Presentation
KEA European Affairs is an international policy design research centre specialised in culture and creative industries as well as sport, education and youth. Based in Brussels, our mission is to provide policy advice to make territories, organisations and people more aware of their cultural and creative resources, to unlock the potential of culture and creativity for economic and social development.
Since 1999 KEA has advised and/or partnered over:
• 40 countries
• 50 cities & regional authorities
• 20 public institutions & cultural agencies
• 15 universities
• 10 European trade associations
• 10 multinationals
• 100 SMEs
KEA has experience in carrying out successful policy review for the CoE (6 countries). KEA manages the
global network of cultural entrepreneurs b.creative.
International Organisations, Public Institutions and Cultural Agencies
KEA has been advising major international organisations since its inception (European Union, European Parliament, Council of Europe, European Investment Bank, Eurostat, WIPO) as well providing services to over 20 public institutions, national ministries dealing with culture, sport, economic development and trade and cultural agencies throughout the European Union, country members of the Council of Europe, and China. Services provided have included international comparative analysis and benchmarking, legal services, policy strategy, corporate strategy and operational improvements (evaluating structures, objectives and processes).
International Heritage
KEA worked extensively on development strategies and cultural investment in the heritage sector with local and regional authorities through the Creative Europe projects ‘Cultural Heritage in Action!’ (2020-2021) and ‘Culture for Cities and Regions’ (2014-2017). KEA Founder and Director Philippe Kern has been involved in numerous expert missions for the Council of Europe (Albania, Georgia, Ukraine) which included advice to the Ministry of Culture on heritage policy strategy. A number of commissioned studies included policy recommendations in relation to cultural heritage. Examples include the ESPON targeted analysis “Material Cultural Heritage as a Strategic Territorial Development Resource” (2018-
2019) in which KEA provided operational recommendations on how to develop comparable indicators to capture the economic impact of material cultural heritage across Europe. Finally, KEA was also responsible for the development of an international network to promote heritage as a resource of innovation and international cooperation within the Horizon 2020 project ILUCIDARE (2018-2022).
Cultural Investment
KEA’s strength lies in its ability to show the multidimensional impact of cultural investment by studying, documenting and researching spill-over effects, arts and science, culture-based creativity and innovation, heritage, tourism and technology. Our impact studies are known for their capacity to show the value of cultural investment at both economic and social level as well as in helping comprehend the value chain of the various culture and creative sectors (film, music, book, video games, fashion, design etc). KEA’s unique international experience gives us the ability to compare and benchmark. We always design locally rooted solutions. Our approach is participatory, pragmatic and holistic.