The conference, according to the Commissioner "could mark the beginning of a new process, bringing together policy makers, representatives of the sectors and research for the benefit of culture and its related sectors". Cultural and creative sectors have to be included into policy decision-making; culture has indeed an intrinsic value as a public good.
The participants discussed how best to gather evidence in order to design better policies and help place culture higher on the European agenda for growth and jobs. The Commission's focus is on the spill-over effects of culture onto other sectors and on its contribution to local and regional development.
Tactical approach
Cultural and creative sectors have already contributed significantly to growth in European economy; however, the potential contributions could be even more. Already at present, cultural and creative sectors represent close to one million businesses – mostly SMEs.
At the same time, there are worrying trends among budgetary authorities who look at arts and culture as a luxury and a cost rather than as an investment, argued the Commissioner: thus public budgets are slashed accordingly.
Policy makers do not have to succumb to the pressure of economic arguments, but a tactical approach should be used instead: if the member states are eager to use "cultural contribution" to the economy they need tools at hand. They need evaluation and measurement methods which can capture the full range of impacts that culture and the arts have on the economy and on society. They need to map spill-over effects on other sectors and they have to start quantifying them.
Most presently are convinced about the economic potential of the cultural and creative sectors for contributing to a job-rich recovery in Europe. However, in order to make a persuasive case to those who may not be convinced – and it is often those who decide on budgets – there is need to present evidence that is systematic, comprehensive and compelling.
Some data exists of course: about a year ago, the Commission proposed a Communication on promoting the cultural and creative sectors, urging member states to develop integrated long-term strategies at the national and regional level. The EU's political message then was backed by data to force the states in building evidences. For instance, it was seen that these sectors were resilient to the economic downturn starting in 2008, but it is necessary to know how they are behaving against the backdrop of a continuing recession, argued the Commissioner.
The member states have to establish a solid evidence base for adapting to the EU policies and to develop new initiatives.
Joint Research Centre can help to improve the impact of culture and develop adapted indicators in providing better metrics and stronger evidence and supporting effective policy-making at all levels: local, regional, national and European.
Statistics and illustrative examples
Speaking about evidence-based policy-making for the cultural and creative sectors two things shall be kept in mind: quality statistics and illustrative examples. Quality statistics can capture the economic and societal weight of the cultural and creative sectors (for instance: contribution to the GDP, employment), the specificities of these sectors (for example the size and profile of the businesses involved) and the horizontal aspects linked with culture and the activities it generates: cultural participation, values, spill-over effects.
Besides, statistics must be complemented by illustrative examples. A sound analysis of concrete examples of the positive impacts of cultural and creative sectors on local economies and societies should be an integral part of evidence building methodologies. Such an analysis can help, for instance, to identify systemic elements which determine success or failure. This is especially relevant when it comes to local and regional development strategies.
The EU efforts in the area of cultural statistics and examples were the following:
- The European Agenda for Culture adopted in 2007 calls for evidence-based policy and the two Council Work Plans since 2008 identified as a priority improving the collection and comparability of cultural statistics at European level.
- With regard to statistics, useful groundwork is being conducted by Eurostat. Last year the European Statistical System Network Culture – which was set up under the auspices of Eurostat – proposed a new conceptual and operational statistical framework for the cultural sector. The aim was to create a common statistical language for all EU Member States and, ultimately, data comparable across the European Union.
The Commission is intensifying cooperation with Eurostat to improve cultural statistics – in particular on cultural employment. However, further work on statistics requires a mobilization of resources on all sides. "We need to look into what can be done now by the Commission and the Member States, individually and working together", argued the Commissioner.
Effect on development
Among concrete examples, which capture the two topics – spill-over effects and development of cities and regions, the European Capitals of Culture is an obvious, yet modest, case in point.
The award of the title for the European Capital of Culture sets in motion a long-term process that can change a city, its image, its cultural sector and its citizens. The economic and social benefits that are generated, in terms of tourism, branding, growth and social inclusion, are felt for many years after the event.
In addition, there are some spill-over effects that are worth mentioning: the development of skills and the creation of job opportunities, innovation and branding, creative content and new technologies, regional development, and social inclusion.
European Commission attaches particular attention to creative partnerships and knowledge alliances between higher education and businesses, including creative businesses.
Such partnerships allow the member states to identify the needs of the sector and help develop skills to address labour market shortages; this approach is key to promoting youth employment in creative industries.
The impact of design in adding value to products and services in traditional manufacturing industries is an obvious example when talking about culture and innovation. European design is one of Europe's great competitive advantages. Firms that invest in creative input are far more likely to introduce product innovation and so maintain their competitive edge.
In the area of ICTs, artistic achievements and 'creative content' feed broadband networks,
computers and consumer electronic devices. Member states need to capture this reality and support the place of the cultural and creative sectors in the digital value chain.
In terms of regional development, urban regeneration through cultural projects has repeatedly proved to be a winning formula. Best example is the Ruhr region in Germany, a successful example of cultural cooperation among 53 cities.
Finally, artistic interventions help to increase the effectiveness of different social policies, with positive effects on social inclusion and well-being. Participating in cultural activities helps to create in people a sense of belonging and shared purpose, and can prevent social exclusion – an important issue from the EU-2020 strategy.
Systematic analysis of evidence
There is no lack of examples about the positive spill-over effects of culture; what is left is a systematic analysis of this body of evidence. The member states need to develop capacity to derive economic models from positive examples: the EU Joint Research Centre has a crucial role to play by addressing the fragmentation of existing evidence and improving the methodologies used for analysing it.
Closer cooperation with the Joint Research Centre in the field of cultural and creative sectors can serve as the much-needed 'knowledge broker' between research and policy; the representatives of the sector should be also on board.
The EU and the states shall try together to mobilise networks of regions, cities and cultural operators to make a critical mass of raw information available for testing models on real data. In addition, this work should also be coordinated with relevant work on enterprise and industrial policy, the digital agenda and regional and urban development.
The EU and the member states need to engage in a constructive dialogue, which would continue at the European Culture Forum taking place at the beginning of November in Brussels.
Reference: European Commission, A. Vassiliou, responsible for Education, Culture, Multilingualism and Youth, in http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_SPEECH-13-849_en.htm
