Infrastructuring cultural policy: the case of Creative Europe’s “Cultural and Creative Spaces and Cities”
Nehl, Marthe LU
(2026)
In European Journal of Cultural Management and Policy
16.
- Abstract
- Cultural networks play an important role in cultural governance: facilitating
cooperation between local and EU policy actors and shaping policymaking
processes. The network-led, Creative Europe-financed project Cultural and
Creative Spaces and Cities (CCSC; 2018–2021) experimented with policy co-
creation between civic, cultural, and administrative stakeholders, addressing a
variously discussed gap between these actors. Asking whether the concerns of
cultural actors gain traction in EU-level policymaking, I use discourse analysis of
CCSC publications to identify differences in projects stakeholders’ problem
representations. Underlining the importance of policy co-creation projects as
discursive arenas... (More) - Cultural networks play an important role in cultural governance: facilitating
cooperation between local and EU policy actors and shaping policymaking
processes. The network-led, Creative Europe-financed project Cultural and
Creative Spaces and Cities (CCSC; 2018–2021) experimented with policy co-
creation between civic, cultural, and administrative stakeholders, addressing a
variously discussed gap between these actors. Asking whether the concerns of
cultural actors gain traction in EU-level policymaking, I use discourse analysis of
CCSC publications to identify differences in projects stakeholders’ problem
representations. Underlining the importance of policy co-creation projects as
discursive arenas and spaces of encounter, the cultural actors’ local perspective
problematises responsibility and participation of citizens as contextual and
ultimately structural questions. The essential work of local cultural actors in
networks is not addressed, and networks themselves recede in CCSC
discussions. The paper suggests that future EU cultural policy should more
explicitly recognise and support the infrastructural labour that enables soft
governance. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/58a5cb34-8af6-4e83-956e-d01bb6f277b0
- author
- Nehl, Marthe
LU
- organization
- publishing date
- 2026-04-01
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- bottom-up participation, collaboration, cultural networks, cultural policy, Discourse analysis, infrastructuring
- in
- European Journal of Cultural Management and Policy
- volume
- 16
- publisher
- Frontiers Media S. A.
- external identifiers
-
- scopus:105039047620
- ISSN
- 2663-5771
- DOI
- 10.3389/ejcmp.2026.15478
- project
- Service Studies Culture
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- 58a5cb34-8af6-4e83-956e-d01bb6f277b0
- date added to LUP
- 2026-04-14 13:08:09
- date last changed
- 2026-06-07 04:00:59
@article{58a5cb34-8af6-4e83-956e-d01bb6f277b0,
abstract = {{Cultural networks play an important role in cultural governance: facilitating<br/>cooperation between local and EU policy actors and shaping policymaking<br/>processes. The network-led, Creative Europe-financed project Cultural and<br/>Creative Spaces and Cities (CCSC; 2018–2021) experimented with policy co-<br/>creation between civic, cultural, and administrative stakeholders, addressing a<br/>variously discussed gap between these actors. Asking whether the concerns of<br/>cultural actors gain traction in EU-level policymaking, I use discourse analysis of<br/>CCSC publications to identify differences in projects stakeholders’ problem<br/>representations. Underlining the importance of policy co-creation projects as<br/>discursive arenas and spaces of encounter, the cultural actors’ local perspective<br/>problematises responsibility and participation of citizens as contextual and<br/>ultimately structural questions. The essential work of local cultural actors in<br/>networks is not addressed, and networks themselves recede in CCSC<br/>discussions. The paper suggests that future EU cultural policy should more<br/>explicitly recognise and support the infrastructural labour that enables soft<br/>governance.}},
author = {{Nehl, Marthe}},
issn = {{2663-5771}},
keywords = {{bottom-up participation; collaboration; cultural networks; cultural policy; Discourse analysis; infrastructuring}},
language = {{eng}},
month = {{04}},
publisher = {{Frontiers Media S. A.}},
series = {{European Journal of Cultural Management and Policy}},
title = {{Infrastructuring cultural policy: the case of Creative Europe’s “Cultural and Creative Spaces and Cities”}},
url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/ejcmp.2026.15478}},
doi = {{10.3389/ejcmp.2026.15478}},
volume = {{16}},
year = {{2026}},
}