Collaboration in the Cultural Sector: Organizations, Roles, and Work Culture

Working in the cultural sector often involves various forms of collaboration. You work with permanent teams, freelancers, temporary project groups, and partners from other organizations. How a collaboration unfolds depends not only on the nature of the work. Organizational structure, roles, contract types, and work culture play an equally important role. Understanding these factors helps you collaborate more effectively, manage expectations, and prevent misunderstandings.

How Organizations in the Cultural Sector Operate

The cultural sector has various organizational models. Some organizations operate with a core group of staff and a clear structure. Examples include theaters, museums, or companies that receive multi-year grants. In these organizations, roles and responsibilities are often clearly defined, and processes are relatively predictable.

At the same time, much of the work is project-based . Temporary teams are put together for a specific production, exhibition, or program. Roles can vary from project to project, and teams disband once the project is complete. This requires flexibility and the ability to adapt quickly. In practice, it’s often a combination of both: a core team surrounded by a network of freelancers and partners.

Roles in teams: specialist or generalist?

Within teams, you’ll find different types of roles. Some people are specialists with clear areas of expertise, such as marketing, production, or technology. Others are generalists who switch between different tasks and responsibilities. Typical specialists in the cultural sector include marketers, technicians (lighting and sound), producers, fundraisers, education staff, and financial staff. Generalists are often project leaders, program coordinators, business managers in smaller organizations, or producers who combine multiple roles.

In practice, these roles often overlap. Especially in smaller organizations or projects, people take on multiple roles at the same time. While this can be efficient, it also requires clear agreements. Make it explicit who is ultimately responsible for which task, where tasks overlap, and who makes decisions. By defining these roles in advance and checking in periodically, you can prevent work from piling up or being duplicated.

Working with Freelancers and Permanent Teams

Collaborations in the cultural sector often involve people in different roles: permanent employees, freelancers, and sometimes volunteers. This leads to differences in responsibilities, expectations, and status. A freelancer works on a project basis and often has more autonomy, while a salaried employee is part of the organization and, in some cases, is covered by a collective bargaining agreement or a benefits package. Effective collaboration therefore requires clear agreements—not only regarding tasks and scheduling, but also regarding communication, availability, and decision-making.

In addition, it is important to take the DBA Act into account. This law examines the nature of the employment relationship and is intended to prevent bogus self-employment. This means that a freelancer cannot be managed in the same way as a salaried employee. Consider, for example, reporting relationships, working hours, and the degree of autonomy in the work. By being mindful of these factors and clearly documenting agreements, you can avoid risks for both parties.

💡 Tip: Be sure to check out the article on labor law and contracts for services to understand the legal basis for these types of collaborations. The Tax Authority has its own tool that you can use to determine whether or not a freelancer should be hired as a salaried employee.

Work Culture, Hierarchy, and Decision-Making

How people collaborate is closely tied to the work culture. In the cultural sector, this culture is often informal, with short lines of communication. At the same time, responsibilities and decision-making aren’t always explicitly defined. Formally, decisions may rest with executive management, while in practice, project leaders or creators wield significant influence. By clarifying in advance who decides what, you can prevent confusion and delays. Leadership here is less about directing and more about coordinating. Project leaders and coordinators maintain an overview, monitor agreements, and bring bottlenecks to light before they become insurmountable.

💡 Tip: Make roles and decisions explicit, for example, by using a simple role-assignment framework (such as RACI). Schedule brief check-ins throughout the project and evaluate the collaboration along the way. It is precisely this light structure that provides clarity in an informal work environment.

Labor Relations and Agreements in Practice

Every working relationship is based on agreements. If you’re a salaried employee, these agreements are sometimes governed by a collective bargaining agreement or an organization’s own terms of employment. Typically, there’s an employment contract with clear provisions regarding salary, expense reimbursements, leave, sick leave, duties, and working hours. If you’re a freelancer, you establish agreements through a contract for services and work independently, often on an invoice basis.

In addition, there are other types of work, such as volunteer work or activities classified as “income from other work.” The type of employment relationship that applies determines how you are paid, how the administrative procedures are structured, and what rights and obligations apply. If you’re unsure which category you fall under, you can check with the Tax Authority or the Chamber of Commerce. It’s important to clarify this in advance so that expectations and responsibilities are clear to everyone involved. If you’re unsure about the outcome of your own research, you can also consult a lawyer.