Culture, creative sectors, heritage & tourism

What are you looking for?

How can I accomplish a forward-looking and fully supported strategic plan for our cultural programmes?

What is the economic impact of the cultural and creative sectors
and how do we continue to give these sectors a future?

How can we give valuable heritage sites a secure future
as a sustainable tourist destination?

How can we build regional cooperation around heritage and culture
in an effective and efficient way?

Whether at government or organisational level, we can offer you insight into sector dynamics, support for policy planning, strategy development and evaluation, and learning from international benchmarks, experts and stakeholders. We strongly believe in co-creation processes; our knowledge and networks will enrich your exchanges and take you further than you ever imagined.

Strategic development and alignment of cultural initiatives

Guidance and drafting of (museum) policy plans, event concept development, strategic sparring, additional funding trajectories, creating a marketing and communication strategy.

The social and administrative environment is evolving rapidly. Cultural institutions and initiatives must adapt to exceed expectations , seize opportunities from new technologies and contribute to current social priorities (the demand for more circularity, more attention to the climate, co-creation, inclusion ...).

IDEA supports the cultural landscape in its long-term positioning, elaborates scenarios and tests them against stakeholder preconceptions. Through this process, we gain insight into the elements necessary to shape the desired outcomes: concept, audiences by sector, management and presentation, collaboration, marketing and communication, financing, and the judicious use of infrastructure.

By implementing this guidance, museums, cultural houses and events can initiate tangible, cost-effective actions leading to a sustainable, but above all, inspiring future.

Cultural and creative sectors as drivers of social and economic innovation

Measuring the economic impact of the cultural and creative sectors, the arts as a driver in cross-sectoral collaboration, impact measurement.

The cultural and creative sectors and industries (CCS) are a key driver of sustainable and inclusive growth in the EU and beyond. Keeping up with an ever-changing media landscape requires the CCS to develop new working and business models, and to embrace innovation.

The economic damage resulting from the Covid pandemic fell disproportionately on the cultural and creative sectors, but at the same time it highlighted their role in the cohesion of civil society. In the context of continuing , disruptive crises and fundamental societal transitions, the cultural and creative sectors need to work on the resilience of their ecosystem, whilst, at the same time, engaging in related domains such as lifelong learning, innovation, IP (Intellectual Property) and financial management.

Over the past decades, IDEA has used its research experience to support the cultural and creative sectors, acting as a catalyst for change and innovation in the economic and societal spheres. Where possible, we link up with programmes such as Creative Europe, which contributes leveraged funding to stimulate innovation, inclusion and sustainability.

Room for culture, tourism and leisure

Valorisation of heritage sites, temporary use of domains, space needs assessment for leisure sectors,...

Heritage and cultural initiatives need space, but can transform the public realm lending it meaning and significance
Initiatives such as 'The European Bauhaus' (beautiful, sustainable, together) emphasise the importance of an integrated, social vision of the public realm, including art and culture.

Regional coalitions and strategies for culture, leisure, heritage, landscape and tourism

Tourism plans, landscape parks, inter-municipal cooperation. architectural/movable heritage model for local cultural cooperation, etc.

The Flemish government encourages and supports municipalities and local actors to cooperate in the fields of cultural policy, architectural heritage, tourism, youth and leisure with a view to improving delivery and effecting savings. This has created a busy landscape of intermediary organisations that evaluate and adjust their ambitions and cooperation agreements on a regular basis.

In recent years, IDEA has guided regions to develop strong overarching policy plans and cooperation models that create added value for all parties. Individual initiatives from the cultural and creative sectors feed this strategic vision complemented by added value workshops, action planning, new governance models and cooperation agreements.

The interface and synergy between tourism, culture, heritage, the creative industry, economy and the objective of sustainable (regional) development should be taken into account when plans are drawn up. This cross-domain approach is closely aligned with IDEA's vision of integrating , expertise, datasets and know-how from a variety of reputable sources.