Support to STARTS Community and Lighthouse Projects through the creation of an ecosystem for hybrid talent

Project Information

STARTS Ecosystem

Grant agreement ID: 824950

DOI

10.3030/824950

Project closed

EC signature date 26 November 2018

Start date 1 April 2019

End date 30 November 2021

Funded under

• INDUSTRIAL LEADERSHIP - Leadership in enabling and industrial technologies - Information and Communication Technologies (ICT)

Total cost

€ 999 918,75

EU contribution

€ 999 918,75

Coordinated by

INOVA+ - INNOVATION SERVICES, SA
Portugal

Periodic Reporting for period 2 - STARTS Ecosystem (Support to STARTS Community and Lighthouse Projects through the creation of an ecosystem for hybrid talent)

Reporting period: 2020-08-01 to 2021-11-30

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

S+T+ARTS Ecosystem (se) mission was to become a central point for supporting the S+T+ARTS movement in Europe, by creating and animating an ecosystem of creators, artists and innovators that engage with and support all the funded projects under S+T+ARTS, building on results of past and ongoing initiatives, such as the two Lighthouses Re-Fream and MindSpaces, S+T+ARTS Residencies (VERTIGO), S+T+ARTS Prize, WEAR Sustain, the S+T+ARTS Academy and the S+T+ARTS Talks.
The coordination action SE strived to widen the S+T+ARTS network by gathering artists, engineers, researchers, as well as pertinent institutions from the scientific and technological fields, in Europe and beyond, to foster hybrid collaborations.
The different actions performed by the SE during the project duration, with the contribution of the S+T+ARTS partners, allowed to build, enlarge and strengthen the S+T+ARTS community that goes way beyond the sole institutions and individuals directly supported by the initiative.
Through targeted invitations, the enrichment of starts.eu a stronger media presence and the investment in social media, S+T+ARTS became a brand, that is recognised and renowned among the Science-Tech-Arts field, in Europe and beyond.
For both the S+T+ARTS partners and the public, S+T+ARTS represents a united community, that developed a strong sense of belonging, while it grew and diversified.
A series of activities have been developed throughout the project – Meetups, pop-ups, dissemination events, acceleration programme – that led to the creation of a vibrant S+T+ARTS ecosystem in Europe and beyond, that together explored the potential of art-tech and sci-art collaborations, showcased their concrete results, and fostered a space for learning and understanding their potential in the market.
Strong and sustainable mechanisms of support have been put in place for the S+T+ARTS consortia that form the initiative, within the objective of exchanging lessons learnt and shared challenges and achievements.
More than ever since the creation of S+T+ARTS in 2015, the institutional partners, organisations, innovators, facilitators, artists, technologists and scientists, have created synergies and opened a dialogue that will go beyond S+T+ARTS ecosystem.
The project ensures its sustainability through a great number of useful tools, for the S+T+ARTS consortia but also for the whole art-tech and sci-art community: a website that continues to be fed and will remain the single-entry point for S+T+ARTS players, active social media and newsletters, communication toolkit and guidelines, FAQ, as well as two key documents for supporting innovative collaborations: the toolkit and the roadmap.
The results and impact generated by the project prove that the potential of S+T+ARTS, in terms of exploration of new pathways for the economy, innovation and artistic expression, exist and can still be developed, and the future of the initiative is bright.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

S+T+ARTS Ecosystem mission was to become a pillar of the S+T+ARTS (Science, Technology and Arts) movement in Europe, by creating and animating an ecosystem of creators, artists and innovators that engage with and support all the funded projects under S+T+ARTS, as well as the science-art and art-tech community, in Europe and beyond.

To strengthen the SE, close links have been established with other S+T+ARTS funded projects. Extensive work has also been done to bring in other S+T+ARTS related initiatives. Thanks to targeted engagement strategies using different platforms, we have managed to create spaces where artists, technologists, researchers, industry and supporters have the opportunity to exchange and collaborate.

Sustained by a solid communication campaign, the promotion of S+T+ARTS has produced a significant impact on the network behaviour, both at quantity and quality levels.

Innovation services have also been developed, namely through the launch of S+T+ARTS in MOTION, a programme that aims at bringing S+T+ARTS teams to the next level and closer to the market.

The S+T+ARTS ECOSYSTEM partners have worked thoroughly on its sustainability, with the production of key tools that will support both the S+T+ARTS funded and the art-tech and sci-art community worldwide to continue developing innovative projects.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

The diverse actions of SE, in particular the community-led and institutional meetups, the support brought to the S+T+ARTS consortia that represent over 50 European organisations, and the S+T+ARTS in MOTION programme, have created a space where organisations and individuals have exchanged and learnt from each other´s experience in the field of S+T+ARTS.
Over 10 000 people, artists, technologists, scientists, start-ups, industry leaders and supporters have been brought together to bring up their experience, good practices and vision on topics such as innovation, human-centered technology, AI and urban mobility, but also common methodologies to co-create and explore new paths for innovation.

The S+T+ARTS community has grown considerably during the period of implementation of the SE project (2019-2021).
Firstly, the primary network of S+T+ARTS funded consortia has been brought together, have developed closer relationships and has a sense of belonging to the S+T+ARTS initiative.
Secondly, the network has grown outside the S+T+ARTS funded actions. The different activities held – 1000 targeted invitations sent, curation and improvement of starts.eu (+817,71% growth of registered users), the new strategy for communication on social media (+200% growth of followers in all social media channels), the creation of a STARTS EU newsletter (+197,70% growth of subscribers to the newsletter), the series of meetups and other events promoted (31), have gathered over 10 000 people during the duration of SE.
S+T+ARTS audience is diversified in terms of geographic dispersion: 11,6 % of the members of starts.eu are from the US, and a growing number is from Eastern Europe and Africa. In terms of the type of stakeholders, it was possible to assist to an increasing interest from industry representatives about what S+T+ARTS can offer to the sector.
Many new initiatives have reached out to the SE team to learn from the experience of S+T+ARTS in launching open calls and monitoring residencies, and on how to expand their network, proving that S+T+ARTS is now recognised as a consolidated and reliable network in the field of Science+Technology+ARTS.

SE has promoted discussions with a large range of stakeholders, that promoted the impact of art-driven solutions in the market and society.
Through the publication of information, reports, articles, presentations (126 articles in the News section of starts.eu +1000 posts on social media, 60 references in the S+T+ARTS Library and Resources, 31 events gathering more than 10 000 people), we have raised awareness on key topics addressed by the artists, technologists and scientists working in the field of S+T+ARTS.
We observed diversification of the public of S+T+ARTS, with a growing number of start-ups and SMEs, the industry, and innovation players. We have managed to show the potential of S+T+ARTS as a mind-changing experience in companies, and a path to explore for disruptive solutions.
Eventually, the publications on social media reached the public in general, with a growing number of interested people who are not artists or technologists.

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