Work Package 9: Rural Development

Transcription

1 WP 9: Rural Development Mini-Case Study: Rock City Hultsfred Mini-Case Study: Rock City Hultsfred, Sweden Work Package 9: Rural Development Ex post evaluation of Cohesion policy programmes co-financed by the European Fund for Regional Development (Objective 1 and 2) page 1

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3 WP 9: Rural Development Mini-Case Study: Rock City Hultsfred Core team: Herta Tödtling-Schönhofer (Project Director, metis) Erich Dallhammer (Project Leader, ÖIR) Isabel Naylon (metis) Bernd Schuh (ÖIR) metis GmbH (former ÖIR-Managementdienste GmbH) A-1220 Wien, Donau-City-Straße 6 Tel.: , Fax: National expert for Sweden: Kai Boehme (SWECO EuroFutures AB) SE Stockholm, Vasagatan 36, Box 415 Tel: , Fax: Vienna, May 2009 Commissioned by: European Commission, DG Regional Policy Mini-Case Study: Rock City Hultsfred, Sweden Work Package 9: Rural Development Ex post evaluation of Cohesion policy programmes co-financed by the European Fund for Regional Development (Objective 1 and 2) page 3

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5 Mini-Case Study: Rock City Hultsfred WP 9: Rural Development Mini-Case Study: Rock City Hultsfred Synthesis The overall objective of the Rock City project was to create a meeting place and national arena for actors within the experience industry 1 to establish a centre for education and to become a hub for business cooperation. The overriding purpose was to develop Rock City into a cluster and innovation system with a strong emphasis on a new emerging industry connected to cultural experiences and events. As a regional development initiative, the project contributed to rural development by bringing new companies, new educational offers, students and investments to the region. The umbrella project was carried out in five smaller projects selected to strengthen different aspects of Rock City s activities. They were carried out in parallel and complemented each other. The single projects included activities such as the organisation of seminars and workshops, study visits, a series of meetings with company owners and expertise providers, the planning of a new real estate, marketing activities and the starting up of a incubator which supports new companies. One of the strongest characteristics of Rock City Hultsfred is the networking aspect that has lead not just to one partnership, but to several depending on which aspect of activities is considered. The point of departure has always been to customise a partnership which could meet the special needs of the actual projects. Rock City Hultsfred has strong political support from the local, regional and national level which, for example, can be seen in the fact that the Swedish Government has decided to make Hultsfred the country's music/events capital by supporting the creation of an enterprise centre specialising in music and events. Rock City is innovative when it comes to bringing actors from the public, academic and business sphere together in partnerships. The project design, planning and management included practices which differed from the norm in this region. For one thing, the alignment of the project and the focus on the experience industry and culture were new branches of discipline within this region. Rock City has not just been innovative in a local and regional perspective, but at national level as well. Rock City has contributed to the development of a model which has been taken up as a national model aiming at economic growth within the experience industry When it comes to its main results, Rock City is now home to about 20 SMEs. Two of the companies which are established in the Rock City building are the graphic design and digital illustrations company Little Monkeys Graphics and Top Fibre, a company that provides services within advanced fibre installations, engineering and consultancy. There are also other organisations and an incubator called Business Lab. Rock City has established a teaching centre where eight higher education and 33 independent university courses are offered and attended by over 350 students. Key lessons learnt are the need to broaden the horizon of regional development initiatives and to see past the local barriers, for example through study visits, and to involve many actors in the process in order to avoid dependency on one driving spirit. It has proved important that the project managers are passionate about their task and can move in different worlds, i.e. understand and meet the needs of different actors. A further key lesson is the necessity to develop a well thought through guidance document with realistic and clear goals and indicators. 1 The experience industry is a collective label for individuals and companies with a creative approach, whose primary function is to create or deliver experiences in one form or another. page 3

