Economics of Cultural Leadership 2008-10

This report was commissioned by the Cultural Leadership Programme to examine a range of impact measures for its work. Setting the CLP in the broader economic context of the creative and cultural industries in UK, it looks to analyse the range of economic impacts created by the initiative and particularly focuses on potential connections between organisational engagement with the CLP, and improved financial outcomes for organisations.

Clearly, measuring the impact of an organisation such as CLP on a whole sector is conceptually complex – and measuring economic impact is no exception. There have been a number of attempts to enumerate the different links in a chain of economic impact in the creative and cultural sector, including models developed by the Work Foundation in 2007, and Frontier Economics in 2007.  Both of which examine multiple forms of economic outcome, including building ‘social capital’ through networking, raising ‘human capital’ through developing individuals, improving the performance of individual organisations within the sector, and raising the economic impact of the sector on the UK economy.

This report details key findings, particularly looking at: the demand for cultural leadership; the impact on the individuals; the impact on organisations; and the cost-benefit analysis - according to this research, for organisations spending at least £1,000 over two years on CLP activities and programmes, there is a £1:£4.20 cost-benefit ratio to that investment. The report concludes that for CLP to build on its significant successes to date and have the maximum impact on the sector, they should consider the following recommendations: create economic targets aligning to CLP objectives; encourage participants – and organisations – to develop a clearer sense of financial responsibility for leadership development; extend the focus on creative entrepreneurs; focus on innovation in the sector and beyond; amplify the current research activity; and undertake regional ring-fencing or to at least maintain its current regional balance.