open09 turtle

Welcome to open09.

This Blog will start a conversation around the plethora of government interventions which are occurring across the Globe to help with the growth of creative industries.  I’m Jason Schupbach, the Creative Economy Industry Director for the state of Massachusetts in the U.S.  My position is the first of its kind in the States, but there’s a lot that’s been happening in our state for a while around the growth of the Creative Economy, but more on that later!

The goal of this blog is to create a space as part of open09 to have a conversation about what is happening globally around this type of government work.  I consider myself a nerd for this topic and do my best to follow along with what is happening, but there’s no way to keep track of it all, so I’m hoping you comment/send me potential things to post at Jason.Schupbach@gmail.com and also be sure to keep the conversations going on twitter at

twitter hash tag: #09gov4creat

I’ll do my best to summarize everything I hear on this blog before open09 starts.

So I’m going to cheat a bit on this first post and tell you about what we have been doing in Massachusetts to grow the creative economy:

Massachusetts defines the creative economy to include without limitation the many interlocking industry sectors that center on providing creative services such as advertising, architecture or creating and promoting intellectual property products such as arts, film, computer games, multimedia, or design.  Our Commonwealth is on the leading edge in supporting our cultural non-profits, individual artists, and creative industries, which we see as among the most important keys to economic development in the Commonwealth.

Many economic impact studies, including groundbreaking work done by the New England Foundation for the Arts, demonstrate that a strong creative sector translates directly to a strong economy – our creative economy’s economic impact is in the billions and well over 100,000 people are employed within it.  The creative economy also strengthens traditional economic sectors, creating new jobs in the technical, service and management areas, and helping to revitalize downtowns and attract new businesses and residents.

Massachusetts is unique in that it recognized the importance of the creative economy much earlier than many other regions of the United States.  Our revolutionary sprit has once again guided us well in the establishment of many local, regional and state-wide programs and initiatives that have supported the growth of this portion of our economy.

I. Policy: Creative Economy Council:
The Governor signed the Creative Economy Council Bill into law in October of 2008.  The Council is responsible for delivering to the legislature yearly reports on the best policies to support the growth of the Creative Economy.  You can access the legislation here.

Creative Economy Council has completed its first report to the legislature.  Feel free to download it.

II. Finding Jobs in the Creative Economy Click on the link to find websites which list Creative Economy Jobs.

III. Support for For-Profit Creative Industries:

Under Governor Patrick, the Commonwealth has launched a Creative Economy Initiative and appointed a Creative Economy Industry Director (Creative.Economy@state.ma.us, twitter @createma) in the Massachusetts Office of Business Development to work one-on-one with businesses. The Commonwealth has existing resources to help your creative business thrive can help you grow your business, including financing, site selection, export promotion, help for entrepreneurs, and tax incentives and more.

Industry Infrastructure:

Film, TV and Digital Media:

Massachusetts has a rapidly growing film, TV and digital media sector, with over 21 major film productions filming in the last few years and many more planned.

• Film Office: We work closely with the Massachusetts Film Office on policies and programs, including growing the local workforce.  Be sure to check out their links page to find out more about support organizations, regional publications and more.
• Film Tax Credit: A highly competitive tax incentive for film production and digital media companies. Key provisions include: a 25% credit on all spending in state, no sales tax on production spending, no caps and no limits, and no minimum budget requirement. The credit applies to digital media production as well.
• Film Studios: the State is working closely with the developers of over $640M in new production facility space across the state.

Design:

MA has an unusually high concentration of design talent that spans the fields of architecture, landscape and interior design, industrial and fashion design, graphic and interactive design, urban planning and more.  Design employs 44,500 Massachusetts residents who work as independent designers, as employees of the Commonwealth’s 3,100 design firms and as in-house designers in numerous industries.  Young talent comes to Massachusetts for a world-class design education (seven schools of architecture alone!) and stays on to work as design professionals in a range of innovation industries.  The network of designers, professional associations, design schools and global organizations such as the Design Management Institute, MIT MediaLab and the Institute for Human Centered Design make Massachusetts a hub of design excellence.

• Design Industry Group of Massachusetts (DIGMA):  Recently the state has invested in the creation of a new organization, DIGMA – Design Industry Group of Massachusetts, that connects the multidisciplinary design community with state policymakers and leading industries.  DIGMA’s industry research, web portal (www.digma.us) and design events raise the visibility of design and foster the growth of the state’s design economy.  Check out their page on other key Massachusetts design associations.

