Philip Schlesinger gave the opening keynote lecture at the Cultural and Professional Policy Seminar held at the NFF (the Norwegian Non-fiction Writers’ and Translators’ Association) in Oslo on 6 September 2017. Philip reflected on the present state of cultural policy in Norway following its creative economy turn. He considered what could be learned from the British experience and discussed the often complex pressures on academics working in a field which in the UK has become an arm of industrial policy. A very lively panel discussion followed his lecture.