Territorial Challenges for Cultural and Creative Industries’ Contribution to Sustainable Innovation: Evidence from the Interreg Ita-Slo Project DIVA

Abstract

This article articulates the outcomes of the spatial survey of an EU Interreg-funded project titled “Development of Innovation Eco-Systems and Value Chains: Supporting Cross-Border Innovation through Creative Industries” (DIVA). The study mapped cultural and creative industries (CCIs) in the transborder area comprising the Italian regions of Veneto and Friuli Venezia Giulia and the western region of Slovenia. The study applied both quantitative and qualitative place-based methodologies and drew theoretically from economics, urbanism, and interactionism. The results include a webapp quantifying and describing CCIs spread in the transborder area and a SWOT analysis of firms’ geographies for potential collaboration between CCIs and traditional SMEs (small and medium enterprises). It is argued that the cultural and creative sectors are relevant to the social and economic development of cities and regions, and act as drivers of innovation. The interconnected network of local enterprises (CCIs-SMEs) also goes in the direction of promoting a sustainable territorial development, enhancing enrooted resources. Additionally, it considers how CCIs different localization patterns, both clustered and sprawled, can influence and shape possible collaboration degrees at transborder regional level. Thus, this paper advocates for more integrated policymaking that considers the spatial distribution and territorial localization of CCIs alongside their socio-economic dimensions.

1. Introduction

This article illustrates the outcomes of the Interreg-funded project titled, “Development of Innovation Eco-Systems and Value Chains: Supporting Cross-Border Innovation through Creative Industries” (DIVA). Specifically, this article outlines the research approach and the methodologies used, while presenting a synthesis of some early findings. The central question guiding this part of the DIVA project asks how cultural and creative industries (CCIs) are spatially distributed within a region, given that their existence and activity are closely connected to the spatial context? More specifically, how does their territorial dimension affect practices of collaboration for innovation?

The project focused on the transborder area comprising Italy’s Friuli Venezia Giulia and Veneto regions and Slovenia’s western region in an attempt to understand CCIs localisation patterns and assess the territorial needs of CCIs in respect to the collaboration with small and medium enterprises (SMEs). Micro, small and medium-sized enterprises are defined by European Commission [1] as “enterprises which employ fewer than 250 persons and which have an annual turnover not exceeding EUR 50 million, and/or an annual balance sheet total not exceeding EUR 43 million. Within the SME category, a small enterprise is defined as an enterprise which employs fewer than 50 persons and whose annual turnover and/or annual balance sheet total does not exceed EUR 10 million, and a microenterprise is defined as an enterprise which employs fewer than 10 persons and whose annual turnover and/or annual balance sheet total does not exceed EUR 2 million. Through the involvement of several regional stakeholders in the partnership, such as regional cultural policy offices, production representative bodies (Chambers of Commerce), innovation agencies and incubators, the research project guaranteed a sustainable approach to production innovation of traditional activities and firms.

In recent decades, CCIs have become important to regional economies. In a changing world of new technologies and globalised production chains, one way to remain competitive while achieving a sustainable development is to support and enhance cultural and creative sectors and their yearn to innovate and create immaterial value [2]. Therefore, in order to better support CCIs through policy, the need has arisen to better identify and quantify them. While there is no universal definition for cultural and creative industries, the European Commission provided its own, for which “’Cultural industries’ are those industries producing and distributing goods or services which at the time they are developed are considered to have a specific attribute, use or purpose which embodies or conveys cultural expressions, irrespective of the commercial value. Besides the traditional arts sectors (performing arts, visual arts, cultural heritage, including the public sector), they include film, DVD and video, television and radio, video games, new media, music, books and press. Meanwhile, ’creative industries’ are those industries that use culture as an input and have a cultural dimension, although their outputs are mainly functional. They include architecture and design, which integrate creative elements into wider processes, as well as sub-sectors such as graphic design, fashion design or advertising” [2]. Such definition thus considers them central to sustainable social and economic development of European cities and regions, as they drive innovation within productive territories and encourage social cohesion via local work [3,4].

The DIVA project answers the 2018 call from the “New European Agenda for Culture” document by the European Commission and the European Leaders’ invitation to “harness the full potential of culture to help build a more inclusive and fairer Union, supporting innovation, creativity and sustainable jobs and growth” [5]. In response to this strategic action framework, this article illustrates DIVA mapping the CCIs in the Italy–Slovenia transborder region, analyses their spatial distribution, and assesses how their geographies contribute to practices of collaboration and innovative production with traditional SMEs. Therefore in the longer term, their findings will have relevance for regional and European policymaking in order to evaluate how the territorial dimension affects practices of collaboration for innovation and advocate for policymaking which considers both spatial and socio-economic issues, in complementarity with other EU Funding 2014–2020 projects that have focused on creating ‘immaterial meeting spaces’ (e.g., projects such as SMATH, InduCCI, Cre:Hub (More detailed information about these projects is available on official programmes and projects websites: SMATH smath.interreg-med.eu (accessed on 30 June 2022); InduCCI www.interreg-central.eu/Content.Node/InduCCI.html (accessed on 30 June 2022); CRE:HUB www.interregeurope.eu/crehub (accessed on 30 June 2022)). In this framework and in the medium to long term, the DIVA research outcomes presented in this article could set up a milestone to be compared with, in future research on CCIs and their territorial setups, once the effects of the pandemic have completely unfolded. Furthermore, such results can be a relevant contribution to the studies for the development of sustainable integrated policies concerning after-shock reconstructions, and that consider both urban development and CCIs-SMEs collaboration for sustainable innovation.

This study draws on quantitative and qualitative place-based methodologies with a multidisciplinary approach aiming to resituate CCIs’ geographies, illustrating the spatial patterns they draw on the territory, and why they choose their location. A ‘catalogue’ of enterprises that should be considered cultural and creative was first inductively created [6]. These enterprises were then compiled into an interactive webapp, comprising a GIS map and data visualisations, exposing issues around their spatial distribution and infrastructure setup. Additionally, interviews with CCI and traditional SME actors were conducted to better understand the needs of these organisations. The data from these interviews were used to compile a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats) analysis through which only issues addressing the CCIs needs on their geographies are rendered and commented on in this contribution, while cooperation issues at management level between CCIs-SMEs are discussed in a complementary article [7].

Finally, the paper makes recommendations about how to increase collaboration between CCIs and traditional SMEs, proposing more integrated policies which account for their territorial dimension, and thus address the 13th principle of UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development [8] advocating for a new integrated approach able to face interrelated and interdependent challenges to sustainable development. Indeed, policymaking at the regional level should consider how and why CCIs choose their location and the resulting local peculiarities, such as attractiveness of urban or regional spatial setting; presence of advanced cultural and socio-economic clusters; mobility and accessibility levels; housing affordability; networking and career opportunities; planning system.

The article is structured as follows. Section 2 sets up the research theoretical framework on the Sustainable Development Goals addressed by the DIVA project, the role that CCIs have in the creation of more sustainable transborder regions, and the methodological issues concerning CCIs mapping. Section 3 sets the territorial framework with the description of the three regions’ productive layouts. Section 4 presents the research design with its methods and data. Section 5 illustrates CCIs regional patterns, presents the results and provides evidence (maps, interviews and SWOT analysis on business geographies). Section 6 discusses the results in regards to UN Sustainable Development Goals and Targets, elaborating on relevant policy recommendations. Section 7 presents the conclusion.

2. Theoretical Framework

2.1. CCIs for Sustainable Development

Great attention, both in scholarly literature and policy circles, has been dedicated to understanding cultural and creative sectors as drivers of economic growth and innovation. The cultural and creative industry has long been understood as a potential tool for economic development [9]. At the same time, they have been addressed through the 2005’s UNESCO Convention ‘Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions’ [10] as fosterer of sustainable development considered as a “process that encompasses the enlargement of human opportunities and freedoms, not just in terms of economic growth”, and contributors to many of the sustainable development goals (SDG) [11] set by the United Nations resolution. In particular, a relevant role [8] as concerns this research is assumed by the 8th SDG ‘promoting sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all’ and the 11th SDG aiming at ‘making cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable’ and their interrelations. The targets to reach those two goals directly involve and connect to specific sectors of cultural and creative industries (

Table 1. Interconnections between UNESCO SDGs and CCIs included in DIVA project.