6 Background information Country: Sweden Region: Mål 2 Södra Project title: Rock City Hultsfred Programme type: ERDF Operational programme Duration of project: Funding: total budget: SEK (approx. 4,3 million ) ERDF contribution: SEK (approx. 1,1 million ) national budget: SEK (approx ) regional budget: SEK (approx. 1 million ) private contribution: SEK (approx. 1,4 million ) Objective: Objective 2 I. Project description Overall objective and purpose The overall objective of the Rock City project was to build up a meeting place and national arena for actors within the experience industry, to establish a centre for education and to become a hub for business cooperation. The experience industry is a collective label for individuals and companies with a creative approach, whose primary function is to create or deliver experiences in one form or another. The concept includes several sectors that have all, in recent years, expanded rapidly in Sweden. They now account for nearly 5 per cent of GDP and employ some 280,000 people. The overriding purpose was to develop Rock City into a cluster and innovation system with a strong emphasis on a new emerging industry connected to cultural experiences and events. The Rock City project aimed at improving the prerequisites for companies, universities and public actors to come together and contribute to rural development in terms of new companies, new educational offers, the attraction of students and investments to the region, and in terms of economic growth within the emerging experience industry. Description/type of activities The starting point for what today is Rock City was a music festival first arranged in A good ten years later, Rock City not only organised the largest music festival in Sweden, but also comprised a smaller building where concerts were held and a few educational courses offered. During the period, Rock City was granted ERDF funds for five different development projects, all contributing to the creation and establishment of Rock City as a national meeting place and as a motor for regional as well as national growth. Rock City has also been granted funds from the European Social Fund to develop educational offers. page 4

7 WP 9: Rural Development Mini-Case Study: Rock City Hultsfred This case study deals with Rock City as an umbrella project consisting of five ERDF co-financed single projects: Developing and Marketing of Rock City Hultsfred was the first project to receive funds. The project was carried out from and was managed by Putte the CEO of Rock City AB. The activities carried out within this project aimed to develop the Rock City concept and it s marketing. Examples of activities are the organisation of seminars and workshops, study visits and a series of meetings with company owners and providers of expertise. ERDF funds granted: approximately Rock City Real Estate is the title of a project which was conducted from to The project was also managed by the CEO of Rock City AB. Towards the end of the year 2000, the activities concerning education, research and companies had outgrown Rock City s former buildings which put a restraint on further expansion. The aim of this sub-project was subsequently to support the acquisition of new real estate which would make it possible to start new higher education courses, to establish an educational centre for the municipality of Hultsfred, to set up a library as well as office space and arenas for creative meetings. Activities were mainly in connection with the building of real estate. ERDF funds granted: approximately The project Company Development and Marketing of Rock City Hultsfred run between This project aimed at creating conditions for growth, concerning both economic aspects and the products and services of the companies established within the framework of Rock City. Activities carried out were the organisation of seminars and workshops, study visits and a series of meetings with company owners and providers of expertise. It also included the start up of incubator activities and marketing of Rock City. ERDF funds granted: approximately Meeting place Experience Industry Hultsfred project ran from The aim of this project was to develop Rock City into a national meeting place for the experience industry and activities were aimed at bringing actors within the cultural and business spheres together to cooperate with each other and actors from the academic sphere. The activities included the initialisation and administration of a network, seminars, events and marketing. ERDF funds granted: approximately The project Feasibility Study Rock City Experience run between and was aimed at examining the possibilities to establish and finance a year-round series of events around music and popular culture. Activities carried out were the putting together of an advisory board, workshops, study visits, construction projection, marketing and the writing of a feasibility study. ERDF funds granted: approximately Beneficiaries It would be true to say that the experience industry as a branch benefited from this project. Rock City paved the way for a new approach of how to work with culture as a factor for economic growth. Hultsfred as a locality also benefited since the project has lead to new job and educational opportunities as well as investments. Other beneficiaries from the project are SMEs which have been supported within the innovation system, universities which have been given the possibility to develop and expand their courses, and a large number of both regional and national actors, public, academic and private, who have benefited from the cooperation initiated within this innovation system. page 5

