Brief for Studies on Culture and the Structural Funds

From: EENC coordinators

To: External experts involved in the study

Date: 12 April 2012

Background

On 4 April 2012, the Directorate General for Education and Culture of the European Commission (DG EAC) submitted a request for an expert contribution on behalf of the EENC, involving the preparation of 6 ad-hoc papers to analyse how the unused potential of the cultural and creative sectors could foster regional and local development in six EU Member States, namely France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Poland and Spain.

With a view to the preparation of the Commission’s ‘negotiation mandates’ and subsequent discussion of ‘Partnership contracts’ with individual Member States, each paper is expected to contain the following three elements:

an overview of available information on how the structural funds have been used for culture;
a short SWOT analysis addressing the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of investment in the cultural and creative sector within each Member State or for different groups of regions within individual Member States;
an identification of priorities for investment in culture, based on the potential for local and regional development, including -if relevant- indicators for impact measurement.

The present document is aimed at the experts who will be involved and provides detailed information for the performance of this duty. Additional information can be found in the original DG EAC request enclosed and discussed with EENC scientific coordinator Jordi Baltà.

Objectives

The specific objective of the project is as follows:

To enable DG EAC to identify the potential for strengthening the role of culture in the Structural Funds’ ‘Partnership contracts’ with individual Member States, by providing a critical analysis of how ‘the unused potential of cultural and creative sectors’ can foster regional and local development in six EU Member States (France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Poland and Spain).

Presentation of the topic

The request arises in the context of the design and negotiation of the EU’s Cohesion Policy and the Operational Programmes for the funding period 2014-20. Preliminary policy documents on Cohesion Policy and priorities for the use of the Structural Funds have been published by the European Commission since late 2011, in the context of the Europe 2020 Strategy of ‘smart, sustainable and inclusive growth’. The following are particularly relevant:

European Commission, ‘Specific provisions for the use of the European Regional Development Fund and the Investment for Growth and Jobs goal’, October 2011.
European Commission, ‘Elements for a Common Strategic Framework 2014 to 2020’ (includes ERDF, ESF, Cohesion Fund, etc.), Commission Staff Working Document; see in particular its Annex, which contains details about the 11 Thematic Objectives foreseen; March 2012.

In this context, the Commission is preparing internal ‘negotiation mandates’ that will identify the type of investments that should be prioritised, based on an analysis of the national and regional economic outlook of past and current spending and the identification of potential for development and structural weaknesses to be addressed. The mandates will allow the Commission to discuss ‘Partnership contracts’ with Member States, which should ultimately set the strategy, priorities and arrangements for using the Common Strategic Framework (CSF) Funds in an effective and efficient way to achieve the EU 2020 objectives.

The Annex to the aforementioned Commission Staff Working Document refers to cultural aspects within 5 of the 11 Thematic Objectives of the CSF, as follows:

1. Strengthening Research, Technological Development and Innovation – mention of creative clusters and of cultural and creative industries (CCI);

3. Enhancing the Competitiveness of SMEs – mention of cultural and creative industries and of new forms of tourism;

6. Protecting the environment and Promoting Resource Efficiency: "investment in the diversification of local economies by protecting and enhancing cultural heritage and landscapes (both in rural and urban contexts)" and rehabilitation of cultural infrastructures;

9. Promoting social inclusion and combating poverty: promotion of intercultural activities;

10. Investing in Education, Skills and Lifelong Learning – mention of creative skills and creativity.

Partnership contracts established between the Commission and each Member State will identify the main priorities within each country and will be the basis on which national and regional authorities will design their Operational Programmes for the period 2014-20. As can be seen in the list above, culture and creativity are referred both in a broad, quasi-anthropological sense (e.g. Thematic Objective 9’s mention of intercultural activities) and in more tangible terms (CCIs, cultural heritage, creative skills, etc.).

In some cases, the approach taken may seem slightly narrow – e.g. links between culture and the promotion of social inclusion (Thematic Objective 9) could go far beyond the promotion of intercultural activities, whereas culture and the arts could contribute to education, skills and lifelong learning (Thematic Objective 10) in other areas in addition to creative skills and creativity. The same could apply to other Thematic Objectives.

