Under the leadership of the European centre for creative economy (ecce) in Dortmund the Network for Innovations in Culture and Creativity in Europe (N.I.C.E.) was initiated in 2013 by a consortium of 15 cities, universities, agencies and personalities from 10 countries. It is a non-profit initiative funded by the Ministry for Family, Children, Youth, Culture and Sport of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.
The yearly N.I.C.E. Award, financed by the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Energy and Industry of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, aims to promote innovations from the cultural and creative sectors especially those that spill over into the wider economy and society.
The 2016 award challenges the cultural and creative sectors to propose surprising and experimental innovations that are solutions to difficult global problems with special, but not exclusive, attention given to digital innovations. Entries eligible to the N.I.C.E. Award can be single individuals such as artists and researchers; or organisations such as companies and public institutions or agencies, non-profit foundations or initiatives as well as research institutions from within the cultural and creative sectors.