International Society for the Study of Creativity and Innovation (ISSCI)

What International Society for the Study of Creativity and Innovation (ISSCI) does

The International Society for the Study of Creativity and Innovation (ISSCI) is a France-based non-profit academic society founded in 2019 by leading creativity researchers to facilitate large-scale, cross-disciplinary and cross-national studies of creativity and innovation. The organization operates a tiered membership model with individual dues ranging from €10 (Junior) to €40 (Associate, Full, Fellow) annually and institutional lab memberships ranging from €100 (Basic) to €900 (Premium), covering cohorts of faculty and graduate students within member research labs. ISSCI serves a global community of more than 200 academic researchers and at least 12 affiliated research laboratories across institutions including Yale, Columbia, the University of Tokyo, the University of Paris, Aix-Marseille University, the University of Bologna, and Shaanxi Normal University. Its core activities include facilitating international research collaborations, assisting members in locating funding and project management resources, organizing symposia (delivered via Zoom) and in-person summer schools and retreats, and operating an AI Task Force focused on cyber-creativity research whose output appeared as a cover article in the Journal of Intelligence in August 2025. The society is governed by an elected Executive Board and is aligned with the UN-recognized World Creativity and Innovation Day; it is not a technology company and does not sell commercial products.

Name

International Society for the Study of Creativity and Innovation (ISSCI)

Legal name

International Society for the Study of Creativity and Innovation

Website

https://issci.online

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

ISSCI is a France-based non-profit academic society that facilitates international, cross-disciplinary research on creativity and innovation through tiered individual and institutional memberships, symposia, summer schools, and an AI Task Force serving a global community of 200+ researchers across 12+ affiliated labs.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Cintré

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Individual Membership Dues: Annual membership fees from individual researchers at various career stages (Junior €10, Associate/Full/Fellow €40 per year). Revenue supports society operations, events, and member services.
2. Laboratory/Institute Group Membership: Annual dues from research labs and institutes at four tiers: Basic (€100), Standard (€300), Deluxe (€600), Premium (€900). Covers faculty and graduate/postdoc students within each lab.
3. Event Registration Fees: Revenue from symposium registrations, summer school participation, and conference attendance. The 2025 InCIAM-ISSCI Summer School brought together 48 participants from 9 countries.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

ISSCI is a non-profit international academic society that facilitates large-scale, cross-disciplinary and cross-national scientific research on creativity and innovation. It sells tiered individual and laboratory/institute memberships, and delivers scholarly events including monthly symposia, an annual summer school co-organized with InCIAM, summer retreats, and the MIC Conference, along with curated research resources and an AI Task Force agenda.

Product overview

ISSCI is a non-profit research society, not a product company. It provides membership programs (Junior, Associate, Full, Fellow, Lab categories with associated fees ranging from €10-40 for individual and €100-900 for labs), organizes events (ISSCI Symposia, InCIAM-ISSCI Summer School & Conference, 2026 Summer Retreat, World Creativity & Innovation Week), operates an AI Task Force focused on cyber-creativity research, curates academic resources (textbooks, videos, podcasts), and maintains a directory of member research labs worldwide. The organization facilitates international collaboration among creativity researchers rather than offering commercial products or services.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• ISSCI Membership Program Annual membership in the international academic society for creativity and innovation researchers, providing access to a global scholarly network, reduced event fees, eligibility to propose research projects, PhD/postdoc exchange opportunities, and institutional recognition. Targeted at PhD students, postdocs, established scholars, and university research labs/institutes.
• ISSCI Symposia Series Monthly virtual symposia hosted on Zoom covering topics that advance creativity theory and practice. Free for ISSCI members and offered at discounted rates for non-members. Targeted at academic researchers, graduate students, and practitioners in creativity and innovation studies.
• InCIAM-ISSCI International Summer School & Conference Annual in-person intensive educational program and conference for doctoral and postdoctoral researchers in creativity studies, co-organized with InCIAM at Aix-Marseille University. Limited participant capacity with separate registration; awards two €800 ISSCI Prizes for best student research projects.
• ISSCI Summer Retreat Annual summer retreat offering intensive research collaboration and educational programming for creativity researchers. The 2026 edition is supported by esad—idea in Portugal. Targeted at doctoral, postdoctoral, and established creativity researchers.
• MIC Conference Annual international conference co-organized with the Marconi Institute for Creativity (MIC) at the University of Bologna, celebrating advances in creativity and innovation studies. Targeted at the global community of creativity researchers and scholars.
• World Creativity & Innovation Week Annual week-long program of online events, symposia, workshops, and Idea-Thons held April 15-21 to celebrate creativity and innovation in alignment with the UN-recognized World Creativity and Innovation Day. Open to members and the broader global community.

