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A Model of Cooperation between Art & Business

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Abstract and Figures

After examining the theoretical context of reference, which for years has devoted ample space to research on the relationship between art and business organizations, the article explores results from the observation of 21 real case studies of collaboration between artists and companies, which took place in the last 5 years in the Veneto region, Italy. The aim will be outlines, in a completely experimental way, a model of cooperation able to illustrate the internal steps of collaboration between the artistic and entrepreneurial spheres and to understand how art is able to transfer cultural value to business.
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A MODEL OF COOPERATION BETWEEN ART & BUSINESS
Fabrizio Panozzo, Ca’ Foscari University, Department of Management, email: bauhaus@unive.it
(first author).
Silvia Cacciatore, Ca Foscari University, e-mail: silvia.cacciatore@unive.it. (corresponding
author).
Fabrizio Panozzo is Associate Professor in the Department of Management at Ca’ Foscari
University and a member of the MACLab (Laboratory for the Management of Arts and Cultures),
which he chaired from 2013 to 2016.
Silvia Cacciatore is a Research Fellow at Ca Foscari University of Venice and deals with issues
related to the economy and management of culture.
Compliance with Ethical Standards:
Funding: This study was funded by Ca’ Foscari University.
Author Fabrizio Panozzo is a member of the MACLab (Laboratory for the Management of Arts and
Cultures), Ca’ Foscari University.
Conflict of Interest: Author Silvia Cacciatore has received research grants from Ca’ Foscari
University Foundation.
Keywords: Artistic interventions in organizations, art-based approach, business.
Research Sector: Management of art.
A model of cooperation between Art & Business | Fabrizio Panozzo, Silvia Cacciatore
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A model of cooperation between Art & Business
Fabrizio Panozzo, Silvia Cacciatore
Literature review
For over thirty years, processes of interaction between the creative world and business reality have
been experimented internationally. The best-known approaches (Antal, Debucquet, & Frémeaux,
2018) are those started in 1970 in the United Kingdom by the artist-run organization Artist
Placement Group (APG), now called O+I (Organization and Imagination), which for the first time
he brought art out of conventional spaces, especially industrial realities or government offices. The
first interventions in the organizations were designed by Barbara Steveni and led by John Latham
and a group of British artists interested in experimenting with new artistic practices. Among them,
we remember Anna Ridley, Barry Flanagan, Ian Breakwell, Maurice Agis, David Hall, Jeffrey
Shaw, Ian Macdonald Munro, Stuart Brisley. Over the years, artists such as the Fluxus group, Yoko
Ono and Joseph Beuys also took part in the happenings organized by APG. If the artistic practice
can change society, then it must do it from within: this is how APG conceives its interventions, and
it is on these premises that artists first enter businesses, government institutions, universities
(Steveni, 2001). Only in recent years has the role and artistic and social value of the interventions
launched by the APG been recognized, as a precursor to subsequent residency programs in the
company which, in a short time, will find increasing space, as well as in England, in countries such
as Germany, the United States, Sweden, and Denmark.
Other relevant experiences (just think of projects such as ARTCOM- Artist in Residence at
Technology Companies of Massachusetts, developed by Boston Cyberarts to encourage the meeting
between artists and technological industries, or Canon's ARTLAB, up to the Italian example of
Olivetti, which in the seventies first promoted investments for the cultural sector and support for the
arts in our area, making the factory a place where art could bring creativity, knowledge, value) gave
rise to what he lent to become a new typology of interaction between the world of art and business.
In a recent study (Grzelec & Prata, 2013) it was highlighted how art experiences in the
company, which began more extensively in 1983, developed around 2003 and reached their
maximum increase around 2006, in which many organizations have begun to initiate more and more
such interventions. Defined as workarts (Barry & Meisiek, 2010) or art-based-initiatives (ABIs)
(Schiuma, 2011), the "artistic interventions in organizations" aim to bring «people, products and
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practices from the world of arts into of organizations» (Berthoin Antal, 2014: 177). If the term
"workart" brings together the words art, artifact and work, reversing the concept of artwork to
emphasize the «work that art does at work» (Barry & Meisiek, 2010: 1507), for Schiuma «an ABI
can be interpreted as any management action using one or more art forms to enable people to
undergo an aesthetic experience within an organization or at the intersection between the
organization and its external environment, as well as to embed the arts as a business asset»
(Schiuma, 2011: 47).
In Barry and Meisiek (2010: 1511-1522) a first classification of the various types of
relationship between arts and organizations is made: art collection, in which the works of art from
the corporate collection identify corporate values and stimulate the attention of employees, but
remain purely decorative if not promptly "activated" by changes of meaning by management; artist-
led intervention, in which «managers started to invite artists to explore work processes and their
environment together with organizational members» to bring the artists into contact with the
business world and positively influence the internal organization (Barry & Meisiek 2010: 1514).
Artistic experimentation, finally, encompasses all those practices that allow managers to bring
organizational change to their companies through experimentations related to artistic processes
(Barry & Meisiek 2010: 1517).
Schiuma (2011) sees three managerial forms of art-based-initiatives (ABIs), different not
only conceptually but for the important practical implications that each is capable of generating,
especially in terms of objectives and impact on the organization. We can, therefore, distinguish
between Arts-based interventions, «usually implemented with the aim of developing people's skills
and attitudes, for team-building purposes, and more generally to support individual and
organizational learning» (Schiuma 2011: 48), Art-based projects, in which «the goal is to
accomplish a people and/or an organizational development with an impact on the organizational
value-drivers» (Schiuma 2011: 49) which require the presence of artists and facilitators within the
company and whose collaboration produces output tangible or intangible; Arts-based programs, in
which a plurality of business objectives related to corporate strategy is articulated and divided into
different projects. «The goal of a program is to have a significant impact on organizational value-
creation capacity by delivering different project outputs» (Schiuma 2011: 50).
Art-based interventions are finally defined by Berthoin Anthal as those actions that happen «when
people, practices or products from the world of the arts enter organizations to make a difference»
(Berthoin Antal, 2009: 4).
Four main approaches in which to observe the Artistic intervention have been identified (Sköldberg,
Woodilla, & Berthoin Antal, 2016).
