Evaluation of the implementation of the European Agenda for Culture 2007 and the Work Plan for Culture 2015-2018
Date: 2017-10-05
Institutions: Directorate-General for Education, Youth, Sport and Culture, European Commission
Subjects: cultural policy



IMMC.Ares%282017%294867914.ENG.xhtml.PART-2017-437384V1.docx













EVALUATION AND FITNESS CHECK (FC) ROADMAP






title of the evaluation/fc




Evaluation of the implementation of the European Agenda for Culture 2007 and the Work Plan for Culture 2015-2018






lead dg – responsible unit




EAC/D1




date of  this roadmap




07/2017






type of evaluation




[Select the category that applies from each line]


Evaluation





planned start date


planned completion date




09/2017


09/2018












Planning calendar




http://ec.europa.eu/smart-regulation/evaluation/index_en.htm






This indicative roadmap is provided for information purposes only and is subject to change.










A. Purpose  






(A.1) Purpose 






This evaluation will assess the implementation of the European Agenda for Culture, adopted in 2007 in form of a Council Resolution, to inform the political discussion at EU level and to help decide whether and what type of adaptations might be needed for the future. The evaluation will put a particular focus on the Work Plan for Culture 2015-2018 (WP), adopted by the Council in November 2014. The evaluation will provide the necessary elements for a Commission's staff working document (SWD) on the implementation of the European Agenda for Culture and will feed into the discussions on a new Work Plan for Culture (2018+) in the second semester of 2018. 






(A.2) Justification






The evaluation follows a request from the Council, in its Conclusions on a Work Plan for Culture (2015-2018), adopted on 25 November 2014 (OJ C 463, 23.12.2014, pp. 4–14). The Conclusions invite the Commission to "adopt, before the end of the first half of 2018, and on the basis of voluntary contributions from Member States, a final report on the implementation and relevance of the Work Plan."












B. Content and subject of the evaluation






(B.1) Subject area






The evaluation covers the core of EU cooperation in the field of culture, based on the European Agenda for Culture and the principles defined therein, and it looks more particularly at the implementation of the WP for Culture 2015-2018, the third WP after the adoption of the European Agenda in 2007. 






(B.2) Original objectives of the intervention







Overall, EU intervention in the field of culture is governed by Article 167 TFEU, and has the objective to contribute to the flowering of the cultures of the MS, while respecting their national and regional diversity and at the same time bringing the common cultural heritage to the fore.


In line with the strategic objectives laid down in the 2007 European Agenda for Culture, EU cooperation seeks a) to promote cultural diversity and intercultural dialogue, b) to promote culture as a catalyst for creativity and c) to promote culture as a vital element in the Union’s international relations. 



The European Agenda is implemented through Work Plans for Culture. Like its predecessors (the WPs 2008-2010 and 2011-2014), the current WP 2015-2018 builds on the strategic orientations of the Agenda. The WP 2015-2018 defines 20 concrete actions in four priority areas for European cooperation in cultural policy-making:


A. Accessible and inclusive culture;


B. Cultural heritage;


C. Cultural and creative sectors: creative economy and innovation;


D. Promotion of cultural diversity, culture in EU external relations and mobility.


At a horizontal/cross-sectorial level, the WP foresees joint work on ensuring comparable quality statistics on culture.


In line with the European Agenda for Culture and its WPs, the European Commission, in cooperation with EU Member States who are responsible for their own culture sector policies, is committed to address common challenges, such as the impact of the digital shift, changing models of cultural governance, and the need to support the innovation potential of the cultural and creative sectors (CCS). EU cooperation also seeks to promote cultural diversity, to protect cultural heritage, to ease obstacles to the mobility of cultural professionals, and to support the contribution of cultural and creative industries (CCIs) to boosting growth and jobs across the EU – an area on which the Commission has been putting an increased emphasis in recent years. 






(B.3) How the objectives were to be achieved







The above objectives (as reflected in the strategic priorities a-c defined by the European Agenda and the specific priorities A-D defined by the current WP) have been implemented in cooperation with the Member States and stakeholders, and in particular through the following main tools (as laid down in the Agenda and WPs respectively):


Open Method of Coordination (OMC)


The main form of cooperation to help implement the WPs for culture is the OMC. It is a flexible and non-binding framework that facilitates structured cooperation between MS in the field of culture. The 10 OMC groups under the current WP are composed of experts appointed by the MS. Chairs are elected by the group. The Commission acts as a facilitator (e.g. substantial input for the group's work, dissemination of outputs), helps with the drafting process and provides technical support for meetings. Groups meet approximately six times over roughly two years. The WP 2015-2018 clearly states the target outputs for each group and the timeline for their delivery. Outputs usually take the form of (high quality) manuals of good practice or guidelines or recommendations for policy makers. They are presented to the Council working party on culture and are usually widely disseminated at European level and in the MS. In some cases the work of an OMC group is directly taken up by the policy level (a recent example is the report from the OMC group on access to culture via digital means which forms the basis for the work on Council conclusions under the EE Presidency).


