Links to Studies
"The Role of the Arts and Design in North Carolina's Economy: Clusters of Creativity," Regional Technology Strategies, Inc., April 2007.
<http://rtsinc.org/publications/pdf/NCClusters.pdf>
Only quite recently have cities, states, and regions begun to recognize the value and contributions of the arts. Although arts organizations have made the case for economic relevance for some time, it has taken the burgeoning specter of globalization to get the attention of regional economists, business schools, and state governments. The North Carolina Arts Council contracted with Regional Technology Strategies to help the state begin to better understand the arts not only as an amenity, but also as an engine for economic development and potential response to the effects of globalization.
"Arts, Culture, and Design in Rural North Carolina," Regional Technology Strategies, Inc., April 2007.
<http://rtsinc.org/publications/pdf/Rural_Arts.pdf>
Much of North Carolina's rural economy is being challenged by a rapid loss of employment in traditional manufacturing base. Newer technology-based industries such as biotechnology or information technologies hold some promise for rural areas but tend to be drawn to cities and are unlikely to replace many of the jobs that have been lost. North Carolina's rural areas have other aspects of their economies, however, that have been overlooked and perhaps neglected by past economic development practices because they do not lend themselves to standard forms of economic analysis. That is, the segment of the economy that has developed around particular creative and cultural assets of places and people. This creative element of rural economies contributes to growth in four ways: As local amenities that attract tourists, talent, and jobs and help retain youth; As products and services that reach external markets; As secondary income raising family incomes; As new, more sustainable, sources of competitive advantage for traditional companies.
"The Art of Economic Development: Community Colleges for Creative Economies," Regional Technology Strategies, Inc., March 2005.
<http://www.michigan.gov/documents/hal/ced_art_econ_dev_179033_7.pdf>
Community colleges have been renowned for supporting new and expanding industries, keeping the pipeline filled with new workers, and upgrading skills of incumbent workers. Embedding the arts and culture in the community, business, and social milieu can be a significant advantage in the global marketplace for talented people and high quality jobs, and it can provide the distinguishing features that give a place an identity that can drive economic development.
"Using Local Creativity and Entrepreneurship to Build Family-Supporting Jobs in North Carolina," HandMade in America, March 2008.
<http://www.aecf.org/KnowledgeCenter/Publications.aspx?pubguid={20DF378D-FDB0-4B04-9AEB-AA38A3DA3CD4}>
Rather than focus on luring outside industry, [residents of western North Carolina] are redeveloping their economy from within and building on their strengths by expanding their long-standing crafts industry as well as agriculture and tourism. Partnering with local communities and organizations in a region-wide effort, HandMade in America has been involved in a variety of projects across a 23-country area to help craftspeople, farmers, and very small business owners improve their livelihoods.
"New Gentry: Wealthy Folks Are Colonizing Rural America," Conor Dougherty, Wall Street Journal, January 19, 2008.
<http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120069319738001353.html>
The word "gentrification" conjures up images of once-poor urban neighborhoods invaded by cappuccino bars and million-dollar condos. Now, broad swaths of rural America -- from New England to the Rocky Mountain West -- are being gussied up, too.
"The Creative Class: A Key to Rural Growth," David A. McGranahan, Timothy R. Wojan, Amber Waves, U.S. Department of Agriculture Economic Research Service, April 2007.
<http://www.ers.usda.gov/AmberWaves/April07/Features/Creative.htm>
The creative-class thesis--that towns need to attract engineers, architects, artists, and people in other creative occupations to compete in today's economy--may be particularly relevant to rural communities, which tend to lose much of their talent when young adults leave for college, the Armed Forces, or "city lights." The creative class lives mostly in urban settings, but is also found in rural areas with mountains, lakes, and other rural amenities.
"Arts Employment is Burgeoning in Some Rural Areas," Tim Wojan, Amber Waves, U.S. Department of Agriculture Economic Research Service, November 2007.
<http://www.ers.usda.gov/AmberWaves/November07/Findings/ArtsEmployment.htm>
The "art scene" is commonly associated with the largest cities, like New York, Los Angeles, and San Francisco. Indeed, arts employment is high in these and other major U.S. cities. However, ERS research confirms that, increasingly, the arts are concentrating in other, less populated areas throughout the country, including small, completely rural counties. The emergence of these nontraditional arts magnets, especially since 1990, demonstrates the ability of some rural areas to attract creative talent and is related to the growing number of initiatives promoting rural cultural tourism.
"Straight-up pickin' on The Crooked Road," Jayne Clark, USA Today, August 7, 2006.
<http://www.usatoday.com/travel/destinations/2006-08-03-crooked-road_x.htm>
The Crooked Road's music sprang from the meeting of the African banjo and the European violin in the early settlements of Tidewater Virginia. It evolved as settlers migrated west across the Blue Ridge. "It's not just something in the past," agrees Bill Hartley of Bristol's Birthplace of Country Music Alliance. "It's still very much a part of the culture, and that's what keeps it going. The music still resonates. I can't think of many other kinds of music today where people will be listening to it 50, 60, 70 years from now."
"Embracing Creativity," Slater Barr. Economic Development Journal, Spring 2008.
