DUOInnovation
Growing our region’s creative potential A new report into the creative industries in Townsville has provided an insight into this growing sector and its untapped potential for our city. THE Growing the Creative Industries in Townsville study, a two-year collaboration between Townsville City Council and James Cook University, has taken a close look at existing creative industry businesses in the city, their clients and the current supply and demand of services. It has found there is a great potential for growth with huge flow-on benefits for the city. Mayor Jenny Hill said while those involved in the creative industries were already key contributors to our local economy, growing and engaging with that sector could lead to significant investment and job creation. “As Townsville continues to expand, we need to look at opportunities to further diversify our economy,” Cr Hill said. “Townsville City Council has long supported investment in our local arts scene, believing it not only contributes greatly to the cultural life of our city, but also has the potential to positively impact our region’s economy. “Thanks to the digital revolution, the creative industries sector is one of the leading areas of economic growth in Australia and we need to ensure Townsville is taking full advantage of opportunities for new jobs and investment that comes our way.” Sectors surveyed included architecture, design, advertising and marketing, software and digital content and film. JCU’s Professor Ryan Daniel, Chief Research Investigator, said creative industries were a key part of the future economy and digital age and Townsville had an opportunity to lead the way for northern Australia. “Analysis of the supply and demand of our local creative industry has revealed in this research that more can be done to support creative service providers as a sector towards diversifying Townsville’s business and economic opportunities,” he said. “One of the many things we have learned is that there are a number of highly qualified and experienced creative professionals in the area, who also face some big challenges in their professional development and competition with firms outside of the area – mainly down south. “Local creative professionals must work hard to remain at the cutting edge of technology – and the data suggests they do.”
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DUOMagazine February 2016
The report found that while the region was widely regarded as having the skills and expertise, around 22% of business was lost out of the area, including larger, higher paying jobs. The report makes a series of key recommendations for promoting growth within the sector. Importantly it outlines actions that are the responsibility of individuals and businesses in the local creative industries. These include forming an advocacy group to provide a voice for the sector, pursuing partnerships with other creative industry practitioners and promoting the unique characteristics of the local industry. Actions such as these are designed to address barriers associated with scale and distance experienced by the industry and enable businesses to bid on larger projects and expand their client base. The recommendations also outline a key role for Townsville City Council with six key points aimed at driving sector growth including: • T he formation of industry clusters and/or an innovation precinct in a strategic city-based location • Profiling high quality practitioners and further branding Townsville as a creative destination • Support for and leadership in attracting new investment from external parties • Support for using local specialists as preferred suppliers across the broader economy • Support for presenting innovation workshops, trade events and industry promotion activities specific to the creative industries • Development of a creative industries strategy. Since the release of the report a call has been put out to local creative industry businesses to establish a representative group to implement the recommendations. The group will meet early in 2016 to establish an action plan outlining key timelines and responsibilities. The full report is available on the council’s website townsville.qld.gov.au or at www.creativeindustries.socajcu.com/events/