Sustainable Development Goals	CCIs
SDG 8 ‘promoting sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all’
Target 8.3: Promote development-oriented policies that support productive activities, decent job creation, entrepreneurship, creativity and innovation, and encourage the formalization and growth of micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises, including through access to financial services.	32.4. Video Games and toys production activities 58. Publishing activities 60. Radio and television programming and transmission activities 71. Architectural and engineering studios activities 73. Advertising and market research 74. other professional, scientific and technical activities 81. Buildings and landscape services 82. Support services for enterprises and offices 85. Education 90. Creative, artistic and entertainment activities 91. Artistic and historical heritage 93. Sport and leisure activities
Target 8.9: By 2030, devise and implement policies to promote sustainable tourism that creates jobs and promotes local culture and products	91. Artistic and historical heritage 91.01. Libraries and archives 91.02. Museums 91.03. Management of historical sites and monuments 91.04. Activities of botanical gardens, zoos and natural reserves 93. Sport and leisure activities 93.21. Theaters, concert halls and other artistic structures management 93.29. Amusement parks and theme parks 93.29.1. Other recreational and entertainment activities 93.29.2. Discos, dance halls, night clubs and similar activities 93.29.9. Bathing establishments management: maritime, lake and river 93.29.9. Other entertainment and leisure activities 96.09.02. Hairdressers and other beauty treatments
SDG 11 ‘making cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable’
Target 11.3: By 2030, enhance inclusive and sustainable urbanization and capacity for participatory, integrated and sustainable human settlement planning and management in all countries.	47. Retail sale (concerning CCIs products and services) 63. Information technology services 70. Management consultancies 71. Architectural and engineering studios activities 72. Scientific research and development 81. Buildings and landscape services 90.04. Management of artistic structures (theatres, musical concerts, etc.) 91.03. Management of historical sites and monuments 91.04. Activities of botanical gardens, zoos and natural reserves 93. Sport and leisure activities
Target 11.4: Strengthen efforts to protect and safeguard the world’s cultural and natural heritage.	71. Architectural and engineering studios activities 74. other professional, scientific and technical activities 81. Buildings and landscape services 85. Education 91. Artistic and historical heritage
Target 11.7: By 2030, provide universal access to safe, inclusive and accessible, green and public spaces, in particular for women and children, older persons and persons with disabilities.	71. Architectural and engineering studios activities 71.11. Architecture firms activities 71.12.2. Integrated engineering design services 72.2. Research and experimental development in the field of social sciences and humanities 81. Buildings and landscape services 81.3. Landscape care and maintenance 85. Education 91.01. Libraries and archives 91.02. Museums

), while indirectly concerning all of them, through their territorial setup and spatial distribution, thus acting as a platform element for policy integration.

In addition, the DIVA project reacts to mentioned sustainability policy and research stances as it is intended to incubate pilot projects and develop methodologies to assess culture and creativity as a tool for economic development, through a regional policy fund aiming at social cohesion, and providing support to regional and local stakeholders and activities.

Therefore, DIVA research project has been exploring the possibility, and building the capacity in terms of sustainability, for the regional productive fabrics and local job markets to be self-sufficient through a process of creative collaboration and innovation of their stakeholders with CCIs. This has enacted the opportunity of ameliorating the life quality through the socio-economic factor, therefore promoting work as a driver for human development.

Moreover, it tries to apply these priorities to the regional framework, going beyond the actions recommended by other policies, such as the EU Strategy for the Adriatic-Ionian Region [12] that are limited to heritage and tourism valorisation, and trying to say more in terms of triggering innovation through interventions and brokerage, as it has been questioned in other strategic areas and projects [13]. It does so by acting on supporting and maintaining existing firms with innovating their products, services and organisation, creating new jobs and growth in existing labour markets and facilitating their networking, enhancing local built environment: all these actions aim for a sustainable development of regional territories, promoting territorial cohesion, valorisation of heritage and cultural assets of the transborder region between Italy and Slovenia.

2.2. Methodological Issues Concerning CCIs Mapping

Many policymakers outside the cultural sphere incorrectly understand the cultural and creative (CC) sectors to be a low-productivity branch of the economy, unable to autonomously create economic value. Therefore, many cultural activities are seen as a cost to cut [14]. Recent studies offer a new conceptual framework to understand the contribution of culture to economic and social value creation, as classified within different socio-technical regimes [14]. The DIVA project falls within this effort as an implementation project showcasing the economic regime in which culture produces innovation. CCI economic market potential is based on traditional and historical European manufacturing [14]. Due to a growing recognition of CCIs’ economic impact [15], public policies have increasingly focused on entrepreneurial development within the cultural and creative sectors. Consequently, studies on the economic size and importance of the European cultural and creative sectors [3,16,17] were designed to inform European policymaking.

In recent years, almost all initiatives in European programs and projects concerning CC sectors have attempted to develop proper monitoring tools. However, these efforts have been often thwarted by multiple complexities, among them:

• Difficulty to define and delimit the boundaries of the “cultural and creative sector”, which is given by the complexity, fluidity and heterogeneity of cultural production and consumption processes.
• Lacking suitable and comparable data to build up a comprehensive European map [18].
• Unsettled debate about CCIs identification and classification methodologies, especially when interpreting their activities and evaluating their cultural and creative content.
• Imprecise classification by NACE (Nomenclature of Economic Activities) code classifications in local Chamber of Commerce registers.

Nevertheless, some policy efforts at the European and international levels have attempted to deal with those issues [2,3,5,19,20,21]. The resulting shared operational definitions outline a taxonomy of activities that constitute the sector [6]. One of the most recent taxonomies proposed to capture the scope and size of the CCI sector was developed by the European Statistical System Network on Culture (ESSnet-Culture), gathering every possible activity and situation involving culture and creation. Indeed, ESSnet-Culture recommends the following expert-derived definition: “cultural activities are understood as any activity based on cultural values and/or artistic expressions. Cultural activities include market or non-market oriented activities, with or without a commercial meaning and carried out by any kind of organisation (individuals, businesses, groups, institutions, amateurs or professionals)” [22].

In this spirit, other mapping efforts have been put forward at European scale, targeted towards the specific objective needed to be addressed. Among many, the Creative and Cultural Cities Monitor (CCCM), which was developed by the European Joint Research Centre to monitor European cities and support the analysis of their local tourism strategies, uses an evidence-based approach through experimentation with new data sources coming from big data and the creation of composite indicators [18]. Various attempts at classification, mapping and localization choices have also been put forward by more academic-oriented research at European regional scale, trying to address issues of sustainability and inclusiveness [23,24].

None has rendered the spatial distribution of CCIs at transnational level referring to their exact localization, therefore adding their territorial dimension and place quality, and here is where the DIVA mapping positions itself: into providing a territorial-geographical transborder mapping between the north-eastern Italian region and the western Slovenian one. Specifically, DIVA mapping:

• referred to an existing CCIs mapping methodology drawing from considering some manufacturing sectors as cultural and creative activities and the base for the mapping fostering CCIs-traditional SMEs collaboration (refer to Section 4.1 DIVA Approach to CCIs mapping);
• considered the regional and national specificities (Italian and Slovenian) of CCIs data and homogenised them;
• complemented anonymous firms’ data with their geo-localization;
• provided a connection between firms’ data (activity areas, employees’ number, average turnover, years in business) with localization characteristics.

The DIVA mapping, through analysing and interpreting CCIs territorial structures and setups, aims at framing and supporting policy making sectors involved in promoting CCIs-SMEs collaborations for sustainable development and innovation, such as cultural, development/cooperation, economic, tourism and urban ones. The main aim being to connect territorial configurations with specific policy recommendations framed by the global SDGs, such as:

• Urban policies devoted to urban regeneration projects involving CCIs-SMEs
• Cultural policies enhancing slow tourism and urban regeneration
• Economic policies aimed at inclusive growth and sustainable innovation
• Tourism policies aimed at local tourism and valorisation of inner regions and lesser-known contexts.

3. Territorial Framework

CCIs in the Italian Regions of Veneto and Friuli Venezia Giulia, and in the Western Region of Slovenia

Given that the CC sector is characterised by the need to meet and exchange knowledge and information for production to take place, and that collaborations arise from repeated and continuous frequentation, meeting places and physical space are clearly fundamental to CCIs’ functioning and development. The connections between CCIs, territory, and development have been the subject of increasing attention from both academics and policymakers in recent decades. CCIs are considered to be drivers of innovation in production and also essential for the regeneration of dilapidated productive districts and cities in decline [25,26]. From this perspective, two main strands of research, both linked to territorial analysis, converge: the so-called creative cities debate [27,28,29] and the cultural districts/clusters framework [30,31].

This scientific contribution foregrounds the territorial perspective on CCIs’ distribution, it does so by supplementing the urban-centric perspective and expanding fieldwork into the broader regional area that comprises cities and urban agglomerations. The focus is on three regions characterised by diverse productive and territorial patterns, such as Veneto and Friuli Venezia Giulia in Italy and western Slovenia. Each one has a unique economic, legislative, and strategic context that has historically supported interactions and exchanges among businesses, CCIs and SMEs (Figure 1).

The first, and westernmost, region is Veneto, located in north-eastern Italy bordering Austria and Friuli Venezia Giulia. It covers 18,399 km² and is divided into 568 municipalities. As of 2019, it counted 4,905,854 inhabitants with a density of 267 inhabitants/km². Its regional productive system is characterised by small enterprises (SMEs) spread out over the two Italian regions involved in DIVA project, Veneto and Friuli Venezia Giulia. Such SMEs are highly specialised and export-oriented, organised into consortia and industrial networks and districts [32] In Veneto, a Regional Law (no. 13/2014) defines as an ‘Industrial District’ a local productive system with high concentration of manufacturing SMEs, territoriality, historicity and competitiveness in terms of innovation and internationalisation. Fifteen Industrial Districts are currently recognised by the Regional Council and are inextricably linked with their localization designation, from eyewear in Belluno province and sportsystem in Asolo e Montebelluna, to furniture in Verona, prosecco in Conegliano-Valdobbiadene area, etc. For the complete list refer to the online platform www.innoveneto.org/reti-e-clusters/distretti-industriali (accessed on 30 June 2022).

