The Society for Cultural Policy Research in Finland invites researchers, cultural professionals and policymakers to the 13th Finnish Conference on Cultural Policy Research in Seinäjoki on 8–9 April 2027. The conference will be held at the Kalevan Navetta Art and Culture Centre in collaboration with the Seinäjoki Unit of the University of the Arts Helsinki.

The Call for Papers will open in mid-October – stay tuned for updates!

Photo by Andrei Stratu on Unsplash

The deadline of proposals has been extended to 15th of May 2026!

The Society for Cultural Policy Research annually awards a student whose master’s thesis addresses a cultural policy-related topic in a meritorious way. The prize can be awarded to a thesis that relates to the field of cultural policy and has been accepted at a Finnish higher education institute during 2025. The concept of cultural policy is understood broadly. The thesis may approach cultural policy, for example, in the framework of social sciences, political science, arts and cultural research, business economics, legal studies or artistic research. The thesis may be written in Finnish, Swedish or English.

The Society for Cultural Policy Research invites supervisors of cultural policy-related master’s theses completed in 2025 (at universities or universities of applied sciences) to propose nominees for the prize. Students can also nominate their own theses.

To nominate a thesis, please submit the thesis together with its evaluation statement as PDF file to kulttuuripolitiikan.t.seura@gmail.com by 15th May 2026. If the thesis is available online, it is sufficient to submit a link to it together with the evaluation statement as a PDF file.

The recipient of the prize will be selected by a jury. The awarded student will receive a honorary diploma and a grant of 300 euros. In addition, the awardee will have the opportunity to write an article to The Cultural Policy Research Yearbook based on the thesis or its central themes. The article will be reviewed according to the journal’s standard procedure.

We hope to receive many nominations!

The Society for Cultural Policy Research invites researchers, cultural actors, and decision-makers to the XII Finnish Conference on Cultural Policy Research, to be held in Oulu on April 9–10, 2026. The theme of the 2026 conference is “What will remain?”. The Conference provides a unique forum for discussing the impacts of current political decisions, programmes, and projects on the achievement of national cultural policy objectives , artistic work, cultural participation and the regional and local arts and culture ecosystems–both now and in the future.

Culture and the arts are built not only on moments, but also on continuity, commitment, and community structures. Cultural policy requires perseverance, but its manifestations, such as projects, programmes, and funding instruments, are often tied to current priorities, budgets, and political changes. What will remain of cultural policy actions when government terms change, funding periods end, projects come to a close, and the public visibility of current themes diminishes? During the current government term, there has been a lot of discussion about cuts to government appropriations and cultural budgets at both national and local levels. What will remain if the planned cuts in public funding for culture are implemented? What will happen to cultural sector actors and their operating environments?

Welcome to submit your proposal

We welcome proposals for both individual presentations and working groups. Proposals may be theoretical or empirical, but they should highlight both research and practical perspectives. Send your proposal by email to kulttuuripolitiikan.t.seura@gmail.com. The deadline for proposals is December 15, 2025. Instructions for submitting proposals can be found below.

Presentations and working groups can address, for example, the following topics:

• Monitoring, evaluation and measuring of projects and policies
• Impacts of cultural policy instruments (e.g. programmes, grants and subsidies, tax incentives, cooperation models, infrastructure investments)
• Effects of political decisions (e.g. funding cuts) and structural reforms (e.g., The Education and Culture Administration 2030 reform project)
• Impacts and starting points of political decision, reforms, and projects in different types of areas (e.g. urban vs rural, peripheries vs centres, suburbs vs city centres)
• Sustainability goals and impacts in cultural policy, funding, projects, and the daily operations of arts and culture sector actors
• Long-term impacts of projects and programmes on community, participation, and equality
• Realities and futures constructed by policy discourses and their broader implications
• Opportunities, challenges, and impacts of alternative funding models (e.g. sustained support from the private/business sector)

Presentations and working groups that examine the theme from perspectives other than those mentioned above are also welcome.

Session Proposals  

The length of the session proposal should be 250-300 words and must include the workshop title, topic, chair(s), as well as the proposed presenters and their topics. The language of the sessions can be Finnish, Swedish, or English. Sessions (each accommodating 3-4 presentations) can be proposed even if the presenter does not yet know all the presentations coming to the group. 

Presentation Proposals  

The length of an individual presentation proposal should be 250-300 words and must include the presentation title, topic, and the contact information of the presenter. The language of the presentations can be Finnish, Swedish, or English. 

All presenters are encouraged to shape their presentations into articles and submit their manuscripts for publication in the Yearbook of Cultural Policy Research (Kulttuuripolitiikan tutkimuksen vuosikirja). 

The XII Finnish Conference on Cultural Policy Research is organised by the Society for Cultural Policy Research in Finland in collaboration with the University of Jyväskylä, the Oulu Culture Foundation, and the City of Oulu.

Propose a presentation for the Finnish Conference on Cultural Policy Research.

Deadline for submissions extended until January 13th 2025!

The XI Finnish Conference on Cultural Policy Research will be held in Joensuu in the University of Eastern Finland on 24-25 April 2025. The theme of the conference in 2025 is The Work and Economy of Culture.

We invite proposals for sessions and presentations that address the diverse connections between culture, working life, economy, and politics.

Proposals for presentations and workshops should be submitted by January 13, 2025, to: kulttuuripolitiikan.t.seura@gmail.com.

The length of the session proposal should be 250-300 words and must include the workshop title, topic, chair(s), as well as the proposed presenters and their topics. The language of the sessions can be Finnish, Swedish, or English. Sessions (each accommodating 3-4 presentations) can be proposed even if the presenter does not yet know all the presentations coming to the group.

The length of an individual presentation proposal should be 250-300 words and must include the presentation title, topic, and the contact information of the presenter.

The language of the presentations can be Finnish, Swedish, or English.

All presenters are encouraged to shape their presentations into articles and submit their manuscripts for publication in the Yearbook of Cultural Policy Research (Kulttuuripolitiikan tutkimuksen vuosikirja).

The Finnish Conference on Cultural Policy Research offer an interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary meeting place for those interested in the phenomena of cultural policy. The 2025 conference is organized by the Society for Cultural Policy Research in collaboration with the University of Eastern Finland.

For more information, visit: https://kulttuuripolitiikantutkimus.fi/en/finnish-conference-on-cultural-policy-research/

The X Finnish Conference on Cultural Policy Research will be held on 18-19 April 2024 at the Sibelius Academy, University of the Arts Helsinki. The theme of the conference is the futures of cultural policy.

The conference will be organised in cooperation with Arts Management, Society and Creative Entrepreneurship Master Degree Programme of Sibelius Academy.

Photo by Mervi Luonila.