Advancing research. Building international careers. Shaping policy.
Launched in 2014, the ENCATC Research Award on Cultural Management and Policy celebrates outstanding doctoral research that advances knowledge, informs cultural policy and strengthens cultural practice.
Presented annually to a promising early-career researcher, the Award aims to stimulate innovative and applied research in cultural management and cultural policy and to increase its visibility and relevance within academic, professional and policy communities.
Developed in partnership with the Cultural Management Fund of the University of Antwerp, the Award provides emerging researchers with an international platform from which to develop their careers, expand their networks and bring their research into dialogue with policymakers, academics and cultural professionals.
In this way, the Award goes beyond recognising academic excellence: it supports the internationalisation of emerging research careers while contributing new knowledge, perspectives and evidence to the development of cultural policy and management in Europe and beyond.
Over the last decade, the ENCATC Research Award has gained international prominence, attracting submissions from across the globe and becoming a platform for sharing knowledge and expertise.
Its growing international community of winners, applicants, jury members and partners reflects ENCATC’s commitment to fostering a new generation of internationally connected researchers whose work can contribute to the future of cultural management and cultural policy in Europe and beyond.
The ENCATC Research Award transforms outstanding doctoral research into an opportunity for international visibility, career development, knowledge exchange and policy impact.
Advancing international research careers
For early-career researchers, receiving the Award provides international recognition at a formative stage of their professional journey. It creates opportunities to increase the visibility of their work, expand their academic and professional networks and connect with ENCATC’s international community of researchers, policymakers and cultural professionals.
The Award therefore contributes to the internationalisation of research careers, helping emerging scholars position their work within wider European and global conversations on cultural management and policy.
Connecting research, policy and practice
The Award recognises research not only for its academic quality, but also for its capacity to generate knowledge that can inform policymaking and benefit cultural practitioners.
By bringing innovative research and evidence into dialogue with policymakers and professionals, the Award strengthens the connections between research, policy and practice and contributes to the continued development of cultural management and cultural policy.
Creating international knowledge exchange
Through ENCATC’s international network, the Award helps research, ideas and expertise circulate across countries, disciplines and professional communities.
This international exchange enables different perspectives and experiences to enrich debates around culture and supports the development of more informed and forward-looking approaches to cultural policy and management in Europe and beyond.
Building the next generation of cultural policy researchers
The Award contributes to the development of a new generation of researchers capable of addressing emerging cultural challenges through innovative, internationally oriented and policy-relevant research.
By connecting promising scholars with an established international community, it helps build research capacity and encourages lasting relationships and collaborations across borders.
The winning doctoral thesis is published in the ENCATC Advances in Cultural Management and Policy Series, published by Routledge.
Publication gives outstanding doctoral research the opportunity to reach an international readership of researchers, students, policymakers and cultural professionals.
The prize therefore extends well beyond the recognition itself. It provides the winner with an important platform for international visibility and career development, while enabling new knowledge to circulate internationally and contribute to future research, policy debates and professional practice.
The ENCATC Research Award is presented annually to a promising PhD graduate in the field of cultural management and cultural policy.
Eligible doctoral research should demonstrate academic excellence, originality and an innovative and internationally oriented research approach, with particular attention to its applied implications and its capacity to inform policymaking and benefit practitioners in the broad field of culture.
The Award particularly values research capable of opening new perspectives on contemporary and emerging challenges and contributing to the evolution of cultural management and cultural policy at European and international levels.
Jury
Elena Borin - ENCATC President; Pegaso University, Italy
Jamie Alberto Ruiz Gutiérrez - Universidad de los Andes at Bogotá, Colombia
Leticia Labaronne - ZHAW School of Management and Law, Center for Arts Management, Switzerland
Jerry Liu - Taiwan Association of Cultural Policy Studies, Taiwan
João Oswaldo Leiva Filho - J. Leiva Cultura e Esporte, Brazil
Richard Maloney - New York University, USA
Annick Schramme - University of Antwerp, Belgium
Daniel Green - H. John Heinz III College of Public Policy and Management at Carnegie Mellon University, USA