BRADFORD DISTRICT CREATIVE AND DIGITAL
INDUSTRIES SECTOR DEVELOPMENT
Draft Report to
Date:
Ref:
ewlocations.com
City of Bradford MDC
January 2014
BFDMDC-YORE-96NHYN
Bradford District CDI Sector Development
January 2014
Table of Contents
Bradford District Creative and Digital Industries Sector Development ..............................................1
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ...................................................................................................................1
Project Aims ...............................................................................................................................1
Profile of Creative and Digital Industries ....................................................................................1
Future Trends and Opportunities ...............................................................................................3
Key Findings ...............................................................................................................................8
Key Recommendations .............................................................................................................11
1.0
INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................13
1.1
The Growth Opportunity of Creative and Digital Industries ..........................................13
1.2
Creative and Digital in Inward Investment Terms .........................................................16
2.0
DATA ANALYSIS OF THE CREATIVE AND DIGITAL SECTOR .................................................19
2.1
DCMS Based Creative Industries in Bradford ................................................................19
2.2
A Broader Definition .....................................................................................................21
3.0
CDI SECTOR PESTLE ANALYSIS...........................................................................................23
3.1
Political and Economic Issues .......................................................................................23
3.2
Social / Technology Issues ............................................................................................24
3.3
Legal / Environmental Issues ........................................................................................26
3.4
Creative And Digital Industries In Bradford - SWOT ......................................................27
4.0
BUSINESS CONSULTATIONS & SECTOR DEVELOPMENT ISSUES.........................................28
4.1
General Sector Issues ...................................................................................................28
4.2
Business Growth Issues ................................................................................................28
5.0
PROJECT THEMES AND RECOMMENDATIONS ..................................................................33
5.1
Connecting Bradford Theme .........................................................................................34
5.2
Investment Landscape Theme - Funding ......................................................................36
5.3
Investment Landscape Theme – Inward Investment.....................................................38
5.4
Under-Utilised Resources Theme..................................................................................39
ANNEX 1 CREATIVE AND DIGITAL INDUSTRIES SECTOR DEFINITIONS..................................................i
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Bradford District CDI Sector Development
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
PROJECT AIMS
This report reflects the findings of a project focused on Creative and Digital Industries (CDI) in
Bradford commissioned by The City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council. The project’s aims
were to investigate the sector’s main activities in Bradford, understand key changes and future
developments relevant to businesses in the sector and, through a series of local and national
consultations, recommend initiatives and projects that can help further develop and grow
businesses active in the sector.
Recommendations for future actions are included in the main report and at the end of this
Executive Summary.
PROFILE OF CREATIVE AND DIGITAL INDUSTRIES
The official definition of the CDI sector has been developed nationally by the Department for
Culture, Media and Sport using official industrial classification codes. This definition includes the
following broad activities;
•
Advertising
•
Architecture
•
Art and antiques
•
Crafts & Design
•
Designer fashion
•
Video, film and photography
•
Music and the visual and performing arts
•
Publishing
•
Software, Computer Games & Electronic Publishing
•
Digital and Entertainment Media (including radio and television)
As the use of digital technologies by a large number of non CDI businesses fall outside of the
official definition a broader classification is necessary to adequately trap the influence of digital in
Bradford. In future, this will become even more the case given the use of digital technologies
across almost all manufacturers in designing, making and marketing their products.
An example of this would be the inclusion in the official definition of fashion designers but the
omission of any digital inputs that occur in the supply chain of designers. In Bradford a local
company operate a (part digital) design function as part of their wool weaving business. This firm
is not identified as involved in the digital industries when using the DCMS definition of the sector.
Other Bradford companies as diverse as a large furniture manufacturer and specialist automotive
designers and trimmers integrate computer aided design inputs heavily into their day to day work
and would also fall outside of the traditional view of the CDI sector.
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It is therefore necessary to take a broader view of the activities in Bradford’s creative and digital
industries in order to include the rapidly increasing wider use of digital technologies in almost all
businesses regardless of their principal recorded activity.
