Beyond growth: promoting inclusive development of creative clusters in the UK

Abstract

Over the past two decades, there have been two defining narratives for the creative industries: on the one hand a story of economic success and growth, on the other, entrenched inequality and exclusion. Often there is strikingly little connectivity between them.

This research has sought to explore how to position equality and inclusion more firmly at the centre of the creative cluster development agenda and the place-based approaches that might support more inclusive growth of creative clusters.

It draws lessons from an in-depth study of the Yorkshire screen cluster, case studies of other UK cities and regions, and a review of international practice. It presents five key recommendations for policymakers and industry stakeholders:

1. Baseline equality and inclusion in regional creative clusters: develop stronger regional intelligence systems that can monitor the extent to which the opportunities created as clusters expand are benefitting people from diverse backgrounds and those living in social mobility ‘cold spots’.

2. Make inclusive growth the primary objective of the creative cluster development agenda: embed equality, diversity and inclusion into the core of the strategy for growth and promote greater connectivity between sector-focussed and place-based approaches to inclusive growth in the city-region.

3. Advance a multi-faceted, integrated set of active policy measures that tackle the structural issues at the root of exclusion and disadvantage. Diversify education pathways; connect those disadvantaged in the labour market with jobs in growth sectors; advance good work and inclusive working practices; promote inclusive entrepreneurship; and unlock the potential of cultural anchors. The research identifies nearly 50 examples of inspiring practice, from 15 different countries across the globe.

4. Maximise local partnerships and employer engagement: weave together a wide range of services, activities and expertise within the city-region to customise programmes to local needs and sustain action over the long-term. Strengthen the engagement and investment of private-sector employers, unite business communities with shared interests and promote peer-to-peer learning.

5.Build our collective understanding and evidence base of ‘what works’ in promoting more inclusive development of creative clusters: ring-fence funding for programme evaluation, promote consistency and comparability in impact measurement; and develop mechanisms that support knowledge exchange between creative clusters.