The second region is Friuli Venezia Giulia, an Autonomous Administrative Region (with special status) in north-eastern Italy, bordering Austria and Slovenia. It covers 7924 km² and has 215 municipalities with 1,215,220 residents. In 2019, its population density was 154 inhabitants/km². Its productive system is similar to that of Veneto, with eight Districts, from furniture and knives, to coffee and thermo-electromechanics, the most recent reference Regional law being n. 126/2012 and the complete list of districts www.regione.fvg.it/rafvg/cms/RAFVG/economia-imprese/industria/FOGLIA4/ (accessed on 30 June 2022). Generally, Friuli Venezia Giulia’s industrial structure has demonstrated resilience and innovation, withstanding the many economic crises that occurred in recent decades. This was aided by the presence of many ‘strong’ export-oriented sectors (furniture, household appliances, engineering), which have expanded toward Eastern European countries, Slovenia included.

Finally, there is the western Slovenian region, which includes five Slovenian statistical regions and extends over 9296 km² and has a population of approximately 1,031,285. In 2018, between 65% and 79% of residents lived in wider urban areas, though all the Slovene statistical regions are either classified as “mostly rural regions” or “moderately rural regions” by the Statistical Office of the Republic of Slovenia. This means that the majority of the population lives in the only large town of western Slovenia, the national capital Ljubljana, and a few other conurbations and centres (cities) of international, national, regional, and inter-municipal importance [33] and no polycentric spatial development [34], such as in Veneto e Friuli Venezia Giulia. In the early 21st century, the Slovene economy is based primarily on services (cultural and recreational tourism) and trade, while a significant source of income comes from the manufacture of automotive parts, pharmaceuticals, electrical appliances, and furniture, also exported [35].

The DIVA territorial perspective highlights on those different regional production setups and their possible innovation trajectory, effectively enlarging the scope of policymaking and allowing for a more place-based, tailor-made approach.

4. Methods and Data

The first year of the DIVA project (May 2019–July 2020) examined the creative and cultural sectors to better support transborder innovation and growth by developing a model of cooperation that can be applied to real CCI-SME collaborations. This allowed researchers to map the CCIs, conduct a SWOT analysis of CCI and SME needs, and develop a model of collaboration practices among CCIs and traditional SMEs. This article focuses on the first two activities: CCIs mapping and SWOT on business geographies, while the SWOT on CCIs-SMEs collaboration and the collaboration model have been described elsewhere [7].

This research used both quantitative and qualitative approaches (Figure 2). It was an applied, place-based study drawing on multidisciplinary insights from economics, urbanism, and the study of interaction processes. This resulted in composite tailor-made research products mixing diverse methodologies. The CCIs mapping was compiled into a webapp consisting of an interactive quantitative and geographical map (GIS-Geographic Information System mapping). In the spatial analysis performed in ArcGIS, the firms are localized with coloured dots, with their related information and metadata attached to the localized point in the map. When clicking upon the dots, the data concerning turnover, employees’ number, and other information, will be aggregated in different data visualizations, such as treemaps, box, etc. thanks to the online application hosted in the online domain. The geographical needs of CCIs and traditional SMEs were collected through 90 interviews (45 to CCIs and 45 to SMEs), the results of which were analysed and included in a SWOT analysis. The SWOT, as a situation analysis, considered the external and internal factors related to firms, their collaboration processes and geographies. Both the webapp and SWOT revealed multiple issues regarding the territorial and infrastructure setup of/for CCIs.

4.1. DIVA Approach to CCIs Mapping

According to Valentino [6], the definition of CCIs and, consequently, their mapping depends on the purpose of the mapping itself. In our case, research attempted to quantify and geographically map CCIs to highlight their collaboration with traditional manufacturing and production. This method conceptualises CCIs not only as economic actors but also as a creativity-driven productive system. Drawing on the White Paper on Creativity [36], commissioned by the Italian Culture Ministry, which examined the Fashion and Food industry and enlarged the ESSnet-Culture [22] delimitation of the sector, this research considers all the activities that are an expression of the national material culture also known as ‘Made in Italy’ (artistic craftsmanship, furniture, etc.), and many productions instrumental to the sector itself [6].

Within this framework, DIVA research builds on the quantitative mapping and classification methodology developed by Fondazione Symbola and the National Chambers of Commerce Union for Italian CCIs monitoring, firstly undertaken in 2011 and repeated yearly [37].

Other European cooperation projects, such as the peer Interreg Central Europe COCO4CCI [38], supporting collaboration between CCIs and advanced manufacturing, have also drawn from the Symbola-Unioncamere methodology to conduct quantitative mapping of the cultural and creative industries in Italy and Slovenia. The Interreg DIVA project built on these studies to foster collaborations among CCIs and traditional production (mainly manufacturing) and expand monitoring beyond the urbanised areas of cities to reveal the trans-regional and transnational dimension of CCIs.

An additional classification of CCIs was introduced in DIVA, concerning their dimension and legal status (see Introduction, page 1 and Appendix A,

Table A3. Legal Status (Business Organizational Forms)—Slovenia.

Business Organizational Forms
Individual Firms
Registrirani zasebni izvajalec raziskovalec	Registered private operator researcher
Samostojni podjetnik posameznik (s.p.)	Individual Private Entrepreneur (s.p.)
Samozaposleni v kulturi	Self-employed in culture
Samostojni novinar	Free-lance journalist
Private Company
Društvo, zveza društev	Society, union of societies
Družba z neomejeno odgovornostjo (d.n.o.)	Unlimited Liability Company (d.n.o.)
Družba z omejeno odgovornostjo (d.o.o.)	Limited Liability Company (d.o.o.)
Gospodarska zbornica	Chamber of Commerce
Komanditna družba (k.d.)	Limited partnership (k.d.)
Nevladna organizacija	Non-government organization
Nosilec dopolnilne dejavnosti na kmetiji	Holder of supplementary activity on the farm
Podružnica tujega društva	A branch of a foreign society
Podružnica tujega podjetja	A branch of a foreign company
Zadruga (z.o.o.)	Cooperative (z.o.o.)
Gospodarsko interesno združenje (GIZ)	Economic Interest Grouping (GIZ)
Sklad	Fund
Študentska organizacija	Student organization
Zadruga (z.b.o.)	Cooperative (z.b.o.)
Public Company
Upravni organ v sestavi	Administrative body/authority in composition
Delniška družba (d.d.)	Public limited company (d.d.)
Javni raziskovalni zavod	Public Research Institute
Narodnostna skupnost	Ethnic community
Skupnost zavodov	Association of institutions
Zavod	Institute
Javna agencija	Public agency
Javni sklad	Public fund
Javni zavod	Public institution
Mladinski svet	Youth council
Ustanova	Institution

and

Table A4. Legal Status (Business Organizational Forms)—Italy.

Business Organizational Forms
Individual Firms
DI	Impresa individuale
SU	Societa’ a responsabilita’ limitata con unico socio
Private Company
CL	Societa’ cooperativa a responsabilita limitata
CN	Societa’ consortile
CO	Consorzio
AA	Societa’ in accomandita per azioni
AC	Associazione
AE	Societa’ consortile in accomandita semplice
AI	Associazione impresa
AS	Societa’ in accomandita semplice
CC	Consorzio con attivita’ esterna
CE	Comunione ereditaria
CF	Consorzio fidi
CI	Societa’ cooperativa a responsabilita illimitata
EE	Ente ecclesiastico
AF	Altre forme
Public Company
CM	Consorzio municipale
AL	Azienda speciale di ente locale
CR	Consorzio intercomunale
CZ	Consorzio di cui al dlgs 267/2000
ED	Ente diritto pubblico
AM	Azienda municipale
AP	Azienda provinciale
AR	Azienda regionale
AT	Azienda autonoma statale
EC	Ente pubblico commerciale

for further details). This distinction has a crucial role in analysing the territorial patterns, since individual or micro enterprises have deeply different needs concerning services, infrastructures, location and networking in comparison with enterprises with a large number of employees.

Finally, the DIVA mapping techniques depict the territorial spatial distribution of the CCIs without using statistical indicators. This method presents the distribution of CCIs in the three regions while also highlighting the differences and affinities of the unique productive territories characterising each region. The geographical mapping includes the whole region, not just the cities in Veneto, Friuli Venezia Giulia, and western Slovenia, in an attempt to overcome the challenges of identifying urban dynamics and administrative boundaries (cities, provinces, regions, Functional Urban Areas, etc.) and at the same time being aware of the different regional contexts.

4.2. CCIs Mapping

The mapping activities consisted of (1) the assessment of the sectors to be monitored and the identification of creative networks, actors and stakeholders in the cross-border area; (2) the definition of the mapping methodology and criteria for selecting the subjects and homogenising collected data; (3) the creation of the cross-border map of actors and resources; (4) the definition of an online tool for collecting data from the mapping; and (5) CCIs mapping of the program area. The methodology accounted for the territorial context of the three regions involved in the DIVA project and considered their territorial setup, the characteristic productive fabric, and their attitude toward some specific sectors within the broader CCIs classification.

After setting the context and contacting the main data owners for each region, the data extraction proceeded. The classification was based on economic activities and their sectors were expressed with NACE codes. The data scanning started by homogenising and matching the data extraction to the NACE codes in the Italian and Slovenian Chambers of Commerce data. Data selection considered the territorial and economic parameters (core activities, location, revenue, employees).

The quantitative mapping classification system used by this study was first used in the annual report “Io sono Cultura” [39]. The classification system was also used by the Slovenian Chamber of Commerce, a DIVA project partner, during the COCO4CCI Interreg project quantitative mapping [38]. This methodological commonality promotes continuity between European research project outcomes. However, the DIVA case expands on these established methodologies by prioritising spatial distribution and complementing it with other sub-classifications.

