A Transnational Co-Creation Journey
Across nine regions, project partners hosted 12 regional workshops, engaging more than 140 participants from creative industries, tourism, business, academia, and public administration. These workshops addressed a total of 39 real-world challenges ranging from sustainable tourism and digital inclusion to local branding and community-driven innovation.
Each workshop followed a shared methodology outlined in the project’s Building Bridges Toolbox. Participants collaborated in multidisciplinary teams to co-design DGC solutions using practical tools for business modelling, storytelling, service design, and stakeholder mapping. The most promising solutions were refined in transnational workshops focused on business development, social impact, and pitch training.
Regional Highlights
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Slovenia (PTP & MAO): Co-created Novi Kolesarski, a digital platform offering interactive circular cycling routes in the Northern Primorska region to extend tourist stays and promote green mobility.
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Italy (Friuli Innovazione): Developed Impronto di meno, a mobile app for cultural events that gamifies sustainable behavior through reward systems and real-time environmental feedback.
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Hungary (CTRIA): Created Valleyland Connect, a digital identity platform for 26 rural settlements, combining cultural mapping with real-time visitor engagement tools.
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Austria (build! Kärnten): Helped startups like Kos-Pure Aqua communicate their digital and green impact more effectively using creative storytelling frameworks.
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Italy (IUAV): Piloted SwapUp, an app-supported swap party concept to promote circular fashion culture in tourist accommodations.
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Croatia (FEBT): Launched Evala, a cultural tourism app delivering GPS-based, community-sourced experiences for heritage engagement and slow tourism.
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Germany (SEZ): Designed Castle Tour with Wine Tasting, a sustainable event concept linking wine culture, regional storytelling, and community-led tourism in Ortenau.
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Croatia (IRI Centar): Proposed Green Olympics, a gamified eco-challenge for city residents and tourists to compete in sustainability actions.
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Czech Republic (BizGarden): Created SensiTIC, a multi-sensory TIC (Tourist Information Centre) model that turns traditional info points into immersive, locally rooted experience hubs.
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Slovakia (TUKE): Developed a concept to install heritage-linked beehives at open-air museums, combining biodiversity education with cultural storytelling.
The Power of DGC Co-Innovation
The Building Bridges actions demonstrated that creative collaboration can turn digital and green challenges into real opportunities. Through intensive teamwork, hands-on learning, and cross-sector dialogue, participants were empowered to shape solutions aligned with regional needs and European priorities.
Feedback from the workshops confirmed increased participant capacity, stronger local networks, and a high degree of satisfaction. Several pilots – including Valleyland Connect, Novi Kolesarski, and SwapUp – are already moving toward implementation and scaling.
A Foundation for Future Impact
With 10 DGC solutions developed and tested, Capacity2Transform sets a strong precedent for how transnational cooperation and creative ecosystems can fuel regional innovation. These outcomes now feed into the project’s broader strategic work on Entrepreneurial Environments and will contribute to future policy recommendations and support tools.
Visit our Outputs section to explore the pilot actions in detail, including solution summaries.