8 Project main results The main results concern the development of new real estate which made it possible to launch new educational courses, to establish a teaching centre with a library and music archive as well as to offer an increasing number companies office space. Another main result is the successful concept development and marketing which have lead to a national and international recognition of Rock City as a node for the experience industry. The start up of eight education offers and 33 independent university courses is a further result, as well as the establishment of an incubator which supports new companies. Last but not least, Rock City has developed a model for fostering growth within the experience industry which has been adopted at national level called FUNK (Forskning, Utveckling, Näringsliv, Kultur) which means research, education, business world and culture. The experiences within Rock City have shown that a rich cultural life creates a positive base for the development of companies. The FUNK model can be used to identify shortfalls and needs among actors within the relevant branch of the experience industry, in Rock City s case music. The experience industry is for example dominated by SMEs which have special needs when it comes to funding and the ability to profit from new knowledge. By using the FUNK model, researchers, educational actors and creative entrepreneurs are brought together to identify how they can approach each other and start fruitful collaborations. The development of the FUNK model and its transferability to the increasingly important experience industry has been an effective channel to communicate and disseminate the project s ongoing work and results. The project has won the attention of the media and the CEO is in great demand as a FUNK spokesperson and lecturer. Expected impact The expected impact can be seen from two perspectives, a local and regional and an overall impact which stretches over the experience industry. From the local and regional perspective, Rock City expects to strengthen its role as a hub for education and business development and so contribute to the broadening of the economic base of the region. In the experience industry related perspective, Rock City is expected to continue being a national as well as international model for how it is possible to work with culture as a factor of economic growth. The establishment of regional university branches and local teaching centres are also expected to attract younger people and skilled manpower to the municipality and support the development of new and innovative businesses. Community value added The contribution from the EU Structural Funds has been crucial for the realisation of the project Rock City. Without the Structural Funds, the project would not have been carried out. II. Political and strategic context The community of Hultsfred is situated in Kalmar County in the Objective 2 region Southern Sweden. Kalmar County is characterised by an economic structure with a high proportion of people employed in the manufacturing industries, a low educational level, a low per capita GRP and a low average income. Hultsfred is one of the municipalities which over the past decades have shown the largest population decrease due in part to a period of decline within the manufacturing and woodworking industries. In 1999, Hultsfred had 15,275 inhabitants, a number which had decreased by over 7 % by The municipality has a high proportion of elderly people and a large net out-migration of young people. page 6

9 WP 9: Rural Development Mini-Case Study: Rock City Hultsfred The challenges facing Kalmar County and Objective 2Southern Sweden as a whole are being met with several measures. Tourism has, for example, become an important industry where investments are made not only to attract visitors and increase economic interchange, but also to maintain commercial and other services in the communities. The county does not have any major metropolitan areas in close proximity and only one university college in the city of Kalmar. Hultsfred is situated in the sparsely populated countryside. The closest city with over inhabitants is 120 km away, and Sweden s metropolitan areas Stockholm, Göteborg and Malmö are at a distance of 300 km. Hultsfred s accessibility by road and rail is among the lowest in Europe. Since the region is characterised by a traditional labour-intensive industry and few educational institutions, there is no strong tradition of networks binding actors from different spheres together in innovation systems. There is a strong need to develop and enhance the business environment of the area. III. Implementation 3.1. Project design and planning The starting point for Rock City was a music festival first arranged in The festival was organised by a non-profit association which was founded in 1981 by a group of teenagers. This cadre has cultivated and broadened their ideas and visions and through extensive cooperation has turned them into the activities which characterise Rock City today. The project is not based on specific needs assessments, but has developed organically and branched out over the years. It does, however, have its point of departure in the specific local and regional environment with its need for a broader economic and educational base. The framework for the project has been developed through working groups put together by representatives from the company Rock City AB, regional authorities (the administrative board in Kalmar County, the regional council in Kalmar County) and representatives from local companies. When bringing forward the concept for the different single projects, the working groups got inspiration from other projects. Study visits were for example made to other national meeting places within the experience industry in Sweden (Hällefors-Grythyttan, Karlshamn) and the Musicians Hall of Fame Museum in Nashville, USA. The different single projects were selected to strengthen different aspects of Rock City s activities. They were carried out in parallel and have complemented each other. This has contributed to a limitation of the risk associated with the innovative character of the projects. One risk factor was dependency on one person, a driving spirit, in the development of the network of actors. To deal with this, the project worked with steering groups and tried to tie several persons to the process. For Rock City, sustainability and transferability have always been key issues from the design phase onwards. The sub-projects were aimed at creating a physical cluster (i.e. a building which contains educational courses, companies and a meeting place), an abstract innovation system (networks between different actors) as well as educational offers which, based on solid ground, are expected to be long lived. page 7

