FAQ

The Creative Industries Immersive Impact Coalition (CIIIC) program aims to increase capacity for immersive experiences, stimulate societal applications and boost the Netherlands' earning potential.

Here you can read (Dutch) the summary of the entire CIIIC program. Below we answer frequently asked questions.

Program, participation & schedule

What does the program look like?
The program consists of five lines of action:

How can I participate in the program?
The program consists mainly of open calls (grant schemes) for research and innovation projects, which are widely accessible. It is not necessary (or possible) to apply now to participate later. The themes and criteria for the calls are being further developed. Sign up for the newsletter if you don't want to miss anything.

Do you have examples of research and innovation projects?
Immersive Experiences (IX) can be used widely. Many examples can be found of how IX can support our working, learning and living. We collect more similar inspiring project examples on our inspiration page.

When does the program start?
CIIIC was awarded on March 15, 2024. The program will begin on January 1, 2025. The intervening time will be used to further design and prepare the program. We are working towards the start as follows:

• Preparing implementation of action lines and opening first calls (KIEM + SBIR fall 2024)
• Starting up program organization, organizing work processes and developing supporting tools (including knowledge platform and website)
• Co-Creation events and softlaunch September 2024
  1. Collect, elaborate and prioritize content needs and input
  2. Develop Narrative, strengthen Community
  3. Concretize and operationalize Public Values

What is the National Growth Fund?
The National Growth Fund invests, together with initiators, in projects that provide long-term economic growth. We all ultimately benefit from this. Because economic growth generates more income, so we all have more to spend. And it provides room to continue investing in, for example, health care, education and measures against climate change. Want to know more? Check out nationalgrowthfund.com

How can I stay informed?
Sign up for the CIIIC newsletter here

GOALS & IMPACT

In what ways is CIIIC contributing to social and economic impact?
CIIIC has four higher ambitions:

• Knowledge and methodologies for designing and developing responsible IX.
• Sufficient designers and developers who can create and apply IX.
• A strong IX ecosystem that innovates, designs, develops, applies, markets and scales up together. Supported with high quality facilities and training.
• Policies that facilitate and encourage development and use of safe, ethical, sustainable and inclusive application of IX.

What do you mean by Public Values?
By this we mean that European and Dutch standards and values should be secured in training, design, development, application, dissemination and use of IX. Examples are:

1. Protection of individual and social mental and physical safety. Ensuring the health of end users.
2. Ensuring autonomy and self-determination, protection from manipulation, influence and identity abuse. Combating disinformation.
3. Ensuring the openness, transparency and democratic use of IX. Commit to open standards and interoperability. Promote good governance.
4. Enabling diversity and inclusiveness. Address accessibility of content and counter discrimination.
5. Monitor privacy and facilitate data autonomy. Preventing target shifting and misuse of sensitive information.
6. Countering negative environmental impacts. Securing ecological sustainability, protecting the social foundation in society.

What is meant by the innovation agenda?
CIIIC's innovation agenda is part of Action Line 5, which focuses on synergy and coherence in the program. The agenda should provide an overview of substantive opportunities, bottlenecks and issues within the IX sector. This provides the basis of the content of the projects and activities from the other action lines. CIIIC aims to make the innovation agenda publicly available and to continuously enrich it, and sharpen it, through co-creation with the community.

How will the results from the action lines be shared?
This will be done with a knowledge platform. The knowledge platform aims to share and highlight results and insights from the entire program. This can include reports, data, assets, and examples of applications. For example, from research and innovation projects, or lessons learned from the learning communities. In this way, CIIIC aims to promote knowledge development and continuity between projects. In addition, the program wants to use this knowledge platform to ensure the intended impact on capacity building and societal application of IX.

GOVERNANCE & TEAM

Who submitted the proposal?
The proposal is an initiative of the Creative Industry Top Team, CLICKNL and the Ministries of OCW and EZK. It was submitted by the Ministry of OCW in the departmental route of the NGF. They did so on behalf of a consortium (temporary partnership) of 120 makers, applicators, knowledge institutions and network organizations.

Who sits on the steering committee?
CIIIC's steering committee consists of Paul Thewissen and Bart Hofstede on behalf of the Ministry of OCW, Paul Vetter on behalf of the Ministry of EZK, Jann de Waal on behalf of the Creative Industry Top Team, Johannes van der Vos on behalf of Regieorgaan SIA and Bart Ahsmann on behalf of CLICKNL.
The composition of the steering committee will change around September, appropriate to the final governance structure of the CIIIC program organization. What the final composition will be will be communicated later.

What is the role of CLICKNL?
Now that CIIIC has been honored, OCW will work out the formal organization and CLICKNL will pick up the coordination and further detailing of the program. For this, CLICKNL is in close contact with experts in the field.

What is the role of OCW?
OCW has embraced the initiative and submitted it on behalf of the coalition parties in the departmental route to the third round of the National Growth Fund. OCW is ultimately responsible for the program as proposer.

Thematic calls

The CIIIC program uses thematic calls for a number of action lines. This is mainly the case in the Knowledge and Methods action line, but also in the Innovation and Demonstration Projects action line.

What is meant by thematic calls?
In the CIIIC program, we develop specific calls (grant schemes), preferably within existing schemes. The content of those calls (including defining the scope, desired contribution to specific objectives of CIIIC, and type of projects) is developed through a consultation process. In this process, the program team asks the program council of CIIIC to propose the content of the call, based on the themes from the CIIIC innovation agenda and the need they see in the field.

How will a thematic call work?
Parties falling within the target group of the chosen scheme can submit proposals in due course to the implementing organization (e.g. RVO, NWO and SIA). These proposals will be evaluated by them.

How many thematic calls are there per year?
The frequency of calls depends on the nature and objectives of the thematic calls. For example, short-term research can be requested more often and long-term innovation projects less often.

What is own contribution within the thematic calls?
The conditions for own contribution are determined per program line, in line with the usual preconditions of the scheme.

What are the opportunities for creators to be supported in the development of IX content?
The program offers direct and indirect tools for this. For example, the results of research projects and learning communities (indirect), but also Artistic Design Research and SBiR for projects where content can be developed (direct). In addition, the program team is looking closely at opportunities to offer continuity to makers. For example, through the interconnection of CIIIC's various schemes and support activities.

Immersive Experience Labs or IX-Labs

What do we mean by an IX-Lab?
IX-Labs are physical places and facilities needed for the development, education, research, application, demonstration (etc) of immersive experiences.

These labs often already exist at makers, knowledge institutions, theaters, etc, but can often be better utilized and work more closely together. CIIIC aims to support a complementary network of collaborating IX labs within several regions in the Netherlands that provide a shared infrastructure of facilities for the entire IX community.

What is the future of IX-Labs?
IX-Labs will be better connected thanks to CIIIC, better able to create synergy in the network and facilities of stakeholders and thus give increasing international visibility to the Dutch ecosystem for immersive experiences. After CIIIC ends, this network of labs should be able to continue independently.