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1. Managerial discourse
The focus is on management and aims to demonstrate how the use of the arts can stimulate
innovation and creativity and how there can be an analogy between the world of art and managerial
reality. (Schiuma, 2011; Austin & Devin, 2003; Biehl-Missal, 2011; Seifer & Buswick, 2005).
Art adds value to management's work (Austin & Devin, 2003), because it improves the
capacity for innovation. Managers should look to artists to create economic value, and how they
structure their work. Artistic making, defined by the authors as "artful", requires management to
have a creative attitude, as an artist, and opens up a gaze that goes beyond traditional management
models.
The performing arts and the social world of organizations have many characteristics in
common: the metaphor of the organization as a theater (Biehl- Missal, 2011) reflects on how
teamwork is essential for corporate well-being and, consequently, for the improvement of economic
performance.
The implementation of Art-based-initiatives can, therefore, have an impact on two fundamental
dimensions of the company (Schiuma, 2011: people (together with potential stakeholders) and
organizational infrastructure. The Arts Value Matrix (Schiuma 2011: 99) stands as a tool to
understand the potential benefits for organizations that use art as a strategic asset. The intensity of
change and development for people and the organization can take on a variable intensity (low-level,
medium-level and high-level) whose combinations allow you to build nine categories of value
transmission. When the level of Organizational infrastructure development is low, the change in
people can assume, in order, the effect of entertainment, galvanizing or inspiration; when the level
of development of the organizational infrastructure is fixed on average values, the impact on the
members of the organization mainly regards the reputation, the environment, and the learning and
development aspects; finally, when aiming for a high level of organizational development, the
impact first regards investment, then networking, and finally transformation (Schiuma, 2011: 100).
The transformation phase, in particular, occurs when people change their values, attitudes and their
daily habits related to the organization of their work, together with those of the company, such as
corporate culture, internal environments, routines, and procedures.
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2. Aesthetic discourse
The aesthetic category of beauty is emphasized as inspiration to encourage leaders to broaden their
value categories (Guillet de Monthoux, 2004; Linstead & Höpfl, 2000; Strati, 1999; Adler, 2006,
2011; Darsø, 2014; Ladkin, 2008).
The aesthetic understanding of work and organizational life emphasizes four main
approaches (Strati, 2000: 83): the archaeological approach, in which the organization is studied as if
it were observing an ancient civilization, in search of what can be defined as "organizational
identity" (Strati: 2000a: 885); the empathic-logical approach, where the research process is divided
into three phases (immersion in the organizational context, interpretation, illustration of the research
results) in which the aesthetic experience is confronted with analytical reflection. The aesthetic
approach (Strati, 1999) emphasizes the constant negotiation of organizational aesthetics in daily
work, as well as the distinctive and practical dimensions of work and organization (Strati, 2007). It
has three components: sensory knowledge of work practice; aesthetic-sensitive judgment on work
and organization; the art of performance of individuals and groups in the organizational routine.
Finally, the artistic approach studies the experience of art to collect information on the management
of organizational processes, focusing in particular on the analysis of the transfer of the flow of
creativity in the organization and of what the artistic worlds and aesthetic sensitivity can teach in
terms of organizational leadership. Specific attention is paid to the potential inherent in the arts to
grasp the dynamics of change and organizational development.
In the use of the arts, four main benefits can be obtained (Taylor & Ladkin, 2009: 66): skills
transfer, in which arts-based methods can facilitate the development of artistic skills, usefully
applicable in organizational contexts; projective technique, where artistic output allows participants
to reveal inner thoughts and feelings that otherwise would never be made accessible; illustration of
the essence, where methods based on the arts allow participants to understand the essence of a
concept, situation or tacit knowledge, in a particular way, that is, by revealing depth and unexplored
connections. Finally, in the making, that is the creation process, making art can encourage a deeper
experience of personal presence and connection, improving creativity.
Furthermore, the aesthetic dimension can allow judging the quality of a leader's
performances (Ladkin, 2008), the relevance and effectiveness of his strategies. The term leading
beautifully expresses the aesthetics of a manager who can guide his organization beautifully.
In a society made up of constant and disruptive changes, creativity and improvisation are
fundamental qualities to adequately manage a competitive organization. Companies and
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organizations try to improve by finding what is not working and then solving the problem they have
found. Instead of focusing on weaknesses and problems, the alternative approach is to focus on
increasing its strengths. Art supports leaders by transferring the idea of beauty to them, intended as
a way to give their best - to use their strengths and aspirations, to effectively guide their
organization (Adler 2006: 491).
3. Arts metaphors
Metaphorical discourse for the transfer of artistic concepts in management and organizational
theories (Barrett, 1998; Hatch, 1998, 1999; Vaill, 1989; Hatch & Yanow, 2008).
Improvisation, especially in jazz music, has implications that suggest ways in which managers and
executives can prepare organizations to learn and be responsive to critical situations (Barrett, 1998:
620). Jazz improvisation is a useful metaphor for understanding organizations interested in learning
and innovation. To be innovative, managers, like jazz musicians, must interpret vague clues, deal
with unstructured tasks, develop incomplete knowledge and yet act. Managers, like jazz musicians,
must engage in dialogue and negotiation, in creating shared spaces for decision-making based on
experience rather than hierarchical position.
Organizations are increasingly networked, fluid, constantly and rapidly evolving. By
exploring jazz as a potential means of understanding organizations, their historical and performative
aspects, it is possible to see them in the light of their experience, as a model to think simultaneously
of stability and change and reflect on history and the future. The metaphor of jazz suggests that
continuity and innovation that can only be encouraged by referring to the past to reinvent the future,
in an organizational storytelling perspective. The use of metaphor, passing through the artistic
medium, thus becomes a precious ally for the transfer of knowledge within the competitive
organization (Hatch, 1998: 8).
The first theoretical model that can be traced back to the arts-in-business experiences, The
Arts-in-business matrix (Darsø & Dawids, 2002; Darso, 2004: 41) is halfway between the aesthetic
approach and the one most linked to metaphor, incorporating in itself, in reality, a unitary vision of
the phenomenon that includes also the point of view of the stakeholders external to the
organizations being analyzed. In it, mutual learning (both by artists and host organizations) is
conveyed through two main aspects: the degree of ambiguity and degree of involvement.
