The Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) welcomes the publication today of the first ever comprehensive plan for Government support for the UK creative industries. The AHRC has been a key contributor to this strategy, which marks the shift for the creative industries in the UK from the margins to the mainstream of economic and policy thinking.

The strategy, ‘Creative Britain: New Talents for the New Economy’ makes 26 key commitments for Government and industry across every stage of the creative process. It is designed to turn talent into jobs and help creative businesses thrive in the international market. It recognises the growing success story that is Britain’s creative economy and seeks to provide the industries with an unrivalled pool of talent to draw on, and the same formal, structured support associated with other industries.

The following AHRC Knowledge Transfer activities are cited in the document:

• Plans for investment in our Creative Economy programme which will facilitate innovation through research based knowledge transfer for the sector, building on the work we have commenced such as our co-funded Knowledge Exchange Programme with BBC Future Media and Technology;
  
  
• Enabling microenterprises to benefit from world-class quality university research through our Knowledge Catalyst programme;
  
  
• Our partnership work with the Technology Strategy Board on creative industries which will bring together non-technological and technological innovation through collaborative R&D and knowledge exchange models
  
  
• And our work on "mixed media venues" that we have undertaken in association with Film Council UK and Arts Council.

A full transcript of the plan can be seen on the DCMS website.

Media enquiries to:

Jake Gilmore, AHRC Communications Manager. Tel: 0117 987 6773 or e-mail: j.gilmore@ahrc.ac.uk.

Editors Notes:

Arts and Humanities Research Council - Each year the AHRC provides approximately £90 million from the Government to support research and postgraduate study in the arts and humanities, from archaeology and English literature to design and dance. In any one year, the AHRC makes approximately 700 research awards and around 1,500 postgraduate awards. Awards are made after a rigorous peer review process, to ensure that only applications of the highest quality are funded. Arts and humanities researchers constitute nearly a quarter of all research-active staff in the higher education sector. The quality and range of research supported by this investment of public funds not only provides social and cultural benefits but also contributes to the economic success of the UK.

"Creative Britain: New Talents for the New Economy" is published today, February 22nd, by the Departments for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR) and Innovation, Universities and Skills (DIUS).

Key facts about the UK Creative Industries

• The Creative Industries accounted for £60 billion, or 7.3per cent of Gross Value Added (GVA) in 2005.
• The Creative Industries grew by an average of 6per cent per annum between 1997 and 2005, which is twice as fast as the rest of the economy.
• In 2006, creative employment totalled 1.9 million jobs. This comprised just over 1.1 million jobs in the Creative Industries and almost 800,000 further creative jobs within businesses outside these industries.
• Total creative employment increased from 1.6m in 1997 to 1.9m in 2006, an average growth rate of 2per cent per annum, compared to 1per cent for the whole of the economy over this period.
• Exports of services by the Creative Industries totalled £14.6 billion in 2005, which equates to 4.5per cent of all goods and services exported.
• Creative industry firms are highly innovative, with 78per cent of firms classed as “innovation active”. Creative industry firms are also more likely than the average firm to use “wider innovation” and innovative products account for a greater share of their turnover.
• The creative industries workforce is highly qualified with 49per cent of employees having at least a degree level qualification, compared to an economy wide average of 31per cent.
• Between 1995 and 2005 start-up companies accounted for 48per cent of turnover growth, most of which occurred in their first year. Creative industry companies appear to grow slowly in the years after they start-up.
• Software and computer games comprise the biggest sector and contribute most to growth, accounting for over 50per cent of turnover growth between 1995 and 2005.