Our creative industries will never reflect, nor benefit from, the full diversity of talent across the UK unless we address stubborn and systemic barriers to inclusion, including the vital issue of pathways, gateways and pipelines. I’m delighted to be working again with colleagues across both Houses, with sector partners and with the talented research team that delivered our Creative Majority report to take a practical yet aspirational approach to the challenge: identifying what works so that practitioners, providers and policymakers are empowered to drive the change that is long overdue.
Baroness Deborah Bull, Co-Chair of the APPG, Vice President, Communities & National Engagement and Senior Advisory Fellow for Culture at King’s College London
31 March 2022
King's and the APPG for Creative Diversity announce research project examining diversity and inclusion in the talent pipeline
The project, supported by YouTube and the Paul Hamlyn Foundation, is a collaboration between King’s, the APPG, University of the Arts London, the University of Sheffield and the Creative Industries Policy & Evidence Centre
In September 2021, the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Creative Diversity published Creative Majority: the culmination of 18 months of research, sector, and policy engagement, examining ‘What Works’ to enhance equity, diversity & inclusion in the creative sector. Through this work, it was suggested that more needed to be done to understand pathways into the creative workforce.
This follow-up project seeks to understand ‘What Works’ to support diversity in creative education and the talent pipeline, with a focus on the 16+ age category. This will include an examination of formal tertiary education and programmes that ‘work’ outside formal educational settings.
The project, which is expected to report in summer 2023 with recommendations for the creative industries, education providers and policymakers aims to deepen understanding of the ‘pipeline’ of new entrants from across the country and identify critical points for intervention to ensure the UK’s creative industries are inclusive and equitable.
I'm delighted that YouTube is partnering with the APPG for the next instalment of their important work in shaping the next generation of creative talent here in the UK. YouTube is enormously proud to be a platform that spotlights and nurtures a range of creative voices and storytellers who are able to build their audiences on a local, national and global level. The work being done by APPG examining the talent pipeline and looking at pathways for minority groups to find a way into the creative industries takes us one step closer towards a new era that truly recognises, celebrates and elevates voices from every corner of today’s diverse modern Britain.
Ben McOwen Wilson, Regional Director EMEA, YouTube UK
The core research team for this report brings together the experts in access and representation in the creative industries who authored the Creative Majority report, including Prof Dave O’Brien from the University of Sheffield and Drs Natalie Wreyford, Tamsyn Dent and Roberta Comunian from the Department of Culture, Media & Creative Industries in the Faculty of Arts & Humanities at King’s College London. Alex Pleasants and Joanna Abeyie MBE, co-secretariats of the APPG, will manage the project.
King’s College London is pleased to be part of the next phase of this important work, connecting researchers and industry to understand what’s needed to ensure a more just, equitable and inclusive creative workforce. Who gets to shape our creative content and cultural landscape matters - to us all - and that often starts with education and early access. We look forward to working with partners to create practical recommendations for the necessary systemic change.
Beatrice Pembroke, Executive Director, Culture, King’s College London
The APPG for Creative Diversity is co-chaired by Baroness Deborah Bull and Chi Onwurah MP with a number of prominent voices in the Commons and Lords supporting as vice-chairs and officers. These include Baroness Floella Benjamin, Lord Ed Vaizey, Baroness Jane Bonham-Carter, Rupa Huq MP and Helen Grant MP.
Roundtables will commence virtually in the coming months with evidence also gathered through a global literature review, analysis of ONS data and online submission. Please send your submissions of ‘What Works’ to support diversity and inclusion in the talent pipeline to: diversityappg@gmail.com.
