The creative sector needs more training and infrastructure to take advantage of digital tools and help grow an innovative economy, a new report endorsed by Australian and New Zealand cultural ministers shows.

"While many government agencies and private businesses have adapted to new technologies, the challenges and opportunities presented by the digital environment do not appear to have been taken up so readily across the creative sector."

"This is partly because the high capacity digital infrastructure needed by the sector is not yet widely available, but also because the understanding of and training in new technologies is lacking in many creative organisations and enterprises."

The creative sector needs more training and infrastructure to take advantage of digital tools and help grow an innovative economy, a new report endorsed by Australian and New Zealand cultural ministers shows.

"While many government agencies and private businesses have adapted to new technologies, the challenges and opportunities presented by the digital environment do not appear to have been taken up so readily across the creative sector."

"This is partly because the high capacity digital infrastructure needed by the sector is not yet widely available, but also because the understanding of and training in new technologies is lacking in many creative organisations and enterprises."

The Building a Creative Innovation Economy report said there needed to be improved infrastructure including increased access to broadband, simpler copyright and intellectual property management, business and technical skills training, partnerships between the creative and education sector and increased commercial potential through region specific programmes and funding.

Improved infrastructure was needed for online, mobile and broadcast and the report supported increased production of creative and cultural content across a wider range of digital platforms.

Associate Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage Judith Tizard represented New Zealand at the Cultural Ministers Council meeting in Canberra last week.

The Ministers agreed that fostering the sustainability of creative industries is crucial if Australia and New Zealand are to capitalise on the culture, creative talent and expertise of both countries.

Creative industries include music, arts, media, design and software development and the cultural industries include libraries, archives, galleries, museums and peak arts organisations.

The report said governments and businesses are increasingly aware of the important role of creativity and the creative industries as drivers for innovation and economic growth in the digital environment.

"These achievements champion creativity, provide new cultural experiences, increase audience reach and relevance, generate new income streams, enable collaboration and partnerships, assist organisations to meet their goals and reinforce the significance of the arts and creativity to the community and the creative innovation economy."

The report recognised the ongoing work of the creative sector and aimed to increase awareness of the key issues, opportunities, shared priorities and potential future directions for the sector in the ever expanding online, mobile and broadcast digital environment.

The main five areas and key shared priorities are below:

Improving access to culture in the digital environment
Increased access to broadband, mobile and broadcast infrastructures is a vital prerequisite for the creative sector's future engagement with the digital environment, particularly in jurisdictions with small and dispersed populations. The need for increased access to digital infrastructures, especially broadband, for producers and users of creative digital content and services is the most significant shared priority across all jurisdictions.

Increasing production of creative digital content
A streamlined approach to intellectual property management, which maximises the ability of the sector to exploit its digital content across a range of existing and emerging digital platforms is a major shared priority for the creative sector. The production of Australian and New Zealand digital content and services could be accelerated through simpler copyright provisions and a more wholistic approach to rights management. Converging and new digital technologies present increasing challenges for the creative sector to stay engaged with the digital environment.
This means flexible and integrated intellectual property processes are essential for the growth of creative digital content production in the expanding digital marketplace.

Developing the skills of artists and executives
Business skills training is a strong shared priority for the creative sector across all jurisdictions. It is a particular priority for small creative enterprises, where the creative talent of the enterprise is also likely to be the business manager. The digital environment offers the creative sector a host of opportunities for participation with new technologies, audiences and markets, however the sector's ability to engage with them is often hampered by a lack of appropriate business skills.

Strengthening creative sector partnerships
A strategic approach to brokering partnerships, particularly between the creative sector and the education sector, would facilitate greater collaboration across the sectors and improve market research and consultation. Partnerships within and beyond the creative sector offer opportunities for collaboration between community members and artists as well as government and industry sectors. The education sector is seen by the creative sector as a key target market for creative digital content and services. It is anticipated that locally produced cultural and creative digital content will find increased audiences through technologically capable schools, universities and TAFE institutes.

Commercialising the creative innovation economy
Increasing the commercial potential of creative enterprises and organisations is a key shared priority for developing a sustainable creative sector. In some jurisdictions, the provision of a greater level of ongoing government funding for digital activities in subsidised cultural organisations is seen as a way to enable the long-term integration of technologies into organisations' processes. In other jurisdictions, the allocation of start-up funding to creative enterprises is seen to offer the most potential for fostering a commercially sustainable creative sector. Solutions to commercialising the creative innovation economy will vary across jurisdictions according to geography, demography and the characteristics of the local creative sector.

The Building a Creative Innovation Economy PDF report can be found at the Cultural Ministers Council website.

Story and Image: By Cathy Aronson, TBI editor

04/03/08