Arts Council Malta is representing Malta on an Open Method of Co-ordination working group whose aim is to identify innovative measures to promote entrepreneurship and new business models in the cultural and creative sectors

What is it about?
EU Member States have much to gain in exchanging good practice on the way they design policies and funding schemes. This form of cooperation is referred to as the "Open Method of Coordination" (OMC), and is used in many policy areas.
Under the OMC, experts from ministries of culture and national cultural institutions meet 5 to 6 times over 18 months to exchange good practice and produce policy manuals or toolkits which are widely shared throughout Europe.
Every four years, EU Member States agree the themes on which the OMC should focus in the Council Work Plan for Culture.

Why is it needed?
The Open Method of Coordination is a light but structured way EU Member States use to cooperate at European level in the field of culture. The OMC creates a common understanding of problems and helps to build consensus on solutions and their practical implementation.
Through an exchange of good practice between EU countries, it contributes to improving the design and implementation of policies, without regulatory instruments.

What is the Commission's role?
The Commission is responsible for organising the OMC, supporting groups with research and studies and producing reports on the implementation of the OMC process.

What is Malta’s role?
As one of the participating member states, Malta contributes to the working group by providing information relevant to the Creative and Cultural Sector in Malta and refers back on practices used in other countries that could be applied in Malta.

What has been achieved so far?
To date, the OMC working group on Entrepreneurship has met twice and put together a list of best practices and funding mechanism available in all participating countries. Currently we are working on identifying the obstacles to creative and cultural entrepreneurship at various levels such as regulatory and infrastructure. By the end of the two-year process, a handbook will be made available to consolidate possible solutions for the sector.