Understanding cultural policies and innovation policies: differences, overlaps, and societal benefits

Although cultural policies and innovation policies might seem different at first glance, there are key areas where they overlap. By bridging the gap between these two, we can create policies that benefit society, support creative industries, and help build a better future for the next generation.

Innovation policy focuses on pushing the boundaries of what—whether it’s new technologies, services, or solutions—rather than supporting who is involved. It’s all about creating something new and scalable that can be repeated, improved, and ultimately made profitable or self-sustaining.

“Innovation policy main target is economic impact. The expectation is that beneficiaries come in, create something—whether it’s an invention or an idea—develop it, and then move on. You innovate, secure intellectual property, IP, and once it starts to grow and evolve into a business venture, you exit the innovation support system”, says Katarina Scott, Senior Project Development at Future by Lund in Sweden and a member of ekip.

Who gets access?

If we move on to Cultural policy it plays a key role in supporting and sustaining the infrastructure that allows culture to thrive in society. But an important aspect of this policy is determining who gets access to its benefits and who is allowed to influence cultural and social values. In other words, cultural policy is not open to just anyone.

“Cultural policy is largely about sustaining the infrastructure that supports culture, and that’s where the ‘who’ becomes crucial,” says Marcin Poprawski, Humak University of Applied Science in Helsinki, a partner of ekip.

Accreditation, or deciding who is eligible, is an important part of this process. Governments or cultural institutions often determine who gets to shape and participate in cultural programs, access funding, or use cultural infrastructure. It´s a careful selection.

“It’s not just anyone who can access the benefits of cultural policy. There’s a need to ensure that those shaping culture are aligned with the values society wants to uphold – whether it’s preserving heritage, encouraging artistic expression, or promoting inclusivity, ” says Marcin Poprawski.

Driven by values

One of the challenges within cultural policy lies in its non-commercial nature. Cultural work is often viewed as something driven by values, rather than profit. “Non-commercial logic” is deeply rooted in the system, creating a significant barrier for many cultural organizations that struggle to become financially sustainable.

“I would say that a problem within the culture policy is because you have this societal part, you’re not supposed to earn money on what we do. On the other hand, that means that there are very few organisations that can benefit from the culture policy and become sustainable on their own mandate,” says Katarina Scott.

Different angles

Cultural and creatives feel stuck between—either pursuing purely independent, value-driven work or entering the more commercialised side of the sector where profit and sustainability are required. Finding a balance between these approaches is difficult, and it highlights the complexity of cultural policy in supporting a thriving, yet non-commercial, creative sector.

While innovation policies are seen as practical and straightforward, focused on scaling and impact, cultural policies carry heavier intellectual and social weight.

In essence, both innovation and cultural policies contribute to societal progress, but they do so from different angles. Innovation policies usually aim for practical solutions that drive economic and technological advancement, while cultural policies wrestle with the broader, more emotionally charged questions of societal values, aesthetics, inclusivity, and identity. Despite their differences the support system share a surprising amount of overlap when it comes to shaping societal progress. At the core, an innovation policy is designed to foster the creation and development of new inventions and ideas. But it goes beyond just the invention—it also addresses how to scale those innovations, ensuring they have a broader impact. This involves creating an ecosystem that supports these ideas, including access to support, financing, infrastructure, necessary skills, and regulatory frameworks.

“Think of these as the building blocks of the innovation system: grants, investments, digitalisation initiatives, and policies that ensure innovations can thrive and transform industries and communities. However, innovation policies don’t operate in isolation. They intersect with cultural policies, as both are intertwined with the production systems in society, “, says Marcin Poprawski.

Cultural policies also deal with regulations, funding, and institutional support.

“These policies are often subject to more emotional and political engagement, as they aim to promote societal values like democracy, inclusion, and access to cultural practices,” Marcin Poprawski explains.

Both policies are needed

The challenge lies in the fact that both policy types/fields are essential to societal development but operate in different realms. Cultural policies support creativity, identity, and heritage, while innovation policies drive technological and practical advancements. However, also creative fields—such as the arts, design, and even gaming—both policy types/fields are needed.

But despite being closely related, these two neighboring policy fields—focused on creative professionals and their enterprises—often find themselves treated as separate entities. Different funding streams and siloed practices lead to confusion, even though their core focus remains the same: supporting the creative sector.

How can we bridge the divide?

“A great example of how creativity can thrive is the gaming industry. They can be super commercial and super non-commercial at the same time. And the interesting thing with the gaming industry is that came out of itself. What’s fascinating is that it didn’t develop because of any specific innovation or cultural policy—it grew naturally on its own terms. They have this blur where people think of themselves as being part of everything,” says Katarina Scott.

It shows that when creative sectors aren’t limited by traditional rules, they can reach new heights and have a bigger impact.

Open innovation

In many places, cultural policies are heavily focused on the public sector, leaving little room for private and civic involvement. Open innovation deals with how and can change the scenery by creating a balanced system where all players—government, businesses, and communities—work together to support creative industries. By involving stakeholders as active participants in the innovation process, open innovation helps accelerate breakthroughs and leads to more creative, impactful outcomes.

“ekip identify and formulate policies for the creative industries and it is crucial for us to emphasize that our core focus is on open innovation and an ecosystem-based approach,” Katarina Scott explains.

The innovation systems of today have a large focus on TRL and IP which in reality leaves out social impact.

“It´s almost impossible for a cultural and creative idea to get a place in an incubator or acceleration program and finding investments. The sector is not easily fitted in the normal tech-based system. This is why open innovation as a standard practice in ecosystems are important. Open innovation deals with how”, Katarina Scott emphasises.

Unified support

Unlocking one of the key challenges facing the cultural sector today is generational. Limited funding has led to the preservation of existing institutions, making it difficult for new cultural spaces — such as theatres, music venues, and galleries—to emerge.

However, younger generations approach this differently.

“They are more adaptable, moving fluidly between different creative roles. One day they might be fully immersed in a non-commercial, artistic project, and the next they could be working on something with a strong commercial focus. This ability to navigate both worlds offers hope for a more dynamic future for the cultural sector, but it also highlights the need for new policies that allow for this kind of flexibility and growth,” says Katarina Scott.

In the future Marcin Poprawski can see policies evolving to provide more unified support across sectors, breaking away from the traditional silos of culture and business departments.

“In the next 10 to 15 years, I imagine a revolution in how subsidies are distributed, with creative professionals receiving not just cultural funding but also business support. The key will be creating spaces where innovators and cultural creators can meet, openly share ideas, find a common language, effectively collaborate, and validate the bridging of the gap between cultural policies and innovation policies.”

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