Videogames:

Massachusetts, home to the birth of the video game, has one of the largest digital game development communities in the world with 76 companies. Massachusetts also has some of the most active digital business networking clusters, which we are working closely with on the development of the sector,  including:

• Boston Post Mortem. Second largest Chapter of the IGDA meets every month.
• PoweringUpBoston.com. A virtual community to serve as a conduit for disseminating information and connecting the digital media/game industry.
• New England Game SIG. Series of quarterly business development meetings for gamers and a great blog.
• Massachusetts Technology Leadership Council Game Cluster The mission of the Digital Games Cluster is to raise awareness of the region’s Digital Games industry worldwide, engaging thought-leaders and resources, and to grow the game industry in Massachusetts by creating opportunities for new and existing companies.
• Massachusetts Innovation and Technology Exchange – One of the country’s largest digital technology industry associations dedicated to supporting the sector.

Advertising and Digital Advertising

Massachusetts has a strong advertising sector and has one of the world’s leading clusters of digital advertising.  We are working closely with the following local industry associations:

AdClub The Ad Club is the trade organization for marketing, advertising and communications in New England. Founded in 1904, the club serves as a community connector. Events steeped in tradition such as the Hatch Awards, the Rosoff Awards and the Gala Auction are the backbone of the club for the recognition and networking opportunities they provide to the community around New England.

Massachusetts Innovation and Technology Exchange. MITX today is the leading industry association in the country, bringing together digital technology, marketing and media professionals, to engage in what is next for the web and how it impacts the marketing and business worlds. With 250 plus member companies representing over 7,000 digital professionals, it is a dynamic and growing community of thought leaders, collaborators, and individuals in search of insight, education and opportunity.

IV. Support for NonProfits and Artists:

The Creative Economy also includes significant employment in nonprofit cultural organizations and self employment by talented individuals (including artists and designers), the State has resources for the growth and sustainability of these jobs from a number of other agencies and sources, including:

• The Massachusetts Cultural Council is a state agency that promotes excellence, access, education and diversity in the arts, humanities, and interpretive sciences to improve the quality of life for all Massachusetts residents and contribute to the economic vitality of our communities.  They provide:
  • organizational support grants for non-profit cultural organizations and grants for individual artists,
  • the Adams Arts Program for the Creative Economy funds projects that create jobs and income, revitalize downtowns, and draw visitors, and
  • The Massachusetts Cultural Council’s Cultural Facilities Fund provides Capital Grants and Feasibility and Technical Assistance Grants to promote the acquisition, design, repair, rehabilitation renovation, expansion, or construction of nonprofit cultural facilities in Massachusetts.
• ArtistLink, works with artists, artist groups, arts-minded organizations, real estate developers, municipalities, and other proponents to develop artist spaces. Also check out their page on ‘other artists resources’ for links to websites with information on grants, healthcare, and other resources.
• Matchbook.org New England’s online marketplace which sparks connections between artists, presenters and communities.
• The Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism’s and Regional Tourism Councils’ extensive work to grow and market the tourism industry in Massachusetts assists the growth in non-profits and artists audience.
• The Cultural Data Project , a powerful online financial management and reporting tool for arts and cultural organizations in Massachusetts. The Cultural Data Project will provide nonprofit cultural organizations across Massachusetts with an array of powerful tools to understand, analyze and report on their own financial situation.  It will make it easy for organizations to benchmark and compare their own data to aggregate information from other cultural organizations in the state.  And it will help the nonprofit cultural community to make its case – to board members, potential donors, advocates, and policy-makers – for investment in the sector.

V. Regional and/or Local State-Funded Creative Economy Initiatives

BerkshireCreative The mission of Berkshire Creative is to stimulate new job growth and economic opportunity in the region by sparking innovative collaborations between artists, designers, cultural institutions and businesses in the Berkshires.

CreateBoston Create Boston is focused on the simple fact that creativity is fuel for Boston’s economic engine. This is an economic development initiative of the Boston Redevelopment Authority, designed to help businesses rooted in creativity achieve their potential for success.

The Creative Economy Association of the North Shore CEANS is an advocacy organization promoting creative economy development on the North Shore.  It focuses on:  supporting creative enterprises with research, resources and programs;  bringing new creative enterprises to the area; fostering collaboration among CEANS members; and promoting business among CEANS members and the broader regional, national and global economy.

Worcester Cultural Coalition The Worcester Cultural Coalition is the unified voice of Worcester’s cultural community whose members are the leaders of the City’s sixty-plus arts and cultural institutions and organizations.