It is worth noting that whereas in the past most emphasis was placed on cultural heritage, particularly as a resource for tourism attraction, the recent proposals appear to be more open to also integrating contemporary cultural forms, with particular emphasis on the cultural and creative industries – something that DG EAC seems keen on pursuing. Of interest here are the Commission’s 2010 Green Paper Unlocking the potential of cultural and creative industries and the results of its subsequent public consultation.

Finally, this is a topic that the EENC has addressed previously, particularly in Pier Luigi Sacco’s paper ‘Culture 3.0 – A New Perspective for the EU 2014-2020 Structural Funds Programming’ (April 2011) and Pascal Brunet’s issue paper for the latest European Culture Forum ‘Culture – A Smart Investment for European Regions?’ (October 2011).

The 6 countries identified by DG EAC (France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Poland and Spain) were chosen because of their size, the amount of Structural Funds that they will receive, the challenges that their economies are facing and/or the growth potential for their cultural and creative sector. The request presented by DG EAC also indicates that a second round of national analyses for other Member States may be requested at a later stage.

In this context, the focus of the research should be in particular the national and regional operational programmes implemented in the period 2007-13 as well as recent developments which may influence priorities for the period 2014-20. In addition to the Funds which have an impact at local, regional and national level (particularly the ERDF and the ESF), some attention should be paid to cross-border and interregional funding where this is deemed relevant for the purposes of territorial development, growth and jobs.

Expected results

The EENC should submit 6 papers, one for each of the countries identified. Insofar as possible, the same structure should be used for all countries, on the basis of the template described hereafter.

In some countries (e.g. Italy, Germany, Spain) it seems necessary to place more emphasis on the sub-national level, including an identification of groups of regions which share similar features (e.g. South / Central / North Italy, ‘East’ / ‘West’ Germany, etc.).

The following common template is suggested to authors and is open for discussion:

Topic	Description	To be prepared by
0. Background and Methodology
Background	Context and aims of the research	Drafted by EENC secretariat, revised by national authors
Methodology	Methodology used	National authors
Chapter 1. Culture and the Structural Funds 2007-13
Statistical data	A set of indicators at national and regional level (where available) on the place of culture in current Operational Programmes. Insofar as possible, the same indicators will be used for all countries under study.	Drafted by EENC secretariat (by 30 April if possible), revised by national authors; assistance by national authors may be particularly required in some cases, due to language.
General analysis	Qualitative appraisal of how culture has been used in the implementation of the Structural Funds in the relevant country, identifying some key issues. The following elements should be included: Short description of good practices identified (2-3 cases); Examples of failure (at least 1 case); Evidence obtained from relevant studies or other documents addressing either culture and the Structural Funds in the country or mapping the cultural and creative sectors with regard to local and regional development, if available. National Reform Programmes or national development strategies in the context of Europe 2020 should also be mentioned here, if they refer to culture. Relevant contextual factors (e.g. impact of the financial crisis, major political changes, etc.) may also be indicated in this section. Whereas it is likely that some overlap will exist with Chapter 2, this section should ideally have a more general, overview tone, as opposed to the more detailed, strategic approach of the next chapter.	National authors The EENC secretariat will provide a rough outline for the description of good practices (by 20 April). Support in the identification of documentation at national level can also be provided (particularly for DE, ES, FR, IT because of language issues) if requested by national authors.
Chapter 2. SWOT analysis^¹
Strengths	Identification of key strengths in the cultural and creative sectors (CCIs; protection and preservation of heritage and its potential for cultural tourism; cultural infrastructure and its impact on social cohesion), with a short description of each item. It is suggested that 4-10 strengths be identified for each country. An indicative, non-exhaustive list of potential items is included in the request from DG EAC (see Annex).	National authors
Weaknesses	Identification of key weaknesses in the cultural and creative sectors (CCIs; protection and preservation of heritage and its potential for cultural tourism; cultural infrastructure and its impact on social cohesion), with a short description of each item. It is suggested that 4-10 weaknesses be identified for each country. An indicative, non-exhaustive list of potential items is included in the request from DG EAC (see Annex).	National authors
Opportunities	Identification of key opportunities (i.e. external factors) for strengthening the cultural and creative sectors within local and regional development (CCIs; protection and preservation of heritage and its potential for cultural tourism; cultural infrastructure and its impact on social cohesion), with a short description of each item. It is suggested that 4-10 opportunities be identified for each country. An indicative, non-exhaustive list of potential items is included in the request from DG EAC (see Annex).	National authors
Threats	Identification of key threats (i.e. external factors) for strengthening the cultural and creative sectors within local and regional development (CCIs; protection and preservation of heritage and its potential for cultural tourism; cultural infrastructure and its impact on social cohesion), with a short description of each item. It is suggested that 4-10 threats be identified for each country. An indicative, non-exhaustive list of potential items is included in the request from DG EAC (see Annex).	National authors
Chapter 3. Priorities for cultural investment^²
Priorities for cultural investment	A short concluding chapter (suggested extension: 3-4 pages), which identifies potential priorities for the Commission’s negotiation mandates with the relevant country – e.g. sectors with more potential, links with broader Thematic Objectives in the CSF, relevance of some regions, cities or clusters, etc. Insofar as possible, this chapter should give clear guidance for identifying areas of potential as regards the place of culture in the Structural Funds 2014-2020. Indicators to measure the impact of future developments in this field (e.g. relevant statistics on cultural employment at national or regional level, tourism figures, etc.) may be suggested.	National authors

