The Grant

EU Funding in Culture and Creativity
With Paolo Montemurro from Matera HubCheck out the episode website

In this episode I’m joined by Paolo Montemurro from Materahub to open up the European funding landscape for culture and creativity. This is a conversation I’ve wanted to do for a long time, because if you cover EU funding broadly, the cultural and creative sectors are too important to leave untouched. Paolo explains why the European Union invests in culture and creativity not only because of their economic contribution, but also because of their role in democracy, social inclusion, European values, mobility and innovation. We talk about how this recognition has grown over time and why the creative and cultural sectors now sit much more clearly inside the wider European policy and funding architecture.

We then move through the actual opportunities. We start with Creative Europe as the main go-to programme, but also look at Erasmus+, Horizon Europe, Interreg and other relevant corners of the funding landscape. Paolo shares how Matera Hub has worked across these schemes since 2011, using culture and creativity as both a sector in its own right and as a methodology that can connect to entrepreneurship, skills, cultural heritage, innovation, audience development and social transformation. It’s an introduction episode, but a rich one — especially for anyone in the cultural and creative sectors trying to understand where to start and how broad the European opportunity space really is.

Time codes:
01:47 Guest introduction and fly in
05:11 Why Does the EU Invest in Culture and Creativity?
18:57 The Funding Landscape
50:28 Looking Ahead
56:50 Materahub's Experience Across Programmes
01:15:21 Reflections and advice
01:19:15 The Toughest Challenge

RM Framework (7) – The Hungary Pilot at Corvinus University
Accredited RM training, formal education and the limits of standardisation

Check out the episode websiteIn the seventh episode of the RM Framework Series, I’m joined by Associate Professor Éva Pinter and Éva Kőváriné Ignáth from Corvinus University of Budapest to explore the Hungarian pilot. Corvinus brings a very specific and valuable perspective to the project because it already runs a formally accredited postgraduate programme: the Research and Innovation Manager and Economist Executive Degree Programme. The programme runs over two full semesters, leads to a state-recognised diploma, and was developed in close cooperation with Hungary’s National Research, Development and Innovation Office. Unlike shorter professional workshops, this is a full higher education qualification for experienced professionals from universities, research institutes, public agencies and companies — as well as people transitioning into research management.

That makes Corvinus a particularly interesting pilot case. Éva Pinter explains the pilot tests where the RM Framework handbook and quality label work well, and where they need more flexibility for multi-semester, ECTS-based degree programmes. Éva Kőváriné Ignáth adds the course-level perspective, drawing on shorter BA and MA courses developed through earlier European projects and now used to introduce students to research management and EU research funding. Together, the episode becomes a practical discussion about formal education, competence frameworks, quality labels, microcredentials and what it really means to build a European standard for research management training across very different national systems.

Time codes:
02:22 Guest introduction and fly in
04:18 How You Train Research Managers Today
10:51 Working with the Pilot – Constraints and Reality
23:36 Expectations & Final Reflections

Interreg – An Introduction
With Viktoria Nilsson from Lund Municipality

Check out the episode website for links
In this episode I introduce the Interreg funding scheme together with Viktoria Nilsson from Lund Municipality. Interreg is one of the EU’s oldest territorial cooperation programmes, and its core idea is both simple and important: many societal challenges are shared across borders, so neighboring regions should work on them together. We talk about why Interreg exists, how it sits inside EU cohesion policy, and why it has become such a central instrument for cross-border collaboration in areas like innovation, green transition, sustainable transport and labour mobility.
We also make the episode practical. Viktoria explains how a typical Interreg project is structured, what kinds of partners usually take part, how funding rates and project types work, what the secretariat does during the application phase, and what applicants should keep in mind around communication, indicators, end users and long-term impact. It’s the first episode in what I hope will become a broader Interreg series, and it is meant as a clear and usable entry point for anyone who wants to understand the scheme better.

Time codes:
01:31 Guest introduction and fly in
08:36 EU motivation for the funding scheme
19:16 Structure of funding scheme
36:00 Target group stakeholders
39:47 How to apply
01:01:04 Evaluation
01:05:06 When funding is received
01:09:23 Do's and don't's
01:16:44 The toughest challenge

How Regions Build the Foundations for EU Funding
With Alina Totti from Provincie Noord-Brabant

Check out the episode website

In this episode I’m joined by Alina Totti from Provincie Noord-Brabant to talk about how regions build the foundations that eventually lead to EU funding. Noord-Brabant is one of Europe’s most innovative regions, with strong advanced manufacturing traditions and a global industrial profile. But what interested me in this conversation is not only the region’s success. It is the work underneath that success: building relationships with other regions, understanding what Brussels is doing, shaping a regional story around innovation, and creating the long-term trust that makes later project collaboration possible.
We go into smart specialisation, the Vanguard Initiative, the importance of interregional networks, and how stepping-stone instruments can help SMEs move toward bigger European calls. Alina explains very clearly that proposals do not start when the call opens. They start much earlier — when regions know who they are, what they are good at, who they should work with, and how they want to position themselves in Europe. It is a really strong episode for anyone working in regional development, innovation ecosystems or the strategic side of EU funding.

Time codes:
01:39 Guest introduction and fly in
06:21 What Provincie Noord-Brabant is
13:36 The Vanguard Initiative and Smart Specialisation
35:05 The Importance of Relationships
51:14 Long-Term Lobbying and Why the Region Invests in It
01:08:33 Reflections and advice
01:10:45 The toughest challenge

With Thomas Brent from Science Business

Check out the episode website

In this episode I’m joined by Thomas Brent from Science Business for a practical status update on Widening in FP10. We go back to the roots of the debate: why Widening was created in the first place, how it was meant to help countries with weaker research capacity connect more effectively into the framework programme, and why some people have long argued that it does not fit neatly inside an excellence-based funding system. Thomas explains why that debate is now less dominant than before and why, despite some remaining criticism, Widening now looks likely to remain part of the next framework programme.
From there we dig into what is actually on the table in the FP10 discussions. We talk about the proposed increase in the Widening budget, the idea of placing Widening in a new fourth pillar, the possible creation of “transition countries”, and the controversial conditionality around public investment in research and development. We also touch on the current state of the negotiations, the role of member states, and why the coming months should give a clearer picture of where the political compromises are heading. It’s a useful episode for anyone trying to follow the Widening file without getting lost in Brussels process language.

Time codes:
01:46 Guest introduction and fly in
04:06 The Original Debate – Excellence vs Development
11:34 The FP10 Proposal – Splitting the Widening Countries
23:58 The Conditionality Debate
31:33 Where the Political Negotiation Stands Now
38:04 Reflections and What Comes Next