Coming together: Culture, Heritage and Smart Specialisation

Cultural and natural heritage is a crucial part of our communities and our everyday lives. Nonetheless, it is much more complex than we often realize: It can be tangible or intangible, and is increasingly digital. One thing that is certain, however, is that cultural and natural heritage is often the key driver for the regeneration of rural areas, as well as a foundation for sustainable development.

Even so, it is all too often the case that cultural heritage is left out of the picture when considering innovation and research. This is sometimes because the experts working most closely with culture do not regularly interact with people in the fields of entrepreneurship and business development, and vice versa.

For example, in the process of creating Research and Innovation Strategies for Smart Specialisation (RIS3/4), very few regions have been able to comprehensively integrate considerations for cultural heritage. This gap in knowledge and implementation spells out a valuable opportunity to better incorporate culture into development, thereby taking a more well-rounded approach to timely agendas like rural regeneration. One of the first steps will be to get the conversation flowing across sectors and spark collaboration that might once have seemed unlikely; bringing culture together with areas such as smart specialisation, innovation, experimentation, entrepreneurship, business development and sustainable development.

Traditionally, the integration of cultural heritage into policy has been limited to activities like tourism. While tourism is certainly an opportunity to bring cultural heritage into the fold, the possibilities beyond this are much wider. The latest RURITAGE publication, Policy Recommendations for the Integration of Cultural and Natural Heritage (CNH) within Research and Innovation Strategies for Smart Specialisation (RIS3/4) provides strategies to bridge the gap. In other words, it outlines a broader perspective of what innovation and regeneration can mean for communities – especially rural ones.

The document details ways for cultural heritage and experts in smart specialisation to come together and work in an interdisciplinary way, breaking down barriers between sectors that might otherwise be seen as unrelated. Some of the key recommendations include to:

  • Interact across sectors and areas of expertise.
  • Embrace a broader view on innovation and try to look at CNH from new perspectives.
  • Bring cultural and natural heritage into research and innovation.
  • Think beyond tourism to diversify the rural economy.
  • Consider the complexity of heritage in an integrated way, including cultural, natural and digital components as well as tangible and intangible aspects. 
  • Include the Culture and Creative Industries, which are an excellent way to bring cultural and natural heritage features to life.

For a truly integrated territorial development approach, cultural and natural heritage must be better considered as a part of the plan. What remains is to make this a clear priority at the policy level, and to work across sectors to ensure that culture is always seen as a part of thriving regions.

Find the Policy Recommendations document on our Publications Page here, or click here for a direct download.