The Annual ENCATC Congress is the only global event dedicated to the advancement of theory, education, research and practice on cultural management and policy. Each year, it gathers academics, trainers and researchers from the cultural management and policy educational fields with cross-disciplinary interests, cultural professionals, policy makers, artists, and students.

ENCATC is dedicated to sharing, exchanging and reflecting on world-class research and trends is part of the network’s aim to strengthen the European research area and to build knowledge societies. So far, more than 435 researchers and educators from around the world have benefited to use this international platform to present their work and gain feed-back from peers. Many have gone on to publish their research in ENCATC’s scientific publication, the European Journal of Cultural Management and Policy.

The Global Conversations are organised in the framework of ENCATC's Memorandums of Understanding with the Association of Arts Administration Educators (AAAE) and the Taiwan Association of Cultural Policy studies (TACPS) to offer an international platform for a global debate on education on cultural management and policy.

The ENCATC Research Award ceremony is held to bestow this Award upon the best and most relevant doctoral Thesis and to reward talent in the young and emerging research community.

This Award, previously known as Fellowship Award, gives public recognition to an individual, group of people, or an institution that has demonstrated a significant (and consistent) contribution to the field of cultural management and/or cultural policy over a longer period of time.

Every year, ENCATC engages in a policy debate with the aim of identifying new business models, innovative funding schemes and investment practices in the cultural and creative sector. ENCATC members, academics, researchers, cultural operators, policy makers, economics experts and students are invited to attend.

ENCATC Academy was designed for the first time in 2012 to prepare academics, researchers, practitioners, policy makers, artists and students to deal with challenges in cultural relations and diplomacy. It is meant to offer an intense learning experience with a mixed methodology including lectures and seminars and enhance with experts from the field.

The ENCATC Study Tours aim to immerse participants in different cultural contexts, enabling hands-on learning, cross-cultural dialogue, and networking opportunities.

The ENCATC Breakfast initiative supports cultural and creative sector professionals and leaders of European cultural networks in fully leveraging new technologies to enhance their competitiveness and resilience. Through capacity-building sessions, participants are equipped with the knowledge, tools, and strategic perspectives necessary to navigate the digital transition effectively. Organised in the form of masterclasses, these sessions facilitate the exchange of expertise, best practices, and innovative approaches among key stakeholders across Europe. By fostering collaboration and digital readiness, the initiative contributes to strengthening the overall sustainability and future-oriented development of Europe’s cultural and creative ecosystem.

The Young and Emerging Researchers' Forum is designed for a new generation of young and emerging researchers entering into the cultural policy and cultural management field to help them advance in their careers and enlarge their networks in Europe and beyond.

During the ENCATC General Assembly in Lecce, Italy (October 2015), the ENCATC Board decided to support and promote the development of scientific seminars, events and workshopsorganised by its members in the various regional areas. Thus, ENCATC will co-brand and ensure labelling of selected events, carefully chosen on a case by case basis, upon requests made by the organizers. This labelling must obey some basic rules. More info: http://www.encatc.org/en/projects/encatc-labelling-policy/

Established in April 2020, the ENCATC Think Tank is a cross-sectoral and transnational platform that brings together representatives from EU cultural networks and European and international institutions, as well as cultural professionals, academics, and researchers. Functioning at the intersection of research, policy and practice, it aims to produce evidence-based outputs designed to inform and support multi-level policy development, from local to European and international levels. By encouraging strategic knowledge exchange among networks and researchers, the ENCATC Think Tank promotes innovation through shared data, common indicators, and joint research methodologies.

This working group aims to improve academic standards and quality of education by breaking stereotypes, understanding “otherness”, and embracing diversity in education. The goal is to lead to innovative approaches in managing creative projects and new working opportunities for graduate students, keeping in mind the economic, social and academic impact of internationalisation to extend beyond personal growth and contribute to the advancement of the arts and culture field as a whole. This working group will convene each year through 4 online webinars and one meeting in presence. One of the outcomes will be the production of a toolkit for the internationalisation of culture programmes including a list of best practices at the end of 2026, to be updated in 2028, and similarly an article each for the annual Policy Tracker in 2026 and 2028.

The ENCATC Talks were launched on 8 May 2020 at the initiative of ENCATC Member Avril Joffre from the University of the Witwatersrand. This project aims to offer the cultural management and policy community a virtual space to exchange practice, methodology, ideas and projects proposals.