A Creative PEC Discussion Paper
Patrycja Kaszynska and Graeme Evans (University of the Arts London)
This project was funded by one of Creative PEC’s Small Research Network Grants. These awards bring together Creative PEC Research Fellows with the aim of promoting research and policy understanding in key areas and supporting initiatives that deliver tangible benefits within academic, policy and practitioner communities. Find out more about the projects here.
Abstract
This discussion paper examines the relationship between cultural and creative sectors and Place, through the concepts of scale and configuration. Drawing on a Creative PEC-funded research Network that brought together scholars and practitioners from across cultural policy, economics, planning and humanities disciplines, the paper explores how place-based factors shape cultural sector and creative industry (CI) production, knowledge exchange, communities of learning and practice – and creative innovation systems. Moving beyond conventional approaches that treat place as a fixed geographical unit, the paper argues that creative development emerges from dynamic configurations of physical, social, cultural, and institutional assets and their interplay.
Recognising that innovation in the widest sense arises through complex interactions between actors, institutions and places that are not visible in conventional policy frameworks and datasets, the paper calls for approaches that attend to the relational and systemic dimensions underpinning value creation. Seven policy considerations are outlined to support this orientation:
- First, intermediary organisations and support organisations – from co-working and maker spaces, to place-based sector networks and FE&HEIs – should be recognised not just as key actors that connect sectors and enable collaboration but also as integral to cultural infrastructure in places.
- Second, workspace and the mix of uses and local amenities need to be supported, valued and protected in order to retain and attract CI clusters and innovation in place.
- Third, stronger multi-level governance mechanisms are needed to align local, regional, and national priorities, in particular targeting the relationally constituted ‘mezzo’ level of decision-making.
- Fourth, protected spaces for experimentation and risk-taking are needed in place-based contexts, with access to risk capital lacking in cultural and CI sectors, to support prototyping and occasionally ‘failing’, such as campus (CI and HEI), lab/studio and showcase spaces.
- Fifth, investment is required in boundary-spanning and translational research capacities and capabilities that connect disciplines, sectors, and forms of knowledge. To effectively capture how creative ecosystems operate in practice, multi-scalar datasets (economic, environmental, social and cultural) – reflecting multi-disciplinary knowledge – are needed.
- Sixth, evaluation frameworks should move beyond activity and outputs to measure relationships, trust, and collaborative capacity.
- Relatedly and finally, appraisal should take into account strategic option value: the value of creating future possibilities under conditions of uncertainty, including developing capabilities, relationships and knowledge that expand the range of future courses of action available in places.
Together – rather than separately – these recommendations offer a framework for more effective place-based innovation policy, governance and management, and where the whole will exceed the sum of the individual elements. This report stands to make a significant contribution to the implementation of 2025 Industrial Strategy which describes itself as ‘unashamedly place-based’ and to support the growing emphasis on the importance of devolved and regional leadership in relation to innovation policy. It also builds and capitalises on the most recent 2026 update to the Green Book which introduces more future-sensitive approaches to complement conventional economic valuation. In this report we emphasise the need for assessment of option-creating effects. This is particularly important for place-based, mezzo-level policy in regard to cultural and creative sectors, where the objective may be less to select a predetermined ‘winner’ than to cultivate the relationships, capabilities and configurations through which future innovation can emerge. In this sense, cultural and creative activity can have strategic option value – not only because of the economic value it generates today, but because it can alter the future opportunity set available to a place.
Citation
If the information in this report is used in any subsequent research and/or publications, please cite as follows:
Kaszynska, P. and Evans, G. (2026) Creative Industries and Place: Configurations and Scales, Creative PEC Discussion Paper Series, Available at: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.23235865
Illustration by Alexander Naughton
Creative PEC Discussion Paper Series
Creative PEC’s Discussion Papers are a collection of publications designed to share ideas and foster debate among academics, policymakers and practitioners on creative industries’ evidence and policies. The papers follow an editorial approval process aimed at preserving a pluralism of views whilst maintaining the high academic standards of Creative PEC.
All Discussion Papers are published subject to editorial discretion. Any views and interpretations expressed in Creative PEC Discussion Papers lie solely with the author(s) and should not be understood as being shared by Creative PEC, its staff (including the Editor of the Series), Newcastle University, the RSA, or the AHRC.