The research and corresponding data visualisation categorised CCIs anonymously and classified them into the “areas” used by the Italian Chambers’ Union and Symbola Foundation methodology (see Appendix A,

Table A1. Italian Chamber of Commerce’s NACE codes classified by Area of activity.

AREA 1—Activities of Preservation and Enhancement of Historical and Artistic Heritage

91. Artistic and historical heritage

91.01. Libraries and archives 91.02. Museums 91.03. Management of historical sites and monuments 91.04. Activities of botanical gardens, zoos and natural reserves

AREA 2—Non-reproducible activities of cultural goods and services, as Performing and visual arts

90. Creative, artistic and entertainment activities

90.01. Artistic representations

90.01.01. Acting activities

90.01.09. Other artistic performances

90.02. Support activities for artistic representations

90.02.01. Structures and equipment rental for events and shows (with operator)

90.02.02. Directing activities

90.02.09. Other artistic representations support activities

90.03. Artistic and literary creations

90.03.02. Works of art conservation and restoration

90.03.09. Other artistic and literary creations

90.04. Management of artistic structures (theatres, musical concerts, etc.)

93. Sport and leisure activities

93.21. Theaters, concert halls and other artistic structures management

93.29. Amusement parks and theme parks

93.29.1. Other recreational and entertainment activities

93.29.2. Discos, dance halls, night clubs and similar activities

93.29.9. Bathing establishments management: maritime, lake and river

93.29.9. Other entertainment and leisure activities

96.09.02. Hairdressers and other beauty treatments

AREA 3—Activities related to the production of cultural goods according to a logic of industrial repeatability, as cultural industries

32. Other manufacturing activities

32.4. Video Games and toys production activities

47. Retail sale

47.61. Retail sale of books in specialised stores

47.62.2. Retail sale of stationery articles and office supplies

58. Publishing activities

58.1. Edition of books, periodicals, software and other publishing activities

58.11. Books edition

58.14. Magazines and periodicals edition

58.19. Other publishing activities

58.21. Computer games edition

58.29. Other software edition

59.20.1. Edition of sound recordings

59.20.2. Printed music edition

59.20.3. Sound recording studios

60. Radio and television programming and transmission activities

60.1. Radio broadcasts

60.2. Programming and television broadcasting activities

62. Softwares production

62.01. Production of software not connected to the edition

AREA 4—Creative industries related to the world of services

47. Retail sale

47.59.1. Home furniture retail commerce

47.59.2. House tools, cristallerie and tableware retail commerce

47.78.31. Retail sale of art objects (including art galleries)

47.79.1. Second hand books retail sale

47.79.2. Second hand furniture and antiquities objects retail sale

62. Softwares production

62.02. Information technology consultancy

63. Information technology services

63.11. Data processing, hosting and related activities, web portals

63.11.3. Hosting and provision of application services (ASP)

63.12. Web portals

63.91. News agencies activities

63.99. Other information service activities

70. Management consultancies

70.21. Public relations and communication

70.22.09. Other business consultancy and other administrative-management consultancy and business planning

71. Architectural and engineering studios activities

71.11. Architecture firms activities

71.12.2. Integrated engineering design services

72. Scientific research and development

72.2. Research and experimental development in the field of social sciences and humanities

73. Advertising and market research

73.1. ADVERTISING

73.11. Advertising agencies

73.11.01. Advertising campaigns creation

73.11.02. Conducting marketing campaigns and other advertising services

74. other professional, scientific and technical activities

74.10. Specialised design activities

74.10.1. Fashion design and industrial design activities

74.10.21. Activities of graphic designers of web pages

74.10.29. Other activities of graphic designers

74.10.3. Activities of technical designers

74.10.9. Other design activities

74.20. Photographic activities

81. Buildings and landscape services

81.3. Landscape care and maintenance

82. Support services for enterprises and offices

82.3. Organization of conferences and fairs

85. Education

85.52.01. Dance courses

85.52.09. Other cultural training

96. Other services

96.09.09. Personal service activities

and

Table A2. Slovenian Chamber of Commerce’s NACE codes classified by Area of activity.

AREA 1—Activities of Preservation and Enhancement of Historical and Artistic Heritage

R91. Libraries, archives, museums and other cultural activities

R91.01. Library and archives activities

91.011. Dej.knjižnic

91.012. Dej.arhivov

R91.02. Museums activities

R91.03. Operation of historical sites and buildings and similar visitor attractions

R91.04. Botanical and zoological gardens and nature reserves activities

AREA 2—Non-reproducible activities of cultural goods and services, as Performing and visual arts

R90. Creative, arts and entertainment activities

R90.01. Performing arts

R90.02. Support activities to performing arts

R90.03. Artistic creation

R90.04. Operation of arts facilities

R93. Sports activities and amusement and recreation activities

R93.21. Activities of amusement parks and theme parks

93.29. Dej.marin

93.292. Dej.smučarskih centrov

93.299. D.n.dej.za prosti čas

AREA 3—Activities related to the production of cultural goods according to a logic of industrial repeatability, as cultural industries

J58. Publishing activities

J58.1. Publishing of books, periodicals and other publishing activities

58.110. Izdajanje knjig

58.120. Izdajanje imenikov in adresarjev

58.130. Izdajanje časopisov

58.140. Izdajanje revij idr.periodike

58.190. Dr.založništvo

J58.2. Software publishing

58.210. Izdajanje računalniških iger

58.290. Dr.izdajanje programja

J59. Motion picture, video and television programme and music publishing activities

59.110. Produkcija filmov,videofilmov,tv oddaj

59.120. Postprod.dej.pri.filmih.,videof.,tv odd

59.130. Distrib.filmov,videofilmov,tv oddaj

59.140. Kinematografska dej.

59.200. Snemanje in izdaj.zvočn.zap.in muzik.

J60. Programming and broadcasting activities

60.100. Radijska dej

60.200. Televizijska dej

J62—Computer programming, consultancy and related activities

J62.01. Computer programming activities

G47—Retail trade, except of motor vehicles and motorcycles

G47.61. Retail sale of books in specialised stores

G47.62. Retail sale of newspapers and stationery in specialised stores

47.621. Trg.dr.prd.s časopisi in revijami

47.622. Trg.dr.prd.s papirjem in pisalnimi potr.

G47.63. Retail sale of music and video recordings in specialised stores

AREA 4—Creative industries related to the world of services

G47—Retail trade, except of motor vehicles and motorcycles

47.630. Trg.dr.prd.z glasbenimi in video zapisi

47.782. Trg.dr.prd.z umetniškimi izd

J63—Information service activities

J63.1. Data processing, hosting and related activities; web portals

63.110. Obdelava podatkov in s tem povezane dej

63.120. Obratovanje spletnih portalov

J63.9. Other information service activities (News agencies)

63.910. Dej.tiskovnih agencij

63.990. Dr.informiranje

M70—Activities of head offices; management consultancy activities

70.210. Dej.stikov z javnostjo

M72—Scientific research and development

72.200. Raz.-razv.dej.v družbos.in humanistiki

M73—Advertising and market research

73.200. Raziskovanje trga in javnega mnenja

M74. Other professional, scientific and technical activities

M74.1. Specialised design activities

M74.2. Photographic activities

M74.3. Translation and interpretation activities

N81—Services to buildings and landscape activities

81.300. Urej.in vzdrž.zelenih površin in okolice

N82—Office administrative, office support and other business support activities

N82.3. Organisation of conventions and trade shows (including organisation of exhibitions)

P85—Education

R85.52. Cultural education

, for firms in each area):

• Area 1: activities of preservation and enhancement of historical and artistic heritage (HERITAGE);
• Area 2: non-reproducible activities of cultural goods and services, such as performing and visual arts (ARTS);
• Area 3: activities related to the production of cultural goods according to a logic of industrial repeatability, as cultural industries (CULTURAL);
• Area 4: creative industries related to the world of services (SERVICES).

The data assessment scanned and located CCIs within their territory, mapped their intensity and patterns of production, and rendered datascapes (maps, infographics, etc.) in accordance with such a classification. The quantitative mapping assigned a numerical representation for the entity, size, and other qualities of CCIs in the three regions. Furthermore, this classification was intertwined with the spatial and geographical distribution of the firms and their attributes. This highlights the consistency and counts of firms at three levels: the regional and provincial levels given by Eurostat Nomenclature of Territorial Units For Statistics, referred to as NUTS 2 and NUTS 3, and the DIVA transborder area Italy-Slovenia level. Additionally, in Veneto it considers provinces that are not included within the Interreg project. Their localisation is then paired with CCI enterprises’ legal status, organisational form (Appendix A, Table A3 and Table A4), and years in business, average turnover and number of employees. This multifaceted approach allowed us to overcome the limits of qualitative approaches, which rely on small samples; while here, we used larger survey samples to develop a comprehensive map of the regional spread of CCIs.

4.3. SWOT Analysis

The SWOT analysis draws on 90 semi-structured interviews. Thirty (30) interviews were conducted in each of the three regions, 15 with CCIs and 15 with SMEs (see Appendix A,

Table A5. CCI interviewees and their business sectors distribution.