10 3.2. Management, monitoring and evaluation system Rock City does not just include the company Rock City Hultsfred AB, which is the official applicant for the projects financed by the Structural Funds, but also the non-profit association Rockparty, which organises the yearly music festival Hultsfredsfestivalen, Rockmetropol i Hultsfred AB, which manages a restaurant, locations for concerts and events etc., and MusicLink i Hultsfred AB, which provides IT-service, education etc. Rock City Hultsfred AB managed the sub-projects and the CEO had the overall responsibility for the activities carried out within Rock City Hultsfred and also managed several of the subprojects. Since Rock City Hultsfred is an established organisation, other project managers were selected from within the organisation. Each sub-project had a steering group with between four and six members. The steering group worked closely with the project manager on operational issues but there were also a number of advisory organs. For each project an advisory board was appointed with external representatives who could bring expertise to the project. The steering group and to some extent the advisory boards were used for the internal follow-up of the projects and as channels for bringing back experience and knowledge into the organisation. The follow-up was based on quantified targets and performance indicators which were identified in the design phase. Having a project manager working in close cooperation with a steering group, as well as bringing in expertise in an advisory board, has proven successful and the management structure has met few obstacles. However, the fact that Rock City is situated in a rural area with three to five hours travel time to larger cities where the experts often sit poses a challenge when it comes to the coordination of the advisory boards. Advanced planning is needed to arrange a common meeting on location. Advanced technical aids have also been helpful Governance: partnership and leadership One of the strongest features of Rock City Hultsfred is the networking which has lead not just to one partnership but to several depending on the activities. When the project dealt with the expansion of the real estate, a group of actors was put together with local and regional construction companies and suppliers and also the end-users represented by students and entrepreneurs. When the project dealt with concept development and marketing, partnerships were formed with providers of expertise, external actors who could make an inspirational and creative contribution, as well as company owners already active within Rock City. The approach has always been to customise each partnership to meet the special needs of the sub-projects whereby the lowest common denominator among the representatives was the aim to develop Rock City into a motor for growth. The local and regional authorities have been closely involved throughout the whole project with representatives from the municipality of Hultsfred as well as from the Regional Council in Kalmar County taking part in the process from the design phase to the implementation of the project. Representatives from the authorities have taken an active part in the development of the concept through meetings, seminars, networks etc. As in most innovative processes, political support has grown from being somewhat sceptical to strong since it has been proven that the project has lead for example to new job opportunities, investments, students moving to the area, a stronger cultural base, local and regional economic growth as well as international recognition. Today, Rock City Hultsfred enjoys strong political support from the local, regional and national levels. One example of political support is that the Swedish Government has decided to make Hultsfred the country's music/events capital by supporting the creation of an enterprise centre specialising in music and events. page 8

