As discussions on the European Union’s next Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) 2028–2034 intensify, T6 Ecosystems has coordinated the development of a joint position paper on behalf of the Horizon Europe projects PACESETTERS and S+T+ARTS EC(H)O fostering European institutions and Member States to place Culture and Creative Industries (CCIs) and artistic research at the heart of future EU investment strategies.
Drafted together with the support of ELIA (European League of Institutes of the Arts), the paper argues that investing in culture is not only a cultural imperative, it is strategic, economic and democratic. “Artistic research, as a methodology for knowledge production, contributes dimensions to innovation” the paper states, highlighting traditional R&I frameworks often lack the capacity to question technological trajectories before they become embedded, to reveal hidden assumptions in data and algorithms, to imagine alternative futures, and to design with communities rather than for them.
Drawing on evidence gathered through both our projects and discussions held during the SAR 2026 Policy Roundtable, where we acted as a facilitator of a collaborative process involving researchers, artists, cultural organisations and European networks, the paper presents a series of concrete policy recommendations, including:
- establishing a dedicated priority axis for CCIs within the proposed European Competitiveness Fund, and significantly increasing and ring-fencing the Creative Europe budget;
- embedding artistic research and cultural actors as structural components of the successor to Horizon Europe;
- reforming evaluation frameworks to better recognise the societal and creative impact of artistic research;
- deploying Cohesion Policy funds more strategically to strengthen regional cultural and creative innovation ecosystems.
The publication comes at a moment where negotiations on the next MFF and the future European Competitiveness Fund will determine how culture, creativity and artistic research contribute to Europe’s long-term innovation ecosystem.
Beyond this position paper, T6 Ecosystems continues to facilitate dialogue across the European cultural and research landscape, supporting coordinated advocacy actions, connecting stakeholders with policymakers, and fostering collaborations that ensure the recommendations translate into concrete policy action. Through projects such as PACESETTERS and S+T+ARTS EC(H)O, T6 is helping build a stronger, more connected European ecosystem where culture, creativity and artistic research are recognised as strategic drivers of competitiveness, innovation and societal resilience.
Read the full position paper, “Investing in Culture, Creativity and Artistic Research in the Next Multiannual Financial Framework”, and join this coordinated effort.
The window for influence on the next MFF is open, it will not remain so indefinitely: the time to act is now.