Creativeworks London Evaluation Report: A Knowledge Exchange Hub for the Creative Economy

The Creativeworks London evaluation report is now available to download. 

Creativeworks London (CWL) has undertaken a fascinating range of work over the past four years. Our aim has been to open up new opportunities for collaborative research between creative and cultural SMEs and researchers from the arts and humanities.

We have done this because we believe that collaborative and co-created research can lead to new ideas that make a difference. Our work has supported a diverse range of companies in the creative economy as well as many creative entrepreneurs, allowing them to benefit from working with researchers and research organisations. We have evidence of the many business benefits these collaborations have enabled. We have also created new possibilities for researchers, and particularly early-career researchers, to work with partners in the creative economy so that their research can directly benefit communities beyond the academy. We know this has made a major impact on their research, and built their commitment to working collaboratively in the future.

Our approach has been innovative because we have integrated the research we have undertaken – on the cultural geographies of innovation in London; on the changing nature of London’s audiences; and on London’s digital economy – with our funding schemes. Through ideas pools, research labs and funded projects, the CWL research team has been able to work with SMEs to advance understanding of many of the key challenges and opportunities for the creative economy in London. Research findings have been disseminated through working papers, the CWL blog, films, conferences and scholarly publications.

It has been a pleasure to lead such a creative and dynamic team of colleagues and partners over the past four years. This report provides a rich account of our work and I hope that you find it interesting, enjoyable and useful.

Foreword by Professor Morag Shiach, Director of Creativeworks London.

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