Produced by The Audience Agency and Careful Industries working alongside Arts Council England, the report demonstrates the importance of RD&I in the creative and cultural sector, mapping how it happens across the industry, assessing its strengths and weaknesses, and identifying the policy actions needed to unlock its full potential.
The report highlights the true scale, value and potential of creative and cultural RD&I showing how it is already a catalyst for growth, artistic breakthroughs, a driver of social and community impact, space for technological experimentation and a powerful contributor to place-based transformation.
It draws together insight from across arts and cultural organisations and individual practitioners to gather a view of the current RD&I landscape – from independent artists creating new work to national institutions exploring the future of technology. It combines this with analysis of RD&I policies and strategies from across multiple sectors.
It offers a timely, rigorous and practical set of eleven recommendations that span four distinct areas: national strategy, sector development, investment and impact, and research. The recommendations call for UK RD&I strategy and policies to be genuinely intersectoral and transdisciplinary, with clear actions to nurture a more dynamic innovation ecosystem. It calls for investment in new systemic RD&I programmes, along with the need to develop an impact framework that can better make the argument for and evidence the value of creative and cultural RD&I.
The report draws on research conducted by The Audience Agency and the generous openness of more than 265 practitioners and stakeholders across the country whose insights have shaped the findings.
“This research highlights the power of creative and cultural R&D on the wider innovation landscape. It shows how RD&I is alive and kicking and driving cultural, social and economic impact. The report's recommendations set out how we can build on this to unlock its full potential as part of the essential infrastructure for a thriving, equitable and innovative UK.”
“Staying innovative is more important than ever - it's what keeps our sector relevant, resilient, and future‑focused. This report offers fresh thinking, practical recommendations and clear next steps for policymakers, sector leaders and investors alike, that will help unlock potential investment, reduce duplication, and strengthen the conditions so that the UK’s unique and world-leading creative and cultural sector can continue to grow and flourish”
“Arts and culture are already doing the R&D work, but it's not being counted, funded or valued in the right ways. This research shines a light on the great work that's already happening and shows that a few small policy changes could go a long way to unlocking a more equitable, dynamic, and productive innovation future for the UK.”