11 WP 9: Rural Development Mini-Case Study: Rock City Hultsfred 3.4. Innovative elements and novel approaches to implementation In a local and regional perspective, the project was pioneering when it came to bringing actors from the public, academic and business sphere together in partnerships. Kalmar county is characterised by traditional industry where little exchange took place between different sectors. Rock City has brought partners together in new constellations and collaborations which have fostered the regional business environment. One of the largest thresholds has probably been to bring the academy and companies closer together. The project design, planning and management are also innovative in the sense that they included practices different from common practice in this region. The experience industry and culture are new branches within this region and the new content affected both the project design and the management in the sense that they adopted new working methods and a new approach (launching several individual projects under one umbrella project) which seldom are found in projects connected to traditional industry. The organisation managed to run several sub-projects which could be seen as individual projects but which were interlinked in a professional way. They managed to focus both on a broad concept and on the individual parts equally Key implementation obstacles and problem-solving practices One decisive obstacle which affected the project from the design phase to its final stages is the administrative constraints which surround it. Dealing with the rules set by the ERDF can be complicated and lead to changes in the original plan. The Rock City management addressed this obstacle by improving the internal knowledge of the prerequisites for the ERDF funds so that the individual projects could be shaped according to the rules from the beginning. A good insight into how the ERDF funds are administered reduces the frustration which can otherwise occur. Early planning with a point of departure in the ERDF framework has made sure that no essential parts from the original plan have been forced to be left out at a later stage. Another obstacle was the dependency on one person a driving spirit to carry out the process. To avoid too much responsibility being with just one person, the project managers worked in close collaboration with the steering group and advisory board. One external constraint was the rural location of the project and the traditional industrial profile of the region. Culture was not a strong business segment in this region; it was therefore difficult to find local and regional sponsors and capital. The location of Rock City in a rural area without any metropolitan areas in close proximity and which has been characterised by economic decline and depopulation resulted in low valuations of the real estate. This in turn affected the chances of enticing external financers to the project. To deal with this challenge, the Rock City management worked with marketing and communication. The extensive networks also represented important channels to attract external funding. IV. Key results The five sub-projects carried out within the framework of Rock City had the same long-term goal but were of different character and contributed to different aspects of the building up of an innovation system. The five projects each reached their goals with good measure and thus contributed to a strong result. In Hultsfred, companies, universities and public actors have come together and contributed to rural development in terms of new companies, new educational offers, the attraction of students and investments to the region. Rock City is now home to about 20 SMEs and other organisations including Beat Mania which is a consulting company with focus on project management within the music industry, Swedish page 9

12 Stage Barriers AB, a company which provides services and safety barriers for concerts and events as well as Pantunes which is a sound recording company. The Rock City building offers rehearsal halls and recording studios, conference and seminar premises; there are concerts and indoor music festivals, pop-summer schools and the School of Rock (music lessons, courses in digital recording techniques etc.). There is also the national rock music archive, and an incubator called Business Lab. At Rock City and what has been named Campus Hultsfred, two advanced vocational education courses are now offered (Destination- and Product Development within Tourism, Digital Media distribution). One adult education course is offered (Event Production), as well as six relocated university studies (Teaching, Social pedagogy, Nursing, Music and Event Management, Health promotion). Campus Hultsfred also offers 33 independent university courses. Rock City is also participating in four research projects in cooperation with national and international universities. In the autumn of 2008, Campus Hultsfred had about 350 students. The result which is held as most important by the CEO of Rock City Hultsfred AB is, however, the lasting infrastructure, an art and model for working within this branch of the cultural industries. Through the different steps taken within the overall project, the actors behind Rock City have, in cooperation with the Knowledge Foundation, a national public foundation, developed a model called FUNK, which has been taken up as a national model aiming at growth within the experience industry. This model has been designed to be transferable to other segments within the experience industry such as design, books, film, music, museums, events, and amusement parks. The Swedish Government has decided to make Hultsfred the country's music/events capital by supporting the creation of an enterprise centre specialising in music and events. Hence Rock City has been singled out as a national arena for the experience industry where actors within the cultural and the business spheres meet and cooperate with each other and the academy. Rock City has become a role model within the emerging experience industry. It is a model for how an industrial town can develop into a service producing society with culture as a base. Rock City was awarded the European Enterprise Awards Jury s Grand Prize for the most creative and inspiring entrepreneurship initiative in Europe in V. Sustainability and transferability 5.1. Sustainability Rock City has developed a lasting infrastructure and way of working which has proved to be sustainable. The activities carried out within Rock City have not stopped with the completion of the sub-projects, but are still running. The project has not applied for or required funds from the Structural Funds programme. A future application could be possible if a new extensive development concept was launched. For the time being, the activities are financed by public subsidies and Rock City s own revenue. The focus now lies on the further development of the educational offers and the expansion of Campus Hultsfred, the continuation of the incubator work with new start-ups and the launch of the project Rock City Experience. The vision of Rock City Experience is that it will be an experience centre which will mirror the Swedish popular music from a historical perspective but with modern technique. The concept for the centre has been developed within the feasibility study mentioned earlier and the carrying through is hoped to start within the next two years. Rock City still works close with the partners and actors from different sectors with whom it has built up relations over the past decade or more. page 10

