EU Project Capacity2TransformBuilding capacity for digital, green and creative transformation

With the Interreg Central Europe project Capacity2Transform Steinbeis Europa Zentrum together with 10 partners from 8 countries shared one goal: Support the green and digital transformation of SMEs, especially in the tourism sector, by unlocking the power of culture and creativity.

Transformation demands new mindsets, creative methods, and cross-sector collaboration. This is why the Cultural & creative Sectors and industries (CCSI) play a key role as they bring fresh perspectives, new problem-solving cultures but also new methods & tools.

Under the coordination of Primorska Technology Park in Slovenia, the Capacity2Transform consortium combined partners working closely with SMEs (business support, incubator & innovation agencies), higher education & research institutions but also partners with strong tourism and creative anchorage.

Steinbeis Europa Zentrum led pilot programmes in Baden‑Württemberg

As a partner, Steinbeis Europa Zentrum played a central implementation and dissemination role. Steinbeis led both pilot programmes in Baden‑Württemberg between May 2024 and April 2025. Highlights included a Storytelling Masterclass, an innovation workshop series, and an international peer exchange on sustainable touristic wine destinations with 60 participants from 13 countries. The co-creation programme supported the development of two new business concepts; one of them linking wine culture, regional storytelling and community-led tourism (“Castle Tour with Wine Tasting”) which also illustrates how DGC collaboration makes sustainability tangible and attractive.

Steinbeis Europa Zentrum was Work Package leader for coordinating activities to turn pilot experience into transferable solutions including testing solutions in external environments and mainstreaming project solutions at political and European levels. In this frame, it prepared a practical guideline (e-book) with partnership support and organized the Transferability Conference.

From ‘capacity building’ to ‘capacity for transformation’

At the core of the project lay the idea that (better) skills alone are not enough. Regional ecosystems need the capacity to collaborate across sectors, mobilise diverse competences and co-create implementable solutions. This is why Capacity2Transform did not just deliver trainings but developed and tested a practical Digital–Green–Creative (DGC) transformation methodology that is based on 3 pillars:

• upskilling (structured learning linked to real needs),
• peer exchange / mutual learning (knowledge transfer), and
• co-creation (multidisciplinary teams solving real challenges, producing implementable concepts).

The DGC transformation approach helps reshaping business models and regional innovation ecosystems by integrating digital, green and creative competences into everyday practice. This approach helps individuals and organisations develop practical skills that respond directly to local needs and real regional challenges.

Project success and results

Across the partnership, the project partners organized:

• 131 upskilling activities that engaged 920 participants and generated 94 DGC ideas. Although we followed the same methodology, each partner region tailored its upskilling programme based on local needs, which is why activities, topics and format greatly varied.
• 12 co-creation workshops totaling 140+ participants. These workshops, which supported cross-sector collaboration and strengthened collaboration with CCSI, turned 10 worth solving challenges into concrete solutions. A video pitch was prepared for each challenge / solution.
• A practical guideline for regions to replicate our DGC transformation approach: Our e‑book Supporting digital, green and creative transformation in regions: A practical guideline translates the project experience into a step‑by‑step methodology designed specifically for business support organisations, public authorities and CCSI actors who want to replicate the approach and implement DGC transformation in their own territories.
• 2 online learning platforms: The Knowledge Factory, which is a peer-learning platform that gathers tools, training materials, and expert insights to help businesses, support organisations, and researchers strengthen their green and digital skills, and the Media Factory that provides open-access to professionally written articles and multimedia content about stories, tools, and best practices on green and digital innovation.
• A competence framework that defines the digital, green, and creative knowledge, skills & attitudes needed for transformation.
• Policy recommendations and thematic actions for regional, national and EU-level decision-makers for embedding Digital–Green–Creative competences into regional innovation strategies, funding instruments and support services, so that CCSI and tourism SMEs can actively drive Europe’s twin transition.
• A Transferability Conference that involved 8 EU‑funded projects to share concrete results, methods, tools, experiences and recommendations regarding skills development and capacity building for green, digital, and creative transformation. The closing event in Stuttgart on 4 February 2026, gathered 120 participants from 17 countries, demonstrating both the demand for transferable “how‑to” methods and the project ability to bring together diverse programmes and communities around common transformation challenges. The transferability conference was highlighted as a good-practice format for sharing project results.

Impact, replication and dissemination

The transferability aspect was at the heart of Capacity2Transform. During the project, the partners tested their methodology in an external entrepreneurial context in Poland. This transferability action helped the consortium assess and improve the transferability guideline. Three main assets support the dissemination and replication of our results. The two platforms – Knowledge and Media Factories – as well as an e-book. They all ensure that regions can understand, apply and adapt the DGC methodology well beyond the original project lifetime and regional area.

Legacy, sustainability and future perspective

Even though Capacity2Transform concluded at the end of February 2026, the partnership explicitly committed to sustain and expand its collaboration beyond project end. To ensure the work continues after project funding, partners signed a Memorandum of Understanding committing to ongoing cooperation including maintaining the two shared platforms, replicating pilot formats, and developing follow-up initiatives.

€929.765 EU funding for Capacity2Transform, 03/2023 – 02/2026

Read more

• Capacity2Transform website: https://www.interreg-central.eu/projects/capacity2transform/
• Media Factory: https://digital-green-creative.eu/about/
• Knowledge Factory: https://capacitytotransform.eu/
• Baden-Württemberg pilot programme page: https://capacity2transform.my.canva.site/capacity2transform-pilotprogramm-baden-wuerttemberg
• News Article (in German): https://www.steinbeis-europa.de/de/aktuelles/beitrag/was-digitale-gruene-und-kreative-transformation-unternehmen-wirklich-bringt-capacity2transform-liefert-konzept-fuer-die-umsetzung
• E-book: Supporting digital, green and creative transformation in regions | 234623