Enabling and inhibiting the creative economy: the role of the local and regional dimensions in England

Abstract

This paper addresses issues regarding the development of creative and cultural industries (CCIs) in England from a local and regional perspective, integrating qualitative findings from two separate research projects in Birmingham and Newcastle-Gateshead. The findings question current regional policies and their understanding of the local and regional dimensions as being limited to the idea of geographical clusters. Instead, the paper calls for the integration of the cluster model with a "knowledge pool" model, which underlines the role of locality and the importance of the personal and operational connections of the CCIs within and outside their region.