Advice on cultural policy matters: changing times for the Council for Culture

Abstract

The central question is the changing role of advisory councils in Dutch cultural policy and the subsequent change in discourse on culture and the arts within cultural policy. Our working hypothesis is that the role of the Council for Culture (Raad voor Cultuur), the formal advisory council, is diminishing in favor of general advisory councils such as the Scientific Council for Government Policy and commercial consulting firms. This change in advice structure results in a changing discourse. To examine this hypothesis we will focus on two case studies in Dutch cultural policy: International Cultural Policy and cultural policy aimed at classical orchestras. Both areas have recently undergone significant changes and in both cases several advisory organizations were involved in drafting the new policy. We will look at the content of the advisory reports and the changes they have caused in policy.