Structured dialogue with stakeholders


The Structured Dialogue with the culture sector provides a framework for discussions between EU civil society stakeholders and the European Commission. It aims to strengthen the advocacy capacity of the cultural sector in policy debates on culture at European level, while encouraging it to work in a more collaborative way. From 2008 to 2013, the Structured Dialogue included recurrent exchanges with three ad hoc platforms (on Intercultural Europe, on Access to Culture, on the Potential of Cultural and Creative Industries). A new format of structured dialogue ("Voices of Culture") was launched in 2015 to ensure more synergies with the OMC process. It has been implemented in line with the themes of the WP 2015-2018. The discussions feed or complement the work of MS in the OMC groups. Stakeholders were selected through a call for interest.


The European Culture Forum – the Commission's main stakeholder event on culture gathering up to 800 participants – has been organised, as a rule, every second year, since 2009. 


Specific policy measures to deliver in the field of external relations


Promoting culture as a vital element in EU international relations is one of the three main objectives of the European Agenda for Culture. As a culmination of an extensive EU driven process (involving the Commission, the EEAS, the Member States, the EP and civil society) aimed at fostering the role of culture in the EU's external relations, on 8 June 2016, the Commission and the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy adopted a Joint Communication "Towards an EU strategy for international cultural relations". In May 2017, the Council adopted Conclusions on an "EU Strategic Approach to International Cultural Relations", which contain a recommendation for the activation of a Friends of the Presidency (FoP) Group to act as a cross-cutting platform to draw up an integrated, comprehensive and step-by-step EU strategic approach to international cultural relations. This work is ongoing and likely to conclude in 2018.


Evidence building measures


Reliable information, data and statistics in the field of culture are essential for sound and effective policy making and for the cultural sector, including the securing of its financing. 


EU studies have been commissioned in core areas (e.g. recent ones on audience development, on crowdfunding for culture and on creative value chains) and support has been provided to data gathering at EU level by Eurostat to provide relevant information on the CCS and the economy of culture. 


Implementation of the Creative Europe Programme


With CE, the EU has a consolidated framework programme supporting Europe's CCS and the possibility for targeted action to help implement the priorities defined for the EU's cultural policy.












C. Scope of the evaluation/FC






(C.1) Topics covered






The evaluation should cover the main EU policy measures and actions in the cultural field since 2007, as follows:


The evaluation should analyse how and to what extent the European Agenda for Culture has achieved its objectives and assess its impact on EU and national policy making over the past 10 years (2007-17), including its continued relevance as a strategic framework. In this context, the evaluation should also analyse the contribution of the CCS to the EU's overall economic and social ambitions, e.g. in terms of growth, job creation, innovation and social cohesion, as well as in light of Europe's commitments on the external side. The evaluation should entail recommendations for the future.  


The evaluation should put a particular focus on the implementation of the WP 2015-2018 (since past WPs have been the object of previous evaluations), cover all 28 Member States of the EU, and should assess how the WP helped, through the defined priority themes, key topics, outputs and working methods, achieve progress in reaching the above objectives. This part of the evaluation will directly feed into the Commission's report to the Council to be delivered mid-2018. The evaluation should also make recommendations in view of a next WP for Culture.


The evaluation should include an open consultation (12 weeks). 






(C.2) Issues to be examined







Relevance


To what extent are the European Agenda for Culture strategic objectives and priorities / the WP's specific priorities relevant to the needs of wider EU policy agendas (Europe 2020, 10 political priorities, growth and jobs, Global Strategy for foreign and security policy etc…)? To what extent are the Agenda's strategic objectives and priorities relevant to the new and ever evolving socio-economic needs and challenges in the EU and beyond? To what extent are the policy measures and actions to implement the Agenda relevant to policy making on culture at EU and at national levels?



Effectiveness


To what extend have the objectives of the European Agenda for Culture been achieved at European and national levels? How much do the main achievements (e.g. concrete WP outputs) correspond to the objectives? To what extent have outcomes been used in EU and national policy making?