On a preliminary basis, it is expected that each paper should have a length of 12-25 pages (font Arial 10, single-spaced).

Papers should be drafted in English. The possibility of using other languages will be discussed with the Commission if necessary.

Methodology and calendar

The preparation of each paper will be entrusted to one expert.

Support will be provided by the EENC scientific coordinator, particularly in the identification of statistical data on the use of the Structural Funds for culture at national and regional level. Other forms of support can be considered (e.g. identification of literature) if requested. Likewise, additional exchanges can be held and clarification throughout the research exercise can be provided, including contacts with the relevant DG EAC staff.

It is suggested that the main sources of information for the preparation of national papers be the following:

authors’ own knowledge and understanding of the main issues in the country;
evidence available within existing studies, reports and other documentation;
interviews or consultations with relevant professionals (e.g. decision-makers, managers of programmes or projects funded by the Structural Funds, etc.) may also be conducted.

The following deadlines are suggested:

By 20 April:

Confirmation of national authors.
Confirmation of methodology and template for final papers, following discussions with DG EAC and with national authors.
Provision of outline for description of good practices by the EENC Secretariat.

By 30 April:

Provision of relevant statistical data at national / regional level by the EENC Secretariat (may be completed later if necessary).
Initial analysis of existing documentation at national level by national authors; indication to the EENC Secretariat of whether an additional identification of documents is needed.

By 20 May:

Submission of draft papers by national authors.

By 24 May:

The EENC Secretariat will present comments to the national authors (assistance by one external peer-reviewer may be sought). Draft papers may be shared with DG EAC at this stage.

By 3 June:

Submission of final papers by national authors.

By 4 June:

Submission of final papers by the EENC to DG EAC. Additional changes may be necessary thereafter, on the basis of the Commission’s comments.

Remuneration

For the performance of these tasks, the following fees have been established:

Role	Duties	Working days	Day rate	Total fee
National authors	Preparation of national papers	5	€ 500	€ 2500

Rates specified above are gross, including bank transfer charges and taxes.

Payments will be made by bank transfer within 60 days of acceptance of an invoice and the successful completion of work, and in any case upon accomplishment by the European Commission of its due payments. Payments will be made to the expert’s bank account denominated in euro, as per details given in the individual contracts signed with Interarts.

A specific contract will be signed between Interarts and the expert for the performance of the tasks outlined above.