CCI Business Sectors	Number of CCI Firms
	FVG	SLO	VEN
audiovisual sector	3
consultancy/services		3	3
creative service providers	2		2
cultural education		1	1
cultural properties	1
fashion	1		1
food industry	1
ict	1
visual and performing arts	3	7	7
marketing	2
membership organization		4	1
science museum	1
Sub-regional total	15	15	15
Total Interviewees	45

for further details on CCIs’). The number of interviews in each region was discussed and decided during the first DIVA project Technical Committee on 6 August 2019, which took place at the University of Nova Gorica. The partners agreed on the feasible, representative number of 30 firms to be interviewed for their respective territories. Interviewees were selected using purposive sampling techniques that allow for a deliberate selection of key informants. The goal of purposive sampling is not to achieve a pre-specified number of participants, but rather to speak with people who are intimately familiar with the phenomenon under investigation [40]. The interviews achieved data saturation, meaning they were likely representative of the wider regional context. Moreover, the quantitative part of the research, showcasing in the CCIs mapping and the webapp, further bolstered this qualitative element. With these two approaches combined together, the research achieved triangulation regarding the spatial contexts of CCIs and SMEs.

Local project partners who were already in contact with CCI and SME actors in the regions conducted the qualitative interviews. These partners were Area Science Park in Friuli Venezia Giulia, various partners coordinated by the GZS Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Slovenia, and Regione Veneto in Veneto. Interviews took place at the respective locations of the operating partners for the Friuli Venezia Giulia and western Slovenia regions between November 2019 and January 2020, while interviews were carried out remotely in the Veneto region between February and March 2020 due to COVID-19 restrictions. The interview track was designed by the Università Iuav di Venezia team (DIVA research partner) with variable questions depending on interviewee qualities (CCI vs traditional; SME vs freelance individual, etc.). A test of the interview tracks—leading to subsequent question refinement—was carried out by Iuav researchers during October and November 2019 through 4 pilot interviews with 2 CCIs and 2 SMEs for each region. Candidate firms were proposed by the Chambers of Commerce of Slovenia and Veneto and Area Science Park, respectively for their region.

The interview first focused on the biography of the company, including quality, size, location, mission, and the nature of the business. Next, the interview asked about business location choices and how territory impacted activities. Finally, the interview enquired about potential collaboration between CCIs and traditional manufacturing (if they have ever/would like to participate), innovation (such as collaborative pathways between CCI-traditional industry) and art/design thinking (the potential of art and/or design practices and processes).

Moreover, the interview investigated obstacles to collaboration and innovation, exploring if these obstacles were immaterial, material, endogenous or exogenous (lack of events, logistical difficulties, urban space, inhibiting relationships, etc.). The results of this users’ needs survey were analysed and included in a SWOT analysis to identify strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of geographies and existing collaborations between CCI and traditional enterprises. The first two components of the SWOT analysis (strengths and weaknesses) are related to the internal features of the enterprise. The second two, opportunities and threats, refer to external conditions that must be considered but that the firm does not control. Moreover, the SWOT analysis considered the firm’s present and past situation (within strengths and weaknesses) and the future aspirations and plans (opportunities and threats).

The project partners at regional public events in 2020 and 2021 officially presented the SWOT analysis. The Iuav team conducted a synthesis at the transnational level, highlighting commonalities and differences among the regions and making some initial policy recommendations. The SWOT’s aim is to support policymaking for future strategies of matchmaking and collaboration between CCIs and SMEs.

5. Results

5.1. Three Regional CCIs Systems in the Transborder Area

Before outlining the core mapping results, it is worthwhile to outline the regional contexts and the resulting cultural and creative production systems of Veneto, Friuli Venezia Giulia, and western Slovenia, as a preliminary research result.

Such restitution acts as a background against which core mapping results can be framed and related. In fact, it collects data and evaluations coming from the main report and mappings to which the research has been referring to, also discussed in this study within Section 2 and Section 4.

Among the three regional CCIs systems in the transborder area, in the 2019 pre COVID-19 era, the cultural and creative sector represented an important part of Veneto Region’s economy. According to Fondazione Symbola report [39], the CCIs production system of Veneto produced an added value of about 8,103,000,000 Euros and it employed about 140,700 people. These two numbers account for 5.5% of added value and 6% of employees in the total national economy, and 8.9% and 9.4% of the CCIs national data [39]. Due to the productive specialisation of its territories, Veneto is roughly balanced between the cultural (2.8%) and creative-driven enterprises (2.7%) [39]. The regional dispersed and manufacturing-based settlement influences CCI localisation, quality and specialisation. Four provinces of Veneto Region’s territories rank in the top 20 Italian provinces by the ratio of cultural and creative production systems to the total provincial enterprises. Venice, the regional capital, ranks at 34.5 for overall CC performance in the Cultural and Creative Cities Index [41].

Friuli Venezia Giulia’s cultural and creative regional system in 2019 produced an added value of about 1,849,000,000 Euros and employed 31,800 workers. Those values accounted for 5.3% (added value) and 5.8% (employment) in the national economy, and 2% (added value) and 2.1% (employment) of the national CCI contribution [39].

The region is also balanced between core cultural and creative-driven enterprises for added value, 2.7% to 2.7% respectively [39]. Moreover, Friuli Venezia Giulia’s regional capital is in the fifth position among the top 20 Italian provinces in terms of contribution of the Cultural and Creative Production System to the local economy. As a percentage of the total economy, it amounts to 7.1% of the added value and 7.4% of employment [39]. The overall CC performance of Trieste is rated at 24.7 on the Creative and Cultural Cities Monitor [42]. In Trieste, the majority of CCIs belong to the core cultural sector, which accounts for 4% (added value) and 4.4% (employment) while the creative driven sector accounts for 3.1% (added value) and 3% (employment). Like Venice, Trieste has been selected to host international cultural festivals, such as the film and short movie festivals. Other regional provinces have gained European attention: for example, Gorizia and Nova Gorica have been jointly nominated as cross-border and transnational European Capital of Culture 2025.

Finally, in western Slovenia, the CzK, Center za kreativnost (Creativity Centre), conducted a recent analysis of Slovenian CCIs [43]. The CzK considers all sectors based around cultural values and/or artistic and other creative expressions to be CCIs, regardless of whether the activities are market-oriented or how the organisation is structured and financed. Such activities include development, creativity, production, disseminating and maintaining goods and services with cultural, artistic or other creative expressions, and all adjacent activities like education and management. According to CzK research (2017 data), CCIs in Slovenia represent more than 10% of all registered organisational units and more than 8% of all active companies. In the same year, CCIs made more income than the chemistry industry and nearly as much as electronics manufacturing. CC companies contributed 3.5% to the Slovenian GDP, with the GDP per employee (45,527 €) being higher than the national average (43,210 €). Given this context, Ljubljana scores 27.3 on the Cultural and Creative Cities Index [44]. The high score in creative economy reflects the fact that Ljubljana has been a UNESCO Creative City since 2015 due to its centrality in literary creation. The city was bestowed the title of World Book Capital and was the first city to host the World Book Summit, during which the Ljubljana Resolution on books outlined the importance of books as key drivers of sustainable development and cultural diversity [8].

5.2. CCIs Geographies of the Transborder Region

One major outcome of the DIVA research is the spatial mapping of the CCIs in the transborder regions between Italy and Slovenia (Figure 3). This was achieved through quantitative mapping using enterprise NACE codes that were later processed and visualised through the webapp ArcGIS Insights. This includes spatial mapping and data visualisation with histograms, tree maps, pie charts, and boxplots (

Table 2. CCIs firms number (regional and provincial breakdown).

Italy	Veneto	Province	Padova	Treviso	Verona	Vicenza	Venice	Rovigo	Belluno	Regional Total	Country Total
		Firms n.	3295	2594	2769	2436	2369	519	372	14,354	17,711
	Friuli Venezia Giulia	Province	Udine	Pordenone		Trieste		Gorizia		3357
		Firms n.	1576	786		670		325
Slovenia	Western Slovenia	Province	Ljubljana	Gorenjska		Obalno Kraška	Goriška	Primorsko-Notranjska		17,339	17,339
		Firms n.	11,877	2323		1391	1295	453

, Figure 3 and following). The spatial and quantitative comparison between the three regions in CCI distribution analysis can inform policymakers as they design more integrated and territorial policies for sustainable development and innovation.

In fact, a set of indicators related to countries and their provinces and regions [45] has been associated with each target of the SDGs concerning, e.g., informal employment, tourism direct GDP, direct participation structure of civil society in urban planning, etc. They allow measuring national capacity and ability to reach the targets that have been set for each development goal. On one hand the possibility to get statistical homogenised and comparable data concerning socio-economic phenomena at global level is an important achievement. On the other hand, the indicators look quite detached by the territorial dimension of socio-economic phenomena themselves, and the risk is to address issues and problems through sectorial, no coordinated policies, even conflicting among each other [46,47]. In such a perspective, DIVA project put forward the restitution of CCIs spatial distribution informed by SDGs, in order to inform national policy making and help it to be more integrated, thus effective.

In the transborder region, 35,050 firms are considered CCIs, excluding cultural and creative professionals working within traditional manufacturing and industrial enterprises. The numerical breakdown between countries, regions and provinces is shown in Table 2 and the proportion among countries and provinces in Figure 4. This subdivision is also displayed by the map outlining the territorial settlement (Figure 3).

When considering the DIVA mapping classification system within the whole transborder area (Section 4.2), the fewest firms belong to Area 1 (Heritage), undertaking activities of preservation and the enhancement of historical and artistic heritage (

Table 3. Number of CCI firms in the transborder area by activity classification.

