Working Papers – ResearchGoing to a classical concert: the relationship between audience perceptions of artistic identity and motivation for future attendance Authors: John Sloboda and Karen Wise, Guildhall School of Music & Drama – john.sloboda@gsmd.ac.uk Research Strand: Capturing London’s Audiences Date: June 2016 Abstract: This paper reports the outcomes of an investigation into the nature and motivations of the audience at a London concert of Britten Sinfonia, a touring chamber orchestra with a London residency. In particular it looks at the salience of the orchestra’s artistic ethos to audience members, and the role that awareness of this ethos plays in decisions to attend future concerts by the orchestra. The study is one part of an ongoing collaboration between Britten Sinfonia and researchers at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama, exploring how research can inform audience development strategies. Using digital content to build audiences for live opera Authors: Research Strand: BOOST Award Date: April 2016 Abstract: The purpose of this paper is to report on audience response to selected digital content produced by English Touring Opera (ETO) in support of the company’s Autumn 2015 tour. This study was conducted collaboratively between ETO and the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. The research team used focus groups to explore audience reactions to five items of supporting material produced by ETO. Through a qualitative analysis of the transcribed sessions, this report investigates how the items function, both individually and in general. Investigating London’s creative economy: A word on research methods Author: Tarek E. Virani, Creativeworks London, Queen Mary University of London Research Strand: Place Work Knowledge Date: April 2016 Abstract: This paper is about the research methods used by Creativeworks London’s Place Work Knowledge (PWK) research strand in developing a number of case studies investigating the creative economy in parts of London. The PWK research strand focuses on some of the processes that drive and sustain London’s creative and cultural economy with a focus on the places, spaces and practice of this activity. It adopted an ethnographic approach in order to develop a deeper understanding of what can be described as a number of creative ‘Communities of Practice’ in various parts of primarily east /central London. This paper is a reflection of the strengths and weaknesses of the research methods used. The Creative SME: A Cautionary Tale Authors: Research Strand: Place Work Knowledge Date: May / June 2015 Abstract: The aim of this paper is to explore the debate about defining a small firm, or a small and medium-sized enterprise (SME), and examining the relevance of this concern to the creative industries and creative businesses. The first part of this paper navigates this formation, and the positioning of the idea of small business within economic and political thought. The second part explores how the concept of small business is operationalized as SMEs, and the challenges of classification and empirical definition. The final part reflects on the implications for the understanding and usage of the term ‘creative SME’. Using Intellectual Property in the Creative Industries (White Paper) Authors: Research Strand: London’s Digital Economy Date: May 2015 Abstract: The research on which this White Paper reports was undertaken as part of the Creativeworks London project, funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council. The aim of the research was to investigate how creators exploit intellectual property outside the traditional structure of formal contracts, to identify their working practices and their normative stance on those uses (which might not match the law’s normative position), and to discuss with them what legal and non-legal mechanisms might be helpful in undertaking these uses more effectively. The role of the internet in opening up new ways to use creative works was a major talking point throughout. Re-articulating the Creative Hub Concept as a Model for Business Support in the Local Creative Economy: The Case of Mare Street in Hackney Authors: Research Strand: Place Work Knowledge Date: April 2015 Abstract: The literature on ‘creative hubs’ is scarce. Although the term is currently in wide use in policy circles, its actual meaning is not always clear. Accordingly, this paper aims to clarify what is meant by the ‘creative hub’ through the use of ethnographic work as well as a consolidation of the available literature. The findings suggest that although different creative hubs take on a number of different physical, spatial, organisational and operational manifestations they nonetheless can be understood as having four primary characteristics: first, they provide ‘tailored’ services to creative SMEs, including micro-businesses; second, they are aimed specifically at early stage creative SMEs and micro-businesses; third, they are facilitated by trusted individuals who retain a number of important positions and conduct a number of important activities; and fourth, they have become important to the health of the local creative economy. This paper argues that the notion of the creative hub can be understood as a putative model for providing mainly business support in a local context for specifically the creative sector. Hackathons: Why Co-location? Authors: Research Strand: London’s Digital Economy Date: January 2015 Abstract: In this position paper we outline and discuss co-location as a significant catalyst to knowledge exchange between participants for innovation at hackathon events. We draw on surveys and empirical evidence from participation in such events to conclude that the main incentives for participants are peer-to-peer learning and meaningful