Social Science and Creativity - A British Academy Debate

Social Science and Creativity – Panel Discussion
British Academy and The Creative Exchange | London, 22 February 2012

Dr Beatriz Garcia
Head of Research
Institute of Cultural Capital
University of Liverpool

www.iccliverpool.ac.uk | www.beatrizgarcia.net

The rise and rise of ‘creativity’
• Creativity… the ‘in’ word for the new millennium
– Culture and regeneration was the focus for discussion in the 1980s and 1990s
– The notion of ‘creative cities’, ‘creative clusters’ emerged in the 1990s (Landry, Comedia...)
– Richard Florida introduced the notion of the ‘creative class’ in 2002 and became a ‘best-seller’
– By 2009, culture is not enough… we need ‘creative culture’, ‘creative arts’, ‘creative business’

• We are living a ‘creative turn’ in policy circles worldwide
– Everyone wants a ‘creative economy’. Creativity is perceived as the ultimate solution

• European Capital of Culture groomed as catalyst for Europe’s ‘creative turn’
– Glasgow 1990 offers an interesting case study : the city pioneered many of the narratives that are
common place today. It told its story well (myth-making?)
– Liverpool 2008 has re-appropriated the story in a more competitive context . The city has been
forced to ‘prove its case’ through a stronger evidence-base

• Challenge : the evidence base is still weak.
– Pressure to prove the ‘impact’ of cultural interventions through statistical indicators.
– The Impacts 08 programme was established to test the case, and combine quantitative indicator
assessment with qualitative narrative assessment.

Impacts 08 research framework |

inclusion, outreach, diversity
access &
creativity
production
cultural participation image & media coverage
consumption vibrancy perceptions people’s views

employment economy governance aims + strategy
objectives
visitor trends
& tourism & delivery policy,
investment

social physical
capital environment
equalities infrastructures
well-being public realm
quality of life sustainability


Liverpool | established representations
• Nationally
– Crime and violence, poverty, unemployment, health and education issues

Images being circulated
online around the time of the
bid 2002, early 2003


Liverpool | established representations
• Internationally
The Beatles, Football, the Waterfront


Constructing the ECoC | reimaging Liverpool


Capturing people’s experience of the city


AHRC/ESRC Impact Fellowship | Young adults (16-24)

Research by
Dr Tomke Lask
(2007-2009)


AHRC/ESRC Impact Fellowship | Cultural Producers
Cultural Company
Research by Dr Tomke Lask
(2007-2009)


Cultural producers

www.iccliverpool.ac.uk | www.beatrizgarcia.netCultural Producers | Research
by Tomke Lask (2007-2009)

www.iccliverpool.ac.uk | www.beatrizgarcia.net36-55 year olds | Research by
Tomke Lask (2007-2009)

www.iccliverpool.ac.uk | www.beatrizgarcia.net56-69 year olds | Research by
Tomke Lask (2007-2009)

Capturing media representations


The ECoC image cycle … 2007 Media controversies


The ECoC image cycle … 2008 Media boost


Volume of national coverage on Liverpool ECoC

Number and tone of national press articles mentioning the Liverpool ECoC

Source: Impacts 08 research


Thematic focus from bid announcement onwards

• Nationally, ECoC mainly presented as image and economic catalyst in 2003;
by 2008 – focus on cultural stories, wider image renaissance and leadership issues
• Locally, more emphasis on physical change ; though dramatic drop since 2005

• 2003 –economic & social focus (nationally); locally, the social dimension has grown since 2005
- 2007 – mainly focus on culture stories, then management (controversies?)
- 2008 – returns to trend in 2005 – culture, then image, then management, then social issues

Attitudinal trends (2003- 2008)
National Local

• Liverpool ECoC coverage has remained mainly positive
• Nationally, the peak was in 2003, locally, it has been in 2008
• 2007 to 2008 transition quite marked locally and nationally


Capturing creativity | Social scientist responsibilities
• New modes of interrogation | blurring boundaries between
researcher & subject of research
– Submersion into object of study
– Longitudinal commitment

• Interpreting data | bridging conventions
– Translating narratives into trends / numbers / visualisations
– Benchmarking narratives against comparable settings / data

• Research framework | interdisciplinary methods
– Overcoming artificial walls between social science & humanities
– Finding synergy / links with natural & environmental (physical) science


Impacts 08 reports | Cultural & Creative Narratives

Programme overview Economy and Tourism
•Impacts 08 Baseline Findings 2006-2007 (2007) - Doing Business in the ECoC (Part II): (2008)
•Impacts 08: Methodological framework (2010) - ECoC and Liverpool’s Developer Market: (2008)
•[Final Report] Creating an Impact (2010) -Tourism and the Business of Culture (2010)

Cultural Access and Participation
Image and Perceptions - Volunteering for Culture (2010)
- Media Impact Assessment (Part I) (2006) -Neighbourhood Watch (2010)
- Re-telling the City: exploring local narratives (2007)
- Liverpool 08 Centre of the Online Universe (2009) Cultural Vibrancy and Sustainability
- The Look of the City: Public Realm (2010) - Liverpool's Creative Industries (2009)
- Media Impact Assessment (Part II) (2010) -Liverpool’s Arts Sector (2009)

Governance and Delivery Process
- Who Pays the Piper? (2008)
-Liverpool on the map again (2010)

All reports available at:
www.iccliverpool.ac.uk | www.beatrizgarcia.netwww.impacts08.net

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