Discourse analysis of participation in Flemish cultural policy

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Dewinter, Hanne, 2025, "Discourse analysis of participation in Flemish cultural policy", https://doi.org/10.34934/DVN/XDGDVR, Social Sciences and Digital Humanities Archive – SODHA, V2

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Description	This dataset contains 140 Flemish cultural policy documents published between 1990 and 2024. The collection includes strategic notes, policy plans, evaluation reports, ministerial briefs, and other official texts. The dataset was compiled for a critical discourse analysis examining how the rhetoric of participation is mobilised within Flemish cultural policy over time. The accompanying study identifies underlying paradigms and traces patterns, shifts, tensions, and omissions in participatory discourses across three decades of policymaking. The dataset enables researchers to explore how notions of participation relate to broader political, cultural, and institutional power dynamics. All documents were collected from public governmental sources or official archival portals. (2025-11-13)
Subject	Arts and Humanities; Social Sciences
Keyword	Cultural policy, Participation
Related Publication	Dewinter, H., Bradt, L., Rutten, K., & Vandermeersche, G. (2025). Limits to the participation paradigm? Unpacking the rhetoric of participation in Flemish cultural policy (1990-2024). International Journal of Cultural Policy. https://doi.org/10.1080/10286632.2025.2583906 doi: DOI: 10.1080/10286632.2025.2583906
Notes	The article accompanying this dataset investigates how the rhetoric of participation operates within Flemish cultural policy. Drawing on a critical discourse analysis of 140 policy documents (1990–2024), we identify underlying paradigms and trace patterns, shifts, tensions, and notable omissions over time. By doing so, we redirect attention toward questions of power and authority, revealing how participatory discourses both shape—and are shaped by—broader political and cultural power relations.
License/Data Use Agreement	CC0 1.0

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	Anc. 04-09 - Decreet houdende wijziging van het decreet van 4 april 2003 betreffende scw.pdf Adobe PDF - 234.6 KB Published Nov 19, 2025 6 Downloads MD5: 64be91dab5f78477b34af2c0dc63d431	Access File File Access Public Download Options Adobe PDF Download Metadata Data File Citation EndNote XML RIS BibTeX
	Anc. 04-09 - Beleidsnota Cultuur 2004-2009.pdf Adobe PDF - 1.1 MB Published Nov 19, 2025 2 Downloads MD5: 8cd9da30859c82dcfafa2bedfac4cd88	Access File File Access Public Download Options Adobe PDF Download Metadata Data File Citation EndNote XML RIS BibTeX
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	Anc. 04-09 - Besluit van de Vlaamse Regering betreffende de uitvoering van het participatiedecreet.pdf Adobe PDF - 221.9 KB Published Nov 19, 2025 4 Downloads MD5: 233bf174ee51ba842f11fc60cfaaa166	Access File File Access Public Download Options Adobe PDF Download Metadata Data File Citation EndNote XML RIS BibTeX
	Anc. 04-09 - Besluit van de Vlaamse Regering tot operationalisering van het beleidsdomein CJSP.pdf Adobe PDF - 122.6 KB Published Nov 19, 2025 4 Downloads MD5: 2c9fe3cc85601bf45412b1c44bdbc54c	Access File File Access Public Download Options Adobe PDF Download Metadata Data File Citation EndNote XML RIS BibTeX
	Anc. 04-09 - Decreet cultureel ergoed 2008.pdf Adobe PDF - 582.9 KB Published Nov 19, 2025 4 Downloads MD5: 3de9a76cd7f2d272d68fa2b2d17f9c51	Access File File Access Public Download Options Adobe PDF Download Metadata Data File Citation EndNote XML RIS BibTeX
	Anc. 04-09 - Decreet houdende de oprichting van de Raad voor Cultuur, Jeugd, Sport en Media.pdf Adobe PDF - 145.3 KB Published Nov 19, 2025 4 Downloads MD5: 192c87352f2d331a32c3bff9c316e87f	Access File File Access Public Download Options Adobe PDF Download Metadata Data File Citation EndNote XML RIS BibTeX