Annex: Request from DG EAC

Project EENC(DG EAC//
Question N° 7-12
Date submitted	04 April 2012
Submitted by	Petar Miladinov on behalf of Claire-Lyse Chambron and Laura Cassio (DG EAC, Unit D1)
Deadline	04 June 2012; earlier results will be appreciated.
Send answer to	Claire-Lyse Chambron (DG EAC, Unit D1) (0032-2-2983044; Claire-Lyse.CHAMBRON@ec.europa.eu). and Laura Cassio (DG EAC, Unit D1) (0032-2-2961705; laura.CASSIO@ec.europa.eu)
Subject	Using structural funds in support to culture in MS
Context	The Commission is preparing the next round of negotiation with MS on the use of structural funds for the period 2014-2020. For each MS, the Commission will prepare internally a "negotiation mandate" that will identify what kind of investments should be prioritized, based on an analysis of the national and regional economic outlook of current and past spending and on the identification of potential for development and of structural weaknesses to be addressed. These mandates will be used by the Commission when discussing with each MS a "Partnership contract" setting out the Member State's strategy, priorities and arrangements for using the CSF Funds in an effective and efficient way to pursue the Union strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth. According to current planning, the negotiation mandates will need to be prepared before the summer break. At a later stage, the Commission will be called to comment and accept the single Operational programmes, defined at regional or national level in conformity with the relevant MS Partnership contract. DG EAC is seeking the expertise of the network to gather a basis of knowledge so as to effectively contribute to the above exercises in relation to the use of structural funds for culture. In the 2007-2013 exercise,the planned EU expenditure for culture under Cohesion policy amounts to more than EUR 6 billion representing 1.7% of the total budget. EUR 3 billion has been allocated for the protection and preservation of cultural heritage, EUR 2.2 billion for the development of cultural infrastructure, and EUR 775 million to support cultural services. In addition, support for cultural and creative industries can be provided under other headings, such as research and innovation, promotion of small and medium-sized enterprises, information society and human capital. However, it is necessary to specify that there is a problem of low absorption of funds in MS, included in the cultural field. For an overview of current support to culture through structural funds: http://ec.europa.eu/culture/eu-funding/doc2836_en.htm. DG EAC recently commissioned a study on the use of structural funds for culture:http://ec.europa.eu/culture/key-documents/doc/studies/final_report_SF_en.pdf The Commission proposals for 2014-2020 reflect a will to focus investments on activities that may impact the EU 2020 objectives of smart, sustainable and inclusive growth. In the regulations, culture is explicitly mentioned among investment priorities only in relation to "protecting, promoting and developing cultural heritage" (ERDF, investment priority 6 c: http://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/sources/docoffic/official/regulation/pdf/2014/proposals/regulation/erdf/erdf_proposal_en.pdf). The Commission proposal for the Common strategic framework (prepared to help in setting investment priorities in Member States and their regions for the financial planning period 2014-2020 ) (http://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/sources/docoffic/working/strategic_framework/csf_part2_en.pdf) explicitly envisages activities related to culture under the following headings (Thematic Objectives): - 1. Strengthening Research, Technological Development and Innovation – mention of creative clusters and of cultural and creative industries (CCI); - 3. Enhancing the Competitiveness of SMEs – mention of cultural and creative industries and of new forms of tourism; - 6. Protecting the environment and Promoting Resource Efficiency: "investment in the diversification of local economies by protecting and enhancing cultural heritage and landscapes (both in rural and urban contexts)" and rehabilitation of cultural infrastructures; - 9. Promoting social inclusion and combating poverty: promotion of intercultural activities; - 10. Investing in Education, Skills and Lifelong Learning – mention of creative skills and creativity. It seems clear that other actions related to culture are also eligible under these Thematic objectives as well as under Investment priority (Thematic Objective) 2 (Enhancing Access to and, Use and Quality of ICT). As foreseen in its contract, EENC is expected to support the implementation of the European Agenda for Culture through ad-hoc questions which may be sent to the network occasionally.
