Research & Policy Papers
Creative Enterprise Lab Research & Policy Papers are long-form, higher-stakes outputs that consolidate evidence, analysis, and practice-led research into durable positions relevant to policy, institutions, and international debate.
These papers move beyond exploratory development and take clear, defensible positions on structural conditions shaping creative work.
They are written to postgraduate academic standards and designed to be policy-legible, conference-ready, and capable of withstanding scrutiny.
About Research & Policy Papers
Research & Policy Papers:
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build on CEL Working Papers and accumulated practice-led evidence
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address policy, funding, and institutional design questions
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foreground structural responsibility and system effects
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support reflection, review, and informed decision-making
They are not advocacy documents or prescriptive frameworks. Their purpose is to clarify conditions, surface unintended consequences, and support more ethical and sustainable system design.
Papers
(Listed below in numerical order)
Each Research & Policy Paper includes:
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a publication number
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title and summary
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publication status
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access to the full paper
Where relevant, links are provided to Working Papers that inform the analysis and to Resources where findings are translated into applied contexts.
RP1-SSC-2026-01 - Economic Agency, Self-Authorship, and Artist Status: A Practice-Led Synthesis for EU Policy, Programme Design, and International Scaling (2015–2025)
Research Paper (RP)
Synthesis and translation layer: design implications, comparators (Ireland/UK/EU), and portability constraints.
A practice-led synthesis examining how policy frameworks, funding structures, and programme design shape artist status, economic agency, and sustainability in creative work across EU and international contexts.
Published – February 2026
Creative & Artistic Entrepreneurship in 2026: An Academic Analysis of Sector Conditions Structural Gaps & Policy Implications
Research & Policy Paper No. 2
Creative & Artistic Entrepreneurship in 2026
An Academic Analysis of Sector Conditions, Structural Gaps & Policy Implications
An evidence-based analysis of contemporary creative sector conditions, identifying structural gaps affecting sustainability and professional viability, and outlining implications for cultural policy and system design.
Published – January 2026
Purpose & Approach
Research & Policy Papers:
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build on Working Papers while moving beyond exploration
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apply multi-order systems analysis
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address policy design, funding structures, and institutional responsibility
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examine long-term and unintended consequences
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engage counter-arguments seriously
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make assumptions and limits explicit
These papers do not offer prescriptive templates or advocacy slogans. Their purpose is to clarify conditions, surface trade-offs, and support more defensible decision-making.
Relationship to Working Papers
Research & Policy Papers are not produced in isolation.
They:
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draw on the analytical groundwork developed in Working Papers
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incorporate practice-led evidence
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synthesise interdisciplinary research
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consolidate patterns observed across multiple contexts
Where Working Papers function as thinking infrastructure, Research & Policy Papers function as structured consolidation.
Together, they form CEL’s research architecture.