Lisa Colley is the director of the Creative Industries Innovation Centre at the University of Technology, Sydney, set up under the Australian Government’s Enterprise Connect program.
The Australian Business Arts Foundation's (AbaF) Connect magazine asked Lisa about creative industries, the arts, and how the CIIC can help.
What is CIIC’s role and what progress has been made so far?
Our remit is to support Australia’s creative companies to increase productivity, efficiency and effectiveness.
The centre has a national network of business advisers who work with small-to-medium creative businesses. They undertake a comprehensive business review and recommend how to improve future growth and operations. All the advisers have a strong background in creative industries and solid business experience.
To date, our advisers have completed 65 business reviews with a further 100 in the pipeline – clearly we are having an impact on the creative SME sector.
To ensure that creative companies of all sizes can benefit, the CIIC runs support services and provides resources through UTS and with partner organisations. A key platform is www.creativeinnovation.net.au, a business resource website for creative practitioners and companies.
The CIIC has initiated a business accelerator program for high-potential creative businesses and is developing programs to provide access to enterprise education and training and research and technology. We support and provide a range of events on topics as varied as fashion, intellectual property, digital innovation and screen business.
What are “creative enterprises” and how large is this sector?
Creative industries include architecture, design and visual arts; advertising and marketing; film, TV and radio; music and performing arts; writing, publishing and print media; interactive content and games.
The Centre for International Economics (CIE) report (2009) found that in 2007 there were 100,000 businesses across these 13 industries.
How successful is Australia at developing and encouraging successful creative enterprises at home and internationally?
Considering the small size of Australia’s population, the impact of creative enterprises is immense. They contribute $31.1 billion towards GDP (2007-08 figure*). This is greater than agriculture and fishing; communications; accommodation and hospitality; and the supply of electricity-water-gas.
While creative industries are a significant contributor to the economy, this contribution is under-developed. The significance of creative industries to national innovation can be realised and new markets grown through greater interaction and connection between creative and non-creative sectors.
What kind of enterprises have been engaging with CIIC and what assistance is most important to them?
Businesses in the creative industries need assistance primarily in strategic business activities, advertising and marketing, human resources, financial management systems, internal systems and product and service development.
Working with our advisers has allowed our clients to identify opportunities for improvement and growth, and to create an achievable implementation plan.
As the former managing director of the National Folk Festival, Jared Wilkins, said: “The review is there to not only improve your business through pointing out weaknesses but also to improve your business by highlighting hidden strengths.”
I think creative companies appreciate the objectivity that our advisers bring to the table – just having someone else to look at your business from an outside perspective can be significant. The other major benefit is that our advisers tend to put creative businesses in touch with other opportunities, or access to funding, that they wouldn’t have known about before.
In practical terms, what do Australian creative businesses need to do, or to do better?
While government and business now recognise the value of creative companies, there remains a lack of understanding and awareness of the nature of this contribution at the company level.
Australia’s creative companies add value across a broad range of industry sectors – such as manufacturing, sustainability, health, education and beyond.
We aim to demonstrate to creative and non-creative companies the benefits that result from industry engagement, while also identifying new business opportunities, networks and markets. In 2010 this will include work on themes such as integrating design in manufacturing; the role of design in sustainable futures; digital and creative innovation in the National Broadband Network roll-out; and skills transfer and new markets for the interactive media workforce.
Which parts of the creative sector do you identify as having the greatest growth potential?
The advances in technology and digital marketplaces mean that all creative industries have an opportunity to take their business from a local to a global market. We are a small market here in Australia, so there is an opportunity to take advantage of the digital economy.
Creative companies that have a good understanding of who and where their market is, and have converted ideas into services and products, can develop new business models and digital strategies to reach their customers or audiences on a global scale.
An example of this is Portable, a Melbourne-based social media agency that has expanded its operations to New York. Portable balances client fee-for-service work with its own product offerings, such as the Portable Film Festival - www.portablefilmfestival.com.
Where do the arts fit in? How can arts organisations engage with CIIC?
The CIIC has engaged with a range of arts organisations around Australia – many have had a business review, such as the National Folk Festival. For those that don’t qualify for this service, visit www.creativeinnovation.net.au to access online support.
The important point for arts organisations to remember is that they are businesses too – even not-for-profits need a commercial focus in order to prosper. If you can’t re-invest in your organisation then often it’s difficult for it to continue.
Questions to ask include: Is your organisation looking at all the opportunities available and how would an entrepreneur view the business and the opportunities?
There is a need for arts organisations in Australia to look at new and online business models. By adopting new ways of doing business and getting to market, these organisations can diversify their income and strengthen their position, to reduce reliance on government funding and investment.
I would encourage arts organisations to contact us for a confidential discussion. Call the Enterprise Connect Hotline on 131 791, the CIIC head office 02 8217 5000, or visit www.enterpriseconnect.gov.au and www.creativeinnovation.net.au.
* According to the Creative Economy Report Card 2010 from the ARC Centre of Excellence for Creative Industries and Innovation
AbaF is a partner of the Creative Industries Innovation Centre.
This article was first published in the AbaF Connect magazine in June 2010.