Overview

The creative economy and its key industries depend upon creativity as a critical resource. Such industries range from the arts (e.g., theatre, film, music) to advertising to software and research and development. As other resources, like land, labor, capital, knowledge and technology, become more equal worldwide, creativity will increasingly distinguish successful countries, communities, and organizations.

As creativity becomes a more critical resource, the process of stimulating and managing creativity within organizations will likewise become more important. Participants at Idaho’s 2004 Science and Technology Forum, sponsored by the Office of Science and Technology, raised the importance of developing creativity -- not just engineering skills -- as a critical competency for the future. Understanding how creative organizations operate should provide insights for creative industry organizations as well as those beyond.

In the last decade, many communities, especially in Europe and Scandinavia, have focused on building creative industries, in large part because of their economic benefits. Creative industries support economic development in two ways. First, they create economic growth and jobs in their own right. For example, researchers in the United Kingdom found that during the 1990s, creative industries grew twice as fast as service and four times as fast as manufacturing industries in the U.K. They employ 5% of the UK’s workforce and represent 8% of GDP. Likewise, a New England study found that clusters of creative industries increased employment and economic vitality of regions.

Growing creative industries within communities – rather than bringing them in from outside – is an approach to economic development that may take longer, but could be more stable and sustainable in the long run. The Silicon Valley is an example of such a “grow your own” approach, which can be viable for high tech as well as a wide range of other types of industries.

In addition to creating jobs themselves, creative industries are also important because of the strong attraction they provide to creative people as they decide where to live and work. Communities that tend to support cultural and related activities tend to draw more creative and talented people, who in turn may start-up new organizations and, eventually, contribute to economic development.