Report 3: The Hub as Organisational Model in the Creative Economy: Core Learning from the AHRC Creative Economy Hubs programme

This Report is the final of three commissioned in late 2015 by the Directors of the AHRC Creative Economy Hubs. Together, they follow on from a preliminary report into the Hubs’ activities published in early 2016 (titled Connecting to Innovate), further developing its focus on core Learning from the Hubs programme. To this end, the three reports bring together findings from observation work, data gathering exercises, and semi-structured interviews conducted between January 2015 and May 2016. Working with core Hub team members and selected project participants, these activities sought to identify, understand, and document the Hubs’ experience of working in the creative economy. The three reports were completed in January 2017. It is hoped that this articulation of core learning from the Hubs programme may prove informative for future HEI strategy in this arena.
This third report explores the organisational implications of the creative Hub as an active gearing mechanism between university and creative economy work. It addresses the need to strike the right balance between HEI-embeddedness and Hub-autonomy in building a Hub identity that can drive HEI culture change, foster cross-HEI regional cooperation, and effect influence beyond core Hub networks. This report will underscore the value of understanding creative Hubs not as infrastructure, but as adaptive and process-based entities.
In the series, Report One discussed the rich potential for arts and humanities-led work in the creative economy as revealed by the four AHRC Hubs. The innovation strategies behind this work were analysed in Report Two, revealing the emergence of a common innovation framework for Hub activity in the creative economy. Success in implementing an innovation strategy is dependent on the right Hub structure and culture being put in place, the subject of this third report.