We were delighted to host a roundtable discussion on Creative and Cultural Industries research with leading UK academic, Professor Dave O’Brien.
Co-hosted with Creative Ireland and Research Ireland, together with high level stakeholders, the discussion explored how academic and sectoral-generated research can support Ireland’s creative and cultural development and future growth.
The event brought together senior government officials and cultural sector representatives to explore how Ireland can build a stronger evidence base for its creative and cultural industries. The session was led by Professor Dave O’Brien, University of Manchester, a leading expert on cultural and creative economy research.
Session focuses included:
- Surfacing existing research across Ireland’s creative subsectors, while identifying gaps in cultural data and mapping what is missing.
- Exploring how evidence can inform cultural policy and investment, and how partnerships across research, culture and government can be strengthened.
- Highlighting international best practices for cultural and creative research and considering how these approaches can be applied in Ireland.
Session was co-hosted by:
- Kerry McCall Magan, Country Director British Council Ireland
- Tania Banotti, Director of Creative Ireland
- Peter Brown, Director of Research Ireland
All three hosts currently serve on the UK’s Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) advisory board; shaping priorities for arts, culture and creative economy research.
About Professor Dave O’Brien
With a PhD in Urban Cultural Policy from the University of Liverpool, Professor Dave O’Brien has gone on to write widely on the cultural economy and policy. He is the co-author of Culture is Bad for You with Orian Brook and Mark Taylor, and led the AHRC-funded Panic! project on inequality in creative jobs, audiences and society. His policy contributions include the landmark Measuring the Value of Culture report and recent State of the Nations report for the UK’s Creative Policy and Evidence Centre (CPEC) entitled: Arts, Culture and Heritage: Audiences and Workforce.