Exploration of policy instruments for digital culture

At the request of the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science, Dialogic has conducted an exploration into policy instruments for stimulating digital culture. This research provides insights into the current situation and ecosystem of the sector. Additionally, the current Dutch support policy has been mapped out, along with an examination of how this policy compares to support policies in other countries, to support the policy development for digital culture by the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science.

Results

The results of this exploration can be summarised in three parts: a sector analysis of digital culture, an analysis of the current support policy, and an international comparison (Germany, France, Canada, Finland, and Flanders). Based on the results, the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of the digital culture sector have been identified. Some key findings from the research are:

• The digital culture sector is growing in the number of enterprises.
• In the Netherlands, there are specific schemes and programmes to support digital culture, such as CIIIC and the digital culture scheme of the Creative Industry Stimulus Fund.
• At the national level, structural financing is a bottleneck.
• Digital culture institutions play a significant facilitating role in the ecosystem. Institutions cannot optimally fulfil this role due to the small number of institutions and their size.
• Funding for science and innovation policy offers opportunities, but currently has limited alignment with digital culture in practice.

The international examples demonstrate that the Netherlands can progress in terms of specific and structural support for digital culture. While France, Canada, and Flanders operate with long-term visions, specialised funds, and targeted experimental schemes, the Netherlands lacks a comparable structural policy approach. Furthermore, countries like Finland show that a strong digital and technological context alone is insufficient for nurturing the digital culture sector: specific policy goals and support structures are necessary for the development of digital culture as an artistic domain.