Citation Metadata

Persistent Identifier	doi:10.34934/DVN/XDGDVR
Publication Date	2025-11-19
Title of Dataset	Discourse analysis of participation in Flemish cultural policy
Subtitle	140 cultural policy documents published between 1990-2024 in Flanders
Alternative Title	FCPD-1990–2024
Other Identifier	Brussels Research Centre for Innovation in Learning and Diversity (BILD, VUB)
Author	Dewinter, Hanne (Vrije Universiteit Brussel) - ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0049-3744
Point of Contact	Use email button above to contact. Dewinter, Hanne (Vrije Universiteit Brussel)
Description	This dataset contains 140 Flemish cultural policy documents published between 1990 and 2024. The collection includes strategic notes, policy plans, evaluation reports, ministerial briefs, and other official texts. The dataset was compiled for a critical discourse analysis examining how the rhetoric of participation is mobilised within Flemish cultural policy over time. The accompanying study identifies underlying paradigms and traces patterns, shifts, tensions, and omissions in participatory discourses across three decades of policymaking. The dataset enables researchers to explore how notions of participation relate to broader political, cultural, and institutional power dynamics. All documents were collected from public governmental sources or official archival portals. (2025-11-13)
Subject	Arts and Humanities; Social Sciences
Keyword	Cultural policy (Cultural activities and participation) https://vocabularies.cessda.eu/vocabulary/TopicClassification Participation (Cultural activities and participation) https://vocabularies.cessda.eu/vocabulary/TopicClassification
Topic Classification	Cultural policy (Cultural activities and participation) https://vocabularies.cessda.eu/vocabulary/TopicClassification Participation (Cultural activities and participation) https://vocabularies.cessda.eu/vocabulary/TopicClassification Discourse analysis (dOrganisations Government, political systems and organisations) https://vocabularies.cessda.eu/vocabulary/TopicClassification
Related Publication	Dewinter, H., Bradt, L., Rutten, K., & Vandermeersche, G. (2025). Limits to the participation paradigm? Unpacking the rhetoric of participation in Flemish cultural policy (1990-2024). International Journal of Cultural Policy. https://doi.org/10.1080/10286632.2025.2583906 doi: DOI: 10.1080/10286632.2025.2583906 https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10286632.2025.2583906
Notes	The article accompanying this dataset investigates how the rhetoric of participation operates within Flemish cultural policy. Drawing on a critical discourse analysis of 140 policy documents (1990–2024), we identify underlying paradigms and trace patterns, shifts, tensions, and notable omissions over time. By doing so, we redirect attention toward questions of power and authority, revealing how participatory discourses both shape—and are shaped by—broader political and cultural power relations.
Language	Dutch
Producer	Hanne Dewinter (Vrije Universiteit Brussel) (HD) https://researchportal.vub.be/en/persons/hanne-dewinter/
Production Date	2025-03-31
Production Location	Vrije Universiteit Brussel
Contributor	Data Collector : Hanne Dewinter
Funding Information	FWO Vlaanderen: 1231825N
Distributor	Social Sciences & Digital Humanities Archive (SODHA) https://www.sodha.be
Depositor	Dewinter, Hanne
Deposit Date	2025-11-13
Time Period	Start: 1990 ; End: 2024
Date of Collection	Start: 2024-10-01 ; End: 2025-03-31
Data Type	Cultural policy documents (textual data); Codebook (textual data)
Series	NA: The dataset consists of textual documentary data. It contains 140 Flemish cultural policy documents published between 1990 and 2024, including policy notes, strategic plans, ministerial communications, and evaluation reports. All materials are provided in their original textual format (primarily PDF). A codebook is included to document the analytical framework used in the accompanying critical discourse analysis.
Software Used to Create the Dataset	Nvivo, Version: 14
Related Material	NA
Related Dataset	NA
Other Reference	NA
Data Source	The documents included in this dataset were obtained from publicly accessible Flemish governmental platforms and archival repositories. Primary sources include official policy portals, ministerial websites, parliamentary archives, and digital collections of the Government of Flanders. All documents were retrieved from publicly available online sources and represent original publications from Flemish cultural policy actors between 1990 and 2024.
Origin of Historical Sources	The historical sources in this dataset originate from official Flemish governmental institutions responsible for cultural policy between 1990 and 2024. The documents were originally produced and published by policy actors such as the Government of Flanders, the Department of Culture, Youth and Media, the Flemish Ministers of Culture, and related administrative bodies. All sources represent authentic policy documents released in their original context and retrieved from publicly accessible governmental websites, parliamentary archives, and institutional repositories.
Characteristic of Sources	The sources consist of official Flemish cultural policy documents produced between 1990 and 2024. They include policy notes, strategic plans, ministerial communications, decrees, evaluation reports, and other administrative texts that articulate cultural policy priorities and frameworks. The documents vary in length, format, and institutional authorship, but all share a formal, policy-oriented character.
Documentation and Access to Sources	All documents included in the dataset were collected from publicly accessible Flemish governmental platforms and institutional archives. Access to the original sources was unrestricted at the time of collection. Additional documentation includes a codebook that outlines the analytical framework and coding procedures used in the accompanying discourse analysis.

