CCC partners meet in Gdynia to launch the Pre-Commercial Procurement process and review pilot progress
From 25 to 28 March, partners of the Creative Circular Cities (CCC) project from the six demo cities gathered in Gdynia, on Poland’s northern coast, to launch the Pre-Commercial Procurement (PCP) process, share updates on their pilot projects, and plan collaboration on business incubation programmes. The meeting was co-organised by Gdynia Design Centre, the Association Pomorskie in the EU and the Danish Cultural Institute.
During the partner meeting the CCC demo cities – Aarhus, Kiel, Gdynia, Turku, Tallinn, and Riga – each outlined a concrete urban challenge to be addressed through innovation. This significant moment marks the beginning of a new phase in the CCC initiative: the implementation of a Pre-Commercial Procurement process to support the development of innovative circular solutions. PCP is a European innovation instrument that enables public sector entities to co-develop new solutions together with private companies. *
CCC project partner Gdynia Design Centre opened the partner meeting by introducing the audience to the centre’s largest annual event, the Gdynia Design Days Festival and explaining how their circular approach empowers both designers and curators, while also reducing costs and creating new opportunities. The key message – design should be a tool for solving problems and finding solutions that are good for people and the planet – is integrated into the core values and activities of the festival. The first day was then spent peer reviewing each city’s presentation to learn from each other and improve the projects.
A more in-depth knowledge-sharing workshop took place on the second day. The discussions raised questions such as: How can creative circular activities be sustained or transformed into business ideas after a specific event? How can partners share more resources? Could the ways in which some partners engage with their policymakers inspire others to develop new policy strategies in their own cities?
The day was followed by an excursion to the circular initiative, Gdansk Shipyard. There, local entrepreneurs are transforming an otherwise vacant seaside site into a social and creative venue, making the most of the materials and space already available. Huge halls are redesigned into a collaborative artistic space and in the future, the shipyard will host local artists as well as artist-in-residence.
On the third day, the partner meeting benefited from a workshop by Maija Krastiņa, a strategic communication and marketing specialist and board member of the Zero Waste Latvia organization. In the workshop, Maija talked about communication trends and encouraged the project partners to collaborate in content creation, to reinforce each other’s content, and to focus on the importance of finding the right approach and communication channels to reach different audiences.
The meeting concluded with an intensive session about the Pre-Commercial Procurement and cities challenges.
“Creative Circular Cities” is co-funded by the EU’s Interreg Baltic Sea Region Programme to promote circular transition at local level by involving the culture & creative sectors and industries.
What is PCP?
* Instead of purchasing existing products, Pre-Commercial Procurement (PCP) funds research and development in phases – starting from concept design, moving through prototyping, and ending with real-world testing. In this way, PCP allows cities to shape market-ready solutions that align with their strategic needs, especially in areas where no adequate products exist today.