networking. We then consider why co-location provides an appropriate framework for these processes to occur, and emphasize the need for future research in this area. Do Voucher Schemes Matter in the Long Run? A Brief Comparison of Nesta’s Creative Credits and Creativeworks London’s Creative Voucher Scheme Author: Tarek E. Virani (Creativeworks London, Queen Mary University of London) Research Strand: Place Work Knowledge Date: January 2015 Abstract: In policy circles, the common consensus about voucher schemes aimed at the creative sector is that they have short term but no real lasting impact. This short position paper queries this notion. This is mainly because these schemes are notoriously variable in their design, implementation and evaluation. As a brief illustration of this variance this paper compares important elements of Nesta’s Creative Credit scheme with that of Creativeworks London’s (CWL) creative voucher scheme. In comparing these two types of innovation voucher schemes, it becomes apparent that two interrelated factors play a large role in determining whether long term effects might be realised: first, the variance in their designs and rationales; and second, the important role of brokerage. Importantly, this paper suggests that in order for long term effects to be realised through these types of collaborative schemes, consideration must be given to what these effects look like and then designed ex ante into the scheme. Profiling Business Support Provision for Small, Medium and Micro-sized Enterprises in London’s Fashion Sector Author: Research Strand: Place Work Knowledge Date: July 2014 Abstract: The primary aim of this paper is to build a profile of the business support landscape that exists for fashion SMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises) and MSEs (micro-sized enterprises) in London. In the face of multiple challenges, fashion sector SME/MSEs benefit from the services provided by business support organisations. We have identified 21 fashion support organisations that exist in London. They can be broadly divided into two types of business support organisations: fashion incubators and partial-support organisations, both of which play an equally important role in the sector. The Enigma that is Platform-7: CWL Creative Voucher, The Silent Cacophony case study Author: Research Strand: Place Work Knowledge Date: January 2014 Abstract: The focus of this project is not to evaluate the success or impact of the event/events that Platform-7 (P7) curate; rather it seeks to discover the ways of working, and future directions that P7 may take. We want to understand process and outcomes in a broader context. In this sense we are not interested in the audience, we bracket it out. Instead we look at the process and the impact on the artists and artistic practice. This marks out this piece of work, and makes it innovative in the perspective and approach from the normative concern with evaluation of outputs in the form of audience reaction. We offer a complementary perspective. Accordingly our concern is with practice and process. P7 is an unorthodox organisation and accordingly we have taken a more anthropological perspective and suspended normative assumptions about what should, or we might expect to, happen: we follow what does happen, and the accounts of the (artistic) participants. Creating Cultures of Innovation Author: Research Strand: London’s Digital Economy Date: June 2014 Abstract: We consider the Creating Cultures of Innovation (CCoI) action research programme being delivered by the Glasgow School of Art (GSA), in partnership with the Institute of Directors (IoD) and the University of Glasgow Business School (UGBS), to explore the role that higher education might play in improving skills utilisation in the workplace. The premise of the initiative is to explore the use of design thinking in improving performance, innovation and economic productivity in participating companies. The project involves working with leaders to harness creativity within their organisation and enable workplace innovation through collaboration. It is being delivered through a series of integrated workshops for a cross-functional team at each participating company. These pilots were run over a period of two years, delivered at approximately monthly intervals, with interim tasks for the team to take back and apply in the workplace, ensuring a ripple effect of skills and learning from the core group across the rest of the organisation. After summarising the approach taken, we consider three case studies of organisations from the pilot of the programme; Scott & Fyfe, a technical textile manufacturer; Schuh, a high street shoe retailer and Cairngorm Mountain Ltd., a not-for-profit organisation who manage recreational facilities at the top of Cairngorm mountain in Aviemore. We conclude by considering the effectiveness of the approach, and its potential for other industries, including the Digital Creative Industries. Digital Innovation: The Hackathon Phenomenon Authors: Research Strand: London’s Digital Economy Date: May 2014 Abstract: Innovation with digital technologies continues to emerge, but increasingly there are efforts to help nurture such innovation. A hackathon is an event in which computer programmers and others involved in software development collaborate intensively over a short period of time on software projects. These hackathons are encouraging of experimentation and creativity, and can be challenge orientated. From holding large numbers of these events, the hackathon phenomenon has emerged as an effective approach to encouraging innovation with digital technologies in a large range of different spaces (music, open data, fashion, academia, and more). We consider the origins and diverse format of hackathons, leading us to a high-level