CCI Firms by Activity Classification	Number	%
Heritage (Area 1)	334	0.9
Arts (Area 2)	5971	16.7
Cultural (Area 3)	9933	27.7
Services (Area 4)	18,803	52.5
Total	35,803

). Meanwhile, regarding firms belonging to Area 4 (Services), the creative industries related to the world of services nearly reach 20,000. Area 2 (Arts), the non-reproducible activities of cultural goods and services, and Area 3 (Cultural), activities related to the production of cultural goods according to a logic of industrial repeatability, taken together manage to cope with the number of Area 4 (Services). For in-depth data classifications, refer to Appendix A.

When examining single area distributions within the regional transborder area (Figure 5), settlement patterns reveal more about the variegated nature of the CCIs. In general, their spatial distribution pattern seems, in most cases, to disregard administrative borders.

Specifically, the Area 1 (Heritage) activities have a diffuse spatial distribution that nevertheless seems to map onto cities setup in each of the three regions. In fact, these firms’ activities are strictly connected with the built environment and the values of historical urban centres and architectural masterpieces. The Area 1 distribution follows a polycentric model in Veneto region, a more diffuse one for Friuli Venezia Giulia and a radio-centric distribution with its core in the city of Ljubljana for western Slovenia.

The firms belonging to Area 2 (Arts) and Area 3 (Cultural) have more consistent numbers and spatial patterns, being drawn to the largest urban centres of the three regions and the Italian–Slovenian border.

Finally, the activities classified as Area 4 (Services) are the most frequent (slightly outnumbering Areas 2 and 3 combined) and, like the other areas, are attracted to the urban centres of the three regions. However, they also occupy the remaining territory, i.e., that part of the productive territory comprising regional districts and sprawled industrial zones, as described in Section 3.

The research also mapped firms by size and legal status (business organisation). Those features are particularly relevant when analysing the territorial patterns of the transborder area. Considering the dimensional aspect, most of the firms are micro-enterprises (84% of firms), namely an enterprise which employs fewer than 10 persons and whose annual turnover does not exceed EUR 2 million, while small-sized organisations account for 4.4% with fewer than 50 employees and annual turnover not exceeding EUR 10 million. Conversely, medium-sized firms account for 1.2%, and large firms for 0.65% (refer to

Table 4. CCIs classification by size and legal status.

CCIs Classification
Firms size	Number	%
Large	233	0.7
Medium	437	1.2
Small	1560	4.5
Micro	30,043	85.7
Other	2777	7.9
Legal status	Number	%
Individual	19,645	56.0
Private	14,173	40.4
Public	1087	3.1
Not classified	145	0.4

and Figure 6 for complete firms accounting). The majority of micro and small enterprises, matching the prevalence of individual business organizations, indicates that a special attention should be paid to the localization element, since such kinds of firms have specific needs concerning services provision, mobility infrastructures, and networking opportunities.

Moreover, Figure 7 shows that as the size of the enterprise increases, so does the attraction to urban agglomerations and cities with 233 large firms gravitating around the main provinces of Verona, Vicenza, Padua, Venice, Treviso, Pordenone, Udine, Trieste, and Ljubljana, while of the 437 medium, a part follows the same urban centric pattern and the other the specific regional one (sprawled in Veneto, polycentric in Friuli Venezia Giulia and centralised in western Slovenia).

The mapping also classified firms by their legal status/organisational forms (individual, private or public). The majority of firms (55%) have individual legal status and amount to 19,645. The research also identified the quantity and distribution of private firms (40%) and public firms (3%) (Table 4 and Figure 8). It was important to measure and spatialize the number of individual firms and to distinguish them from private ones because it was instrumental for the research to create evidence of the need for public policies to act on such a fragmented and atomised productive fabric that needs territorial support to facilitate its own maintenance, mobility, and interaction.

Moreover, that individual firms are the majority in the transborder area supports the idea that CC sector firms are predominantly mono and micro-sized. The spatial distribution mapped using the webapp suggests that many micro-enterprises are in fact individual firms having just one worker (Figure 9), thus posing certain questions in regard to the urban territories [48,49]. Indeed, individual firms, i.e., single individuals, will search for services and infrastructure in the district they refer to for working, since they cannot afford them in/for their own premises.

Connections and relationships with the three regional territories and their productive patterns emerge upon closer analysis of the geographical spread of CCIs (Figure 10). The CC enterprises generally follow the process of agglomeration around the most populated urban areas, relying on a high rate of accessible, diversified mobility infrastructure, and density of fellow cultural and creative firms.

However, some areas support a more dispersed spatial distribution through the widespread productive fabric and suitable infrastructural network. For example, in central Veneto and the inner areas of Friuli Venezia Giulia and Slovenia, patterns, such as filaments along the axes of vehicular mobility and small agglomerations around secondary and tertiary urban centres, are observed.

The 4 CCIs areas have similar spatial patterns and configurations in the urban areas and agglomerations within the polycentric setup of Friuli Venezia Giulia and Veneto, and around Ljubljana (Figure 11). Different spatial patterns for the same CCI classification areas are also evident, depending on regional localisation (Figure 12). Spatial distribution along filaments structured by mobility infrastructures occurs in western Slovenia, while the territorial network setups composed of intermediate urban nodes characterise some areas in north-western Slovenia and northern Veneto. The dispersed distribution may also follow the territorial layout, as in the case of the diffuse city in the Central Veneto area or the harbour city and coastline setup in Friuli Venezia Giulia where manufacturing activities are localised (Figure 13).

This distribution appears to follow some rules of localisation, accessibility, and functions of agglomeration. For example, Art and Heritage CCI Areas are associated with historical and architectural buildings and require a cultural ecosystem fostered by museums, galleries, universities, academies, and cultural centres. They also need a critical mass of receptive and appreciative people such as a well-educated public and tourists. In contrast, Cultural and Services CCI Areas are connected to the cultural and creative ecosystems concentrated within major urban agglomerations such as universities, fablabs, and scientific and technological parks. The positional features emerging from the mapping confirm the already established territorial attractiveness of cities for the CC sectors. However, the maps also depict a diffuse territorial arrangement that follows another kind of settlement rules, that may be of interest for integrated policymaking. Combining information coming from the quantitative mapping per region and province, with the three classification (by area, size and legal status) and their territorial localization and patterns, provides an unprecedented tool for integrated, place-based policy-making.

5.3. CCIs Geographies and Needs on Territorial Setups

Interviews were conducted to better understand the needs of CCIs for trans-sectorial collaboration. The results were analysed and have been included in a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) analysis conducted by regional partners (Section 4.3). Respectively, the article refers exclusively to the results emerging from the section of the survey enquiring about the influence of business geographies on collaboration possibilities, while the part concerning the exchange among CCIs and SMEs has been reported elsewhere [7]. Therefore, this analysis examines the cultural and creative firms’ geographies and the influence of the built environment and localisation in their collaboration practices.

Specifically, CCIs were asked questions concerning their localization choice with its level of accessibility and clustering; the kind of building they operate into, both from an architectural perspective (new or reused) and current use (mixed, mono-functional, coworking), finally the opportunities and criticalities presented by their localization and premises.

Considering localization choices, they were made with respect to several reasons, related to birth and family ties; secondly to cultural reasons related to specific symbolic links with the individual founders’ history, the firm vision, and the regional specificity; thirdly to agglomeration dynamics that follow the demand-offer rule for the services and products provided by the firm itself.

Several interviewees from the three regions, company founders/CEOs or individual firms, have chosen to settle in a certain area or city because they were born there, as in the case of a theatrical production in Veneto region: ‘we were born in this region’, or an artistic digital agency in Slovenia: ‘personal residence made me set up my own business in the region’ and the CEO of a creative studio in Friuli Venezia Giulia, ‘Blood. My grandfather was from Gorizia and he was sent to Argentina at the age of 13 to escape the war and he lived in Argentina all his life. I never knew him and I came to see what Gorizia was, what Friuli Venezia Giulia was. Then one thing led to another, […] I met what is now my wife and my producer, we work together, so it’s a family business, so let’s say it was a destiny rather than a choice’.

In some cases, location has been chosen for cultural reasons, as stated by the head of the exhibition design and production team of a Veneto firm, ‘I moved to this region at the end of 2011 and I liked how the people are proactive, hard workers but also able to enjoy life’. Or a contemporary inter-media bio-artist ‘the huge benefits of the Slovenian region are the familiarity with the network of the cultural institutions and the actors involved in supporting artistic production. It is the reason why I still continue to produce work in Slovenia, although sometimes it is logistically difficult while I most of the time live in Amsterdam’. Even symbolic reasons, the founder of an artistic perfumery house in Veneto ‘worked more than 15 years in fashion industry, and 7 years of which abroad in Belgium and France before deciding to come back home with my family to create something with a purpose, with my inner vision of saying and witnessing something big’.

Many decided to settle or be operative in a certain region because of agglomeration and clustering dynamics. As stated by the chairman of a cultural association ‘Veneto is a region rich in cultural and entertainment requests, including historical re-enactment events’, or a cultural hub: ‘we try to be connected with a network of other cultural institutions, universities and curators of cities both in Italy and abroad. Both Venice and Padova are strategic areas for the regional policy of sustainable cultural tourism based on the safeguard and promotion of tangible and intangible heritage, with the presence in Venice of the Office of the Council of Europe, a strategic partner for us’. A Slovenian artist dealing with music, robotic, and unmanned technologies explained how both his for-profit firm and the NGO were located respectively ‘in Ajdovščina because it is the centre of Slovenian aerospace, incredibly good local support from mayors who understand entrepreneurship, and there was a University opening a new building’ and ‘with the no profit in Ljubljana since at the time I was living there and we are in a coworking at Osmoza’.

