KoWi Logo
de / en
Search

Cluster "Culture, Creativity and Inclusive Society"

© metamorworks – stock.adobe.com
© metamorworks – stock.adobe.com

Contents and backgrounds

The European Union, with its unique combination of economic growth, high standards of social protection and inclusion, and shared values such as democracy, human rights, gender equality and diversity, is in a state of constant evolution and faces both internal and external challenges. Research funding in the "Culture, Creativity and Inclusive Society" Cluster addresses these challenges and targets the current issues around democratic governance, cultural heritage and creative industries as well as social and economic transformations.   

Three thematic funding priorities, referred to as "Areas of intervention", result from this:

  • Democracy and governance

  • Culture, cultural heritage and creativity

  • Social and economic transformations

The following "Targeted impacts" are to be achieved with the calls for proposals or projects of the Cluster:

  • Revitalising democratic governance by improving the accountability, transparency, effectiveness and trustworthiness of rule of law institutions and policies

  • Realising the potential of cultural heritage, the arts and the cultural and creative sectors

  • Strengthening of social and economic resilience and sustainability

  • Promotion of inclusive growth through evidence-based policies to enhance employment, education, social fairness and counter inequality (including by addressing the socio-economic challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic)

With these focal points, the Cluster and its calls for proposals are aimed in particular at researchers from the Social Sciences and Humanities, or SSH for short. However, representatives of other disciplines can also participate in the calls for proposals and projects because of the interdisciplinary cluster approach. SSH researchers also find funding opportunities in the other Clusters because of this approach.

No European Partnership is currently foreseen for this Cluster. A new Knowledge and Innovation Community (KIC) on the topic of "Culture & Creativity" is being prepared by the European Institute of Innovation & Technology (EIT).

The specific calls for the electronic submission of project proposals can be found in the respective current Work Programme, which is prepared by the European Commission for a period of two to three years and contains all relevant details on the Call. The calls and all necessary documents are published online on the Funding & Tender Opportunities Portal of the European Commission.

Important players

Several European Commission Directorates-General (DGs) are significantly involved in the design of the Work Programmes and calls due to the strong thematic integration. In addition to DG Research and Innovation (RTD), these are in particular the DGs Communication Networks, Content and Technologies (CNCT); Education, Youth, Sport and Culture (EAC); and Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion (EMPL).