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Creativity and innovation: Agreement between Mosaic and the Walloon government

March 18, 2013

An agreement signed recently between the Mosaic (managing creation) group at HEC Montréal and the Walloon government focuses on creativity and innovation. The agreement was signed in March at HEC Montréal, when it hosted a seven-member Walloon delegation headed by Henri Monceau, Chief of Staff to Jean-Claude Marcourt, Minister of the Economy, Higher Education and Innovation, who is responsible for innovation and new technologies. Under the agreement, the Walloon government agreed to contribute 150,000 euros in 2013 to two activities to be conducted under the aegis of the Mosaic group.

First of all, the Walloon government will send four to six Walloon players in the creative economy to the Summer School on Management of Creativity in an Innovation Society (one week in Montréal and one week in Barcelona) organized by Mosaic. This fifth edition of the Summer School will be held from July 9 to 24.

In addition, a large-scale study is to be carried out by a team of doctoral and MSc in Administration students at HEC Montréal, supervised by Professors Patrick Cohendet and Laurent Simon, Co-Directors of the Mosaic group. The team will design an evaluation method for the CreativeWallonia public policy, evaluate this policy and, in late 2013, submit a report with recommendations. Two-thirds of the financial support from the Walloon government will go toward this study.

CreativeWallonia, launched in October 2010, is a strategic framework program that sees creativity and innovation as central aspects of the economy and society. The program attracted the attention of the European Commission, which has since selected Wallonia, along with Tuscany, as one of two European areas for their exemplary strategy to support the creative economy as a driver of economic transformation.

While in Montreal, the Walloon delegates met with a number of representatives of Montreal organizations, including C2MTL, Montréal Space for Life and the Society for Arts and Technology, to discuss issues revolving around the creative economy, territorial development and public policy. Working with professors Cohendet and Simon, they also laid the groundwork for a visit by Minister Marcourt to Montreal and Quebec City in May. Lastly, they decided on Mosaic’s role during Creativity Week, to be held in Wallonia in November 2013, and made preparations for a joint summit on creative territories, to be held at HEC Liège at the same time.