In some cases, it is not the offer-demand rule or the presence of similar or complementary production firms to make cultural and creative sectors settle in a certain location, but the location itself that is seen as a business asset, as in the case of a certain city or region possessing built and natural heritage. ‘We decided to setup our business here because the region of Dolomites features some of the most beautiful mountain landscapes in the world, included in the World Heritage List’ (cultural association founder).

The level of accessibility and mobility infrastructure is also crucial to certain types of cultural and creative industries, such as in the case of fablabs ‘Technology park is strongly connected both to the historical city of Venice, the main cultural pole of the area, and to the historical productive area of Porto Marghera. This is a strategic location, being close to the city but also easy to reach for clients and suppliers’. While the director of a Internet of Things agency assesses the reason from relocating from another region in Italy to Trieste was to be closer to a very good start-up incubator, and its proximity to their main market ‘From this geographical position we can easily reach Triveneto (historical region of Italy including three Italian regions of Veneto, Friuli Venezia Giulia and Trentino Alto Adige), which is an important part of Italian wine production for global export, so a company that wants to work on that, must have an operative branch here’. Even individual firms request this kind of connectivity, such as a Slovenian self-employed in the cultural sector that states ‘I keep my base in Slovenia (Ljubljana) because I believe it has a good strategic position towards all parts of Europe and the world. The country itself has a decent healthcare and social system, which allows me to work freely (so far). I do miss better plane and train connections, but I successfully overcome these problems’.

It is also interesting to see how some make advantage of the transborder area condition; a sound designer from Slovenia has labelled his localization choice as “a geo-location. It’s nice because we are near the border with Italy, where we collaborate and work a lot. We are also located near the capital city of Slovenia—Ljubljana, where we also maintain different activities (custom solutions for various customers, workshops…)’.

A common theme emerging across the three regions is that CCIs benefit from shared coworking settings that provide services and facilitate the exchange of ideas, experiences, and good practices. A freelance artist in western Slovenia states ‘I have my studio at Tobačna (Old Tobacco Factory) in Ljubljana. They gave it out to artists through an open call for 5 years. It is a mixed-use building with offices and ateliers. I wish to share my studio and workshop with more people (but would need a bigger space), for coworking and therefore easier collaborations’. While the founder and CEO of a digital communication and events management company based in Veneto, because ’many businesses in Veneto region need our services and products’, considers coworking also in relation to neighbourhood activities, ‘we consider our street a co-working space since our partners graphic designers operate in front of our office’. A director of a creative studio based in Friuli Venezia Giulia, working in media and communication contents, explained they ‘are setup in a reused premise converted in a coworking space, that earlier was a popular stationery shop in Trieste—a sort of symbolic, attractive place, that gave the name to the corner of the building itself becoming a city landmark’.

From an architectural perspective then, new and reused buildings have come to be seen as solutions for businesses. A musician from western Slovenia asserts ‘Yes, the building was a carpentry building back in the days and now we have transformed it into a studio’. Reuse of empty buildings allows not only to be settled within premises with a certain atmosphere that is appreciated both by CCIs and their networks of clients and collaborators, but also to be located in central areas that have all the benefits earlier mentioned in terms of clustering and accessibility, such as the case of association devoted to cultural interaction in Vicenza province, hosted in the ‘Fenster Laboratori’, a converted artisan space, once a shoe factory and the building dates back to the early 1900s.

The transborder SWOT analysis stemming from the survey confirms the centrality of location for CCIs and the core relationship between their location and the main regional productive setups, which therefore refers to specific contextual issues. However, as from the interviews, some common aspects emerge and the following is a synthesis of issues concerning business geographies at the transborder regional scale, useful to provide feedback to integrated transnational policy-making aiming at sustainable development (

Table 5. Transborder SWOT analysis of business geographies.

Strengths	Weaknesses
- CCIs located in urban settings are easily reachable on public transportation and can benefit from the agglomeration dynamics via job, collaboration opportunities/networking and visibility - CCIs has distinctive placement within urban environments since cities are rich in knowledge-based institutions and firms, which constitute the ideal partners for cultural and creative organisations. > Those first two points are confirmed by CCIs mapping and the spatial configurations of Figure 4 and Figure 11. The latter also confirms the kind of CCIs interviewed that is more attracted to bigger cities and urban nodes. - CCIs located in smaller towns or rural environments have lower operating costs and less stressful, more collaborative environments. > Such location choice is confirmed by the CCIs mapping in Figure 6 and Figure 12, the latter related to the firms size and the bond occurring between micro and small firms and the territorial context. - Aggregation of several CCIs in one building, sometimes former industrial buildings and re-used spaces, and connected to a co-working setting, that offer provision for more services and the presence of open and co-working spaces that facilitates exchange of ideas, experiences and good practices and favours possibilities of business cooperation. > Such strength is matching with the CCIs mapping outcome related to inner or dispersed urbanized settings such as in Figure 13, with especially CCIs of Area 4 (Services) setup. - Work carried out at home or owned space, allows a lower rate of operating costs and it is a source of inspiration and creative opportunities not needing big building space. In other cases, the strength resides in using different dedicated spaces (company’s spaces, workshops, laboratories, etc.) in order to be more flexible/mobile.	- Working from home or owned company spaces can cause isolation, difficulty balancing work with private life, and a poorer utilisation of space. - Coworking spaces or shared workshops have higher operating costs, can be distracting for workers and often there is no idea exchange or business collaboration services given by co-workers ignorance of coworking attitude and concept. - Urban locations are more expensive with higher operating costs. - Rural areas and small towns offer poorer visibility in the market and lack of connections (both human and infrastructural/transportation). - A common weakness is the propensity to individuality of CCIs that often leads to non-shared arrangements that are detrimental to growth and development.
Opportunities	Threats
- CCIs based in technology parks, business incubation facilities, or coworking spaces that provide advantages like networking opportunities, business support services, visibility, and prestige > CCIs mapping confirms attractiveness of urban nodes, as Figure 11, Figure 12 and Figure 13 shows. - Regional benefits and subsidies for the cultural and creative sector, regional policy initiatives promoting access to better-equipped locations or improvement of existing ones, and financial incentives from development funds for localisation in rural environments.	- Spatial issue in the fragmentation of work carried out in different locations spread in a vast territory and the unsuitability of rented spaces (no influence over the state of the building, high rents). - CCIs may also overvalue their space and location to the detriment of immaterial resources such as time to experiment and innovate.

).

6. Discussion

The discussion of results is conducted matching the SDGs addressed in the theoretical framework (Section 2.1) with the outcome of mapping and the location choices emerging from needs survey and SWOT analysis of businesses geographies (Section 5.2 and Section 5.3).

From the interaction of such results, it emerges a strong correlation among the three elements analysed in this contribution:

• Policy targets: Sustainable Development Goals concerning cities and regional development (particularly SDG 8–11);
• Stakeholders: CCIs classified areas (Art, Culture, Heritage and Services) and their needs;
• Territorial setups: CCIs spatial patterns and urban configurations (Figure 5, Figure 6, Figure 7, Figure 8, Figure 9, Figure 10, Figure 11, Figure 12 and Figure 13).

This correlation makes evident the role of territorial dimension as the mediating element between policy goals/targets and the stakeholders to which they are addressed, and as the element of policy-making integration among different sectors. Such a level of integration specifically requested by the UN 2030 Urban Agenda for Sustainable Development principles, on which the SDG policy targets themselves are based [8]. The resolution specifically states at the point 13 that ‘the challenges and commitments are interrelated and call for integrated solutions. To address them effectively, a new approach is needed’.

Since the interconnections among economic, social, and environmental aspects for sustainable development are recognized, they need to be addressed by specific integrated policies, or sectorial policies promoting inter-sectorial actions. This contribution discusses DIVA research results by drawing some policy recommendations concerning integrated policies (urban, cultural, tourism, development) that address CCIs territorial setups and their built environments.

Specifically, the discussion of the results addresses the SDGs goals and targets directly considering the territorial dimension of the mapped transborder region (Section 5.2) and keeping the matching indicators [50] on the background. In fact, indicators that are used to measure national capacity to reach the targets that have been set for each development goal (e.g., informal employment, tourism direct GDP, direct participation structure of civil society in urban planning, national urban policies or regional development plans that respond to population dynamics or increase local fiscal space, etc.) can give a first comparable idea of the regional situations at the national and global level, while they seem to be too distant from providing the territorial dimension of such socio-economic phenomena, and therefore detached from local needs and policies.

The following is a proposal to overcome such limitations, and thus contribute to the global discussion and knowledge production on SDGs, from a regional and transborder perspective.

