„Examining a Year's Worth of State of the Nation Reports“

„Examining a Year's Worth of State of the Nation Reports“

The Creative Industries Policy and Evidence Centre (PEC) has released a new report titled "Geographies of Creativity," which sheds light on the geographical clustering of creative industries in the UK and its impact on local economic growth.

The report reveals that creative industries in the UK tend to form localized creative clusters, concentrating businesses, practitioners, and organizations in specific places. These clusters enhance collaboration, innovation, and competitiveness within the sector. However, the distribution of these creative clusters is uneven, with London being a dominant hotspot, generating over 50% of creative sector GVA, while other regions lag behind.

The findings of the report emphasize the importance of supporting and developing these creative clusters outside London to foster more inclusive and balanced economic growth across the UK. Policies geared toward strengthening microclusters in regional and rural areas can unlock potentially untapped creative capacity and contribute to reducing place-based economic inequalities.

Furthermore, the PEC’s research highlights the need for improved economic data on creative industries to better understand the spatial dynamics and support evidence-based regional policymaking. Initiatives such as the DCMS Create Growth Programme directly respond to these insights by offering grants to high-growth creative businesses in various English regions, fostering local cluster development.

In addition to the geographical analysis, the report provides in-depth insights into the demographics of the arts, culture, and heritage workforce. Women comprise only 34% of 'managers and directors in the creative industries,' and occupations in the sector have smaller fractions of heterosexual/straight people than the rest of the workforce.

The report also addresses the issue of class inequality, revealing that 60% of arts, culture, and heritage workers grew up in a household where the main income earner was in a 'managerial or professional' role. Moreover, the proportion of people working across arts, culture, and heritage who are White is 90%, higher than the general workforce figure at 85%.

Creative PEC, a go-to source for independent evidence and policy advice to support the growth of the creative industries, is funded by the UKRI's Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) for a five-year period. The research themes for the 'State of the Nations' series, published by Creative PEC, were selected to explore longer term trends and provide insight on where policy interventions could be best placed.

The report on 'UK Trade in a Global Creative Economy' found that creative service exports are robust and growing, representing 14% of all UK services exports in 2021. However, the outlook for creative goods exports is stagnant. The report warns against complacency, suggesting increased global competition.

The report also found that experimental data analysis suggests UK export growth in the video games sector accelerated during the pandemic, reaching a level in 2021 around 2.5 times greater than in 2016.

The 'State of the Nations' series uses latest data to inform policymakers on ways to support the creative industries across the four UK nations. Each thematic area is led by a research consortium partner: Arts, Culture + Heritage (University of Sheffield), Creative Education, Skills and Talent (Work Advance), Internationalisation (Newcastle University), R&D, Innovation and Clusters (University of Sussex).

The new policy brief focuses on how cultural data on equality, diversity, and inclusion could be better used, captured, and embedded. The next four State of the Nations reports are in the pipeline, including one on R&D Innovation Finance in October 2024.

The report on 'Geographies of Creativity' identified several areas with potential to be 'creative corridors,' bringing supercluster benefits such as attracting talent, investment, knowledge exchange, and fuelling economic growth. Creative PEC is also building on the 'Geographies of Creativity' research in partnership with the RSA and Arts Council England through a forthcoming report on creative corridors.

In summary, the "Geographies of Creativity" confirms that creative clusters are key drivers of local economic growth in the UK but points to significant regional disparities. The findings support policies that nurture creative ecosystems beyond London, with an emphasis on inclusive growth and spatial equity.

1. The Creative Industries Policy and Evidence Centre (PEC) report, "Geographies of Creativity," reveals the concentration of creative industries in specific localized creative clusters in the UK.
2. These clusters, which focus businesses, practitioners, and organizations, enhance collaboration, innovation, and competitiveness within the creative sector.
3. Creative clusters tend to be unevenly distributed, with London being a dominant hotspot, generating over half of the creative sector's GVA, while other regions lag behind.
4. To foster more inclusive and balanced economic growth, the report emphasizes the importance of supporting creative clusters outside London.
5. Policies targeting microclusters in regional and rural areas could unlock untapped creative capacity and contribute to reducing place-based economic inequalities.
6. The PEC's research calls for improved economic data on creative industries to better understand spatial dynamics and support evidence-based regional policymaking.
7. Initiatives like the DCMS Create Growth Programme offer grants to high-growth creative businesses in various English regions, fostering local cluster development.
8. The report also delves into the demographics of the arts, culture, and heritage workforce, revealing, for instance, that women comprise only 34% of 'managers and directors in the creative industries.'
9. The distribution of creative clusters is not just geographical; the report shows that 60% of arts, culture, and heritage workers grew up in a household where the main income earner was in a managerial or professional role.
10. The Creative PEC, an independent evidence and policy advice source for the growth of creative industries, is funded by the UKRI's Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) for a five-year period.
11. The report on 'UK Trade in a Global Creative Economy' indicates creative service exports are robust and growing, but the outlook for creative goods exports is stagnant.
12. The 'State of the Nations' series, published by Creative PEC, uses the latest data to inform policymakers on ways to support the creative industries across the four UK nations, with each thematic area led by a research consortium partner.

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