Critical Mass: Creative Clusters Come to the Commons

Date: 16.02.2011 09:30 - 10:30

Location: Attlee Suite, House of Commons, London SW1A 0AA

Last November, NESTA launched Creative Clusters and Innovation which was the most ambitious attempt yet to map the UK’s creative output. In partnership with the Associate Parliamentary Design and Innovation Group, this event brought these ideas to the heart of Westminster to discuss how policies can be formulated to promote future economic growth.

Introducing the report, Hasan Bakhshi began by providing some background of the report and giving an overview of its key findings.  

Opening the discussion, Ivan Lewis MP talked about the need for the creative industries to be at the heart of any jobs and growth strategy. Stating that the creative industries are a national success story he spoke of how this now must be a major priority area and that further policy development needs to take place.

Don Foster MP remarked that the contribution of the creative industries could be greater than the data suggests as many very small businesses and individuals aren’t always picked up. The important thing, he argued, was to continue to provide support, and the difficulty is knowing how to provide appropriate support. He went on to say that a communications framework is vital and now is the moment for industry to contribute.

Damian Collins MP commented on the personal nature of the creative industries. This allows them to be set up almost anywhere, which creates a dynamic and fast-moving industry. The challenge is to make areas attractive for the arts and the creative industries. He went on to say that the recognition that these industries are something the UK at which the UK excels has come of age.  

Questions and answers

In a vibrant and wide-ranging question and answer session, many important areas were considered. Topics included the perception of the creative industries, the culture clash between the creative industries and the speed of policy making, the difficulty of making single policies for the diverse creative industries, how to build clusters in a light touch way, the importance of teaching (computer) code and what the non-creative industries could learn from the creative industries.