There is an incoherence at the heart of government policy. While Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries is calling for more social diversity in the arts, the Department for Education is pursuing… Read More »Class inequality in the Creative Industries is rooted in unequal access to arts and cultural education
The creative industries have the potential to play a major role in the development of rural communities and businesses. Our new research, funded by NICRE and the AHRC Creative Industries Policy and Evidence… Read More »How can policy makers help rural creative businesses contribute to Levelling Up?
On April 28th, ‘The Government’s Vision for the Broadcasting Sector’ (CP 671) was published. The White Paper comes in the wake of consultations and inquiries that focused on the Future of… Read More »Channel 4: Streaming on the world stage? Competing in the Changing Media Landscape
Last week the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) released its long-awaited White Paper on the future of UK broadcasting policy. Proposing major reforms and legislative changes to the… Read More »Envisioning Broadcasting Anew: the future of UK broadcasting policy
On April 4th the government confirmed its plans to privatise Channel 4, the UK’s publicly owned not-for-profit public service broadcaster (PSB). Announcing the decision via Twitter, the Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries said selling… Read More »Privatising Channel 4: The evidence behind the debate
There is a rapidly growing body of international evidence(1) that skills such as creative problem solving and the ability to develop novel solutions, will be amongst those in greatest demands in… Read More »Differences in creativity across Art and STEM: We are more alike than unalike
The creative industries is a wide and evolving sector. As such, when developing policy recommendations, the PEC has to navigate opinions, realities and shifting terrain. Of course, being an evidence… Read More »How our Industry Champions helped define our policy priorities for 2022
R&D plays a key role in the innovation processes of many businesses, and is also a driver of economic growth at the local, regional and national level. For this reason,… Read More »Key Facts About R&D in the Creative Industries
In 2020, during the height of the first Covid wave, Innovate UK ran a multi-million pound funding competition, supported by the Treasury, to support business-led innovation projects to respond to… Read More »Agile innovation funding is the solution for the UK Creative Industries
Back in October last year, Peter Bazalgette, Chair of ITV, made an inspiring speech where he argued that “the Creative Industries has now come of age.” Seen as a fledgling… Read More »A new age for the creative industries…and the UK
It’s five years since Nesta first identified “Creative R&D” as a distinct and distinctive form of innovation happening inside the UK Creative Industries. Released whilst a new wave of public investments like UKRI’s… Read More »Creative R&D: where are we now?
After 20 years of evidence gathering, the economic importance of the Creative Industries is widely recognised. Before the pandemic, the sector contributed over £115 billion to the country’s economy –… Read More »How lessons from UKRI’s Creative Industries Challenge Programmes should transform the way we invest in R&D
‘We need a change in mindset’ On 7 December 2021 the PEC’s International Council launched a Global Agenda for the Cultural and Creative Industries, together with the British Council at the World Conference on… Read More »How to support the creative industries around the world
Education is an investment, and not just in a narrow financial sense. It is often life changing, and certainly has been for my family. It opens the door to the… Read More »What value Higher Education?
What can professional networks, industry, funders and policy-makers do to ensure that digital workers are better supported? The pandemic led to huge pressure on creative industry employees who have responsibility… Read More »Wired! How 24/7 culture can put pressure on social media employees in the creative industries
The UK’s creative industries – from film to fashion, and from video games to the performing arts – are integral to local communities throughout the country. This is in part because… Read More »PEC’s comment on the 2021 Spending Review and Autumn Budget
“It is with ambition, courage and collaboration as we approach the crucial COP26 summit in the UK that we can seize this moment together, so we can recover cleaner, rebuild… Read More »How theatre can contribute to the UK’s net-zero targets
Can art play a role in the intersection of climate science and policy? I have been researching this question over the years, drawing on my experience in policymaking, my visual arts practice,… Read More »Art, climate science and policy
The summer and autumn of 2021 has been busy for those researching the impacts of the pandemic on the creative and cultural sector in the UK. Two major reports have… Read More »Investment into R&D will be vital for the recovery of creative and cultural organisations
Inequality is currently a key concern for academics, policymakers, and the public. In the UK we can see this play out in debates over things like care costs, taxes, and… Read More »What works to support equity, diversity, and inclusion in the Creative Industries?
