1. Dr. Dominic Power Uppsala University (and Østlandsforskning) Kultur og næring i regional utvikling Norden som kreativ region, Trondheim 4. – 5. oktober 2006

2. Norden: a creative region?
“Det norske formannskapet vil derfor arbeide for åpne grenser og mobilitet for personer og kulturprodukter, samt bidra til å sikre bred tilgjengelighet av nordisk kunst og kultur.”
Norges program for formannskapet i Nordisk Ministerråd 2006
There is currently a political willingness to talk about culture as a key element of not just our identity but also our economic and regional futures

3. Why is culture important to economic growth?
Culture has been shown to create growth in 2 main ways:
Cultural industries themselves are growing and employing more people and firms
Vibrant cultural economies and cultures create spin-offs that are vital to other forms of economic growth

4. What can culture and creativity add to the region?
Creative activity → helps employers/region to attract & retain talent
Creative people → regenerate urban neighbourhoods
→ define region’s ‘brand’
→ create ‘buzz’
Creative workers → enhance creativity, innovativeness throughout economy
Cultural industries → investment, jobs, income, exports

5. What can creative industry add to the region?
Export
Perspective
Inward investment and local Capacity
Expanding export of ‘creative products and services’
Expanding export of creativity based ‘traditional industries’
Attracting tourists and visitors
Attracting foreign investment and venture capital
Building Brands
Attracting knowledge workers and new citizens
Creative Industry Growth Dynamics
Creative industry and International competitiveness

6. Employment in municipalities 1999
Municipality
Employees
% change 95-98/99 1
Stockholm
83225
+33.00 2
Oslo
52173
+40.60 3
Helsinki
43695
+38.02 4
København
42620
+7.08 5
Göteborg
30218
+28.03 6
Århus
21245
+19.47 7
Malmö
16970
+23.82 8
Espoo
12655
+24.84 9
Bergen
11893
+19.41 10
Tampere
10998
+13.74
FIN NO SE
Concentrates in urban areas
But plenty of regional clusters
Employment in municipalities 1999 DK

7. An uneven regional distribution

8. Creative regions?
What do we know about the characteristics of a creative region?
That it depends upon which type of industry we are interested in: music needs different things than furniture design
That all these industries are knowledge and innovation based… they grow fastest on the basis of knowledge and innovation

9. 3 hypothetical propositions on regional knowledge creation
Knowledge in regions is created through various forms of local inter-organizational collaborative interaction.
Knowledge in regions is created through increased local competition and intensified rivalry.
Knowledge in regions is created through spill-over effects following from the local mobility and sociability of individuals.

10. Creative regions?
Knowledge and innovation in cultural industries is supported by:
A strong set of cultural institutions
State support (where wanted/needed)
Clustering (not necessarily for cooperation) in the region
Diversity of people and activities
Tolerance and openness to new ideas and people
Links with other places and markets
Strong creative brands and identities

11. Where do we want to go? There are good reasons for aiming to create:
Establish the Nordic region a global creative hub/region
To support the growth of (some) world class creative regions and localities

12. How do we get there?
Awareness that in addition to cultural policy… we need coordinated industrial policy supportive of innovative and competitive creative and cultural firms

13. How do we get there? Support the innovation and knowledge base
Internationalise the creative education sector
Do what other industries do: develop third level research and industry linked R&D
Complement creative education with business skills
Cross-sectoral innovation - ‘related variety platforms’
Linking creative firms to Swedish big business: Sony-Ericsson linking with Stockholm design firms
Ice-breaking funds: Denmark
Meeting places (real, virtual, or temporary)
Incubators

14. “Small, volatile and under-capitalised”
How do we get there?
“Small, volatile and under-capitalised”
Tessa Jowell, FT 2004
Give business and entrepreneurial support and training, open VC, etc.
Help firms understand what is happening: market analysis, technological foresight, business model analysis… help them discover new opportunities before other industries take their markets (e.g. like IT firms taking the lead in selling music)
But make sure to have a focus on international competitiveness rather than local markets

15. How do we get there?
Focus on the market (and it is often very far away)
Bring the world to us: help internationalize trade fairs; encourage inward investment to increase competition; encourage migration
Bring us to them: support for showcases, export drives, trade fair attendance

16. How do we get there? Love your neighbours!
There is strength in numbers!
Nordic (Baltic? European?) cooperation to exploit economies of scale and scope:
Nationally: cooperate on promotion,
branding awareness, IPR and
regulation
Regionally: linking clusters
Sectorally: linking firms

17. Creative Directions report
Report focused on policies to support commercial creative industry products and services, and therein support these industries at a regional level
Report identified 5 priority action areas
Hooking up firms within Creative Industries (e.g. music firm with music firm)
Hitting the market (Distribution/sales/export)
Creating world class knowledge/innovation
Hooking up firms across Creative Industries (e.g. music firm with film company) and with other industries
Entrepreneurship

18. More information… dominic.power@kultgeog.uu.se