Using a more technology based definition there are 1,100 businesses recorded as working mainly
in the CDI sector within Bradford by official data on business activity. These businesses create
some 8,100 jobs in Bradford, split as follows;
Table 1: Creative and Digital Industries (ICT/Digital Media) in Bradford, 2011
ICT & Digital Media
Employment
of which;
ICT Manufacturing
ICT Services
Telecommunications
Digital Media Content Creation
BRADFORD
Jobs
%
8,100
4.2%
600
3,400
900
3,200
7.8%
42.4%
10.7%
39.1%
LEEDS CITY REGION
Jobs
%
46,900
3.7%
4,200
25,300
9,700
7,600
9.0%
54.0%
20.7%
16.3%
GREAT BRITAIN
Jobs
%
1,467,500 5.5%
212,300
792,100
205,500
257,500
14.5%
54.0%
14.0%
17.5%
Source BRES 2011; NOMIS - columns may not add as data is rounded to nearest 100.
The ICT definition is dominated by one or two activities in Bradford. Computer consultancy and
programming firms make up 36% of the total. Other IT and computer related services account for a
further 11% as does printing (excluding newspaper and magazine print). Dedicated digital
industries manufacturing is small but, as we detail below, this masks the almost universal spread
of digital activities into businesses engaged in all types of activity.
Of the 1,100 employers in Bradford’s ICT sector, 89% are micro-businesses employing fewer than
10 staff. A further 100 (9%) of employers employ between 10 and 50 staff. Neither the Leeds city
region nor the national picture differ in this respect.
In considering future growth opportunities, it is extremely important to appreciate that
even this wider definition does not adequately reflect the use of digital technologies that are
rapidly being adopted across manufacturing and professional services firms. Business
consultations as part of the project focused mainly on businesses in the core creative, digital and
media industries. However, we have also reached out to example firms who would traditionally be
covered by other standard classifications, mainly in manufacturing activities.
A recent National Institute for Economic and Social Research report, measuring the UK’s Digital
Economy with Big Data, found that the digital economy is larger than previous estimates.
Moreover, digital clusters are especially important to local and regional economies because they
tend to feed the growth of other sectors. In total, the reach of creative and digital activity in UK
businesses is now estimated as greater than the construction, manufacturing and financial services
sectors for example.
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FUTURE TRENDS AND OPPORTUNITIES
Digital is everywhere. The pace of change in the digital industries is rapid. Beyond the largest
global businesses, no single company can keep pace with the full extent of change and identify all
potential opportunities. Collaboration and knowledge sharing are emerging as essential
components of the future digital industries marketplace. This is as relevant for the way in which
locations work as it is for the activities of the businesses themselves.
Digital activities are at the heart of the UK economy, underpinning growth through both the
development of new technologies and the provision of services to businesses and consumers. The
digital sector employs 3 per cent of the UK workforce and contributes nearly £69 billion Gross
Value Added to the UK economy (7.4% of total GVA). Per employee job, the sector is one of the
most productive in the UK economy. Digital related employment increased by 5.5% between 2009
and 2012, three times the growth across the economy as a whole. All national trends and forecasts
predict the continuation of demand for high level skills in the sector.
Key market growth areas identified by national and international level research include;
•
Cloud computing
•
Mobile technologies
•
Cross-platform mobile applications
•
Computer games and digital entertainment
•
Cyber-security products and services
•
Green/low carbon IT products
The importance of growth in internet access and data interchange through non-traditional devices,
the so called ‘internet of things’ and associated mobile and cloud-based technologies should not
be underestimated. A recent report by McKinsey 1 has estimated the relative scale of potential
economic benefits associated with new technologies. The top five by a significant margin involve;
•
Automation of knowledge processes and work
•
The mobile internet
•
The internet of things (IT embedded in other technologies and products)
•
Cloud based technologies, and
•
Advanced robotics
Globally, the demand for digital products, from music, TV and film production to games and other
software development is increasing rapidly. The take up of technology by both consumers and
businesses that have not as yet embraced their use is rising fast. Demand for technology related
products as well as the services that the technology allows is rising. Consumer spending on digital
goods and services across Europe has increased by 25% since 2001 with growth in the UK reaching
28% over the same period. Bradford’s CDI sector features firms operating across almost all of
these markets, from digital technology and sub-component manufacturers through to software
development firms and more localised creative service industries.
1
See main report, page 12.
