Land Knowledge and Innovation Communities (KIC) are the most ambitious project promoted by the European Union to support the innovative capacity of our continent. KICs are innovation ecosystems whose purpose is to promote the creation of new entrepreneurial skills and new businesses in sectors considered strategic, thanks to an ability to systematize the best skills in applied research, technology transfer, innovative experimentation, production. To date, there are eight KICs and from the list of topics on which they focus it is clear how ambitious the projects are: climate, digital, food, health, energy, manufacturing, raw materials, urban mobility. The launch of two new KICs is planned for the 2021-27 program: the first, for which the criteria are expected to be published in the next few days, will be dedicated to the cultural and creative industries. This is a highly innovative choice, which places an unprecedented emphasis on the development potential of cultural production, and undeniably places it at the center of the European strategic vision at a decisive moment such as post-pandemic economic and social reconstruction.
The choice to put cultural production on the same level as sectors such as climate and energy was not easy: it is no coincidence that the political gestation was long and complex, and saw Italy at the forefront. A significant acceleration was produced by the success of the European Year of Cultural Heritage 2018, during which it was found that culture was capable of attracting attention and interest from the most varied production and policy sectors. In particular, the legacy of 2018 and the programmatic document that has become the reference point of the European strategic approach, the New European Agenda for Culture, has opened a new perspective in which culture is no longer recognized only as having an interest from economic, especially in terms of the share of GDP produced by the cultural and creative sectors and their respective jobs, but also from the point of view of the social impact and the dynamics of behavioral change that are generated as a collateral and unexpected effect of production and cultural participation.
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The KIC will be awarded to the consortium that will be able to express the best design capacity and offer the best guarantees of economic sustainability. Despite the substantial funding secured to the winning consortium, the future of KIC will in fact depend on the ability to attract important investment flows, also, and above all, from private sources. It is no coincidence that so far this has been a non-trivial critical element for some already existing KICs. The consortia that compete for the award are enormous, and can reach hundreds of institutions, universities, organizations, research centers and companies, even if the nucleus will be around 50-60 partners, which will have to involve a large number of countries members. It is no coincidence that the work of planning and developing partnerships has already begun some time ago.
The timing is already known in broad terms. The indicative roadmap and the first seminar were already held in the spring. The document detailing the innovation model proposed by the European Institute of Innovation and Technology, the body entrusted with the management of the entire process, will be published in September. The actual call will be published between October and November and information seminars will be held for potential participants. The call will close in March 2022 and the results of the evaluation will be known in June.
With the launch of this new KIC, Europe will position itself globally as an innovation leader in cultural and creative production and it will be important for Italy to play a leading role. For our country, perhaps even more than for others, this opportunity represents an essential step to finally realize those development potentials linked to culture which today more than ever are indispensable for our near future and which can contribute to changing the prospects of generations. who believed in this vision, investing in training and professional growth, often struggling to find adequate spaces and opportunities. It is a train that passes only once. But that can take us very far. It is an appointment that cannot and must not be missed.