We characterize the institutional relations between the governmental tutelage of Culture and the cultural organizations under its dependence, identifying tensions and correlating them with the degree of organizational autonomy of these entities. We assess to what extent the different configurations of autonomy of these organisations impacts their governance and predisposes formal and informal institutional relationships and tensions between them and their parent ministry, considering the variation in multiple autonomy subdimensions (legal, structural, financial, etc), as well as the profile of decision-makers. Moreover, we analyse the consequences of institutional tensions in the practices of organizations and in the conditions of implementation of public cultural policies, based on the perceptions of the decision- makers involved. The empirical analysis considers the Portuguese institutional framework in the period between 1995 and 2019, comparing a selection of cases that differ in the type of relationship with the central government. The research informs a set of recommendations that enhance the effectiveness and stability of the governance of these organizations, contributing to the formulation of policies in this field.

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Cultural policy,governance,cultural organisations,organizational autonomy,public administration,institutional relationships