Who Needs a Plan Anyway? Digital Cultural Policymaking as the Art of Navigating through Uncertainties

Abstract

The current digital era poses numerous challenges for cultural policy, which must adapt not only to new technologies, but also to new forms of consumption that have arisen alongside them. These challenges are all the more significant due to the increasing complexity that characterizes the field of cultural policy, which is intertwined in many ways with the media. In Canada, the situation is complicated by the fact that federal and provincial governments promote distinct goals for the development of a digital cultural policy. Because of its cultural particularity, the province of Québec presents an interesting case study, especially with respect to its proposed Plan Cultural Numérique du Québec (PCNQ) as it differs from the federal plan. Through a comparison of the federal and provincial orientations towards the future of digital culture, this article exposes and analyzes the inherent tensions that emerge as these different approaches are elaborated.