Local government has been hit hard by austerity. On average, grants from central to local government have reduced by 49.1% in real-terms over the period 2010- 2018, translating into a reduction in… Read More »The austerity decade: local government spending on culture
The UK Government’s ‘Levelling Up’ agenda aims to address regional disparities in economic prosperity and the impact these differences have on “people’s lives through their pay, work opportunities, health and… Read More »When policy meets place: ‘Levelling Up’ and the culture and creative industries
The Covid-19 crisis has highlighted the lack of available data on the self-employed and freelance workforce, and this gap is particularly acute in the Creative Industries. Although well documented nationally this gap… Read More »Plugging the Data Gap: Freelance Workers in the Creative Industries
Previous PEC research undertaken in partnership with the Centre for Cultural Value shows how the creative workforce has been hit hard by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. In particular, that job losses… Read More »How differently has the creative workforce fared under COVID-19?
On February 10th the House of Commons Treasury Committee published the latest report of their inquiry into the economic impact of coronavirus. Their June 2020 report focused on the gaps in support for… Read More »One size can’t fit all
This blog is based on the Freelancer in the Dark Interim Report #1 which will be published on Thursday 6th May and draws on a nationwide survey with 397 respondents. The pandemic and… Read More »Freelancers in the Dark
The creative industries have been severely impacted by the COVID-19 crisis. Over the past months our International Council has provided us with insight into different challenges, experiences, and sources of inspiration found… Read More »How the pandemic is impacting creative sectors around the world
While the dreaded no-deal scenario did not materialise when the UK left the EU single market and customs union in January 2021, many UK businesses are struggling to deal with the new… Read More »The Brexit shock in the UK’s fashion and textile industry
Using online museum collections to study the design of everyday objects A little greyer? We tracked the colour of objects overtime and found a substantial rise in the use of… Read More »A little greyer and a bit more rectangular?
A good start but the devil will be in the detail Last week, after much anticipation, and numerous leaks, we finally saw the launch of the further education (FE) White… Read More »What does the Skills for Jobs White Paper mean for Creative Industries?
The responsibilities of platforms for their content is changing, in the UK, in the EU and globally The 15th December 2020 will be remembered as a momentous day in the… Read More »Gating the gatekeepers
The creative industries have been a pillar of the UK’s industrial strategies in the past two decades, with remarkable results, putting the country on the map as one of the… Read More »The impact of Brexit on UK’s cultural and creative sectors: More heat than light?
The impact of COVID-19 on the creative industries, and particularly on the cultural sector, has been significant. Live performance venues and museums and galleries have been forced to close their… Read More »A jobs crisis in the cultural and creative industries
Lockdown has had a calamitous impact on the arts and cultural sector, especially, but by no means exclusively, on venue-based organisations. The sector is naturally looking to digital means of… Read More »What we learned about digital cultural consumption as we went in and then came out of lockdown
Think about a creative cluster: What comes to mind? Creative clusters are the buzzing centres of the creative industries, where creative individuals and companies mingle, share ideas, and shape the… Read More »Small engines of growth: Understanding creative microclusters
Recent reports that Chancellor Rishi Sunak suggested cultural and creative workers find alternative employment caused considerable controversy. Although the controversy was driven by an unclear tweet from ITV (which was later… Read More »Who is working second jobs in the creative economy?
The beginning of this new decade, the 2020s, was marked by irreversible disruptions. For the first time in a century, the world population faced a pandemic that spread globally, affecting… Read More »Free-time, leisure, culture and learning in 2020
Creativity and tech in South America This month sees the launch of a new technology centre for the Creative Industries in Chile. It will be the first of its kind amongst an already… Read More »A new R&D centre for the Creative Industries in Chile
The creative industries currently face unprecedented challenges in the face of COVID-19. The news of closures and redundancies, even as cultural consumption has risen in people’s homes, raises profound questions… Read More »Rebuilding a more inclusive creative economy
This week we published some of the insights on cultural consumption during the UK’s COVID-19 lockdown from our Consumer Tracking Study, a collaboration with the Intellectual Property Office (IPO) and the… Read More »Ten reflections on the consumption of digital culture in lockdown