Quantifiable outcome

• 48 participants from 9 countries attended the 2025 InCIAM-ISSCI Summer School
• +1 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• Marconi Institute for Creativity (MIC)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 September 2025MIC, founded by ISSCI board member Giovanni Emanuele Corazza at University of Bologna, co-organizes the annual MIC Conference. The 2025 9th MIC Conference celebrates 75 years of modern creativity studies since J. Paul Guilford's 1950 foundation speech. ISSCI promotes and participates in MIC Conference activities.
• Institute on Creativity and Innovations of Aix-Marseille (InCIAM)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 2 June 2025Co-organizers of the annual InCIAM-ISSCI International Summer School & Conference. InCIAM, part of Aix-Marseille University, is led by ISSCI board member Nathalie Bonnardel. The partnership combines InCIAM's multidisciplinary research focus with ISSCI's global network to deliver educational programs for doctoral and postdoctoral researchers in creativity studies.
• Journal of IntelligencemajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerISSCI AI Task Force published a decalogue of cyber-creativity challenges as the cover story of Journal of Intelligence (August 2025, Vol. 13, Issue 8). The publication advances the society's research agenda on human-AI collaboration in creativity.
• United NationsmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerIn 2018, the UN formally recognized April 21st as World Creativity and Innovation Day, encouraging use of creativity to address the 2015 Sustainable Development Goals. ISSCI organizes annual World Creativity & Innovation Week activities in alignment with this global initiative.
• esad—idea (Portugal)minorStrategic or Co-development Partneresad—idea (Escola Superior de Arte e Design) provides support for the ISSCI 2026 Summer Retreat, with retreat participation being free for accepted applicants thanks to generous support from ISSCI and esad.
• Edward de Bono Institute for Creative Thinking and Innovation (University of Malta)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLed by ISSCI Secretary Margaret Mangion, the Institute offers academic programs (Master, PhD, Undergraduate Diploma) and engages in public outreach, EU-funded research, and World Creativity & Innovation Week/Day events. Part of ISSCI's member lab network.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• International Mind, Brain, and Education Society (IMBES): An international scientific society that promotes interdisciplinary research in mind, brain, and education. Comparable to ISSCI in being a membership-based academic society facilitating international, interdisciplinary scholarship and hosting events and publications.
• European Council for High Ability (ECHA): A European professional organization for researchers and practitioners in high ability/giftedness. Comparable to ISSCI as an academic society focused on giftedness/creativity research with similar membership and event-based engagement model.
• National Association for Gifted Children (NAGC): A US-based organization of parents, educators, and researchers supporting gifted education. Comparable to ISSCI in mission overlap with creativity/giftedness research, though more US-focused and education-practitioner oriented.
• International Positive Psychology Association (IPPA): An international membership organization advancing positive psychology research and practice. Comparable to ISSCI in operating as a global scholarly society with tiered memberships, conferences, and research-focused mission.
• International Society for the Study of Individual Differences (ISSID): An international scientific society studying individual differences in personality, intelligence, and creativity. Directly comparable as an academic membership society in psychology with overlapping research themes in creativity and cognition.
• World Council for Gifted and Talented Children: A global non-profit supporting gifted and talented education and research. Comparable to ISSCI in mission alignment with creativity research, global membership model, and convening of international conferences.
• Society for the Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts (APA Division 10): A division of the American Psychological Association dedicated to psychology of aesthetics, creativity, and the arts. Most directly comparable to ISSCI as a scholarly society focused on creativity research, with overlapping membership and research themes.

Broad incumbents

• European Association for Research on Learning and Instruction (EARLI): A European association for researchers in learning and instruction. Comparable to ISSCI as an international academic society hosting conferences and supporting researchers, but with broader scope across all learning domains.
• American Educational Research Association (AERA): The largest professional organization for education research in North America. A broader incumbent relevant to ISSCI as an institutional venue for education research, with overlapping themes in creativity and learning.
• Association for Psychological Science (APS): The leading international scientific society for psychological science research. A broader incumbent that encompasses creativity research within a wider psychology portfolio, competing for the same membership mindshare as ISSCI.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/issci

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about International Society for the Study of Creativity and Innovation (ISSCI)