The contribution of the creative industries to UK plc cannot be understated: as a high-growth sector worth 6.2% of GVA, and growing at double the rate of the rest of the economy, it is a crucial engine of growth.  We know that creative firms in clusters benefit from ‘critical mass’ economies that make them more innovative and competitive, but until now rigorous analysis of how and where these clusters occur has been lacking. A new report from NESTA – Creative Clusters and Innovation – maps for the first time creative clusters across the UK and the regional innovation systems in which they sit.

This report, produced by a team of researchers from the Universities of Birmingham and Cardiff and NESTA, makes a significant contribution to current debates about how, in an era of straitened public finances, policy can be framed to support the development of creative industries and firms across the UK. Please join us to debate the report’s themes when it is published on November 29th. At the launch we will explore its findings with local, regional and national policymakers, and other stakeholders with an interest in economic development and the creative industries.

Speakers will include Ed Vaizey MP, Minister for Culture, Communitications and Creative Industries, Professor Ann Markusen, UK Director at the Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs, University of Minnesota, and Fulbright Distinguished Chair, Glasgow School of Art, Professor Bernard King, Vice-Chancellor, University of Abertay at Dundee and Alex Hope, Managing Director, Double Negative. The event will be chaired by NESTA’s Chief Executive Jonathan Kestenbaum. Our chairman, Sir John Chisholm, will open the seminar at 4.30pm and it will finish just after 6pm.