Support for the CCIs is an investment and the EU funding for CCIs increases but lacks coordination. The new Commission's report suggests the creation of an EU-wide platform for CCIs facilitating access to EU funding and unleashing the potential of the high added value of EUR 477 billion of CCIs to the EU economy.
By Eirini PolydorouSupport for culture is an "economic and social investment, not a cost”, reads the new report by the DG Research and Innovation.
The authors suggest there is a wealth of solid evidence on the importance of coherent and efficient support for the CCIs as a whole and per sector. They propose the creation of an EU platform that could be funded through existing resources under Horizon Europe and could organise within a comprehensive framework the different EU funding instruments for the CCIs.
Their main message is that "Unleashing the full potential of the CCSIs can create new prospects and opportunities for a competitive and cutting-edge European economy and for the well-being of a resilient, coherent and inclusive society".
The report explores:
- Key industry trends across the CCIs,
- EU funding instruments for CCIs,
- The potential (and responsibility) of digital and AI-driven innovation.
CCIs contribute a high added value of EUR 477 billion to the EU economy
According to the report’s data, 1.2 million CCS companies employ some 8.02 million people and generate a value added of EUR 477 billion, which is higher than the value added by telecommunications, the pharmaceutical industry or the automotive industry. CCIs have been identified by the Commission as one of 14 industrial ecosystems vital for its industrial strategy.
A proportion of 3.8% of the EU’s workforce is employed in the CCS, while the CCS employment rates were growing faster than overall employment rates in most OECD countries (by 13.4% vs by 9.1%) before the COVID-19 pandemic. CCS employed workers have a significantly higher education level than the average of the economy, as 60.6% of CCS workers have a tertiary education, compared to 37.1% of the EU average.
The importance of creative skills for the whole economy is also highlighted by the fact that 40% of cultural and creative employment takes place outside of CCSs, e.g. industrial designers working in the automotive industry (click image below to enlarge).
The lockdown measures for the COVID-19 pandemic hit the CCS particularly hard with a 31% drop in the entire sectors’ turnover, a 76% drop in attendance at music venues and a drop of 70% in box-office sales for cinemas. Despite the harsh pandemic hit, CCIs “developed innovative collaboration methods, such as co-working spaces, co-location centres and creative labs, which adapted rapidly to market shifts, and which have now been adopted by other EU industries”, as noted in the report.
The report notes that the CCIs also leveraged new technologies and AI, pioneering “virtual and augmented realities in the audiovisual sector, digital installations in museums, and interactive content in gaming and entertainment. As a result, digital consumption of performing arts content generates new revenue opportunities. Immersive content has the potential to add about EUR 1.3 trillion to the global economy by 2030”.
However, member states’ legislation on intellectual property rights and on the audiovisual market still diverge, challenging CCIs growth and highlighting the need for strengthening EU focus on harmonization.
The report recognises the already growing support and finance instruments available to CCIs in the EU. The authors provide an extensive list of EU funding programmes open to CCIs, apart from the CCS-specific Creative Europe programme, such as the following:
- EU Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) - dedicating to CCS some 2% of its EUR 23.8 billion budget
- MediaInvest aiming to mobilise investment equal to EUR 400 million by 2027
- EU Cohesion policy funds - where EUR 3.7 billion has been earmarked for culture and sustainable tourism
- Horizon Europe - with budget a of EUR 2.28 billion on Cluster 2: Culture, creativity and inclusive society,
The authors note that “there are abundant EU support and funding opportunities for CCSIs... Anecdotal accounts of how well these opportunities are taken up suggest considerable oversubscription of the instruments tailored to CCSIs, whereas use of the general SME support instruments by CCSIs remains low”.
Therefore, the authors highlight the need for a comprehensive approach based on clearly defined goals, common definitions and metrics. They propose the creation of an EU CCIs plafrom coordinating all EU CCIs-funding bodies and facilitating networking with CCIs companies.
Their proposed holistic approach aims to addressing current challenges such as the differences in logics, procedures and timetables of current funding mechanisms, which together with the scattered landscape of the small enterprises and microenterprises that make up 99% of the sector, lead to not achieving their creative and innovation potential.
“The challenges our economies and societies face require new solutions. We cannot resolve these problems using the same mindset that created them.”, concludes the report.