Ambiguity, or the possibility of interpretation, allows you to change predetermined perceptions and
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forms by creating different and unexpected points of view on reality; involvement, on the other
hand, allows interaction, favoring the rapprochement between the different company roles and
stimulating participation in medium-organized contexts. The various combinations between these
two characteristics give rise to the development of artistic metaphors (creative thinking), artistic
skills (creative practice), artistic events (involvement of artists in the company) or artistic products
(design objects). Learning is the central moment, in which the various combinations convert and to
which organizations and the art sector tend.
The use of the arts in business contributes to activating analogies and metaphors useful for
activating organizational change in the context of reference (Darsø, 2004). By using art in
management, companies can be transformed through internal and external relational dynamics,
which transmit cognitive flows spontaneously. We can identify 4 different ways of realizing the
relationship between Art & Business:
1. Business uses the arts as decoration;
2. Business uses the arts as entertainment;
3. Business applies the arts as an instrument for teambuilding, leadership development, problem
solving and innovation processes;
4. The business integrates the arts into a strategic transformation process that involves personal
development and leadership, culture and identity, creativity and innovation.
4. Multistakeholder discourses
The points of view of all the agents involved are considered: artists, management, employees and
intermediaries, to analyze their direct experiences in the context of organizational development
practices or the development of learning theories (Johansson, 2012; Styhre & Eriksson, 2008;
Berthoin Antal, 2014; Berthoin Antal, Taylor & Ladkin, 2014).
Creative people manage to think in a new way and redefine problems by looking at them
from other angles, tolerating their ambiguities and also learning to take risks to solve them. They
welcome their ways of thinking about aesthetic skills and qualities and can see beyond the narrow
horizon of usefulness that limits many collaborators in organizations. Creativity and innovation are,
at least in part, supported by an aesthetic ability of individuals or groups of individuals. An aesthetic
vision of things helps to develop plural visions and facilitates a change of perspective and new
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discussions. Artists are accustomed to operating in a domain in which art is considered to have a
value beyond its immediate usefulness: showing artists how they can contribute to everyday
working life is, therefore, a crucial objective (Styre ed Eriksson, 2008: 50).
Workers in companies and organizations hosting artists should be aware that the result of
collaboration depends on their full involvement. The domain of aesthetics and work must, therefore,
intersect significantly and productively. If the artists cannot put themselves in the shoes of the
collaborators of the companies, there can be only marginal learning and if the employees cannot
offer themselves for new practices of thought and action, there are perhaps few opportunities to
exploit the creative potential of the workers (Styre ed Eriksson, 2008: 50). In order to appreciate the
different ways of knowing and doing, the different logics and values, and the different expectations
and experiences of the artists, for the organization it is necessary that there are appropriate ways of
involvement in planning and conducting interventions (Berthoin Antal, 2014: 26).
The following outcomes can be traced (Berthoin Antal & Strauß, 2016):
1. Artistic interventions in organizations are mainly based on personal and interpersonal levels since
it is on them that interactions act in a particular way;
2. Learning is generated in what are called interspaces, where participants experience new possible
ways of seeing and thinking compared to the usual ones;
3. The effects generated by artistic interventions can go beyond the personal and interpersonal
sphere and disseminate the organizational one;
4. The emergence of these effects at the organizational level occurs especially if the leadership
actively supports the learning generated in the interspaces;
5. In some cases, unexpected positive effects have been noted that have extended beyond the
boundaries of the organization and that have enriched relations with stakeholders.
Interspaces can be defined as: «Temporary social spaces within which participants experience new
ways of seeing, thinking and doing things that add value for them personally. In the interspace,
doubt and organizational norms are suspended to enable experimentation. It is from the
experimentation in the temporary interspace that values-added can flow out to influence processes
and practices in the organization thereafter»( Berthoin Antal & Strauß, 2016: 39).
The interactions between artists and organizations have been experimented in different
disciplinary fields: from theater to painting, from dance to music. Projects aimed at exploring
common boundaries between different sectors have also been developed, such as, for example,
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between art, science, and organizations (Lee, Fillisb, & Lehmanc, 2017). The use of artistic
techniques can create unexpected opportunities and new ways of seeing science by introducing
aesthetic, emotional, environmental, educational and social values.
Organizational creativity (Nisula, & Kianto, 2017) can find a means of developing and
involving employees in theatrical improvisation; it is able to act above all on the ability to act
collectively through narration, the exercise of spontaneity, listening to others at the moment of
action, interpersonal trust and verbal and non-verbal communication (Koppett, 2001). Improvisation
exercises can stimulate participants to behave differently from their daily routine (Nisula, & Kianto,
2017: 7), providing new perspectives and insights as well as the opportunity to observe and rethink
their behaviors.
Theater can be used as a projective technique (Steed, 2005): through the so-called
"interactive drama", in which the actors play typical scenes of the workplace and employees can
identify possible remedial interventions. The ability to physically move and embody real problems,
expressed through non-traditional verbal tools, makes communication more direct and felt by the
participants. The relationship between them, in fact, being free from preconceptions, is perceived as
more authentic. The main features that develop through theater are improvisation, trust, spontaneity,
collaboration, listening and effective interaction (Gibb, 2004).
The artistic interventions allow to modify the reference context and observe different aspects
of the workplace through theater or music, providing a different experience. Musical interventions
can also help to mobilize aesthetic experiences and support collective communication processes.
Music (Sorsa, Merkkiniemib, Endrissatc, & Islamd, 2017) can encourage the construction of a
space for communication: by basing their interaction on sensorial, aesthetic and material practices,
musical instruments allow to show and communicate emotions such as insecurity, the lack of
involvement or fear, which would hardly be expressed by their colleagues in the workplace.
There is a profound similarity between jazz players and managers (Barrett 1998: 605), since
both invent new answers to different needs, without a precise plan or certainty of results. Musical
improvisation is the main feature of jazz music and «pretend that improvisation does not exist in
organizations is to not understand the nature of improvisation»; this ability can help to think
strategically (Barrett 1998: 607) and abandon known models.