Under the three word strapline, Check, Change, Go, a new campaign aims to prepare the UK for the end of the “transition period” on 31st December 2020. According to the UK… Read More »UK sovereignty: A challenge for the creative industries
At the start of the COVID-19 crisis, the UN Secretary General asked artists, filmmakers, musicians and others to help spread public health messages with the goal of flattening the curve of the… Read More »Rebuilding the creative economy with conscious capital: A view from the United States
Paraphrasing Jorge Amado, a famous Brazilian literary writer of the twentieth century, in his popular novel ‘The country of carnival’: “… Sometimes we understand that something is missing in our… Read More »Brazilian culture and creativity during COVID-19: Solidarity and lives
The arts and cultural sector breathed a collective sigh of relief on Sunday evening (5th July) as the Government announced a £1.57 billion rescue package. The calls of pain from each art… Read More »Arts and culture: The need for a ‘live’ support system
A discussion on the impact of COVID-19 on East Africa’s creative sectors In the first decade of the 21st century, the increasing visibility of cultural and creative industries in cities… Read More »Safeguarding a creative and cultural moment
Recent research from UK Music has highlighted the economic contribution that music tourism has made to the UK economy, with the headline figures showing that 29.8 million people attended live music… Read More »A live music map for Birmingham in times of COVID-19
The use and influence of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the creative industries is growing. AI techniques are already recommending us TV shows or music on services such as Netflix or… Read More »The implications of AI for the creative industries and how we should respond
So I never thought I’d become a SIC and SOC code nerd. Neither an economist, nor a statistician, I’m still a regular user of stats to try and strengthen our… Read More »Counting craft
The overnight migration of schooling to the home in lockdown has re-energised interest in the idea of an ‘EdTech’ revolution. Online platforms are being used to help organise classes, deliver… Read More »We need a creative EdTech revolution in the COVID-19 lockdown
Yesterday’s publication of the latest DCMS Economic Estimates on Employment during 2019 paints a positive picture by suggesting the number of jobs in the cultural sector has grown by 24.0%. The cultural sector includes… Read More »Class, COVID-19, and cultural occupations
The sudden outbreak of COVID-19 and the lockdown has led to unprecedented changes in how we live, including the ways in which we interact with cultural content. Movement restrictions leading… Read More »Cultural consumption in the UK during the COVID-19 lockdown
Why the government, funders and creative industries should come together to support cultural consumption in the Covid-19 crisis The world is at war against an invisible enemy. On the one… Read More »Home is where the art is
The COVID-19 crisis has generated an unprecedented level of economic disruption in a short space of time, with the nation’s economic activity having shifted essentially to a wartime footing against… Read More »10 tips for designing business surveys to understand the impacts of COVID-19 on the creative industries
How can creative businesses make the most of IP? How has technology affected the way we access scientific research and books? And how can producers of traditional food and drink… Read More »Accessing new ideas on intellectual property
With many arts and cultural charities having to restrict activities as a result of COVID-19, it is more important than ever to understand the key role they play and how… Read More »The impact of COVID-19 on arts and cultural charities
In early 2018 the then Secretaries of State for Business, Greg Clark, and Digital and Culture, Matt Hancock, announced a £150 million Creative Industries Sector Deal under the rubric of the government’s Industrial… Read More »Revisiting the creative industries: contestable narratives, the Sector Deal and the Policy and Evidence Centre
Creative industries have long been a focus of urban researchers and policymakers. There is a good reason for this: creative industries tend to cluster heavily in cities. In the UK, for… Read More »A first look at connections between the presence of creative industries and the wider urban economy
One bright spot in an otherwise uncertain year for immigration policy, was the expansion in October 2019 of the UK’s Shortage Occupation List (SOL) to include many more creative industry roles. Prior… Read More »The hopes and fears that creative employers have for “points-based” skilled immigration post-Brexit
Coinciding with the publication of the House of Lords’ report Public Service Broadcasting: as Vital as Ever, our researchers from Cardiff University offered an overview of the main findings and recommendations… Read More »The challenge of engaging young audiences
In our recent PEC Discussion Paper, Immersive experiences in museums, galleries and heritage sites: a review of research findings and issues, we presented an overview and guide on immersive experiences for those… Read More »What are the ethical implications of immersive experiences in arts and heritage sites?