DIVA transborder mapping, together with the SWOT analysis, confirms the importance of taking into account the regional and territorial features while enacting a sustainable approach aiming at innovating existing productive systems, and support and empower creative and cultural stakeholders. The spatial distribution of CCIs with its recurrences and overlays with the spatial patterns of traditional production, and the SWOT analysis outcomes together with the preliminary survey assessing business needs, reveal that frequent and intense exchange is needed for fruitful cooperation to occur, despite the fact that territorial proximity already occurs in both the CCIs and traditional production sectors. Maybe it is not a matter of spatial proximity only, but also the quality of the space offering opportunities to liaise, as well as the integration of sectorial policies taking into consideration the spatial patterns, as suggested with the descriptors of recommendations on integrated policies (

Table 6. Policy recommendations based on United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG).

SDG	CCI Area Involved	Spatial Pattern as Policy Integration Element	Descriptors of Recommendations on Integrated Policies (Urban, Cultural, Tourism, Development)
SDG 8
Target 8.3 Promote development-oriented policies that support productive activities, decent job creation, entrepreneurship, creativity and innovation, and encourage the formalization and growth of micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises, including through access to financial services.	Area 1—Heritage Area 2—Art Area 3—Cultural Area 4—Services	Concentration around Urban Areas of Great Attraction and Agglomeration (Figure 11), Dispersed distribution following territorial layout—sprawl city and industrial districts (Figure 13), SWOT opportunities	Urban policies devoted to urban reactivation of dismissed productive areas and empty commercial premises located in strategic regional areas, and small and medium city centres should promote start-ups incubation and entrepreneurial approaches.
		Concentration around Urban Areas of Great Attraction and Agglomeration (Figure 11)	Cultural policies could involve craftsmanship and SMEs activities through cultural institutions action located in city centres putting forward programmes aiming at promoting successful entrepreneurial stories from dispersed territories.
		Dispersed distribution following territorial layout—Sprawl city and industrial districts (Figure 13)	Development policies aiming at fostering industrial competitiveness should take into account dispersed CCIs spatial distribution and work jointly with welfare policies and policies devoted to mobility infrastructure and services in order to attract more informal enterprises from cultural and creative sectors, seen as profiting and enabling to liaison with SMEs.
Target 8.9 By 2030, devise and implement policies to promote sustainable tourism that creates jobs and promotes local culture and products.	Area 1—Heritage Area 2—Art Area 3—Cultural	Distribution in filaments following mobility infrastructures, geographical layouts, or mixed with urban nodes (Figure 12)	Cultural policies should include in slow tourism routes formerly dismissed buildings and spaces (from production and services premises) and reused as sites for CCIs-SMEs collaborations that would offer new opportunities for product showcasing and selling.
		Dispersed distribution following territorial layout: (Figure 13)	Fostering the creation of collaborations oriented towards the upgrading and innovation of traditional manufacturing and craftsmanship based on material and human resources of existing production sites (districts/clusters) in order to sustain local culture and products, built environment and material heritage.
SDG 11
Target 11.3 By 2030, enhance inclusive and sustainable urbanization and capacity for participatory, integrated and sustainable human settlement planning and management in all countries.	Area 1—Heritage Area 2—Art Area 4—Services	Concentration around Urban Areas of Great Attraction and Agglomeration (Figure 11) Distribution in filaments following mobility infrastructures, geographical layouts, or mixed with urban nodes (Figure 12)	Urban policy oriented towards territorial renewal and urban regeneration should take into account reuse of urban spaces and premises through CCIs and SMEs settlement, their close proximity, and their matching/collaboration, in synergy with industrial development policies.
		Distribution in filaments following mobility infrastructures, geographical layouts, or mixed with urban nodes (Figure 12). Dispersed distribution following territorial layout (Figure 13).	Cultural and development policies should consider stakeholders’ settlement/localization choices, and stimulate through funding/subsidies CCIs and SMEs willing to set up in reused and mixed-use premises.
		Concentration around Urban Areas of Great Attraction and Agglomeration (Figure 11). Distribution in filaments following mobility infrastructures, geographical layouts, mixed with urban nodes (Figure 12). Dispersed distribution following territorial layout (Figure 13)	Urban policies oriented towards the implementation of urban regeneration processes should involve both traditional production and cultural and creative stakeholders into participating and acting, both in individual and groups capacity, with formal or informal setups.
		Dispersed distribution following territorial layout such as industrial districts and sprawled urbanisation (Figure 13)	Urban policies addressing bottom-up urban transformation processes lead by CCIs/SMEs collaborations should sustain them through plans and schemes considering urban services and public mobility provision, while ameliorating wider public infrastructure.
Target 11.4: Strengthen efforts to protect and safeguard the world’s cultural and natural heritage	Area 1—Heritage Area 3—Cultural Area 4—Services	Concentration around Urban Areas of Great Attraction and Agglomeration (Figure 11)	Preservation policies should be more integrated with urban policies related to land/building use, to promptly address the reuse of built heritage by CC sectors, and avoid the phenomenon of abandoned built heritage.
		Concentration around Urban Areas of Great Attraction and Agglomeration (Figure 11). Distribution in filaments following mobility infrastructures, geographical layouts, or mixed with urban nodes (Figure 12). Dispersed distribution following territorial layout (Figure 13)	Preservation and urban policies should work together in order to reallocate the new needs for space put forward by CCIs and SMEs in terms of square metres requirements, and accessibility, in order to contain further land exploitation and preserve natural heritage, in this sense central locations (both in urban and rural setups) are ideal.
		Distribution in filaments following mobility infrastructures, geographical layouts, or mixed with urban nodes (Figure 12)	Cultural policies should favour CCIs-SMEs that are fostering and valorizing cultural and natural heritage, such as territory and geographical history, historical productions and fragile ecosystems while innovating their protection through story-telling and digital devices.
		Distribution in filaments following mobility infrastructures, geographical layouts, or mixed with urban nodes (Figure 12)	Cultural policies and tourism policies should address issues of overcrowded attendance of cultural and natural heritage through funding CCIs-SMEs collaboration into setting up new routes.
Target 11.7: By 2030, provide universal access to safe, inclusive and accessible, green and public spaces, in particular for women and children, older persons and persons with disabilities.	Area 1—Heritage Area 4—Services	Concentration around Urban Areas of Great Attraction and Agglomeration (Figure 11). Distribution in filaments following mobility infrastructures, geographical layouts, or mixed with urban nodes (Figure 12)	Promoting cultural policies favouring CCIs-SMEs collaboration in products and services aiming to enrich public or collective open spaces and services, with devices for transgenerational targets (children and older people).
		Dispersed distribution following territorial layout (Figure 13)	Development policies should favour CCIs-SMEs collaborations favouring the ones aiming at recovering dismissed industrial areas, to render them accessible urban spaces with also public programs useful to all.
		Concentration around Urban Areas of Great Attraction and Agglomeration (Figure 11) Distribution in filaments following mobility infrastructures, geographical layouts, or mixed with urban nodes (Figure 12)	Urban policies addressing public and green spaces accessibility should support CCIs and SMEs collaborations aiming at rendering them accessible for persons using wheelchairs or parents with baby buggies.

).

Indeed, the implementation of policies towards such integration goals can be quite complicated, considering the overall internal and external conditions present at regional, national and European level. One of the difficulties seemingly shared among all three regions is encountered in the ability to execute the integration, especially when dealing with immaterial and spatial phenomena such as those related to production and the city with its territorial setups, managed by different market rules and urban standards, many stakeholders not dialoguing, separated policy making processes. For instance, when dealing with CCIs or SMEs clustering and how to implement urban policies capable of supporting such processes without causing relocation effects [48,49]. Or, when helping small and medium-sized enterprises to innovate, through processes capable of making their often provincial and inaccessible operational locations more attractive [14,34].

7. Conclusions

This research was conducted under an Interreg funding programme and focused on mapping cultural and creative industries (CCIs) in the transborder area between Italy and Slovenia. This study analyses the spatial distribution of CCIs and assesses how their geographies contribute to practices of collaboration and innovative production with traditional small and medium enterprises (SMEs), which is promotive of the sustainable development of transborder regions.

By applying both quantitative and qualitative place-based methodologies and putting forward some policy recommendations matching UN SDGs related to production and cities, the major findings and remarks of this study are stated as follows:

• The research addressed CCIs mapping issues by introducing an appropriate general framework and a consistent mapping technique to systematically recognise place-based CC sectors’ contribution to both the economic and social fabric of a place.
• The extraction and alignment of the two countries’ data put forward in DIVA project is a major contribution to quantitative mapping and will provide a useful tool for public administrations, stakeholders, and policymakers at transnational level. Future research should focus on mapping the fifth area of the creative driven sector to have an even finer-grained mapping.
• Spatial (cluster) and territorial (district) proximity, or being based within the same premises (co-working, S&T parks), is an opportunity for firms as it encourages cooperation, exchange of ideas, innovation, and business possibilities. Therefore, from a policy-making perspective, clustering and spatial proximity between CCIs and SMEs should be fostered through urban policies aiming at introducing mixed-use areas including diverse functions, as well as cultural and economic policies promoting a place-based approach that addresses enterprises’ transnational localisation features.
• Enhancing both accessibility and mobility, as well as hosting firms’ major operational spaces in pilot co-locating premises of urban regeneration projects, could encourage spatial proximity. The building or urban site could be tailor made both for SMEs and CCIs and it could potentially become a landmark on citizens’ mental maps, addressing the CC sectors need to be located in a meaningful, symbolic place.
• Finally, by providing such a detailed socio-economic and territorial portray prior to COVID-19 pandemic, DIVA research results can be a relevant contribution to studies concerning the development of sustainable integrated policies for the post-pandemic reconstruction.