Dance (Biehl-Missal & Springborg, 2015: 2) is also considered as «a starting point for
practical approaches and new theoretical ideas to leadership and organization», as well as a real
training method. Dance is not only an art, but also a social practice, through which individuals
create deep and meaningful relationships with themselves and others, and this can easily be
transferred into the organizational context. There are characteristics of dance (Chandler, 2011: 871),
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which can be organizationally relevant. First of all, it involves movement, focusing attention on
how bodies interact with the physical environment and objects; it also includes movement between
bodies, favoring human relationships, cooperation, coordination and division of tasks. Furthermore,
movement can establish a relationship between a body and a work tool, such as a machine; finally,
there is also movement between different emotional states, which can be expressed through a
specific movement of the body.
The main advantages recognized by the use of different art forms in organizations (Lee,
Fillisb, & Lehmanc, 2017: 6) concern the creation of a set of values not previously experienced in
the organization, resulting from the birth of an emotional experience within the organizational
environment. It is also a way for the bodies and businesses involved to strengthen their public
relations (Lee, Fillisb, & Lehmanc, 2017: 7). The values identified following the artistic
interventions reinforce the importance of promoting a stimulating aesthetic atmosphere, the result of
the creativity generated, which allows improving learning, thus generating cultural benefits for the
staff and the community of reference.
A model of cooperation
This model incorporates the Art Thinking practices, a way of organizing and acquiring knowledge
(Sandberg, 2019: 17; Guggenheim, 2014) used more and more by companies to transfer intuitions
and skills from the artistic to the managerial sphere. The term indicates «a framework and set of
habits to protect space for inquiry» (Sandberg, 2019: 17; Whitaker, 2016: 12) and is an arts-based
view on management tools favoring divergent over coherent thinking (Sandberg, 2019: 17;
Whitaker, 2016), characterized by «its focus on options, not outcomes; on possibilities, not
certainty» (Robbins, 2018: 16).
This work is based on the study of cases carried out since 2014 by the MacLAB (Laboratory for the
management of arts and cultures) of the Ca' Foscari University of Venice, one of the most important
Italian research centers in the domain of organization and management of arts, cultural productions
and creative industries.
The various case studies were investigated through semi-structured interviews and group
interviews, to understand their internal dynamics and, above all, trace the main stages through
which to reconstruct the collaboration that took place.
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In detail, the case studies analyzed were the following:
Table 1. The case studies analyzed in the MacLAB.
COMPANY
ARTIST
PROJECT
YEAR
STONEFLY
D20 ART LAB
SPORTMUSE
2016
LOTTO
D20 ART LAB
SPORTMUSE
2016
TECNICA
D20 ART LAB
SPORTMUSE
2016
SCARPA
D20 ART LAB
SPORTMUSE
2016
CANTIERE DANIELE
MANIN
IMPRESARI
ARTIFICARE
2017
OMP ENGINEERING
MICHELE SPANGHERO
ARTIFICARE
2017
FALLANI
BLAUER HASE
ARTIFICARE
2017
UGOLINI
VALENTINA FURIAN
ARTIFICARE
2017
CULTOUR ACTIVE
ALFRED AGOSTINELLI
ARTIFICARE
2017
DE CASTELLI
ANDRECO
ARTIFICARE
2017
DELINEO DESIGN
FRANCESCO MATTUZZI
ARTIFICARE
2017
STAMPERIA D’ARTE
BUSATO
TAM TEATROMUSICA
MIMESIS
2018
RENATA BONFANTI
TAPPETI, TOVAGLIE,
ARAZZI
TAM TEATROMUSICA
MIMESIS
2018
ARBOS
UBIK TEATRO
MIMESIS
2018
LINEA SETTE CERAMICHE
UBIK TEATRO
MIMESIS
2018
BEVILACQUA TESSUTI
ALESSIA ZAMPIERI/WE
EXHIBIT
MIMESIS
2018
ORSONI MOSAICI
D20 ART LAB
MIMESIS
2018
VETTORI OREFICE
D20 ART LAB
V-HERITAGE
2019
GALDI
D20 ART LAB
V-HERITAGE
2019
STILNOVE
D20 ART LAB
V-HERITAGE
2019
ORSONI MOSAICI
VIGOLO E ZERBINATI
V-HERITAGE
2019
ORSONI MOSAICI
MATTIA BERTO
V-HERITAGE
2019
The interactions were accompanied by an analysis of the literature, which allowed to combine
theoretical and empirical research with what was observed in action research. An attempt was
therefore made to systematize the results collected by first tracing the different moments in which
collaboration takes place during the art-based interventions in the company, and then investigating
their critical issues and strengths.
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The origin of cooperation
From the analysis of the observed case studies, it is possible to trace four main phases that lead
artists and companies towards cooperation:
1. Input phase;
2. Phase of choice;
3. Phase of enucleation of needs;
4. Initiation phase of the collaboration.
It is from the input phase that the interchange path between artists and businesses is born, then
selected in the choice phase based on certain characteristics; in the phase of enucleation of the
needs, it reflects on the real, respective reasons of the collaboration, giving life to the fourth phase
of starting the real collaboration.
1. The input of the collaboration between artists and companies can arise from three instances:
a scientific research project (universities and training bodies), a free initiative of the parties (in
which the company and the artist come directly into contact) or a project/program of external
financing (cooperation projects, European projects, etc.) in which the initiatives are experimentally
financed. These approaches presuppose an interest of various types: from the study of business
processes to the discovery of innovation opportunities for businesses to the experimentation of new
artistic languages. However, the leitmotif remains the same: the belief that cross-contamination
between two apparently distant worlds can bring benefits to both sides.
From the literature it can be seen that for artists and, in general, for the creative and cultural
sector, the exchange with the company serves to assist the development of new mentalities
(Zomerdijk & Voss, 2010), the finding of new sources of financing (Nesta, 2014), the acquisition of
managerial and business skills (Helmig et al., 2004) as well as the orientation towards digital
transformation (Nesta, 2015), the creation of new forms of partnership (Ostrower, 2004; Schiuma,
2011; Schiuma & Lerro, 2013; Smagina & Lindemanis, 2012) but above all help you understand
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how to manage and innovate your business models (Schiuma & Lerro, 2017) and, in general, your
presence on the market.