classification of the types of hackathons that occur. We also consider the results of a commercial survey conducted of a 150 hackathon participants, as well as two case studies of hacakthon events we have both observed and participated. We then discuss the potential of hackathons, including common general principles that we have observed in their format. We conclude by considering the potential and value of hackathons, especially in providing an opportunity for people to meet and collaborate to create new links in the medium to long term, beyond the short term focus of the event. Also, the potential for hackathons for networking in new spaces, including such as the emerging Culture Hacks. Putting Knowledge in (its) Place: Knowledge Transfer/Exchange and Clustering Author: Andy C Pratt (City University London) Research Strand: Place Work Knowledge Date: May 2014 Abstract: In this paper we argue that existing mainstream conceptualizations of knowledge, knowledge transfer, and knowledge exchange (KT/E) have reached their limits. Those limits are embedded in a physical conception of knowledge as ‘thing’; we counter this with the notion of knowledge as ‘relation’. The paper is divided into four sections. The first sketches out the macro- view, the great transformation of the knowledge economy and how it has been characterized. Second, we review micro accounts of KT/E in locational studies. The third part of the paper points to some fundamental questions concerning knowledge common to both approaches. We present the challenge of the relational knowledge conception, and suggest that this throws normative expectations of the knowledge economy (as an iteration of the physical economy) into difficulty. It is indicative that normative theory has struggled at its limits to capture these ‘effects’, floundering on over- and- under socialization/economization and vague terms such as ‘buzz’ to indicate the problem. In the fourth part we explore the consequences of the relational concept of knowledge to the re-explanation of KT/E and clustering which we refer to as the learning ecosystem. Mechanisms of Collaboration between Creative Small, Medium and Micro-sized Enterprises and Higher Education Institutions: Reflections on the Creativeworks London Creative Voucher Scheme. Author: Tarek E Virani (Creativeworks London, Queen Mary University of London) Research Strand:Place Work Knowledge Date: May 2014 Abstract: According to the literature, university-industry collaborations are far from straightforward. This paper adds to this work by looking at how the process of collaboration has fared between higher education institutions (HEIs) and small, medium and micro-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the creative and cultural industries (CCI). It does this by looking at the preliminary findings of Creativeworks London’s (CWL) Creative Voucher Scheme. The findings emerged from an analysis of application data, ex post project final reports and interview data. The results to date show that: first, past experience in university – industry collaborations is tremendously beneficial to the success of the collaboration ; second, the creative industries engages with a number of different actors that speak different collaborative languages, actors are needed that are able to communicate at multiple levels at once; third, the collaborative process is not simply a dualistic one between university and industry but multi-layered involving a number of knowledge brokers in different positions in-between and at the interstices of these organizational structures; fourth, administrative expediency with regards to implementing these voucher schemes varies from university to university which point to potentially large departmental differences that can affect the intended collaborations; and fifth, there needs to be a managing of expectations and a balancing of different incentives when it comes to negotiating the outcome of these collaborations since university and industry move at different speeds and value different things. English Touring Opera – ‘Opera in Cinemas’ Report Author: Karen Wise, Guildhall School of Music & Drama Research Strand: Capturing London’s Audiences Date: May 2014 Abstract: The project aimed to understand the appeal and audience experience of live cinema broadcasts of opera, in order to see whether lessons may be learned for live opera companies. Opera Audiences and Cultural Value: A Study of Audience Experience Authors: Research Strand: Capturing London’s Audiences Date: May 2014 Abstract: This project aims to better describe the cultural value of opera through a study of its most devoted audience members. Through qualitative surveys and in-depth, open-ended interviews with highly-engaged opera-goers, we identify and explore eight categories of interest that are important to this group’s experience of opera. Overview of Business-Facing Arts Audience Research Author: Sinéad O’Neill, Creativeworks London Research Strand: Capturing London’s Audiences Abstract: This report is a review of public-domain research conducted specifically in order to inform arts organisations about their audiences. The research covered is driven by the demands of the arts industry to understand its audiences and to develop and broaden audiences for the arts. The report includes links to key publications and research organisations, and an overview of the key offerings. |
Creativeworks London is one of four Knowledge Exchange Hubs for the Creative Economy funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) to develop strategic partnerships with creative businesses and cultural organisations, to strengthen and diversify their collaborative research activities and increase the number of arts and humanities researchers actively engaged in research-based knowledge exchange.