The Creative Economy
The creative economy looks at creativity as an output that intersects job fields, rather than isolated to particular industries. Adopting an ecosystems lens, the creative economy recognizes the connections between fields such as education, arts, culture, and innovation, rather than viewing them in isolation. It maps the interdependence of these as unique drivers of direct and indirect economic outputs.
Adopting this lens leads to a fundamental reassessment of the role creativity plays in areas ranging from education to industrial design, to organizational theory. We use the UK’s National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts (Nesta) view of the creative economy, which looks at creativity at the occupational level rather than the industry level. This allows us to gain a more accurate understanding of the economic role creativity plays and allows us to better understand how creativity permeates every industry, whether it is in medicine, oil and gas, or technology.
A Creative Economy Playbook
In 2021, CityXLab participated in the creation of an ecosystem report exploring Calgary’s creative economy alongside partners from Calgary Arts Development, Bird Creatives, RISE UP Calgary, Calgary Economic Development, and The City of Calgary.
Despite its significant economic, social, human, and environmental contributions to our region, Calgary’s creative economy is underleveraged and overlooked due to a creative ecosystem that is fragmented and inefficient. This report explored key questions:
What is the scope of Calgary’s creative economy?
What additional macro-level trends have implications for Calgary’s creative economy?
What is our vision for Calgary’s creative economy and how can we enhance community prosperity in partnership with creative economy participants?
What are strategic priorities to deliver on this vision?
What implications do these strategic priorities have on civic organizations in our community?