Revolution or Refresh?

As Joanna Birch's launch article highlighted, there are several excellent examples of interagency and intercompany collaboration. There is a great sense of community among 'creatives' and in particular among Birmingham's legion of digital experts and enthusiasts. Whilst there are 'mash ups' around ever corner in the sector I believe we need more intrasector collaboration and understanding.
For all the excellent work of public bodies including Advantage West Midlands, Birmingham City Council, Screen West Midlands and Business Link (which work together more effectively than almost any other region) and the efforts of many creative leaders and entrepreneurs, there is still a cultural gap between what might be described as the Custard Factory and Colmore Row communities.
Meanwhile, appreciation of creativity and digital does not reach into every corner of the Council House and other parts of the public sector (there I was desperately trying to avoid references to #bccwebsite...fail!).
So, when it comes to creativity, we face a cultural problem. We need to go further to embed creativity into the wider business community and public fabric.
The Work Foundation's report 'Staying Ahead: the economic performance of the UK's creative industries' touched on the importance of creativity beyond its own sector. If Birmingham's creative talent is to revolutionise the UK economy, they will have to do it through every sector of business and industry, not just creative companies.
It's time to re-articulate the case for Birmingham as a creative capital. Back in the early 2000s, Birmingham: Creative City was the shiny new toy. Those arty and clever computer types were going to be the answers to Birmingham's economic problems. As well as wealth creation, the creative industries would also help our image, visitor economy, attractiveness to investors and students as well as supporting social policy objectives. That job is far from finished. Environmental and medical technologies, modern manufacturing, financial services and many more industries have and are changing the face of our economy, but that does not mean the time for backing creative industries has passed.
With the 'c' word hanging over public spending, the case for further interventions and support from the public purse will need to be clearer and stronger than ever (and I don't disagree with many of the points made by Steff Aquarone in this space recently). Some degree of continued public support is needed to assist in the growth of this sector, particularly in areas like skills development, business advice and more importantly than ever in accessing finance.
Can the creative industries revolutionise the UK economy? Creativity can certainly play a big role, but (to paraphrase a slogan) we need to do even more locally to ensure our creative heart is connected to all parts alongside establishing Birmingham as a truly global creative city.
The Creative Birmingham Board, which Urban advises, has commissioned its second Making the Business Case report, funded by Birmingham City Council and undertaken by BOP Consulting. We are only half way through but as with all research outputs, it looks like there will be bright spots as well as 'can do better' elements in the final report. It's already clear that digital media, from software and computer games to web design to production, has been at the heart of Birmingham's creative growth over recent years and will only increase in importance.
The case for Birmingham's creative sector - and its potential to revolutionise the UK economy - is a little like a webpage using archived material from the cache. It's time for a refresh.

Kevin Johnson is Managing Director of strategic communications consultants, Urban
Communications Limited.