For companies, on the other hand, working with artists alongside them certainly means creating new
inspiration for management (Adler, 2010; Austin & Lee, 2010; Nissley, 2010), bringing new
aesthetic dimensions to the organization (Strati, 2000), stimulate organizational learning (Darsø,
2004; Boyle & Ottensmeyer, 2005; Nissley, 2010), engage in dialogue with stakeholders on
multiple levels (Berthoin Antal, Taylor & Ladkin, 2014), create an impact on the performance of
business and economic and symbolic value (Schiuma, 2011), increase creativity and innovation
(Schiuma 2011; Sköldberg, Woodilla & Bertoin Antal, 2016).
2. The choice of artist and company takes place based on recurring or more verifiable
characteristics: the artist has usually already had similar experiences of collaboration in the
company, has an average career level that allows him to support himself with his work and has a
fairly dynamic artistic style, open to experimentation. The company, on the other hand, finds in art
its value, contained in the company's mission and vision; moreover, it is often led by a very creative
manager with an innovative spirit, who wants to open his own company to different stakeholders,
modify products or business processes, find new markets.
The outcome of the collaboration will depend on the choice between the artist and the company: it,
therefore, represents a crucial moment, to which maximum attention should be paid. It has been
observed that the degree of innovation, which often also coincides with an optimal level of
collaboration, is all the greater the more the artist belongs to the Core creative arts (visual arts,
performing arts, poems, cinema, literature) and the more the company belongs to traditional sectors
(manufacturing, construction, electricity, transport, etc.). The more physically distant the two
universes, the more they have an interest in talking to each other and exchanging know-how. If, on
the contrary, the company is already operating within creative contexts, there may be critical issues,
especially in the definition of the project; otherwise, the collaboration could shift into the normal
market relationship based on the firm-artist client.
3. The third moment is represented by the phase of enucleation of the needs, in which the
mutual needs are defined, that is the motive that pushes the two different entities to dialogue. As for
the artist, there may be, as we have seen, a propensity towards experimenting with new languages,
such as the possibility of having new professional opportunities and, consequently, different sources
of funding.
As for the company, however, the decision is more complex: on the one hand, we need to
respond to specific needs, mainly related to the market and the search for new customers: in this
case we are looking for a process or product innovation, which can open up access to new market
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segments. A second requirement, however, is the one most closely linked to the corporate image, in
particular, the communication of the brand and the values of the company. In collaboration with the
artist, therefore, we see a way to renew one's image, to communicate one's values differently and
innovatively. In both cases, the collaboration with the artist is driven by a business need.
On the other hand, the company sees in art the answer to needs within the organization, and finds
the medium in the artist to resolve internal conflicts, face organizational changes, train and create
harmony among employees. In this second case, we are faced with an internal need within the
organization.
When the interventions are mainly aimed at the development of the organizational
infrastructure, the corresponding change concerns the aesthetic properties of the organizational
resources. In this case, the forms and creative skills are absorbed within the company as assets for
the creation of new products and communication methods. When, on the other hand, an artistic
intervention is focused on a direct change to people, can generate an impact on the creation of
aesthetic experience, exciting the participants and involving them through the generation of strong
energies and motivation. (Schiuma, 2011: 97).
4. If the company demonstrates a mainly business motivation at the origin of its work interest
with the artist, a functional collaboration will be configured; in the second case, however, we will
be faced with an exploratory collaboration.
5. It is possible to define a functional collaboration if the company asks the artist a clear and
explicit question about what he intends to obtain from the cooperation. The interaction is perfectly
integrated with the coroporate marketing and communication offices, and the context of reference
within which it will be placed is already in place. It represents practically the typical order. The
company probably already has other suppliers on the market capable of providing such output but
the presence of the artist is a novelty element concerning the usual product/process design
parameters. In this case, the question is interesting: why the artist?
6. The exploratory collaborations, however, closer to Art Thinking, are identified with a sort of
shared path, in which the company's demand is more indefinite, and neither the area nor sometimes
the corporate sector of reference. An artist is involved and an exploratory path of research begins.
There is, therefore, a dimension of discovery, exploration, experimentation.
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Figure 1. The phases preceding the art-based collaboration.
Source: our own processing.
Input
External funding project/program
Free initiative
Scientific research
Requirements
Company choice
Birth of collaboration
Artist
Needs
New professional opportunities
Different sources of financing
Artistic experimentation
Company values
(mission, vision)
Creative spirit of
management
Desire to innovate and
transform the company
its products and
processes
Spirito creativo del
management
Voglia di
innovare/trasformare
l'impresa, i suoi
prodotti/processi
Similar experiences
Dynamism of artistic
expression
Medium career level
Functional collaboration
Exploratory
collaboration
Company (1)
Company (2)
Product/process
innovation, corporate
image
Specific organization's
needs in relation to the
market
Specific organization's
internal needs
Business need
Internal need within
the organization
Organizational changes,
learning and
development
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A cooperation model
Once the collaboration has been established, subsequent moments can be traced between it and its
final result. The fundamentals are as follows:
I. Intermediary involvement;
II. Mutual understanding;
III. Collaboration type;
IV. Roles definition;
V. Output definition;
VI. Output design
VII. Employees involvement;
VIII. Interchange;
IX. Output realization;
X. Final presentation.
I. The intermediary involvement is fundamental for the success of the projects. He will have
the role of consultant, catalyst, mediator, working alongside artists and managers (Sköldberg, &
Woodilla, 2016) and will be an hybrid figure, able to bridge the two worlds, the artistic and the
entrepreneurial world, including values, codes, and practices of both universes (Berthoin Antal,
2012: 46). Its main task will lie in creating a suitable environment for the interaction between artists
and business, promoting the dissemination of what has been achieved, and, possibly, documenting
the added value created by mutual interaction (Johansson Sköldberg. & Woodilla, 2016: 206).
