On 27 August, ENCATC, the leading European network on cultural management and policy, revealed the four finalists in the running for the 2019 ENCATC Research Award on Cultural Policy and Cultural Management: 

• Annatina Aerne for her PhD “The Creation of a Public Sphere through a Network of Art Publics in Bogotá” obtained from the University of St.Gallen in Switzerland;
• Karla Nunes Penna for her PhD “A critical autoethnographic study of context-related influences on cultural heritage preservation education of World Heritage sites in Northeastern Brazil” obtained from Murdoch University in Australia;
• Minna Ruusuvirta for her PhD “Does sector matter? Plural characteristics and logics in third sector festival organisations” obtained from the University of Jyväskylä in Finland; 
• Biljana Tanurovska Kjulavkovski for her PhD “Theory of institutions and cultural policies for contemporary performative practices” obtained from the University of Arts in Belgrade, Faculty of Dramatic Arts in Serbia.

Having been selected by the Award’s international jury, these finalists are authors of important research shedding light on contemporary cultural issues and challenges by analysing them and offering policy solutions. 

On 3 October in Dijon, France, the winner will be announced at the official Award Ceremony during the 27th ENCATC Congress “Diversity and sustainability at work. Policies and practices from culture and education” (2-5 October).

Launched in 2014, the ENCATC Award exists to stimulate academic research in the field of cultural policy and management, to explore contemporary issues at stake and possibly anticipate new cultural policy orientations through comparative and cross-cultural research. Moreover, it contributes to the process of creating an infrastructure, a network of researchers who are doing comparative research projects in cultural policy and management issues. The Award also has the generous support from the Creative Europe programme of the European Union. 

·       Learn more about the ENCATC Research Award: https://www.encatcresearchaward.org/

·       Learn more about the ENCATC Congress and register: https://www.encatccongress.org/

ENCATC is the European network on cultural management and policy. It is an independent membership organisation gathering over 150 higher education institutions and cultural organisations in over 40 countries. ENCATC was founded in 1992 to represent, advocate and promote cultural management and cultural policy education, professionalise the cultural sector and make it sustainable, and to create a platform of discussion and exchange at the European and international level. ENCATC is an NGO in official partnership with UNESCO and is supported by the Creative Europe programme of the European Union. The 2019 ENCATC Congress is done in partnership with the Burgundy School of Business, a member of ENCATC.