NMDC responds to European Commission’s proposals for Creative Europe Programme 2 Apr 2012
European Commission’s proposals for a Creative Europe Programme
NMDC has welcomed proposals to simplify the European Commission’s Culture and Media programmes, aid capacity building and audience development within the creative sector and maintain the EU’s existing responsibilities for cultural heritage. Responding to the EU Consultation on Creative Europe Programme, NMDC argues that working with colleagues and audiences in Europe is fundamental to most national and major UK museums’ operation and that in the context of reduced core funding, the EU cultural programme is an increasingly important impetus and source of funding for international collaboration.
NMDC welcomes the proposals to encourage greater inter-disciplinary collaboration across the cultural and creative sectors, particularly with regard to professional development and public programming but is concerned that activities for the purposes of cultural exchange are not eclipsed by the focus on growth and capacity building. NMDC argues that museums, as digital media innovators and producers and presenters of audio-visual content, should be eligible to apply for funding from the media strand.
NMDC is also concerned that the proposed cultural strand does not cover care for and research of the collections, as research is one of the main ways in which major museums work with European partners and almost all activity in museums is in some way derived from the core function of caring for and displaying the collection. Similarly, while NMDC welcomes the support for the “circulation of works” there needs to be provision within that for the full spectrum of activities which enable an object to tour, including conservation and insurance.
Finally, NMDC has called for more qualitative measures of the success of EU cultural funding. The indicators currently listed in the consultation paper are purely quantitative measures focused on increased coverage rather than quality of experience – and on provision rather than use - and do not measure the quality of the cultural experience or its impact. NMDC response to Creative Europe