Brighton Fuse 2
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Brighton
Department Name: Brighton Business School
Abstract
Brighton Fuse 2 is a research grant continuing the previous Brighton Fuse project funded by AHRC to map, measure and enhance the Creative Digital Information Technology (CDIT) cluster in the City of Brighton and Hove (www.brightonfuse.com). Partners of the project are the University of Brighton (CENTRIM, Brighton Business School and Faculty of Arts), University of Sussex (SPRU), Wired Sussex and the Council for Industry and Higher Education.
Fuse 2 undertakes consolidating research in two areas: firstly, examining the freelancer communities within the Brighton cluster through a survey and qualitative data collection. This will assess the engagement of the freelancer communities with the digital firms in the city and the extent to which they represent a flexible resource that sustains the cluster. The survey will research the sectoral diversity of freelancers and their business and innovation performance. The qualitative work will research the conditions of work and the advantages and disadvantages of the 'portfolio career'.
The second work package of the project is a panel survey of CDIT businesses to provide a comparable dataset to the original Fuse survey to enable analysis of the dynamics of the cluster. This analysis will be aimed at understanding causal relations between variables, for example, networking activities, collaboration, and business performance. The panel survey will also provide evidence on the relative stability of the sectors such as digital marketing, social media, video games development and arts organisations. The project is aimed at considering the policy implications of the academic insights gained for the creative digital economy and for universities and interested organisations.
Fuse 2 undertakes consolidating research in two areas: firstly, examining the freelancer communities within the Brighton cluster through a survey and qualitative data collection. This will assess the engagement of the freelancer communities with the digital firms in the city and the extent to which they represent a flexible resource that sustains the cluster. The survey will research the sectoral diversity of freelancers and their business and innovation performance. The qualitative work will research the conditions of work and the advantages and disadvantages of the 'portfolio career'.
The second work package of the project is a panel survey of CDIT businesses to provide a comparable dataset to the original Fuse survey to enable analysis of the dynamics of the cluster. This analysis will be aimed at understanding causal relations between variables, for example, networking activities, collaboration, and business performance. The panel survey will also provide evidence on the relative stability of the sectors such as digital marketing, social media, video games development and arts organisations. The project is aimed at considering the policy implications of the academic insights gained for the creative digital economy and for universities and interested organisations.
Organisations
Publications
Adamson, M
(2018)
Creative Fuse North East Project Report
Butt, M
(2017)
Creative Fuse North East Initial Report
Mangematin V
(2014)
Disassembly and reassembly: An introduction to the Special Issue on digital technology and creative industries
in Technological Forecasting and Social Change
Sapsed J
(2014)
Art is long, innovation is short: Lessons from the Renaissance and the digital age
in Technological Forecasting and Social Change
Sapsed, J
(2014)
'How a New Genre is Generated'
| Description | See www.brightonfuse.com |
| Exploitation Route | See www.brightonfuse.com; www.creativefuseNE.org.uk and www.pec.ac.uk |
| Sectors | Creative Economy,Digital/Communication/Information Technologies (including Software),Education,Electronics,Leisure Activities, including Sports, Recreation and Tourism,Government, Democracy and Justice,Culture, Heritage, Museums and Collections |
| URL | http://ww.brightonfuse.com |
| Description | See www.brightonfuse.com and ahrc website |
| Description | Evidence for Creative Economy policy |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Contribution to a national consultation/review |
| Impact | In 2013 the Minister for Culture, Media, Sport and Creative Industries invited Dr Jonathan Sapsed to participate in the DCMS reclassification of creative industries debate, which led to a radical change in national accounting of these sectors. We argued on the basis of our research results in favour of the change that the Minister subsequently made, to include IT sectors in creative industries classifications, which is now policy. This means that the scale of the creative economy is now shown to be much larger and therefore attracts corresponding levels of investment and policy attention. One of these initiatives is the City Deal for Brighton and Hove, opening up £170m of investment, including for the Creative-Digital-IT sectors. The Deputy Prime Minister referred to our research in this announcement as evidence of the vibrant economy that was to be supported. |
