Image Credit: Fredrick Tendong
Richard Naylor
Director, Research
Richard Naylor is a world leading expert in research methodologies for the culture and the creative industries, having been an early innovator in the development of frameworks for measuring the economic and social impacts of cultural activities.
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LOCATION
Europe
CLIENT
ukie
SECTOR
Projects Sectors
Our review of the video games sector in the West Midlands, sponsored by the Coventry & Warwickshire Local Enterprise Partnership and Ukie, has been published.
Focusing on the established cluster of games businesses around Leamington - known as ‘Silicon Spa’ - it develops a ‘blueprint for growth’ of the sector across access to finance, skills training, education, development of eSports, and promoting ‘games as culture’ to engage young people to study computing.
Some of our key findings were:
The West Midlands’ Games Sector is a 21st century growth industry. Around 130 of the UK’s best games businesses are based in the West Midlands, creating, highly skilled, productive jobs and opportunities throughout the region. The games industry in the West Midlands generated an estimated £224 million in GVA in 2015 and employed around 3,500 people.
The global video games industry is an economic and cultural success story – but despite the health of the industry at a ‘macro’ level, difficulties in accessing development finance and talent make life harder than ever for smaller games developers.
Increasing competition in the console games market – still the most profitable sector, despite the growth of mobile games – leads to higher budgets for both production and marketing, increasing risk for medium and large developers.
Games are an example of ‘digital manufacturing’, requiring and developing a blend of transferable 21st century skills. Making games is a fusion of art, design, programming, data analysis, science, maths – all skills transferable to other sectors. The process of developing games creates innovation in technology and tools for their manufacture – many of which are transferable to other sectors.
eSports is the biggest spectator sport you have never heard of. A form of competitive team-based multi-player gaming watched by live, TV and online audiences, by 2019, eSports will be a billion-dollar industry.
The interrelationship between history and culture, quality and technological innovation are the drivers of the dynamism and competitiveness of ‘Silicon Spa’. To allow the cluster to ‘punch its weight’ and act as a driver for regional competitiveness and growth, the factors that drive the international standing and competitiveness of Silicon Spa need to be differentiated from widespread and generalised growth of the creative industries in the region and celebrated as one of the UK’s leading digital manufacturing clusters.
The full report can be downloaded below.
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ABOUT US
EXPERTISE
A global research and consulting practice for culture and the creative economy
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BOP Consulting, in collaboration with Raybel Charters and Santra Consulting, was commissioned by the National Lottery Heritage Fund, the National Heritage Memorial Fund (NHMF), together with National Historic Ships-UK (NHS-UK) to conduct a research study on the current state and needs of the UK’s historic ships sector.
Future Proofing Heritage
National Lottery Heritage Fund
Our report for the British Arts Festivals Association paints a picture of a resilient sector that is surviving rather than thriving.
Festivals Forward
BAFA
BOP Consulting was appointed to outline a pilot for a Creative Worker Income Guarantee for Brighton & Hove, working on behalf of the University of Sussex and the ABCD Cultural Recovery Programme.
Cultural, Creative and Collective Recovery: Exploring a Creative Worker Income Guarantee
University of Sussex
The report on how global cities tackle climate change with cultural policies and programmes. Insights from the World Cities Culture Forum's latest report.
The Green World Cities of Tomorrow: Culture and Sustainability – Special Report Prepared for WCCF Global Conversation
World Cities Culture Forum (WCCF)
Unique case guide is co-produced with the participating cities of WCCF, highlighting city examples and a global cities approach to evidenced-based policymaking.
Culture Counts: New Approaches to Evidence Based Cultural Policymaking in World Cities
World Cities Culture Forum (WCCF)
Working alongside CRAIC, a new research and collaboration centre at Loughborough University, we conducted an extensive survey of virtual production assets throughout the United Kingdom to map the country’s growing ecosystem.
Mapping the UK's Virtual Production Ecosystem
Loughborough University
The World Cities Culture Report (WCCR) 2022 builds on the ground-breaking 2018 and 2015 Reports. It gives insights on the major challenges world cities facing.
World Cities Culture Report 2022
World Cities Culture Forum (WCCF)
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BOP's contribution to the 2nd edition of the report UNESCO's Global Creativity Report, examining policies safeguarding the creative and cultural sectors.
UNESCO's Re|Shaping Policies for Creativity Report – Addressing culture as a global public good
UNESCO
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BOP’s updated Handbook for the Inter-American Development Bank sets out strategies for sustainability and urban resilience
Creative and Cultural Industries and Urban Revitalisation in the post-COVID era
Inter-American Development Bank - IDB
We investigated the potential impact of AI for European cultural and creative businesses. Explore the transformative opportunities AI brings to industries.
Opportunities and Challenges of AI for the Cultural and Creative Industries
European Commission
Research in the Gulf Co-operation Council States in collaboration with British Council and BOP Consulting helps identify opportunities for festival development.
An evidence-base for the growing Gulf festivals sector
British Council
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BOP’s report on creating a healthy night-time economy for the Nanjing City Government demonstrates the importance of cross-cutting policies.
Creating Healthy Night-time Economies in World Cities
Nanjing Creative Center
Findings from our work at Great Ormond Street Hospital reveals how visual arts enhance the patient, visitor, and staff experience.
Creativity in health settings
GOSH Arts
Our new report for UNESCO sets out the huge global impact of COVID-19 on the cultural sector. We estimate $750 billion lost for the CCI and 10 million job cuts.
Economic impact of COVID-19 on the Cultural and Creative Industries
UNESCO
New handbook 'Making Space for Culture' explores how world cities address the challenge of preserving cultural infrastructure while promoting growth.
How can cities make space for culture?
World Cities Culture Forum (WCCF)
Our research for the National Trust suggests approximately 3,000 Grade II buildings at risk in urban areas and discusses the impact on heritage and communities.
Protect urban heritage to prevent growth in inequality
National Trust
Our review of the Scottish Animation Sector, commissioned by Creative Scotland, has just been published
Review of the Scottish Animation Sector
Creative Scotland
UK-wide study of visitor experience practice provides new benchmarks for cultural and visitor attractions
Sharing Operations and Visitor Experience insight
VE:Forum
Our ‘blueprint for growth’ strategy has just been published for the video games sector in the West Midlands.
What's next for a video games cluster?
ukie