<No Link Available, Please see journal.>
An inclusive, broad-based planning process in Carrollton, Georgia addressed community problems holistically, recognizing the interplay among social, economic, and environmental issues. Involving the creative class in the process of planning a better community is, in itself, an amenity that nurtures their attraction and commitment to a place.
"Berkshire Creative Economy: A Report to the Berkshire Economic Development Corporation," Mt. Auburn Associates, March 2007.
<http://www.berkshireedc.com/pdf/1173710758.pdf>
The Berkshire Creative Economy Project focuses on the creative cluster comprising nonprofit institutions, individual artists and commercial businesses that produce and distribute creative products and services. The Creative Economy Project identifies how the region can leverage its richness of cultural and artistic assets to help grow the regional economy.
"Quality of Place and Job Growth: A New and Needed Maine Investment Strategy," Second Report of the Governor's Council on Maine's Quality of Place, May 6, 2008 (p. 9).
<http://efc.muskie.usm.maine.edu/docs/QOPreport2.Full.Text.pdf>
Historically, we [Maine] focused on needed investment in jobs and equipment, in the fond hope this would bring a high quality of life as a secondary benefit. Today, we know it works both ways: when we safeguard and strengthen our quality places, we increase the likelihood of attracting the investment and people we need. In fact, unless we protect those places, the investment and people are likely to come not at all!
"The University and the Creative Economy," Richard Florida, Gary Gates, Brian Knudsen, and Kevin Stolarick, 2006.
<http://creativeclass.com/rfcgdb/articles/University_andthe_Creative_Economy.pdf>
Universities affect talent both directly and indirectly. They directly attract faculty, researchers and students, while also acting as indirect magnets that encourage highly educated, talented and entrepreneurial people and firms to locate nearby, in part to draw on universities' many resources. The regions and universities that are able to simultaneously bolster their capabilities in technology, talent and tolerance will realize considerable advantages in generating innovations, attracting and retaining talent, and in creating sustained prosperity and rising living standards for their people.
"Innovation Nation," Department for Innovation, Universities & Skills, March 2008.
<http://www.dius.gov.uk/publications/innovation-nation.html>
This report was presented to the English Parliament by the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities & Skills, the Chancellor of the Exchequer and the Secretary for Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform. The report set as a goal the idea that Great Britain would become "the leading place in the world to become a creative business (or) public sector organization." According to their analysis, the creative sector is growing at twice the rate of other industries in Great Britain, producing $200 billion a year in products and services.
"Finding Rural America's Prosperous Communities," Bill Bishop. Daily Yonder, November 1, 2007.
<http://www.dailyyonder.com/finding-rural-americas-prosperous-communities>
What if we didn't assume that growth was good? What if we looked for rural places that were prosperous instead? What would we find?
North Carolina School of the Arts, Center for Design Innovation.
The Center for Design Innovation fosters cross-disciplinary research and entrepreneurial activity related to design and innovation, provides educational programming focused on design and innovation, and acts as a design-based business cluster accelerator to make the Piedmont Triad Region of North Carolina a recognized center of design across the country.
"Financing Creative Communities," Creative Communities Initiative, 2007.
<http://www.creative-enc.com/finance.cfm>
Financing a project is an important component to implementing a project. In order to have a successful project there must be leadership, vision, perseverance, performance measures, financial resources and public support. The success of a project depends on the ability of key stakeholders to collaborate and coalesce on a vision for the community.
"A Search for Jobs in Some of the Wrong Places," Richard Florida, USA Today, February 12, 2006.
<http://www.usatoday.com/news/opinion/editorials/2006-02-12-bush-jobs_x.htm>
While the U.S. economy will add more than 1 million computer and engineering jobs, health care and education are expected to generate more than three times as many jobs, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. But, prefer a more artistic career? Our economy is poised to create new forms of entertainment, from rock 'n' roll and hip-hop to film and video games. Indeed, over the next 10 years, jobs in art, music, culture and entertainment will grow twice as many as jobs in engineering will.
"Fueling the New Creative Economy," Robert O'Neill Jr., Governing, November 28, 2007.
<http://www.governing.com/mgmt_insight.aspx?id=4592>
Bob O'Neill, executive director of the International City/County Management Association (ICMA), recently wrote an interesting column in which he identified eight insights learned from communities that have, or hope to build, diversified, successful economies: 1) Recognize worldwide competition 2) Play to existing strengths 3) Partner with initiators and accelerators to develop creativity 4) Support institutions such as workforce training centers and community colleges 5) Leverage connections to other regions and networked approaches 6) Employ social networking and marketing 7) Use basic infrastructures and regulatory flexibility to support creativity 8) Create sustainable, eco-friendly communities that attract creative companies and people.
"States and the Creative Economy," State Policy Briefs: Tools for Arts Decision Making, National Assembly of State Arts Agencies, 2005.
<http://www.nasaa-arts.org/artworks/creative_econ_brief.pdf>
Every state strives to support the prosperity and productivity of its people and its communities. Economic forces of all kinds- from the decline in manufacturing and agriculture, to the recent recession, to an increasingly mobile and older population- are prompting states to seek innovative economic development strategies that produce results. An increasing number of states are recognizing a creative sector approach as a useful and timely part of the solution to a changing economy. The study provides a starting point for North Carolina to consider new ways that the arts can simultaneously boost regional economies, create job opportunities, and improve qualities of life.