| Description | Centre of Excellence for Policy and Evidence in the Creative Industries |
| Amount | £6,137,268 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | AH/S001298/1 |
| Organisation | Arts & Humanities Research Council (AHRC) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 10/2018 |
| End | 07/2023 |
| Description | Creative Industries Policy and Evidence Centre |
| Amount | £11,000,000 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | AH/Y000544/1 |
| Organisation | Arts & Humanities Research Council (AHRC) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 06/2023 |
| End | 05/2028 |
| Description | Knowledge Transfer Partnership |
| Amount | £112,637 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | KTP10714 |
| Organisation | Innovate UK |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 06/2017 |
| End | 10/2018 |
| Description | Stage Worlds: A UK- China Innovation Partnership |
| Amount | £24,276 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | AH/T001399/1 |
| Organisation | Arts & Humanities Research Council (AHRC) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 02/2019 |
| End | 08/2019 |
| Description | Ten Years of Fuse |
| Amount | £52,000 (GBP) |
| Organisation | Arts & Humanities Research Council (AHRC) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 01/2023 |
| End | 09/2023 |
| Description | Creative Economy Workshop, Korean Embassy, London |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Invited presentation to brief Korean Embassy officials on creative economy and policy |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| Description | Creative Scale-Up Programme Scoping Workshop |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Facilitated a scoping workshop for Dept of DCMS Creative Scale-Up Programme for three Combined Authorities of Bristol and South-West, Manchester, West Midlands, Birmingham, 18th March, 2019. This helped DCMS scope the evaluation of the programme. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Invited keynote for British Human Computer Interaction conference, 5th July 2017, 'What is fusion and what has it done for us?', University of Sunderland. |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | Some 40 people attended the keynote and Q and A session. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| URL | http://hci2017.bcs.org/jonathan-sapsed/ |
| Description | Invited lecture and masterclass, InterTrade Ireland, All Island Innovation Programme, Queens University Belfast, 10th April, 2017. |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | Invited lecture to some 100 business people in Belfast, followed by 2-hour masterclass of 40, discussing issues on innovation management and the creative industries, for example the likely future after Brexit for Northern Ireland. Organised by InterTrade Ireland, All Island Innovation Programme |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| Description | Invited presentation at Henan Academy of Social Sciences, China, 15th September, 2017, 'Creative Industries: Past, present and future in the UK and beyond'. |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Seminar at Policy Institute with 50 researchers and 100 students, followed by cultural visits and requests for feedback on cultural strategy in the province to inform recommendations to the Governor. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| Description | Presentation at 3D Tech Forum, Korea |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | Meeting of app 200 Korean technology developers and policy makers I was invited as they were interested in our research on creative-IT skills. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
| URL | http://www.3dforum.kr |
| Description | Regional Stakeholder Workshop on Brexit and the Creative Industries |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Organised and Facilitated a Regional Stakeholder Workshop on Brexit and the Creative Industries for the Creative Industries PEC, 31st October, 2019, Frederick Douglass Building, Newcastle University, including Newcastle City Council, North East Chamber, North East LEP, Northern Film and Media, North of Tyne Combined Authority, West Yorkshire Combined Authority, businesses and freelancers. This consultation feeds into the policy research agenda for the PEC. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Seminar on creative clusters and the South African textile industry |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | Arranged a seminar in Commercial Union House, Newcastle city centre with local creatives and academics: 'Creative clusters in the UK and South Africa' Seminar with Professor Jen Snowball, Rhodes University, South Africa and Professor Jonathan Sapsed, Newcastle University, UK and 'Informality and Innovation in crafts and design micro producers in South Africa' Professor Jen Snowball, Rhodes University, South Africa, 27th November, 2019. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |