Press release: Wales’ creative industries to benefit from major new research investment

• The Creative Industries Clusters Programme, a key deliverable in the Industrial Strategy’s Creative Industries Sector Deal, brings together creative hubs across the UK with researchers and businesses to boost their world-leading status
• Sony UK Technology Centre, BBC Cymru and S4C are some of the partners involved in the research

Wales’ thriving screen and broadcast industries are to join forces with researchers and organisations to explore new ways of boosting jobs and growth.

The Clwstwr Creadigol project, led by Cardiff University, is looking to transform the screen and broadcast industries in the Cardiff region by helping them to innovate and compete, aimed at responding to changing technologies such as the emergence of 5G mobile infrastructure and changing patterns of consumption.

Business Secretary Greg Clark said:

The screen and broadcast industries in South Wales are massive success stories for the whole of the UK, creating skilled jobs and business opportunities across the country.

The creative industries in Wales currently contributes over £1 billion a year to the UK’s economy, and through our modern Industrial Strategy we are investing to enable the sector to keep on growing and bringing the benefits to all corners of the United Kingdom.

Led by the Arts and Humanities Research Council within UKRI, the £80 million Creative Industries Clusters Programme comprises nine creative clusters across the UK and a new Policy and Evidence Centre, led by Nesta in partnership with 13 universities. The programme will bring together world-class research talent with companies and organisations, including household names such as Aardman, Burberry and Sony, in a first-of-its kind research and development investment.

Culture Secretary Jeremy Wright said:

Britain’s creative industries are an economic and cultural powerhouse and the Creative Clusters will ensure they continue to thrive in regions across the country.

These partnerships between business, academia and industry will encourage the use of future technology to develop new products and experiences, and boost employment opportunities across the breadth of the UK.

This investment, through the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund and industry, offers support to Wales’ globally important creative industries, which are already worth over £1 billion to the UK economy, and supports 63,000 jobs. The aim of the Clusters programme is to create jobs and drive the creation of companies, products and experiences that can be marketed around the world.

Secretary of State for Wales Alun Cairns said:

Wales is a creative nation, and the creative industries provide valuable jobs and opportunities for thousands of people across the country.

This UK Government investment cements South Wales’ place as a global leader in the screen and broadcast industries. Taken together with the benefits that will arise from the abolition of the Severn tolls, this funding will also provide added impetus to work collaboratively with the burgeoning creative sector in the South West of England, boosting the regional economy and enabling our businesses to promote their excellent work around the world.

Professor Andrew Thompson, Executive Chair of the Arts and Humanities Research Council, said:

Combining world-class arts and humanities researchers with our globally renowned creative industries will underpin growth in this vibrant and rapidly expanding sector within the UK economy.

These pioneering partnerships between industry and universities are providing a huge vote of confidence for a sector that is vital to the future prosperity of the UK.

A new Policy and Evidence Centre has also been established that will address gaps in the evidence base on the national economic strength of the UK’s creative industries. Led by global innovation foundation Nesta, it will develop independent evidence that will inform decision-making across the creative industries and underpin future policy decisions.

ENDS