOEBEL HORZON Torstrasse 106, 10119 Berlin

Web: www.modocom.de/m_ horzon/moebelhorzon.html

cahier: kultur = kapital, global media city berlin

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