We are delighted to have partnered with the Creative Industries Policy and Evidence Centre, the Royal Society of Arts, and the University of Southampton to undertake a major research project to understand the creative economy in the Central South of the UK.
The project provides an unrivalled evidence base for our creative economy that details its current economic contribution as well as the opportunities and barriers to growth. The resulting report will be launched at our event on November 25th.
The research took place between March and September 2026 and included quantitative analysis to understand the economic geography of the sector and a qualitative phase during which we engaged with 96 research participants. These included creative business leaders, practitioners, freelancers as well as representatives of civic, academic and cultural organisations.
A huge thank you to everyone who took part – your contribution is appreciated.
We are preparing a series of reports based on the research to cover topics such as connection, finance, innovation, talent and access to regional, national and international markets. These will be published here during October and November 2026 as we approach our Connect for Growth event on November 25th.