Its role is above all to encourage discussions and exchanges, to reveal the underlying issues
(Barry, & Meisiek, 2016) underlying the needs of the organization and change normal points of
view, including those provided by the artist. Without the work done together with the latter, in fact,
the participants would hardly develop such outputs (Barry, & Meisiek, 2016: 236). Often the
interactions require that the mediators guide the participants within a predefined process, at least as
regards the rules: if this process also involves the employees of the company, these rules must
follow those in force at the place of work. In this way, mediators can encourage change and allow
participants to benefit from the triggered process.
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II. Mutual understanding, in which the artist and the entrepreneur meet, is an extremely delicate
phase, because different factors converge in it, such as those related to the psychological and
sociological sphere: here affinities, impressions, exchange of ideas and perspectives.
III. As we have already anticipated, the definition of the collaboration type that is established
between the parties is the most important moment: the entire evolution of the project will
depend on it. This phase depends exclusively on the type of requirement that the company
intends to convey to the art-based intervention, and is closely connected with the next phase.
IV. Roles definition. In this phase, at the company level, the areas or organizational
functions/divisions involved in the interaction are decided. If the company is oriented
towards a type of functional collaboration, more closely connected with market needs, the
control it will carry out on the artistic work will generally be greater. Conversely, the
company that will opt for a more exploratory relationship will leave the artist with greater
creative freedom and will be less inclined to follow the design and implementation phase on
an ongoing basis. This behavior occurs in a completely natural way by the company
representatives. Consequently, the role of the artist will be more or less free to experiment
with new approaches and languages inspired by the company and by what he will be able to
read/see inside it.
V. The Output definition, a natural consequence of the previous phases, proves to be the most
critical moment for the observed interactions. If, on one hand, a physical product is not
necessarily expected, on the other hand, its definition sets the entire relationship between
artist and company contact person. Its uncertain or non-definition risks jeopardizing the
entire design process and, in some cases, entails the interruption of the collaboration
relationship. The ideas for collaboration must arise from the meeting between the company
and the artist, to begin to detail the process that could reach that particular goal. Some
companies, or thanks to their strictly defined organizational structure or for urgent needs,
can independently define which aspect of their organization or activity requires intervention.
VI. Output design. What should happen is the definition of a concrete, tangible, short-term need
to which the company wants to respond through artistic intervention. The process carried out
translates the tacit knowledge that is unique for the company into a more tangible and
explicit form. Through the artist's interaction with the members of the company, the
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founding values, urgent needs and prospects of each of them are shared with the group. The
artists then elaborate on this knowledge through their external points of view, working out
the problem and becoming familiar with it.
Figure 2. The art-based collaboration’s phases.
Source: our own processing.
At the end of the intervention, this knowledge is returned to the community, in the form of a
tangible artifact or as changes resulting from the process itself. This allows the artist to enter the
dynamics of the organization better than any consultant or designer, deepening and discovering new
opportunities. If the intervention is oriented inward, the process will be perceived by those who
share the organizational culture of the company.
Intermediary involvement
Mutual understanding
Collaboration type
Output realization
Roles definition
Output definition
Output design
Employees involvement
Interchange
Final presentation
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In continuity with what happens in the phase of enucleation of needs, the artistic intervention is part
of three specific company dimensions:
a. Communication area: the artist's work helps the company to communicate in innovatively
and differently;
b. Business change management: artistic collaboration assists the management of internal
business change processes, linked to changes in the organizational structure, expansion of the
range/production line, opening towards new markets and, in general, new strategic choices that
involve a challenge for the company. In this case, the intervention is communicated less externally
but has an important internal impact.
c. Product/process innovation: the artistic intervention serves to innovate the product and the
process. The artist works alongside those who develop the product, and the artistic idea can
materialize into a new artifact or a new service.
With these modalities, artistic thinking can permeate the corporate spaces and values and spread its
tacit knowledge through a tangible or intangible output.
I. Employees involvement is relevant for several reasons. Workers in companies and
organizations hosting artists should be aware that the result of collaboration depends on their
full involvement. The domain of aesthetics and work must, therefore, intersect significantly
and productively. If the artists cannot put themselves in the shoes of the collaborators of the
companies, there can be only marginal learning and if the employees cannot offer
themselves for new practices of thought and action, there are perhaps few opportunities to
exploit the creative potential of the workers. In order to appreciate the different ways of
knowing and doing, the different logics and values, and the different expectations and
experiences of the artists, for the organization there must be appropriate ways of
involvement in the planning and conduct of the interventions (Berthoin Antal, 2014: 26).
Furthermore, to achieve the fundamental objective of adopting art-based projects in the
company, i.e. to improve, directly or indirectly, the company's performance, it is necessary
to increase the organizational mechanism of value creation and the value incorporated in the
organizational infrastructure and the processes. To do this, it is necessary to influence the
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two main components of the company organization: the stakeholders and the employees
(Schiuma, 2011: 47, 62).
II. For this reason, between the various phases, a continuous interchange between the parties is
necessary, also to make the final output as shared as possible and obtain the greatest degree
of satisfaction of the parties. It has been observed that the lack of sharing of some key
passages during the output phase has resulted in the interruption of trust between artist and
entrepreneur, or a lack of recognition of corporate values compared to what is expressed
through the artistic work. This exchange is also made concrete through the direct
contribution, in terms of time and energy, that the company contact person dedicates to the
project, to the artist's needs, to the successful outcome of the collaboration. On the other
hand, the artist must be able to listen to business needs, i.e. those that arise from the search
for new customers/markets, from the need to renew the image, to strengthen one's brand or
reach new segments of income.
III. While the type of cooperation is dictated above all by the different approach provided to the
interaction by the company, the operational phases of the process itself are mainly dictated
by the design and output realization, i.e. by the time of the artist and by the methods of
execution of the final work. If the type of collaboration is functional, the company
intervenes more within the project of the work, carefully monitoring its phases. If instead,
the collaboration is exploratory, the entrepreneur relies almost completely on the artist,
discovering with him a new way of looking at the organization.
IV. The final presentation phase concludes the collaboration project. It too must be studied
together and reflect the will of both the management and the creative side. It must also be
effectively communicated, both inside and outside the company, to strengthen the link not
only between the company and artists, but also with employees, intermediaries, and anyone
who has contributed to the success of the project.
