Creative Cities Toolkit

The Creative Industries toolkit – created by the Creative Industries Council – highlights examples of how creative industries have created economic, social and cultural benefits in different regions, and identifies steps to ensure these benefits are fully realised across the UK.

The toolkit points to the contributions of the music scene in Liverpool, television in Manchester, digital media in Brighton, and videogames in Leamington Spa as demonstrations of how creative and cultural industries can shape a place’s identity and image as well as boosting its economic growth.

It argues that factors such as increased devolution have grown the potential to “hardwire” creative and cultural industries into “every aspect of local and regional policy-making” with a role for city leaders to bring together industry, education and social agencies.

The toolkit examines the potential benefits of the creative and cultural industries under the headings of innovation and growth, jobs and skills, planning and infrastructure, placemaking and promotion, and City leadership.

LEPs

The Creative Industries Council Clusters and Regions group ran a networking event for LEPs and other partners in April 2019 – and created a set of resources aimed at facilitating stronger connections between LEPs and Creative and other agencies:

  • Creative LEPs – information on resource needs and interests (available on request)
  • List of Creative agencies and contact details
  • Slide-decks shown on the day, including this presentation from Phil Jones
  • This blog by BOP Consulting is a very useful summary of some of the key messages from the day.

 

Centre for Cities data

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The Centre for Cities has a brilliant cities’ data-dashboard, with a wide range of data, research and interactive maps (similar to the image here).

This is one of a number of resources available on the Centre for Cities site.

Key Cities Group

The Key Cities Group is a partnership of 21 cities, which was created in 2013. Established in the first instance by Coventry, Derby, Preston, Sunderland and Wakefield, the Key Cities Group works with cities which are not part of the Core Cities group of major conurbations across the UK. It has been particularly influential in promoting an ‘Inclusive Growth’ agenda around urban and economic policy.

The Key Cities Group is currently working with the Core Cities Group and Arts Council England, to investigate the role of culture in urban regeneration.

Centre for Towns

The Centre for Towns is a newly-established ‘Think Tank’ providing data and reports “pertinent to seven thousand places of all sizes across Britain”.