Geospatial Metadata

Geographic Coverage	Belgium Flanders Flanders
Geographic Unit	Flemish community

Social Science and Humanities Metadata

Unit of Analysis	The primary unit of analysis is the individual policy document.
Universe	The universe consists of all official cultural policy documents produced by Flemish governmental and administrative bodies between 1990 and 2024. This includes policy notes, strategic plans, ministerial communications, decrees, evaluation reports, and related documents that address cultural policy frameworks, priorities, and understandings of participation. The dataset represents the subset of these documents that was publicly available and retrievable through official governmental platforms and archival repositories at the time of collection.
Time Method	The dataset was constructed using a longitudinal time approach. It covers a continuous period from 1990 to 2024, allowing for the analysis of temporal patterns, shifts, and developments in Flemish cultural policy discourse.
Data Collector	Dewinter Hanne, VUB
Collector Training	NA
Frequency	NA
Sampling Procedure	The texts were gathered via the online archive of the Flemish Parliament. For missing or hard-to-find items, we consulted the physical archive of the Flemish Parliament, with assistance from an archivist. Additionally, we employed snowball sampling to integrate other relevant policy documents that were referenced in the initial set, including some key publications commissioned by the Flemish Government. This yielded 140 relevant documents spanning eight policy periods (see Table 1). Throughout these periods, the Ministers of Culture came from different political parties. Two were from a liberal party: Patrick Dewael (1989–1992) and Sven Gatz (2014–2019). Three came from a Christian Democratic party: Hugo Weckx (1992–1995), Luc Martens (1995–1999) and Joke Schauvlieghe (2009–2014). The remaining two represented a Flemish nationalist tradition, with Bert Anciaux (1999–2002, 2004–2009) aligned with the left side of the political spectrum, and Jan Jambon (2019–2024) representing the right side.
Collection Mode	The texts were gathered via the online archive of the Flemish Parliament. For missing or hard-to-find items, we consulted the physical archive of the Flemish Parliament, with assistance from an archivist. Additionally, we employed snowball sampling to integrate other relevant policy documents that were referenced in the initial set (Noy Citation2008), including some key publications commissioned by the Flemish Government.
Type of Research Instrument	Critical Discourse analysis
Characteristics of Data Collection Situation	This yielded 140 relevant documents spanning eight policy periods (see ). Throughout these periods, the Ministers of Culture came from different political parties. Two were from a liberal party: Patrick Dewael (1989–1992) and Sven Gatz (2014–2019). Three came from a Christian Democratic party: Hugo Weckx (1992–1995), Luc Martens (1995–1999) and Joke Schauvlieghe (2009–2014). The remaining two represented a Flemish nationalist tradition, with Bert Anciaux (1999–2002, 2004–2009) aligned with the left side of the political spectrum, and Jan Jambon (2019–2024) representing the right side. After Bert Anciaux resigned as Flemish Minister in July 2002 due to internal tensions within his party, his colleague Paul Van Grembergen took over his responsibilities for the remainder of the term (2002–2004).
Actions to Minimize Losses	. All documents were retrieved directly from official governmental sources to ensure authenticity and completeness. When multiple versions of a document existed, the most authoritative and final version was selected. Files were stored in stable, non-compressed formats (primarily PDF) to prevent data degradation.
Control Operations	All documents were cross-checked against their original governmental sources to verify completeness and authenticity.
Weighting	NA
Cleaning Operations	Duplicate documents were identified and removed.
Study Level Error Notes	Minor inconsistencies in the availability or formatting of documents across different governmental sources may exist due to variations in archival practices over time. In rare cases, older documents were available only in lower-quality scans, which may influence text extraction or machine readability but not the substantive content.
Response Rate	NA

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