Efficiency


To what extent have the European Agenda for Culture / WP governance methods and policy instruments been efficient in achieving its objectives? To what extent is the European Agenda for Culture / WP decision-making process (with its governance structures/bodies, meetings and events) effective and efficient in turning out results?  



Coherence


To what extent is the European Agenda for Culture / WP coherent with regard to other EU sectorial and transversal policy agendas (e.g. digital single market strategy, external relations, social inclusion or education)? To what extent is it coherent with wider EU policy? To what extent is the EU agenda coherent with the international agenda in the area of culture?



EU added value


What is the overall added value resulting from the European Agenda for Culture policy cooperation, decision making and the instruments/measures compared to what could be achieved by Member States individually at national or regional level?








(C.3) Other tasks






Run a public consultation over 12 weeks, analyse the findings and include a synthesis report as an annex to the evaluation. Consult the 28 Member States at different levels, analyse the findings and include a synthesis report as an annex to the evaluation.


Prepare the key elements to feed into a Commission's Staff Working Document. 













D. Evidence base






(D.1) Evidence from monitoring 






The WPs for Culture clearly spell out the required outputs and the Commission monitors implementation and informs regularly the Council working group on culture (CAC). Moreover, the Commission conducted an evaluation of the OMC in 2013 (see below). 



Other data less directly related to implementing the European Agenda / the WPs are available such as the number of projects, networks, platforms funded under CE or mappings carried out in particular fields (as an indication on the increased level of cooperation on culture in the European context) or data from Eurostat (confirming, for instance, an increase in the international trade in cultural goods, cultural employment or cultural participation) 
http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/culture/overview
. 






(D.2) Previous evaluations and other reports






The evaluation should take into account the key findings of the following evaluations, reports and studies and other sources:



WP 2011-2014:


-External evaluation of the open method of coordination Evaluation of the Open Method of Coordination and the Structured Dialogue, as the Agenda for Culture's implementing tools at European Union level (2013): https://ec.europa.eu/culture/sites/culture/files/omc-structured-dialogue-evaluation-2013_en.pdf


-Report on the implementation and relevance of the Work Plan for Culture 2011-2014:


http://ec.europa.eu/transparency/regdoc/rep/1/2014/EN/1-2014-535-EN-F1-1.Pdf


-Council outputs, notably Council conclusions


-Outputs/reports from OMC groups (e.g. policy handbooks, manuals)



WP 2015-2018:


-Council outputs, notably Council conclusions


-Outputs/reports from OMC groups (e.g. policy handbooks, manuals)


-Reports from the "Voices of culture": https://ec.europa.eu/culture/policy/strategic-framework/stakeholder-dialogue_en



EU studies (all available online: 
https://publications.europa.eu/
)


-Audience development. How to place audiences at the centre of cultural organisations (2017)


-How culture and the arts can promote intercultural dialogue in the context of the migratory and refugee crisis (2017)


-Mapping the creative value chains. A study on the economy of culture (2017)


-Crowdfunding. Reshaping the crowd's engagement in culture (2017) 


-For further studies published before 2017, also see: https://ec.europa.eu/culture/library_en



Mid-term evaluation of the Creative Europe programme: expected to be available end 2017 






(D.3) Evidence from assessing the implementation and application of legislation  (complaints, infringement procedures)






N.A.






(D.4) Consultation






Information gaps will be filled, inter alia, through a broad consultation process:


-Consultations of the MS at different levels (policy level – public authorities in the MS, expert level – e.g. participants in the OMC groups, representatives in the Council working party on culture) to seek MS' views on both the substance of the Agenda/WPs and the established working methods; a particular focus should be put on the impact on national policy making of the work carried out under the Agenda and possible improvements to be made;


-An open consultation over 12 weeks (in early 2018) to seek the views from the sector and the public at large;


-A focused exchange of views with key representatives from the sector at the occasion of the European Culture Forum on 7-8 Dec 2017 in Milan (in form of a dedicated session on the European Agenda for Culture 2007-2017)







(D.5) Further evidence to be gathered






N.A.



















E. Other relevant information/ remarks






N.A.






For internal use only – not for publication





Planning






Key milestones (indicative)











Steering Group set up




07/2017 (first meeting in Sept. 2017)






Launch of Public Consultation (included in external evaluation)




4th quarter/2017






Launch of Other Stakeholder Consultation (European Culture Forum)




4th quarter/2017






Submission to Regulatory Scrutiny Board 




N/A






Final Report 




End of 2nd quarter/2018






ISC launch




4th quarter/2018






Deadline for Report to Council and European Parliament




N/A






Dissemination Plan




4th quarter/2018






Action Plan




4th quarter/2018