Delivering creative clusters and stimulating local economic growth: Collaboration, leadership and addressing regional disparities in Coventry and Warwickshire

Abstract

Creative clusters are attractive to regions for the same reason they are attractive to government: creative businesses are at low risk of automation and are experiencing significant growth — 6.5 per cent p.a. in Coventry and Warwickshire. Coventry and Warwickshire Local Enterprise Partnership (CWLEP) wanted to stimulate economic growth for their diverse creative industries to continue their successful track record. This record, delivering more growth than any other LEP geography, was initially built on a focused strategy for a key sector with strong roots in the region. Within this strategy, there was a recommendation to deliver key skills in creative thinking and digital application for the automotive sector and its supply chain. This provided regional stakeholders with a springboard to stimulate wider growth of the creative industries. The first task was to adopt the tried and tested model for delivering growth by scoping existing creative businesses in the region and finding a focus. ‘Blueprint for Growth: Strengthening the Games Sector’ was the catalyst — using the games industry as a gateway for the wider creative sector. Creative businesses saw the potential benefits to their own industries in ‘Blueprint’. Business engagement with the creative sector significantly increased and clusters took shape. To showcase the diversity of creative industries in all their glory, common threads were sought. These threads not only ran through the creative sector, they also started to form bridges to other clusters — including automotive. The idea of creativity as a way of thinking and a tool for all sectors began to surface and advances in technology became cross-cluster opportunities. The fertile ground between clusters allows for the growth of supporting professional services and provides a foundation for culture and place to thrive. This delicate ecosystem requires continual nurture best delivered by those ‘on the ground’.