Investment Strategies in the Arts and Creative Industries: Perspectives from a Growing Specialization
The cultural and creative sectors are set to take centre stage in the world of impact investing, according to a new report titled "Impact Investing in the Cultural and Creative Sectors: Insights from an emerging field." The report, published by the Creative Industries Policy and Evidence Centre (Creative PEC), explores the current state of and potential for impact investing in these sectors.
Authored by Francesca Sanderson, Seva Phillips, and David Maggs, the report identifies a burgeoning movement of investing for impact in the cultural and creative sectors globally. It highlights the strong potential of these sectors for social impact, including fostering social inclusion, cultural preservation, innovation, and economic development.
However, the report notes that these sectors often face barriers such as limited access to finance, especially for small and informal creative enterprises, and insufficient tailored investment products and knowledge among investors. Impact investing, with its focus on generating social and environmental benefits alongside financial returns, can help address these gaps by providing blended finance solutions, capacity-building, and supporting sustainable business models that combine cultural value with economic viability.
The report offers several key recommendations for stakeholders in the cultural and creative sectors. Governments and policymakers are encouraged to develop supportive policies that strengthen intellectual property rights, create enabling regulatory frameworks, and recognise the sectors as strategic economic sectors. Investors and financial institutions are advised to design and promote innovative financial instruments that meet the unique needs of cultural and creative businesses, with attention to measuring both impact and financial performance.
Creative entrepreneurs and organisations are encouraged to build capacity to access and utilise impact investment capital effectively, including improving business skills, financial literacy, and impact measurement. Intermediaries and support organisations are tasked with facilitating networking, knowledge exchange, and technical assistance that bridges the gap between impact investors and cultural stakeholders, promoting best practices and scalability.
These recommendations aim to help unlock more impact investment in the cultural and creative fields, enabling these sectors to better contribute to economic, social, and cultural development.
While the report does not appear to be directly related to international trade, immigration, or accessing foreign talent in the creative industries, it is essential reading for cultural and creative sector practitioners and entrepreneurs, public and private funders and investors in these sectors, and policymakers looking to stimulate new funding paradigms for the cultural and creative sector.
The launch events for these report will take place on 28-29 November, covering all time zones, and will feature editors, experts from impact investment and the cultural and creative sectors, and Q&A sessions with attendees. Full details and access to the recordings of these launch events can be found at https://figurative.org.uk/news/new-report-launched-impact-investing-in-the-cultural-and-creative-sectors/.
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- The cultural and creative sectors are gaining significant attention in the realm of impact investing, as evidenced by a new report titled "Impact Investing in the Cultural and Creative Sectors: Insights from an emerging field."
- This report, published by the Creative Industries Policy and Evidence Centre (Creative PEC), reveals a global movement of impact investing in arts, emphasizing their potential for social impact.
- The sectors' capacity for fostering social inclusion, cultural preservation, innovation, and economic development is highlighted in the report.
- Despite their potential, these sectors often face barriers, such as accessing finance, with small and informal creative enterprises often being disadvantaged.
- Impact investing, with its focus on generating social and environmental benefits in addition to financial returns, can help fill these gaps.
- The report recommends that governments and policymakers create supportive policies, strengthen intellectual property rights, and recognize cultural and creative sectors as strategic economic sectors.
- Investors and financial institutions are advised to design and promote tailored financial instruments catering to cultural and creative businesses, while integrating impact measurement.
- Creative entrepreneurs are encouraged to build their capacity to effectively access and utilize impact investment capital, with a focus on improving skills, financial literacy, and impact measurement.
