MediaFutures, Data-driven innovation hub for the media value chain

ended

MediaFutures will set up a virtual, European data innovation hub, including funding, mentoring and support for entrepreneurial and creative projects to reshape the media value chain through responsible, innovative uses of data. We will: • explore the critical factors that impact how people engage with bottom-up quality journalism, science education and digital citizenship; • define a participatory, inclusive innovation programme, leveraging impulses from multiple disciplines, as well as synergies between entrepreneurs and creatives; • organise a competition addressing pressing technical, economic and societal challenges in the media value chain to identify promising digital entrepreneurs, creatives and data-empowered solutions; • provide data and experimentation facilities for the winners of this competition to test and nurture their ideas; • support 51 businesses and 43 artists by solving common concerns around funding and access to mentoring in technical, legal, business, media and sustainability matters; and • create toolkits and best practices for innovators, creatives, and other stakeholders to achieve greater traction for their citizen-centric initiatives, and empower them to communicate through data in inspiring, informative and engaging ways. Drawing on the experience of the consortium - ZABALA, ODI and SOTON (instrumental to delivering several flagship Horizon 2020 data incubators); IRCAM (leading the way in publicly funded art-tech-science residencies programmes); EUT and LUH (2 accomplished DIHs and BDVA i-Spaces); NMA (Europe’s largest media accelerator); LUISS (renowned school of journalism and digital startup accelerator); KU Leuven (legal and ethical expert) and DEN (one of Europe’s social innovation pioneers) - we will establish a Europe-wide, virtual data-driven innovation ecosystem, supported and promoted by an international network of 28 organisations that have confirmed their intention to join MediaFutures as members of our stakeholder cluster.