Innovation: What does R&D look like in the arts sector?

You don’t have to look far in government policy to find the mention of R&D and innovation. The UK government is investing in R&D for the creative sector through a £380 million package to support innovation, regional growth and skills, as part of its Creative Industries Sector Plan.

Our research is taking place in the context of a rapidly shifting global and domestic landscape in which the political, social, economic, environmental and technological norms of the next decade are still emerging: “The digital revolution, shifting trade patterns, demographics, climate change, urbanisation, rising inequality and political uncertainty were already asserting themselves and making for a more volatile world – one full of opportunity but also fraught with peril.”  (Tomorrow comes today – Trends shaping the future of the Creative Industries)

These uncertainties put pressure on established ways of operating while also squeezing individuals’ and organisations’ ability to find the time, resource and space to look ahead and build resilience.

In this environment, the need for R&D and innovation could not be more valuable and this research more timely.

Digging into definitions

I often think of this quote from Adobe’s CEO speaking in 2017: “The status quo is not a strategy.” It highlights the importance of a mindset open to the possibility of change and the willingness to examine how and why you do what you do. It refers to the company’s core philosophy of continuous reinvention through proactive investment in R&D and innovation (the same philosophy that sits at the heart of our Let’s Get Real programme).

R&D can, most broadly, be understood as the creation of new knowledge, while innovation is the implementation, adoption or scaling of it. The terms are often coupled with technology, but this is not inevitable. Technology is frequently a feature of both R&D and innovation, but it is not a pre-requisite. Likewise, not all uses of technologies are innovative. 

Within arts and culture, whether you are an organisation or an individual, R&D and innovation can mean different things. Digging into the definitions and the way the language is understood is the foundation for this research. 

Innovation and equality

We’ve used surveys, roundtables and interviews to uncover and shine a light on the wide range of both formal and informal R&D and innovation already taking place. In particular, we are interested in ‘inclusive innovation’ and how this approach prioritises a more socially inclusive, often grassroots, approach to who is involved in creating innovations and who benefits from their outcomes.

The work of Diane Coyle and Burcu Sevde Selvi’s – published in their Townscapes: Making Innovation More Inclusive – helps greatly here. It explores the relationship between innovation and inequality, in particular the sometimes unequal distribution of the benefits of innovation models that drive ‘long-run economic growth and social progress’. 

Coyle and Selvi propose a place-based approach to delivering inclusive outcomes, including locally managed place-based interventions that foster local talent and regional strategies to develop cross-sector networks that create access to opportunities. This approach mirrors the work of many part of the arts and culture sector that are leading positive change from the ground up in towns across the UK. 

The Audience Agency knows from our own place based work how powerful R&D and innovation can be in delivering transformational, place-based change. It is at the heart of enabling creatives and planners to define new ways of connecting with their communities and which gives people a voice in shaping a cultural offer that has meaning and purpose.

Developing practice

In our survey, 94% of respondents said they were familiar with the term innovation and what it involves, while 93% of organisations and 86% of individual practitioners said they had conducted either formal or informal innovation in the past.

Respondents carry out R&D in many areas, for creative or curatorial reasons, as well as for operational and business purposes: new income streams, audience impact, approaches to marketing and communications, internal systems, environmental sustainability.

This is a fascinating journey to better understand the role of R&D and innovation in the arts and cultural sector and identify its value and potential both in the sector and the wider UK society and economy.

As we interrogate and analyse the data in our research, and prepare to write the final report we are asking:

• How can we make sure the Industrial Strategy recognises the contribution of all forms of R&D and innovation that take place in the arts and culture sector?  
• How to define the range of outcomes from R&D and innovation activities that are specific to the arts and culture sector? What are the spillovers impacts?
• What support is needed to promote confident and effective R&D and innovation activities across arts and culture? Can resources be pooled to share risks and support more people to try new things?

The final report and full results of this research will be published by TAA at the end of the year. 

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