Levelling Up and the Creative Industries: Resources for Local Authorities

Data and evidence to help local authorities understand levelling up and the creative industries

These resources are designed for those working in Local Authorities (LAs ) who are considering investing in their creative industries as part of the governments Levelling Up agenda via the Shared Prosperity Fund. It can be used as a portal for accessing useful research and critical insights about the sector.

This collection of resources is designed for those working in Local Authorities (LAs) who are considering investing in their creative industries. It can be used as a portal for finding useful research and critical insights about the sector. The impetus for assembling this collection of pages is the Shared Prosperity Fund, for which LAs need to submit bids by 1 August 2022. The information we’ve compiled will continue to provide value as a bank of material to refer to when looking for advice or information, or to incentivise others to invest in the sector. Although there is a variation between the ‘Levelling Up’ funds and which local authorities can apply, our hope is that these pages are useful wherever in the United Kingdom you are based.

The Creative Industries are big business, contributing £115bn to the UK economy (pre-pandemic figure). This huge potential for growth is recognised by the Government, who will later this year launch a Sector Vision, setting out their aspirations for the creative industries over the next ten years.

Clusters of creative organisation can be found across the UK, in coastal and rural areas, as well as in the more traditionally imagined large urban centres. Not only do they represent huge economic potential they also enrich life quality and support community cohesion.

We want this collection of pages to be an evolving resource. We welcome any input on further examples of case studies and valuable research – let us know what we’re missing. Within relevant sections we’ve included a note on how to share your experience.

Thank you to Nerys Evans, seconded from UKRI, and to Gail Caig at the Creative Industries Council for their support in pulling together this resource.

This collection includes: