Major UKRI investment to boost WM creative industries
27 November 2024
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Two creative industries clusters in Birmingham and Liverpool will support creative technologies and research and innovation in music
Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy announced the clusters. They will bring together universities, tech companies and artists to boost the UK’s world class creative industries and drive economic growth.
Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy said “Talent is everywhere but opportunity is not. That’s why we are supporting firms, artists and freelancers that are innovating, using new technology and driving growth in creative clusters across the country.
Liverpool and Merseyside hold a special place in our nation’s music landscape, and this funding will support imagination and experimentation across the city and region, as creators explore how we can make gigs more environmentally friendly.
Birmingham and the West Midlands have a rich industrial history, and we are putting them at the forefront of a potential new industry developing the amazing technology that will revolutionise visual effects in film, theatre and gaming.”
Two new clusters
The new clusters will build on regional strengths in the West Midlands and Liverpool to foster innovation in creative technologies and music, delivering new technologies, business models and jobs.
CreaTech Frontiers
CreaTech Frontiers in the West Midlands is led by Birmingham City University with Coventry University, the University of Birmingham, The University of Warwick and the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC).
It will focus on developing the region’s micro and small and medium-sized businesses specialising in research and exploration of creative technologies like video games, virtual production and immersive reality.
It will also work with industry partners to help them to develop new products and multi-platform content, translate skills, technologies, and processes leading to innovation and growth.
This will be a huge support to Create Central’s key mission of Future Media - with a focus on the CreatTech agenda - which is why we have been working hard with our HE and regional partners to bring this investment to the West Midlands.
Ed Shedd, Create Central Chair, said “We are thrilled that the West Midlands has been successful in its bid for AHRC Creative Industries Clusters: CreaTech Frontiers, marking a transformative moment for the creative industries in our region. This investment underscores the importance of innovation and collaboration, enabling us to expand the impact of initiatives like the West Midlands Create Growth Programme and our pioneering CoLab pilot. These programmes are driving growth and innovation for creative businesses and opening up new avenues for research and development.
This funding will directly strengthen the talent pipeline we've built through our Skills Accelerator, providing more career progression opportunities and creating high-quality jobs across the sector. It’s a fantastic opportunity to build on our success and further establish the West Midlands as a hub for creativity, talent and economic growth.”
Part of a new round of creative industries clusters
The £13.5 million investment in the two new clusters is delivered by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) on behalf of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI).
It is part of a commitment in principle of at least £50 million in a new round of creative industries clusters. In 2025 UKRI will announce further commitments to grow the programme over subsequent years.
The new clusters build on previous rounds of the creative industries clusters portfolio, which so far has:
created over 5,500 jobs in nine clusters covering 80% of the UK
supported over 460 new spin-outs, start-ups and scale-ups
led to the development of over 780 new products and services
generated over £270 million of public and private co-investment
trained more than 5,000 people
Vital support for technology and innovation
AHRC Executive Chair, Professor Christopher Smith, said “AHRC is delighted to announce the launch of a new wave of Creative Industries Clusters.
The two new clusters announced today, MusicFutures and CreaTech Frontiers, will create vital support for technology and innovation in the UK’s world-leading creative industries and expand our regional investment.
These clusters will support artists and creators so they can benefit from new technologies across a wide range of platforms, and develop their innovation and business skills.
The remarkable projects made possible through our Creative Industries Clusters span sustainable fashion, game design and extended reality, and have attracted major co-investment.
They have helped solve real-world problems and they deliver commercial benefits to the UK economy in line with the Government’s Industrial Strategy.”