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These future developments have far ranging implications for businesses of all sizes in Bradford and
the city region as the cost of new technologies, data storage and processing power is reduced and
adoption becomes more pervasive. Developments in technology are not only affecting CDI sector
businesses, but are increasingly embedding CDI activities across all businesses regardless of their
main activity.
Regardless of which of these new, often ‘disruptive’ technologies emerge as viable products and
services, most commentators are clear on one impact summarised well by a recent McKinsey
report, ”Business leaders and policy makers—and society at large—will confront change on many
fronts: in the way businesses organize themselves, how jobs are defined, how we use technology to
interact with the world (and with each other) .. Many technologies on the horizon offer immense
opportunities. We believe that leaders can seize these opportunities, if they start preparing now.
UK-wide research on labour market impacts of the growth in digital activities highlights a growing
need for IT staff with the ability to analyse and interpret big datasets. Big data is becoming
increasingly valuable to organisations as they seek to gain competitive advantage from the
knowledge that can be unlocked from this new resource. This applies in equal proportion to SMEs
as well as larger firms given the quantity of open (i.e. free) and low cost data that is now becoming
available online. Access to data will not be the limiter, access to analytical skills will be.
In those businesses that do not fall easily into the CDI sector classification, adoption of digital
technologies means that skills needs are also changing. There is now a need for mechanical
engineers who also have a knowledge of digital elements of manufacturing processes and
machines for example. In service industries outside of the IT marketplace, managers with data
analytic skills will become more commonplace.
National research shows that employers are optimistic about the disruptive impact of emerging
technologies and rather than being seen as a negative issue, they are thought to foster innovation
and benefit future growth in the digital sector and across the wider economy.
Employers in Bradford, as nationally, have raised concerns about the future supply of talented IT
people that will be needed to fill the ever growing number of roles created by emerging
technologies. Locations that successfully address these future skills needs will be in a strong
competitive position to grow their indigenous business base and attract inward investment
projects.
The opportunity for creating additional growth in Bradford through attracting inward investment
projects in the CDI sector is reflected in the fact that Information Technology, Electronics &
Communications (ITEC) is the largest category of inbound inward investment activity to the UK.
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These projects tend to be centred on internet services and design companies. UKTI data show the
dominance of a very large number of software companies moving into the UK, 254 projects last
year. Electronics and IT hardware such as data centres and telecoms are the third and fourth
largest sources of inward investment activity.
Sector Growth – What’s Possible?
It is understandable that local authorities like Bradford want to take a proactive role in the
attraction and retention of businesses; but any activities undertaken must be tempered by asking
what is possible in the short term and where can the council achieve maximum impact, both on its
own and through leveraging its public and private sector partnerships. The overwhelming majority
of companies choose to start, grow, locate or relocate with absolutely no reference to government
agencies but the public sector can ensure Bradford is considered, its existing benefits fully
understood and help to shape the future of the city’s attractiveness to companies using digital
technologies.
This goes further than inward investment promotion to those not yet in the district. If there were
no inward investment activities, companies would still expand, they would still choose new
locations and they would create wealth and prosperity. When Henry Ford chose to make his Model
T cars in Manchester more than a hundred years ago, he went through a very similar thoughtprocess as Jaguar Land Rover and Nissan do today. The only difference is that there is an almost
limitless amount of options and information available at the click of a mouse; and there are now
dozens of councils and Local Enterprise Partnerships sending in glossy brochures. Through a
thorough understanding of the location and growth drivers of businesses Bradford can stand out
from this crowd. An important starting point is this sector review.
What A Council Can Influence
Through both its scale and range of partnership working, there is a huge amount of influence that
Bradford council can have on the business, social and cultural fabric of the city. As the largest
employers in Bradford and the largest purchasers in the city, the public sector, especially the
council, has the ability to influence the local business environment like nobody else. Every hiring
decision and every purchasing decision has the potential to make Bradford a place that is more
conducive to business growth.
The council’s annual budget of over £900 million pounds 2 already passes on a significant positive
benefit to local companies. Whilst it is clearly not practical for every tender to be awarded to
Bradford firms, the opportunity now exists to extend existing commitments and provide more and
better targeted information on the range of contract opportunities to local firms; not just those of
the council but also its wide range of partners across the city region. Several councils now provide
and actively promote a localised portal that aims to do this; blackcountrybusiness.co.uk is a good
example.
