Creative Business Models for Creative Organisations

The purpose of Creative Business Models for Creative Organisations research project, which set the ground for the Creative Lenses project (2015–2019), was to investigate and take the first steps for attempting to answer the question: How can arts and cultural organisations increase their own income or resources to develop more sustainable practices without compromising their vision, mission and not-for-profit values?

The project’s objectives were:

▪ To commence on-going research focused on the investigation of the creative business models adopted by TEH independent cultural centers.
▪ To commence an exploration and analysis about how to develop new business models and extend existing ones for arts and cultural organisations that are financially viable, realistic and sustainable.
▪ To explore ways in which arts/cultural centres and organisations can be enabled to improve their economic performance in a way that is truly beneficial to them and in the long term, their artists, audiences and communities.
▪ To develop a long-term project to understand, define, test and disseminate what are the most viable and suitable business models for arts and cultural organisations and seek support for this from the European Union’s Creative Europe programme.

The project’s actions were:

▪ A Creative Business Models workshop in Amsterdam entitled ‘The Art of Making Money’, which was part of a TEH new culture strategies conference.
▪ An online survey of Trans Europe Halles members’ governance, structures, business activity and finances.
▪ The investigation of five (pilot) Trans Europe Halles members’ business models and initial consultancy support to address current issues identified by them.
▪ A seminar in Pilsen, Czech Republic with the five (pilot) Trans Europe Halles members, the project managers and The Creative Plot Lund.
▪ Planning and preparation of an application to the European Union’s Creative Europe programme in order to develop and extend the project in the long-term, Creative Lenses: Business Models for Culture (2015-2019).
▪ Literature research and analysis of current issues and trends on the business models of arts and culture organisations.

Download the project’s final report “Creative Business Models: Insights into the business models of cultural centres in Trans Europe Halles”. 

The Creative Business Models for Creative Organisations project was managed by Trans Europe Halles (TEH) in partnership with The Creative Plot (TCP) and supported by the Culture Department of the City of Lund, Sweden.

The Creative Plot is a part of the Business Department’s and Cultural Department’s work to develop and create sustainability within the cultural and creative sector in Lund. TCP is a platform where the creative sector develops strong ideas together with academia and businesses, and where the results contribute to society in different ways. TCP runs a creative business incubator embedded in the innovation and entrepreneurial support structure and a helpdesk for culture organizations, projects, ideas and people. A research study made by Copenhagen Business School puts TCP in the forefront of incubation development: “Don’t sit on it! A study on what no longer can be called incubation”.