13 WP 9: Rural Development Mini-Case Study: Rock City Hultsfred 5.2. Transferability An important transferable contribution from Rock City is the FUNK model which Rock City developed together with the Knowledge Foundation, a national public foundation. The FUNK model was designed to be transferable to other segments of the experience industry such as design, books, film, music, museums, events, and amusement parks. This model is applicable on a national as well as international level. Rock City is seen as a forerunner and has for example been presented at the World Culture Economic Forum in the US. VI. Conclusions: Main success factors One key success factor has been to broaden the horizon of regional development initiatives and to see beyond the local barriers. The people working with Rock City gathered extensive information, knowledge and inspiration by visiting other projects, events and companies. This led to an open and creative work environment where all kinds of ideas were welcome. This made Rock City into a workplace to which people with high competence within the music industry among others are drawn regardless of the remote localisation. Another important factor was to involve many actors in the process and avoid dependency on one driving force. The operational tasks were delegated to a smaller steering group, but knowledge and experience was accumulated from a network of specialists and thinkers. One important aspect was not to put any responsibility on the actors with advisory roles. These are often people with tight schedules and it proved fruitful to have as flexible a relationship as possible with them. A project of this character demands versatility in the managing organisation. The fact that the project managers of the sub-projects were adaptable was important to the success of the project.. It is as important that they can understand the needs of the civil servants at the local and regional authority as well as those of the creative entrepreneurs with wild business concepts and the teenagers on the street. It is also crucial to have a driven person in the managing position. To be able to manage such a demanding project which stretches over a few years you have to feel passionate about your task. The point of departure for every project is the design phase which is why the production of a well thought through planning document was a key success factor. The project plan had a clear vision and demarcated goals as well as indicators. The quantifiable goals were however not too narrow. A lot can happen and change in three years and this was taken into account in the planning document. A fine balance was achieved between defining clear goals and not making them too precise. For example, a good goal was to say that the project should lead to 50 new students, but it was not necessary to say that it should lead to 50 new students in one specific programme. A further lesson from the project was that to be able to wind up a project in structured way, it is important never to underestimate the importance of administration. It takes longer to complete a project during its final stage than expected and it is important to bring an end to the activities in good time before the final date. A final lesson was that the same day as you start a project, regardless if it stretches over a few months or years, you have to start thinking about how you want to finish it and build a system for this. This for example means that you have to create a comprehensive documentation of the project along the way and not leave this for the last day. When you manage a project which stretches over several years a certain loss of information can easily occur, for example following staff turnover. If you do not keep track of your activities from day one, this can create problems when you do your final reporting and requisition of funds. It has even proved to be very useful page 11

14 when the project manager keeps some form of diary where just a short note of what has been carried out that day is written down VII. Contact details Contact details Rock City Hultsfred AB, Address: RockCity AB, Box 170, Hultsfred, Sweden Tel: Contact: Putte Svensson, CEO, putte.svensson@rockcity.se Date of this information ; revised This case study has been prepared by Kai Böhme and Kajsa Forsberg, SWECO EuroFutures AB, SE in the framework of a study carried out by Metis on behalf of the European Commission. The contents and views expressed in this case study are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the opinions or policies of the European Commission. page 12