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Improving cooperation
In order to make the collaboration between artist and company more effective, the aspects on which
to intervene have been traced.
PHASE 1. INTERMEDIARY INVOLVEMENT: The salient characteristics linked to this role are above all
the ability to advise and guide the parties towards the achievement of common objectives, the
sharing of activities, the predisposition in favoring constant dialogue between the parties, managing
and organizing the main phases of the project, listening and understand mutual desires and needs.
PHASE 2. MUTUAL UNDERSTANDING: It is important that trust, understanding, empathy, and esteem
are established between the parties, that there are common interests and mutual curiosity.
PHASE 3. COLLABORATION TYPE: Regardless of the type of collaboration that will be established
between the parties (functional or exploratory), management must recognize the value in the artistic
work, in the cultural content of the output and the results achieved.
PHASE 4. ROLES DEFINITION: It would be better that there was extreme respect for the respective
roles of the collaboration, a reduced interference in the respective work, an expectation, on both
sides, adequate to the final goal, the artist's ability to maintain his creative autonomy, and not by
lastly, an acknowledgment of the mediator's role as a useful figure to improve collaboration.
PHASE 5. OUTPUT DEFINITION: It is the most delicate moment of the collaboration, in which it is
decided in what the interaction between the parties will materialize. There must be maximum clarity
about what you want to achieve and what precisely the company intends to invest in terms of time,
space, human and economic resources.
PHASE 6. EMPLOYEES INVOLVEMENT: It is important that there is an involvement of employees at
various levels (from the company contact person to the worker), that there is maximum
participation in the activities and support for the production of the output, and, above all, that the
interaction takes place in a relaxed atmosphere and collaborative.
PHASE 7. OUTPUT DESIGN: In this phase, there must be an investment in terms of time and energy
by both, as well as the ability to accurately manage the preparation times in terms of returning the
expected output.
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PHASE 8. INTERCHANGE: The dialogue between the parties involved must be based on the ability to
compare, to calmly discuss the differences, to get involved and in relation, to sharing the results, to
maximum collaboration.
PHASE 9. OUTPUT REALIZATION: For the expected output to be carried out effectively, there should
be a direct involvement of the entrepreneur, who makes him participate as the first beneficiary of
the intervention; it would also be better if there are internal spaces within the company for the
construction of the work and that a company contact person personally takes charge of the
necessary decisions, minimizing the bureaucratic steps and the constitution of the delegation.
PHASE 10. FINAL PRESENTATION: The final moment should offer a fair recognition of the results
achieved, also consolidating the harmony and harmony achieved by all the participants.
Main outcomes and value creation
From the analysis of the interviews carried out, it was possible to reconstruct, in addition to the
main phases that build the art-based collaboration, also the main results recorded in the cases
observed in terms of impact. An attempt was made to consider both perspectives, both that of the
artist and that of the company.
As for the main benefits obtained by the artist, these concern the strengthening of one's artistic
identity, the experimentation of new materials, the contamination with different know-how and
expertise, the possibility of interacting with new spatial contexts and different professional figures,
the acquisition of new skills and understanding of different social and interpersonal dynamics, the
acquisition of new languages and stimuli for artistic creation, the enhancement of one's work and
company tasks, the reversal of one's point of view, the construction of a choral message, the
creation of coherence between artistic thought and organizational reality through metaphor.
For the company, however, the main advantages are above all the acquisition of new ideas
for the development of the brand, the corporate image, the dissemination of know-how through new
channels and methods, the dissemination of corporate values through art, team-building actions, the
transfer of experience, corporate legacy, the dissemination of new values within and outside the
organization, the development of latent ideas within the company, the strengthening of company
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image, the creation of new stimuli for management, the greater understanding of the interpersonal
dynamics existing in the company context, innovative thinking.
Table 3. Main art-based interventions outcomes.
ARTIST
COMPANY
New inspiration for artistic creation;
Testing of new materials;
Contamination with different know-how and
expertise;
Possibility of interaction with new spatial contexts;
Dialogue-interaction with different professional
figures;
Enhancement of artistic work;
Acquisition of new skills;
Understanding of different social and interpersonal
dynamics;
Overturning one's point of view;
Construction of a choral message;
Enhancement of company duties;
Coherence between artistic thought and
organizational reality;
Acquisition of a new language;
Strengthening of artistic identity.
New ideas for the development of the brand, of the
corporate image;
Dissemination of corporate know-how through new
channels and methods;
Dissemination of corporate values through art;
Team-building;
Transfer of experience, corporate legacy;
Dissemination of new values within the company;
Development of latent ideas within the company;
Strengthening the corporate image, both inside and
outside the organization;
Inspiration for management;
Strengthening internal cohesion
Greater understanding of the interpersonal dynamics
existing in the business context;
Acquisition of a new sight on the organization;
Value creation;
Innovative thinking.
Source: our own processing.
These outcomes are largely obtained through the juxtaposition of different aspects, above all linked
to the continuous exchange between the parties, to a mutual listening capacity, to the enhancement
of one's specific features. The phases that make collaboration more capable of creating positive
outcomes are primarily linked to the type of collaboration established between the parties; secondly,
the definition of the respective roles and the expected output, the involvement of employees and,
above all, the continuous exchange between the parties, which allows artistic thought to "permeate"
the organization of intangible values and make them concrete through specific actions fielded by
each for the realization of the final output.
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As it was found (Darsø 2004, Schiuma 2011) one of the main impacts generated by artistic
intervention lies in the ability to generate learning. This learning is carried out significantly as
diffusion of knowledge.
The importance of art in management can be summarized in two main perspectives: the arts
can play the role of learning platform or they can represent a tool or vector to influence the aesthetic
and organizational dimension (Schiuma 2011: 39). Artistic experiences can create an internal
transformation in people, touching them deeply thanks to emotions (Darsø 2004: 31). Using the arts
in management is possible if these are taken as a model or support for learning dynamics, aimed at
transforming human and organizational capital. Working with art can be (Schiuma, 2011) a tool to
develop the emotional characteristics of human capital and tangible and intangible infrastructures.
Figure 3. The artist as a value driver.
Source: our own processing.
