The report Getting Cultural Heritage to Work for Europe argues that the European Union should vigorously promote the innovative use of cultural heritage for growth and employment, social cohesion and environmental sustainability. Cultural heritage is increasingly regarded as a positive contributor to the European GDP. Indeed cultural heritage is widely appreciated as an essential part of Europe's underlying socio- economic, cultural and natural capital. This is a significant change in focus as cultural activities have traditionally been regarded as costs to society. However, this positive experience of cultural heritage is not yet universal. In many places, both urban and rural, rich cultural assets have not been recognised for the potential they hold to regenerate and renew. The report suggests that lessons should be learnt from places where cultural heritage has been a positive economic, social and environmental driver. Innovative financing, new forms of governance, unified landscape management, public private partnerships, crowd-sourced funding, philanthropy and many other innovative and creative approaches have been taken to releasing the locked-up potential of Europe's heritage.

http://www.ne-mo.org/fileadmin/Dateien/public/service/Report_of_the_Horizon_2020_expert_group_on_cultural_heritage.pdf