| Difficult to read this newsletter? View in a web browser. |
 |
 |
|
|
|
Ahead of the Game - Strong Growth In Screen, Image and Sound Cluster 
Two reports focusing on growth in companies within Advantage West Midlands’ Screen, Image and Sound business cluster suggest the sector is performing well. Growth is outstripping that of the economy as a whole and in some sectors is ahead of that of other regions. The Screen, Image and Sound business cluster comprises of firms working in film, television, animation, computer games, interactive media, photography, music and radio. An impact study for the cluster by Burns Owen Partnership found that there were high levels of business formation in some sectors, particularly in Film & Video, Computer Games and Interactive Media. The report draws particular attention to the computer games sector in the region and the championing of the emerging ‘Serious Games’ sub-sector. Employment in games stands at about 1,600, a fifth of the UK workforce. A second report into businesses in the cluster was commissioned from creative industries investment specialists, Pembridge Partners. Pembridge undertook business profiling with 50 regional ‘digital’ SMEs to assess their growth potential. Their findings revealed much about the nature of digital firms in this region: 75% of them have less than 7 employees and average turnover was £160,000. The two reports offer a useful insight into an area of the economy that is growing significantly and becoming increasingly important to wealth creation in the region. Both reports are available from the Digital Central website. 
Graduate retention is now widely considered to be key to the region's successful development. In order to guage the successes or otherwise that the region may be enjoying in keeping the academically talented in the West Midlands, the Regional Observatory (WMRO) is undertaking research into graduate employment. The findings will be used to inform policies and interventions and improve graduate opportunities in the West Midlands region. If you live or work in the West Midlands region, or studied here, we would be grateful if you could spare 10-20 minutes to share your experiences. Your responses will be treated in the strictest confidence. Click here to participate, and please forward the link to other graduates in the region so they can help us compile data for this vital piece of research. Black Country Visitor Economy Barometer 
The Black Country Observatory, part of Black Country Consortium Limited, will be releasing the 5th Edition of the Visitor Economy Barometer in June 2008. The first Black Country Visitor Economy Barometer was produced in March 2004 and set the baseline for the Black Country Visitor Economy. Updates followed in 2005, 2006, and 2007 enabling us to clearly evaluate the impact of the Black Country Visitor Economy Vision and Strategic Framework and other sub-regional activity on the Black Country Visitor Economy. The 5th edition will provide an update to previous reports and will feature specific articles, links and reports on the following: Staff Retention in the Industry, Green Conferences, Visitor Numbers, Local Investment, Black Country as an Urban Park Update, Employment in Sector and the Olympics 2012 and implications for the Tourism Industry. If you would like a copy of this, or previous reports, please email Sophie Thompson or phone 01384 471116. Creativity and Creative Sectors, Clusters and Networks 
UK policy makers have been increasingly interested in creative industries because they can revamp declining manufacturing activities, whilst contributing to an increasingly large share of service sectors’ employment and value added. However, policy documents tend to treat creative industries as a ‘homogeneous sector’ and conflate discrete concepts such as creativity and innovation. Academic research on the dynamics of creative industries and the nature of their contribution to local, regional and national growth is buoyant and addressing key quesionssuch as: what are the internal dynamics of these industries? How do they tend to cluster locally, whilst being networked more widely? And, what are the synergies with manufacturing sectors? Two seminars were held at the University of Birmingham sponsored by the Dean’s Funding Initiative to give us an opportunity to bring together academic scholars and policy-makers to create a forum for dialogue to improve our understanding on such topical issues and identify future prospects. The seminars were organised by Dr. Caroline Chapain and Dr. Lisa De Propris. The presentations can be found by clicking here. Collation Of Creative Industries Research 
At Culture West Midlands we are currently collating regional creative industries research. This mapping exercise was initiated by the West Midlands Creative Industries Strategy Group (CISG), which is made up of representatives from regional cultural organisations, who act as a regional voice for the sector. The aim is to provide an accessible and comprehensive overview of creative industries research that has been undertaken, in order to create a regional intelligence base and support future work of the CISG. It will be available on the Culture West Midlands website, and will accompany the forthcoming CISG manifesto. In order for the collation to be as comprehensive as possible, we would be grateful if any research or documentation on creative industries, in particular local and sub-regional level work, could be sent to our researcher. We are also keen to include academic work. The research might involve a scoping study, a feasibility study, mapping projects or creative industry policies and plans. Please forward information or submit any queries you may have to Anna Long. Mapping The Region's Cultural Assets 
As part of the evidence base for Phase 3 of the revision of the Regional Spatial Strategy (RSS), the West Midlands Regional Observatory have been commissioned to contribute to a project mapping and gapping cultural assets in the region. We are working alongside consultants Burns Owen Partnership (BOP) who earlier this year produced a list of cultural assets classified as being of international, national, regional or city-regional significance. Our role in the project has been to map the assets identified by BOP against a range of demographic, social and economic factors. Examples include the Indices of Multiple Deprivation, age profiles, ethnicity and employment in various cultural sectors. As well as the current position, we have also included projections into the future, taking account of the proposals in the preferred option for Phase 2 of the RSS revision. BOP will now use the maps we've produced to propose suitable cultural policies for inclusion in the RSS. The SensorScape Project: Technology in Cultural Spaces The Art, Design and Creative Technology (ADCT) team at Wolverhampton University are proposing to investigate the uses of wireless networking technology to enhance the visitor experience in exhibition spaces. The ADCT research group integrates the work of artists and designers, to focus upon the use of technology to deliver creative content in museums or galleries. Research is being furthered by using screens, PDAs and discrete interactive objects. As part of the project, sensing nodes will collect data from a visitor who is engaging within the spaces of exhibition. The Sensorscape team are approaching possible partners with a view to setting up a network of museums, galleries, organisations, researchers, heritage sites and other places of public interest. Through regular meetings and workshops, it is hoped thata space will be created for experimentation and feedback in the public domain. The Sensorscape team are also submitting a bid to the AHRC to support the network, and it is envisioned that all parties will gain from the shared knowledge and different expertise that this collaborative practice will bring. For further details about this project, please contact Dew Harrison. 
CABE and Arts & Business have produced a report which explores how artists can help enahnce regeneration projects. The report draws upon the lessons of PROJECT, a two-year intiative to transform the role of artists in placemaking. Artists and Places uses case studies to demonstrate the contribution which artists can make to particular regernation projects. It contains practical advice for clients wishing to engage with artists and is especially useful for those working in regeneration within market renewal and growth areas. The findings of the report are positive in confirming the ability of art to raise the overall value of projects, and the case studies show how artistic input is valued by professional developers and collaborators. The full report can be read here. The Liverpool Model: A Briefing Paper 
In the last issue of CRAIN, we included a piece about the Northwest Cultural Observatory's knowledge transfer seminar in London on January 2008. The seminar was hosted by DCMS and supported by the AHRC. It looked into how longitudinal research could be done into the impact of culture on wider regeneration. A briefing paper is now avaialable which summarises the information presented at the seminar; click here. |
|
