Theme

Funding for promoting the creative industries

Creative and Cultural Innovation Expertise is one of the national ESF+ themes. Within this theme, funding is available for projects that strengthen:

The creative industries and creative economy
Expertise within the arts and culture sectors

The total amount of funding available to projects during the 2021–2027 programme period is 13.6 million euros. The ELY Centre for Häme serves as the funding authority for the theme and is responsible for funding decisions.

The first application round ended in May 2023. The next application round ended in March 2025.

What types of projects are funded?

Projects within the theme should focus on one or more of the following:

1) Strengthening the creative industries and creative economy

Strengthen the creative industries and creative economy as a diversifier of the economic structure by:

Improving business skills and digital competence
Strengthening cross-sector operating models
Increasing travel capabilities
Developing the ability to act as different innovation platforms

2) Strengthening the arts and culture sectors

Strengthen the arts and culture sectors by developing the following areas, for example:

Quality, impact and availability of services
Innovation activities
Production skills
Sustainable development of cultural environments
Cultural diversity skills

ESF+ funding enables development work that would not be possible within the regular activities of the applicant. In other words, the funding does not cover basic operations.

The activity to be funded should have a national impact. Cross-sectoral changes and changes within the global operating environment should be taken into account, such as digitisation, the data economy, climate change, and changes caused by the demographic structure and the Covid-19 pandemic.

Who can apply?

Target groups

The target groups of funded projects should be actors and professionals in the creative industries or other actors who utilise the expertise of the creative industries.

Examples of target groups include:

Employees, managers, entrepreneurs and those who intend to become entrepreneurs and who have immigrated to Finland.
Creative and cultural organisations, associations, foundations and municipalities, education and training organisations, research institutes, art and culture institutes, and other developers of working life and services together with their staff.
Employed persons whose current skills in the creative industries need to be updated or whose continuation in working life needs to be secured.

A more precise description of target groups is available in the call for applications (in Finnish and Swedish).

Project activities should be aimed at individual customers, and the purpose of the funding is to benefit the widest possible group.

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Second application round

Application period: 15 January – 15 March 2025
Funding decisions: November 2025
Total amount allocated: approximately 4 M€

There were two main calls for applications in the second application round: for traditional development projects and for pilot projects.

The call for applications for traditional development projects covered wide-ranging expertise and innovation projects that meet the needs of the arts, culture and creative sector. From these, a total of 8 projects were selected for funding.

The second call for applications for pilot projects covered more one-off experiments that respond to the development needs of the creative sector. Funding for these projects will be paid as a lump sum, and the maximum amount of funding is EUR 200,000. From these, a total of 5 projects were selected for funding.

The application round included an extended call for applications for the coordination project of the theme from 2026 onwards. The Creative Net of the Arts Promotion Centre Finland will continue as the coordination project.

First application round

Application period: 15 March – 15 May 2023
Funding decisions: November-December 2023
Total amount allocated: approximately 6 M€

A total of 81 applications were received, of which 50 were for projects to implemented by one person and 31 for group projects.

The total amount of funding applied for in the first round was more than 20 million euros, whereas a total of approximately 6 million euros has been allocated.

The schedule for further application rounds will be confirmed this autumn once the funding decisions for the first round have been made.

The Economic Development Centre of Southeast Finland (formerly the ELY Centre for Häme) serves as the funding authority for the theme and is responsible for funding decisions.

Call for applications in Finnish and Swedish (EURA 2021)

Description of the national theme (rakennerahastot.fi)

Regional ESF+ funding

Projects within the arts, culture and creative sectors can also apply for regional funding under the “New expertise for working life” theme.

Creative Net also supports those participating in regional ESF+ funding, those interested in applying and those who have already received funding. Application criteria and schedules can be found on the Structural Funds website.

Regional calls for applications on the Structural Funds website