C2L3PLAY

To achieve this objective, the partners of the Cross Border Living Lab support selected projects in a dynamic of complementary expertise, which contribute to value creation in the interregional area. The project partners of the three cross-border regions , Design Regio (Kortrijk), Leiedal (Kortrijk), Le Fresnoy (Tourcoing), Louvre Lens Vallée (Lens), Transcultures (Charleroi), TWIST (Liège), UMONS - Institut Numédiart (Mons) - project leader, UPHF - Université Polytechnique des Hauts-de-France (Valenciennes) are involved in the project. Other associated partners also involved in the project: Mundaneum (Mons), SCV (Villeneuve d'Ascq), Pictanovo (Tourcoing), Les Rencontres Audiovisuelles (Lille), Lille Design (Tourcoing), le Phénix (Valenciennes), the Communauté d'Agglomération de la Porte du Hainaut (Valenciennes) and the Université de Lille (Villeneuve d'Ascq). Since the end of 2016, the project has supported 15 initiators (individuals, entrepreneurs, startups) active in the cultural and creative industries, a sector with great potential for the economic development of the cross-border area. On a macro level, the objective of the project is to establish a cross-border network based on existing physical structures (project partners) working in a "living lab" dynamic, around the theme of cultural and creative industries. Themes related to cultural and creative industries are elaborated in order to focus the projects on innovative solutions that can respond to entrepreneurial or "research" issues. The 9 partners launch calls for projects three times a year in the cross-border area to reach entrepreneurs, artists/creatives and individuals looking for professional and multidisciplinary support to successfully implement their projects. The support of the C2L3Play project takes place before the development of a business (end goal: a natural prototype for the initiator or a technological building block to be developed).

C2L3Play support lasts between 4 and 8 months and is based on the Design Thinking / Double Diamond approach (new in 2019). This makes it possible to create new coaching and ideation initiatives thanks to the technical-creative consortium that has been set up. The partners' resources and equipment are put at the disposal of the initiators: experts (engineers, researchers, business or digital art experts, designers, fab managers, design thinkers), cutting-edge technologies, access to a fab lab and exceptional infrastructures ... with the sole aim of taking the initiators to the prototyping and maturation of their project.

Researchers, citizens, creatives, entrepreneurs: all these actors work together to enable innovation, artistic or entrepreneurial creation, at the service of the supported projects.

The project also offers "Flash WorkOuts", which allow projects to be accelerated over approximately 10 days, thanks to the intensive work of engineers, researchers, experts, developers and creative people. These workshops are used alternately in each of the project regions.

C2L3PLAY is an Interreg cross-border cooperation project between France-Wallonia-Flanders, co-financed by the European Union West Flanders, the Walloon Region and the Haut-de-France region.