A Manifesto for the UK Creative Economy
"The UK's creative economy is one of its great national strengths, historically deeply rooted and accounting for around one–tenth of the whole economy. It provides jobs for 2.5 million people – more than in financial services, advanced manufacturing or construction – and in recent years, this creative workforce has grown four times faster than the workforce as a whole.
But behind this success lies much disruption and business uncertainty, associated with digital technologies. Previously profitable business models have been swept away, young companies from outside the UK have dominated new internet markets, and some UK creative businesses have struggled to compete.
UK policymakers too have failed to keep pace with developments in North America and parts of Asia. But it is not too late to refresh tired policies. This manifesto sets out our 10–point plan to bolster one of the UK's fastest growing sectors."
(Hasan Bakhshi, Ian Hargreaves and Juan Mateos–Garcia, April 2013, NESTA)
CONTRIBUTOR
Simon PerkinsSHARE
Next Gen. Transforming the UK into the world's leading talent hub for the video games and visual effects industries
"This landmark report sets out how the UK can be transformed into the world's leading talent hub for video games and visual effects.
At over £2 billion in global sales, the UK's video games sector is bigger than either its film or music industries, and visual effects, the fastest growing component of the UK's film industry, grew at an explosive 16.8 per cent between 2006 and 2008. High–tech, knowledge–intensive sectors and, in the case of video games, major generators of intellectual property, these industries have all the attributes the UK needs to succeed in the 21st century.
Yet, the sad truth is that we are already starting to lose our cutting edge: in just two years, it seems the UK's video games industry has dipped from third to sixth place in the global development rankings.
Meanwhile, the visual effects industry, though still enjoying very rapid growth, is having to source talent from overseas because of skills shortages at home. That is mainly a failing of our education system – from schools to universities – and it needs to be tackled urgently if we are to remain globally competitive."
(NESTA, UK)
CONTRIBUTOR
Simon PerkinsSHARE
