Abstract
ABSTRACTThis paper reflects on approaches to collaborative knowledge exchange projects between UK universities and the creative economy. It develops a preliminary account of cultural ecology as a systematic approach to producing impact in the creative economy. It argues that such an approach is a powerful way to aggregate micro-businesses and small and medium sized enterprises in a meaningful network of new relationships. The paper uses social network analysis software to begin to visualise the pattern of relationships that constitute the ecosystem. The paper reports on the work of the Research and Enterprise for Arts and Creative Technologies Hub, one of four Knowledge Exchange Hubs for the Creative Economy established by the Arts and Humanities Research Council.
Highlights
In late 2011, the UK Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) established four ‘Knowledge Exchange Hubs for the Creative Economy’.1 The hubs were collaborative initiatives comprising consortia of universities and cultural organisations
The hubs emerged in part in relation to the ‘impact agenda’, which refers to a set of evaluative practices used by the Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) sector to demonstrate that academic research outputs can have a tangible or measurable effect on stakeholders outside of the academy
For our method Ramirez’ approach stresses the importance of the co ordinating agent of any value constellation: these systems do not just evolve, they are designed and curated. We argue that they require a particular kind of agency at their heart where networked value creation is supported and directed by creative producers
Summary
In late 2011, the UK Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) established four ‘Knowledge Exchange Hubs for the Creative Economy’.1 The hubs were collaborative initiatives comprising consortia of universities and cultural organisations. To examine the kinds of outcomes and opportunities that have emerged for the hard-to-reach micro-business sector involved in REACT’s funding programme, and consider what new forms of value are being generated in these collaborations; secondly to consider whether the method adopted by REACT offers a useful method for generating new approaches to cultural and creative innovation; thirdly to ask whether this method of data visualisation can reveal new evidence of connectivity, not present in other qualitative methods These aims are part of an ongoing research trajectory that aims to explore the practice of cultural ecology (Holden 2004). The final section offers a discussion of these findings and signals future directions for this research
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