Question	In light of the above, we are requesting to produce a critical analysis of how the unused potential of cultural and creative sectors can foster regional and local development in the following six countries: France; Greece; Italy; Germany; Poland; Spain. Such countries were chosen because of their size, the amount of structural funds that they will receive, the challenges that their economies are facing, and/or the growth potential for their cultural and creative sector. It is possible that a second round of ad hoc questions will cover an additional set of countries. If possible and relevant, the scale of the analysis should go at sub-national level and identify issues at an interregional level. Thus, for each country, the analysis could consider groups of regions sharing the same broad issues and features (for example: the analysis for Italy could distinguish between Southern, Central and Northern regions). This of course is important for countries presenting significant regional differences (such as Italy or Germany); for other countries with a more homogeneous outlook an analysis at the national level may be sufficient. We leave it to the experts to suggest at which level the analysis may be meaningful enough for each country. Firstly, the analysis should contain an overview of available information on how structural funds have been used for culture and on national and regional investment in the field, making detailed reference to existing data and studies, available mapping of Creative and Cultural Industries (CCI)^³, existing best practices and examples of failure. Secondly, a short SWOT analysis should be produced, showing for each country or group of regions within a country the strengths, the weaknesses, the opportunities and the threats of investment in the cultural and creative sector. The analysis should cover the cultural and creative industries; the protection and the preservation of cultural heritage and its potential for cultural tourism; cultural infrastructure and its impact on social cohesion. Hereafter is reported an incomplete list of possible elements that could be taken account of for the SWOT analysis: existence/lack of cultural infrastructures; existence/lack of connecting infrastructure (accessibility to cultural sites, surrounding facilities, etc.); presence of infrastructures built with previous investments which are not used or not adequately exploited (risk of wasting investments); presence/lack of visibility of cultural offers and services; problems of sustainability (overuse of some cultural heritage sites); presence/absence of a network among stakeholders (policymakers, cultural operators, entrepreneurs, etc.); presence/absence of public awareness about the socio-economic potential of the cultural and the creative sectors; presence/lack of a strategic policy on cultural development; or, as an alternative, presence of elements on which this broader vision could be built; CCIs' presence/lack of entrepreneurial and business skills (Capacity Building); CCIs' easiness/difficulty in accessing funds and in identifying market opportunities; etc. Finally, the analysis should identify priorities for investment in culture, based on potential for local and regional development; and might suggest indicators to measure impact. Further details about the Commission's expectations could be discussed directly with Claire-Lyse Chambron (DG EAC, Unit D1 - 0032-2-29 83044; Claire-Lyse.CHAMBRON@ec.europa.eu) and Laura Cassio (DG EAC, Unit D1 - 0032-2-2961705; laura.CASSIO@ec.europa.eu). Before embarking upon the research, experts are invited to discuss their methodology with the Commission.
What it is expected form EENC	The experts are expected to carry out the work: using available data and existing studies; building the analysis on their own knowledge and understanding of the main issues in the country, and on other elements that may be gathered through a simple desk research; providing constructive recommendations and suggestions.
List of useful studies	Hereafter is a list of studies which can be helpful for the analysis: Study on the contribution of culture to local and regional development - Evidence from the Structural Funds (2010) (http://ec.europa.eu/culture/key-documents/contribution-of-culture-to-local-and-regional-development_en.htm); Study on the Entrepreneurial Dimension of the Cultural and Creative Industries (2011) (http://ec.europa.eu/culture/key-documents/entrepreneurial-dimension-of-the-cultural-and-creative-industries_en.htm); Study on the impact of culture on creativity (2009) (http://ec.europa.eu/culture/key-documents/impact-of-culture-on-creativity_en.htm); Promoting Investment in the Cultural and Creative; Sector: Financing Needs, Trends and Opportunities (2010) (http://www.keanet.eu/report/accesstofinance2010.pdf); Economy of Culture in Europe (2006) (http://www.keanet.eu/en/ecoculturepage.html); Draft Policy Handbook on "How to strategically use the EU support programmes, including structural funds, to foster the potential of culture for local, regional and national development and the spill-over effects on the wider economy?". Prepared by the Working Group of EU Member States Experts (Open Method of Coordination) on cultural and creative industries. (Working paper).
Status of the document - open or limited distribution	The document will be used by Commission in preparing the next round of negotiation with MS and part of it could be published on the website.

1 In those countries where different sub-sets of regions are identified (e.g. Italy, Germany, Spain), separate SWOT analyses should be conducted. Whereas the general structure and approach would be the same as described below, a lesser number of items could be identified for each category and group of regions (i.e. 2-6 strengths, weaknesses, threats or opportunities for each group of regions, as opposed to 4-10 as suggested below)

2 As above, different sub-chapters should be included in the case of countries where groups of regions are identified.

3 Cf The Green Paper Unlocking the potential of cultural and creative industries for the definition of Cultural industries and Creative Industries (http://ec.europa.eu/culture/documents/greenpaper_creative_industries_en.pdf)

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Brief for Studies on Culture and the Structural Funds