Advancing knowledge, improving lives, driving growth
Our research and development (R&D) strategy for the creative and cultural economy will ensure that growth in the creative industries sector is driven, accelerated and sustained by research, development and innovation.
It will deliver GVA growth and a step change in private investment in research and development, and it will distribute growth and its benefits across the UK. It will work in tandem with devolved support and other place-based funding, offer integration and alignment with system convening sector bodies, and provide a clear route through to improved growth finance. It will position the UK as a global leader in ‘createch’ (which brings together creative innovation and cutting-edge technology). This will drive sector and spillover benefits, and maximise the potential of UK intellectual property (IP) for growth and new business formation.
The strategy is underpinned by advanced skills development, building on Creative Industries Sector Plan commitments to deliver a creative workforce fit for the future, and by agile, timely and responsive data and evidence. It will boost the international standing of the sector and turn the UK into a hub for global talent. It will secure a thriving creative and cultural landscape for the UK that engages, informs and empowers individuals and communities to improve lives.
Key outcomes
Growth acceleration
Support for breakthrough ideas is seamless from early-stage R&D to private investment. High growth potential businesses progress faster through growth stages.
UK-wide growth opportunity
Regional innovation and growth potential is unlocked, building national capability in creative industries underpinned by strong UK research, development and innovation knowledge and expertise.
Embedded createch
The sector is leading the adoption, application and development of frontier technology. The UK’s unique cultural assets are a key driver of createch innovation. Createch spillover benefits are maximised.
Supportive UK IP environment
Creative rights holders are protected against unlawful and unfair use and fairly rewarded for the value their work creates. AI developers can licence high-quality cultural and creative data.
Skilled, inclusive workforce
Diverse skilled and qualified professionals in the UK are addressing sector challenges. The creative industries provide good and fair work, with inclusive, safe and sustainable workplaces.
Live intelligence
We know what and how growth interventions are working locally and nationally. Strategic interventions are targeted to address key challenges and support high growth potential.
Global reach
More growth-ready, ambitious businesses are collaborating internationally. Increased collaboration with high-value createch-driven markets. More foreign direct investment into UK creative businesses.
Access to culture and creativity
More people have access to culture, creativity and creative-driven outputs and experiences because of creative industries innovation and growth. Creative industries drive a strong cultural economy.
Success measures
Success measures for the strategy include:
- increased investor-ready high growth potential companies
- more businesses accessing UK-wide technology, facilities, showcases
- new start-ups and university spin-outs, products, services, platforms and IP
- robust, world-leading creative IP and copyright guidance and frameworks
- more PhD graduates trained in creative R&D and createch
- new jobs in new creative disciplines and businesses
- new international collaborations in key markets
- more people accessing culture and creative outputs
Strategy focus areas
Createch
Increasing and expanding opportunities for businesses to engage and innovate with createch, in line with clearly defined industry needs and opportunities.
International
Exploiting national infrastructure and targeted R&D investment to grow opportunities in key overseas markets and for foreign direct investment.
Partnership
Working with the right partners across the funding and investment landscape, in local and national government and in the private sector to build a thriving R&D ecosystem.
Delivery
Our strategy is formed around five pillars which span the breadth of what we do as a funder. The five pillars are:
- scaling innovative companies
- infrastructure
- challenge-led and place-based R&D
- talent and skills
- policy and evidence for growth
There will be targeted investment against each pillar, and investment will be joined up across our portfolio, to ensure a streamlined pathway from R&D, via national infrastructure, through to growth and scale-up.
Figure 1: the five pillars delivering impact for the cultural and creative economy
Overview of the five strategy pillars for the Creative Industries strategy.
Our refreshed approach to investment will be longer-term, delivering greater stability. Key existing investments will be amplified, building on their strengths. New targeted interventions will be introduced to support businesses in the frontier industries to scale and become industry giants.
Robust governance mechanisms will be developed in line with UKRI-wide frameworks for investment in Industrial Strategy priority growth sectors. These will ensure organisation-wide alignment and strategic focus, alongside a focus on securing a strong return on investment.
By building on existing business-as-usual models and programmes we are able to be agile and deliver new and enhanced opportunities swiftly.
By working and partnering with others we will ensure that we deliver against our commitments as a funder and support delivery and success across the whole of the Creative Industries Sector Plan.
Learning from what works
Place-based investment in Creative Industries Clusters
Our Clusters have been fundamental to demonstrating the value and effectiveness of R&D-led growth in the creative industries. The first nine Clusters generated more than £5 of private and public co-investment for every £1 spent (in total £277 million).
Building ambitious national infrastructure
To date the £76 million Convergent Screen Technologies and Performance in Realtime (CoSTAR) infrastructure investment has secured almost £100 million in co-investment. It has engaged 1,115 companies, delivered 27 new products and processes, created 106 jobs and upskilled 809 people.
Robust and reliable evidence-building
Since its inception the Creative Industries Policy and Evidence Centre has produced more than 60 research papers and 38 policy briefings. Its evidence was central to the identification of the creative industries as a growth priority sector in the 2025 Industrial Strategy, and is cited throughout the Creative Industries Sector Plan.
Partnering to expand our reach and growth impacts
The first-of-its-kind Immersive Arts partnership between UKRI, Arts Council England, Creative Scotland, the Arts Council of Northern Ireland and the Arts Council of Wales, is enabling artists to exploit the potential of immersive tech. It’s providing new routes into research, development and innovation for creative practitioners.
Developing createch and AI skills for the future
The UKRI-funded Centre for Doctoral Training in AI for Digital Media Inclusion, hosted by the University of Surrey, is creating inclusive, intelligent digital media services for all through challenge-led PhD research training, co-designed with industry.
Growing the economy with business-led innovation
Over recent years UKRI has directly funded over 700 creative businesses to accelerate pathways from R&D and collaboration to investment access and international scaling. UKRI has directly supported every UK unicorn company, including Synthesia, Europe’s largest AI-media company valued at £2.1billion.