Platform recently worked with BOP Consulting to evaluate the impact that Stoke and Staffordshire’s moving image cluster has had over the first two years of its life and its great to now publish that final report here.
It’s been an invaluable exercise and having that impartial, external view of Platform has provided some important points for discussion as we look to take the cluster forward.
The cluster.
We’ve seen some notable successes, with our companies being recognised on a national and international level for their work, the screen sector and creative industries as a whole growing rapidly and some exciting new projects being developed.
We face some real challenges however, and it’s interesting to see this report alongside the recent Creative Industries Council visit to the city and the outcomes of that.
Strategy is key.
The potential of the city and our digital-creative sector is huge but unless we work in a more strategic, connected way with our partners in the city region, that potential will go unfulfilled. Growth strategies have to incorporate the digital-creative sector fully if they are going to be relevant to the economic realities of the next five years. As a city region we have to learn from and be proud of our past, but we can’t live in it.
The digital-creative industries have become the new powerhouse of the global economy and that works at a macro, as well as a micro level. The World Economic Forum report on the future of jobs highlights how local, regional and national economies will be impacted by the Fourth industrial Revolution (4IR). And its not just about robots and AI – 4IR is far more than that. It is reconfiguring global trade, skills needs and how we think about economic growth.
Stoke-on-Trent’s future.
That might seem like a long way from Stoke but it’s not. Supporting our digital-creative industries and the skills needed to see our ambitions through must be at the forefront of all our thinking. If we want to see a vibrant, creative and entrepreneurial city then clusters like Platform are vital.
See the report below:
To keep up with Stoke and Staffordshire’s moving image cluster follow Platform on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.
Last month, Platform hosted a visit to Stoke-on-Trent by a delegation of creative industries advisers, policy specialists and academics brought together by the Creative Industries Council sub-group on Regions and Clusters.
Here, Platform’s Chair Peter Rudge shares his thoughts on the event.
Revitalising smaller cities
This event was apart of a Creative Industries Council initiative about Revitalising Smaller Cities and I was part of a launch in Coventry last year as part of the City of Culture announcement. The project is about how these smaller cities can leverage sector strengths alongside a recognition of ‘place’ to drive creative business innovation and address the widening gap in prosperity, investment and policy thinking between towns and small cities and larger urban centres.
The idea is to use these visits to inform national policy on innovation, creative industries and uneven development.
I was keen to make sure the focus for the day was very much on the digital creative industries, Platform and our outstanding member businesses, to ensure we showed that there was more to Stoke-on-Trent than ceramics. Indeed, it was vital to make the point that confluence of technology and creative industries that characterises the screen industries is really where growth can come from in these regions. The interface between the creative industries and the fourth industrial revolution is how that uneven development can most successfully be addressed.
Lessons to be learnt
I was in Pittsburgh last year, speaking at the Create Festival – a mash up of digital and creative thought leaders organised by the Pittsburgh Technology Council. It’s a driver of where Pittsburgh is heading and indicative of how they refocused their thinking as a city. The parallels with Stoke were noticeable. Pittsburgh was a steel town, a powerhouse of American industry until the inevitable collapse of traditional industry and all the economic and social problems that go with it. Although, the city had the foresight and leadership to not hang on to the past but double-down on its future – as a creative, digital and entrepreneurial city. It’s now thriving.
There’s a lesson there for what we are trying to do in Stoke and the importance to that journey of bringing together such an important and influential group to the city cannot be overstated. Platform has highlighted the talents we have in the city, in a sector that is driving not just the UK economy but rapidly becoming a global force for inclusive growth.
Moving forward
We have a long way to go however. Although the visit showed the real strengths we have in the sector, in the close link with higher education in the city and in the desire to make this a success. There is a lot of work to do in putting the digital creative industries front and centre in the city region. Greater collaboration, more joined up thinking across the major stakeholders and real commitment to seeing creative transformation through are all areas that need work. The city has a proud heritage of creativity, disruption and innovation – lets not stop now.
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Stay tuned and follow Platform on Twitter and Facebook for interviews with the industry experts that attended the event.
Every year Creative England announces their CE50, an annual celebration of 50 of the most exciting, innovative and disruptive creative companies and individuals across the country.
This year Platform, and three of its members, Carse and Waterman, Enlighten and Rachel Shenton all made this exclusive list and increased the spotlight on the regions Moving Image quality, diversity and talent.
Heres what the report had to say about them….
Carse and Waterman
Since its inception in 2009, Carse & Waterman has grown in size and stature and has produced a number of award-winning projects, working with a variety of acclaimed names including Richard Ayoade, Simon West and Keith Lemon. Carse & Waterman’s service gives brands a way to tell personable stories to their audience in a uniquely engaging way.
Recent successes have kick-started further growth this year with the purchase of a new 4-storey studio (4,300 sq ft), an increased staff team of up to 20, and the facilities to deliver a new animation school supporting routes into the industry.
Enlighten
Enlighten is a truly inspirational company which has grown rapidly over a short period of time to become an authoritative name in the world of augmented reality and e-learning.
Enlighten is addressing the gap in quality online learning resources, reducing the need for face-to-face time when learning and transferring skills, reducing the monetary and environmental costs. By embracing and leading innovation in the sector Enlighten is improving the learner’s experience at a streamlined cost.
Enlighten’s co-founder and CEO Suzanne Edwards is a highly regarded female entrepreneur and “woman in tech”, who regularly speaks at high-level business and technology and is one of only seven people globally who sits on the executive council of CompTIA’s Emerging Tech community, encouraging more women and girls to consider tech-based careers through the “Power of 1” campaign.
Rachel Shenton
Rachel Shenton brought the issue of profound deafness to the public’s attention when she wrote and starred in short film The Silent Child, which then went on to win Best Live Action Short Film at the Academy Awards. Leaning on her own experience to portray the loneliness and isolation of children who are affected and the attitudes of society, Shenton crafted a touching screenplay which resonated with audiences.
Shenton is now working on turning the film into a feature and has lent her voice to promote her hometown of Stoke in its bid to be the new home of Channel 4.
This year’s cohort highlights the move towards technology and creativity merging to create meaningful solutions to real-world problems, with many of the companies championing diversity, and giving a platform to unheard voices.
The list was hand-picked by Creative England, along with nominations from regional partners including The Growth Company in Greater Manchester, Cultivate Cornwall, Stoke City Council, Newcastle Gateshead Initiative and Tech Nation.
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