Sector workforce mapping for Surrey+: in partnership with Surrey Chambers of Commerce and the Surrey Local Skills Improvement Plan (LSIP).

Ten years ago, on the eve of a General Election, I wrote an article arguing that calling the UK’s creative industries an “ecosystem” was dangerous. I warned that this seductive metaphor would allow policymakers to imagine the sector as self-regulating and inherently resilient. That it could somehow thrive through ‘organic’ processes separate from market forces, that it would magically regenerate struggling areas simply by being planted there, that it would grow in any soil regardless of distance from talent, capital, and markets. But the metaphor has persisted, and the result is failure. Nowhere has the failure of the metaphor been more visible than in film, television and media production.

The Creative Industries model, devised in the late 1990s in the UK and widely adopted since, is coming to the end of its useful life. Those of us with a strong interest in preserving the role of culture and creativity in the economy, and the wellbeing of the creators within it, need to understand the transformation of industry sectors into combinatorial and parallel ‘stacks’ of tools, content, services and products.

For three decades, we have celebrated the creative economy as a vibrant engine of progress, a wellspring of economic and social opportunity. This narrative, repeated often enough, has acquired the patina of established truth. Yet, it is a narrative that conveniently overlooks deep fissures beneath the surface –ingrained inequalities, the often-unacknowledged dependence on dominant cultural and economic powers, and the precariousness that such a foundation inevitably breeds. The time for polite applause is over; a reckoning is upon us.

New research highlights contribution of freelancers and microbusinesses to Kirklees’ £250m+ creative economy

Creative freelancers and microbusinesses operate on a very different business model from most other small businesses. To be successful in a fast-changing and competitive marketplace, they need to combine a focus on their creative specialism with the ability to quickly ‘pivot’ to take advantage of new opportunities and diversify their revenue streams to create sustainable businesses.

Since I announced my intention to publish a book, Creative Alchemy, in the last quarter of 2023, many conversations have started with the same question: ‘when is your book out?’

Creative Industries Strategy for Leicester an invitation to Creative employers, businesses and freelancers.

A Cultural Masterplan and Cultural Compact for Derby City Council last year building upon the legacy of the City of Culture 2025 bid.

In 2019 The Fifth Sector began work in conjunction with and supported Cultural Liverpool, creating a cultural strategy for the city that would span over the next 10 years as of the end of consultation in March 2020.

It was a real pleasure to work on a Cultural Compact for my adopted city. It was a journey that opened my eyes to a place I thought I knew well.

The Fifth Sector is proud to have delivered two projects close to home in the last year; from developing a new cultural consortium model for the Cultural Leaders Group in Manchester to delivering a cultural strategy for the City of Liverpool and a cultural compact for Liverpool City Region.

‘Developing A Cultural Strategy For Liverpool’, is a strategy that sets out the vision for the cultural life of Liverpool up to 2030.

That vision, and its optimism, was based on evidence – particularly of the rapid growth of sound recording and music publishing activities over the previous five years.

Iain Bennett, founder of The Fifth Sector, in conversation with ex-BBC producer Andy Taylor about the business and its development over the last decade.

I asked Iain a series of questions about the challenges and successes over the passed years. I also wanted to know how the company was adapting for the future during this uncertain time.

But the Modern Industrial Strategy is a misnomer. It's long on windy optimism - 'cultivating world-leading sectors', 'creating the right institutions to bring together sectors and places.