Culture is recognised as an important factor for economic development and the attractiveness of European regions and cities. However, the many other ways that culture is contributing to EU cohesion and regional policy are still largely unknown.
The study was commissioned to address this gap by providing, first of all, evidence of the range of contributions made by the cultural and creative sector to the objectives of EU cohesion policy since 2000, and, backing this up, a pool of around 50 examples illustrating the contribution.
Each example is presented in a separate project fiche, while the study itself is accompanied by an online practical information kit. This provides details of culture’s place in development supported by the Structural Funds and is addressed both to cultural operators and to regional policy managers.
The study’s main conclusion is that resources available for culture-based interventions under the Structural Funds should be more commensurate with the size and growth potential of the creative sector, which is one of the fastest growing sectors in Europe.
A longer-term and more strategic approach to culture-based development is required at a local and regional level. This should be mainstreamed into development strategies that are integrated and built on partnerships between public authorities, cultural organisations, the relevant business interests and representatives of civil society.
With this aim in view, the study lays out a typology of culture-based activities contributing to regional development and proposes a model for an integrated culture-based strategy that can be used as the basis for investment in culture at a local and regional level.