Over the last six months, I’ve been working with ADDICT in Portugal and the British Council on a mapping of Europe’s Creative Hubs. 

This research – based on 100+ survey responses, 12 depth interviews, and analysis of nearly 200 other Hubs – provides the starting point for understanding Europe’s Creative Hubs. It sets out who they are, what they do, and what support they need. You can download the report below.

I’ve loved this research. Creative Hubs seems to me at the heart of Europe’s creative economies. They are the most inspiring parts of the sector. And yet we know very little about them.

So (after some late nights) we are delighted to have finally got somewhere. These findings aren’t conclusive, but they do set out a baseline for further research.

It shows, first, that these Hubs are incredibly diverse. Many make a business from it – one-third receive no public funding. Others do it for the good of their local area (four in ten are non-profits). And others are small parts of bigger organisations (7% are parts of Universities).

But all are optimistic. 90% think the future for their Hubs are good. And this is driven by the growing recognition in the importance of the cultural and creative industries.

We know there are Hubs all over Europe. Now we know they contribute, so this is good news for ECBN members everywhere.

 

ps. We think the data should be open and available. So we are sharing it online here.

– Callum Lee

Callum is a Director at BOP Consulting – callum@bop.co.uk