The EU's cultural policy assumed new dimensions with the 2008 New European Agenda for Culture issued. However, new challenges emerged over the last 30 years, during which Europe experienced several changes. The EU-funded INVENT project intends to study the eventual influence exercised on European citizens by globalisation, European integration, migration waves, the digital revolution and the rise of social inequalities. The project aims to create new methodologies for the understanding of the value of culture in European societies. It will research the social and cultural premises for successful implementation of the New European Agenda for Culture. It will also identify how culture supports identity, tolerance, belonging and social cohesion.