As a wealth of immersive creative talent emerges in the UK, Catherine Allen and Chris Sizemore of Limina Immersive argue that more investment must be made into addressing how arts… Read More »Immersive media in the UK: reaching present-day audiences should not be an afterthought
As we learn from the recent Ofcom and House of Lords Committee on Communications and Digital about the challenges that digital media giants present to public service broadcasting, Professor Leighton Andrews explores the threats that Facebook’s… Read More »Facebook’s advertising model threatens democratic values but regulators do have options to intervene
There is a rapidly growing body of international evidence that employers, as they navigate an increasingly digital and complex world, will in the future even more so than now value human skills… Read More »An opportunity for England to learn about the creativity of its people
What does the nature of a centenary commemoration tell us about collective memory and current social attitudes? How have commemorations changed over time? What are the most appropriate ways to… Read More »The continuing significance of the centenary
The House of Lords Communications and Digital Committee has published its report ‘Public Service Broadcasting: as Vital as Ever’, offering strong support for the continued provision of Public Service Broadcasting (PSB) in the… Read More »House of Lords Communications and Digital Committee recommend greater safeguards for public service broadcasting
Interest in immersive experiences in museums, galleries and heritage sites has increased in recent years in response to some of the challenges those sectors face and given the potential of… Read More »Capturing the value of immersive experiences in museums, galleries and heritage sites
The global economic order fails to understand the creative industries as producing trade. Trade statistics do not account for royalty payments. Trade agreements fail to address streaming (typically classified as… Read More »Discontent industries? Creative works and international trade law: making sense of ‘analogue’ IP rules in a digital age
Our Industry Champions identify the policy changes needed to help their organisations and sectors I’ve been advocating on behalf of the creative industries for some time now, and I remember… Read More »An industry take on policy changes needed in the creative industries
The UK’s Creative Industries have been growing rapidly, both in terms of employment and economic output. They also make a valuable contribution to the UK’s balance of trade. However, our latest… Read More »Looking at regional inequalities in the UK’s creative industries
Defining culture, defining value Arts and cultural institutions must strive to be nimble in a fast-changing funding environment characterised by declining public spending commitments. One of the most difficult challenges is… Read More »The value of arts and culture
A new AHRC-funded Research Network, InnoPSM, at the University of Westminster brings together European practitioners, policymakers and scholars to innovate for better organisational and public policies for PSM. InnoPSM will connect… Read More »How do we safeguard public service media? Collaboration may be the answer
The term “big data” may bring to mind swaths of private information held by tech companies. But lots of big data is, in fact, visible to all – we just… Read More »Getting creative with big data to examine gender inequality
The number of journalists killed worldwide in retaliation for their news reporting nearly doubled in 2018 compared to the previous year, and yet independent journalism has never been more necessary… Read More »Why public media matters
The broad scope of the PEC’s arts and culture area of work is orienting us in many directions; some anticipated, others less so. Given the priorities set by Arts Council… Read More »Heritage, community and opportunity: a lesson on how to understand the value of culture
The PEC is a fascinating opportunity to connect a whole range of different research approaches, answering questions about the creative industries that are beyond the scope of any one academic… Read More »Why is understanding inequality important to understanding the creative economy?
The economic value of our creative industries is clear. But are they a priority for Britain’s political leaders? The impressive growth performance of the UK’s creative industries, from design and… Read More »Silence speaks volumes
As economic studies in the UK and Australia develop increasingly granular accounts of the financial returns to graduates according to their field of study, the question of the value of tertiary… Read More »Accounting for creative graduates
New report from the Institute for Fiscal Studies on higher education subsidies in the loan system shines a light on long-term costs of creative arts The recent report from Institute for… Read More »Creative accounting
In our area of work, my fellow researchers and I are exploring a set of research questions inspired by our ongoing assessment of the pressing issues for sustainable value creation… Read More »The public values of public service broadcasting
The economic statistics for the creative industries speak for themselves The UK’s Industrial Strategy recognises that the creative industries are a national strength. In 2017, their contribution in current prices… Read More »A policy and research agenda for the creative industries
I was recently reminded of a ‘think piece’ that I wrote in 2005, for the then Department of Trade and Industry (now BEIS), on the role of design in business… Read More »Design: a “General Purpose Creativity” which the UK is extremely well placed to leverage
Creative industries in the global economy Recent international trends show that the creative industries are gaining pace not only in advanced economies (the so-called global North) but also in less advanced ones… Read More »How internationally competitive are the creative industries?
The Creative Industries Policy and Evidence Centre (PEC) offers a unique opportunity to respond to a dramatic challenge to the industrial organisation of the creative industries: Are the creative industries… Read More »Regulating a platform economy
The creative industries, from film and the wider screen industries to design, advertising and the digital economy, are vital to the UK economy. Dynamic, innovative, and export-orientated, they are one… Read More »Driving more successful creative industries through diversity and investing in talent
Location matters, especially in the creative industries. The area of work I am leading will be looking at two important ways that location impacts the creative industries: creative clusters, and… Read More »How location impacts the creative industries