Output details
35 - Music, Drama, Dance and Performing Arts
University of Manchester : B - Drama
Portfolio title: Shared interest: Higher education and the creative economy
This portfolio documents an ongoing enquiry into the relationship between higher education, the cultural sector and the broader creative economy. The research was initiated with a co-authored report, Shared Interest (Dawson & Gilmore [50% each]), 2009), commissioned by Arts Council England, Renaissance NW and the North West Universities Association, which explores these relationships as they apply to specific institutional contexts in North West England. Those initial findings have become instrumental in the development of an international initiative, the AHRC-funded research network which examines such dynamics cross-culturally: Beyond the Campus: Connecting Knowledge and Creative Practice Communities Across Higher Education and the Creative Economy (Co-I Gilmore, PI Comunian [Kings College]). The portfolio documents development of this research to date.
This evaluative research, rooted in interactive knowledge exchange, explores the context and forms of engagement between creative practitioners, cultural organisations and universities, as well as the values and outcomes of collaboration between the two sectors and their constituent, surrounding communities. These questions have become a recent focus for policy-makers and funders interested in how such partnerships can stimulate value, for example by providing efficiencies through joint working, by contributing to creative economies through skills and professional development, and through community outreach programmes. The research establishes a taxonomy of models and innovations in these relationships, and provides cross-cultural comparison through international case studies. It uncovers a range of concerns including: the role of universities in local economic development; the place of arts and humanities HE in equipping skills for the creative sector; the role of museums in research and knowledge production; the ethical responsibilities of higher education in providing both critical and commercial knowledge for those involved in, or hoping to enter, cultural work. These issues are variously addressed by the portfolio materials, which include consultancy reports, workshops, case studies and conference presentations.