The arts can be used as a vector to incorporate aesthetic values into the company's products or
create symbols aimed at representing their image and identity. They can, therefore, be considered as
the cornerstone for the evolution of mentalities and managerial systems to integrate rational
principles of scientific management with the emotional traits of human nature.
One of the main benefits suggested by entrepreneurs who have experienced collaboration
with artists in their company is certainly that of spreading knowledge generated by the vision of the
artist and his work in the company. For this to happen, it is necessary to create a dimension of
mutual trust and affinity between the artist and the corporate figures involved in the collaboration.
This area of trust can certainly come close to the concept of interspaces (Berthoin Antal & Strauß,
VALUE
interspace
COMPANY
ARTIST
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2016: 39), i.e. physical and metaphorical places (Carè, Paolino, Smarrelli, 2018: 97) from which
value can emerge and spread in the organization, influencing business processes and practices.
During the cognitive process, the artist absorbs the tacit knowledge of the company and
returns it, first internally, through the production and diffusion of new artistic and cultural values,
then externally, through the same corporate body (the market and corporate stakeholders). Using art
(Darsø, 2004) it is possible to transform companies through internal and external relational
dynamics, which transmit cognitive flows spontaneously.
When the values strictly attributable to the artistic and cultural sphere invade the corporate
space, adding to those values that make up the quintessence of the company, something very close
to what has been defined as cultural value is obtained (Throsby, 2001). The notion of value
connects the fields of economics and culture (Throsby, 2001: 19) since it is possible to correlate a
corresponding economic value to it (Hutter & Frey, 2010). Important contributions to the debate on
the evaluation of cultural value have been provided, in the case of culture, to the value inherent in
some properties of cultural phenomena, which can be expressed in specific terms, such as the value
of a painting or video author or as an indication of the thanks to a work, a cultural experience (Van
der Hoeven & Hitters, 2019). The concept of cultural value (Throsby, 2001) can also be
disaggregated into various constitutive elements such as aesthetic value, spiritual value, historical
value, and social value.
In the case of artistic interventions, the generated value takes the form of works of art,
creation of a new corporate image, know-how, different manual skills in the production of artifacts,
care and attention to detail, new products. The cultural value is therefore transferred to the corporate
dimension and, consequently, to its reference market, through a new aesthetic dimension, a new
brand dimension, a new meaningful dimension of know-how and expertise. The real challenge is,
therefore, to make sure that this value manages to permeate the corporate body, to the point of being
able to continue to manifest its effects even after the collaboration has ended, through the
continuous generation of innovation and shared and shareable values. For these purposes, it would
be a key issue to encourage artistic residences (OMC, 2014) through the creation and promotion of
funding programs that support the movement of artists across borders and artists' residencies.
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Tools to create collaborations between artists and businesses
The following tools could be useful to encourage the encounter between the arts sector and the
business reality:
1. Info Day-workshop, where entrepreneurs and cultural operators can compare their opinions
on how to generate collaboration. Delving into the main topic with a debate could also be a
good opportunity to find solutions and create interest. The event could be the perfect
occasion for the launch of the open call.
2. Art Talk on the theme of the evolution of the relationship between artistic disciplines and
business management. This can represent an opportunity to explore the more theoretical
aspects of the project, offering interested listeners an overview of recent changes and
perspectives for the creative and cultural sector and introducing a reflection on the most
interesting dynamics of Art & Business collaborations.
3. World Café provides small groups of conversation on preset topics, in a welcoming
atmosphere in which the hosts are in charge of establishing the context and putting the
participants at ease. Furthermore, it is up to them to select the topics and ask the questions
that will guide the discussion towards the specific points that should be discussed. it is up to
the guests to decide whether to abandon the discussion at a general level or to start detailing
possible solutions and projects.
Participants could be numerous artists and a large number of companies. Discussions could mainly
be based on their respective presentations and on examining expectations for the future of
collaborations.
4. Working Lab is very useful to continue building the relationship or to start consolidating it.
The Lab could be structured with a practical approach, to start to deepen the idea, discussing
the available resources, the needs of the project, costs and/or other specifications, an
opportunity to bring out ideas and couple of people with helpful and interested partners.
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5. Study Visit could offer participants the opportunity to learn something to capitalize on their
projects. Each group should, therefore, visit a company or institution that works in its sector,
which can be an example and a source of inspiration. Participants should have the
opportunity to understand the internal workings of the organization and possibly find
answers to any doubts or curiosities.
6. Marketing seminar in which the training seminar was followed by a networking moment
that allowed those who had attended previous meetings to finalize some of their ideas.
7. Follow-up workshop dedicated to the analysis of the state of the art of each project and
report. The main objective of the event is to offer the project owners a collective moment to
get together and prepare for collaboration.
8. Market Place where the concrete and feasible projects will be presented to an audience of
fellow entrepreneurs, public and cultural institutions and, above all, financiers.
9. Pitching event in which each of the chosen artists will be able to present their idea to a jury
composed of experts in the artistic field and each project, consisting of the production of a
concrete work or the development of a specific creative process, will be evaluated both for
its originality and its sustainability. The jury will select some ideas which represent a
synthesis between the two aspects. Artistic residency projects will be financed in the
company that has decided to collaborate with them.
These activities must be considered in a procedural rather than episodic logic, that is, not as
individual independent events, but as phases of a broader process. The flow of ideas and
information cannot be suspended between events. Therefore, the steps for the gradual selection of
projects and the creation of collaborations are many more than the official ones. The moments
between one event and another are probably even more important than the event itself.
To ensure a smooth flow of ideas and discussions, it is necessary to focus on three important tasks
during these phases:
1. Keeping in touch with all the actors involved;
2. Maintaining interest in the project and its initiatives;
3. Starting to select the most promising collaborations.
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All of this revolves around formal or informal interactions with stakeholders. Moments like these
are fundamental to keeping the project alive, allowing the actors to further discuss their idea and
define it, outside the hours specifically dedicated to the event. Staying in touch with them and
watching their development could also facilitate the selection of final projects, as this will generate
a deeper understanding of the sustainability of the project and chemistry among the partners.
Compared to the listed tools, the mediators have the task of helping the partners to establish
the focus of their collaboration, monitoring and evaluating the process.
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