2
Total includes £544.5m expenditure on education services. DCLG Local Authority Revenue Expenditure and
Financing England: 2013 to 2014 (individual local authority data) http://bit.ly/1g2hfJr.
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Enhancing the impact of the council’s spending locally applies equally to the direct purchase of
goods and services, providing a direct impact on growth in the digital sector through the
procurement of creative, digital and IT services for example. This would benefit Bradford’s digital
sector SMEs in particular.
Let Go of Data
Councils have typically been massive data holders. Bradford council’s departments will have
millions of data points across datasets from environmental health through to social services. Just
as with planning departments performance tables, there are league tables of council openness.
Other city councils in the UK have begun to open up access to their data and we would strongly
recommend Bradford speeds up its initial investigations in this area.
Open data will bring significant benefits and opportunities for local business. It is perhaps one of
the biggest catalysts that the council can provide for local app developers for example. Experience
around the world shows that whenever a city opens its data chests, there are hundreds of
unexpected positive results, in terms of new products and services that emerge on the back of
open data. Opening up data for others to use, digitally or otherwise, often leads to efficiency
improvements in delivering council services too.
Inward Investment Is Important..
Growing existing businesses is important but inward investment activity will nevertheless be an
important part of growing Bradford’s digital economy base into the future. Bradford can’t compete
with Tech City in London. Nor with MediaCityUK in Manchester. But what it can become, is the
UK’s most ambitious tech and media city, with a vision that inspires and encourages the next
generation of creative, coders and digital entrepreneurs.
Recent data shows the large number of IT projects entering the UK. However, the competition for
them is more fierce than ever before. Many projects are currently concentrated into one
marketplace around the national promotion of Tech City in London. Other successful cities
including Manchester, Birmingham, Nottingham and Newcastle have begun attracting digital
projects through development of extremely competitive offers compared to Bradford. Bradford
cannot at this stage compete with these more developed propositions and therefore needs to
consider how best to position its offer in such a competitive marketplace.
However, collectively the Leeds city region offer is as good as other large north of England
locations. Bradford has an opportunity to place itself at the heart of it. A clear and well resourced
inward investment proposition, backed up by case studies of the use of digital technology across
many different types of business in Bradford and the substantial research resources including the
University and the Advanced Digital Institute, would provide a better understanding of the range
of opportunities to outside businesses developing their location strategy.
We present several immediate opportunities for Bradford to attract business interest in the digital
arena in our recommendations below.
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..But All Startups Have to Start Somewhere
However, across the creative and digital sectors, inward investment still plays a smaller role than
organic growth and local startups in most local economies, including in Bradford. It is in this area
that the council can make a real difference immediately. Moreover, inward investors will be
looking for evidence of a home-grown base of talent and activity before they shortlist Bradford as
a viable new operating location.
The world’s biggest technology companies did not exist a generation ago. The ‘next big things’
from Silicon Valley to Silicon Roundabout didn’t exist five years ago. The creative and digital
ventures that will provide jobs and wealth in the next twenty years will be created by boys and
girls at school today. Not just at schools in San Jose, Boston, London and Bangalore, but also in
Bradford.
Two centuries ago, the basic raw materials for the industrial revolution were coal, iron ore and
water. Bradford’s proximity to these spurred the most successful period in its history. Today’s raw
materials are to be found in the minds of young people. If there’s one thing that Bradford has in
abundance it is young people. The youthful nature of the city is an important feature of Bradford
that helps it stand out from the crowd of other locations.
Entrepreneurs are not born and tech-savviness is not something unique to existing tech clusters.
Ubiquitous access to computing and mobile technologies means that the biggest difference
between a teenager in Bradford and one in Bangalore or Boston, is the presence or otherwise of
inspiring role models and encouragement. This is where the council can play a major role.
Encouraging computer coding clubs and facilitating digital workspaces in schools from primary to
sixth forms, would lift Bradford onto a different growth curve for the future. Far from needing
grants or new equipment, most schoolchildren just need a bit of inspiration and leadership.
Successful entrepreneurs and business leaders can play their part in this.
A city centre based learning resource or demonstration laboratory would serve as a focal point for
further stimulation of interest and would place Bradford in the top tier of forward thinking areas in
the country in terms of future proofing itself as a healthy location in which to locate and grow the
full range of emerging digital opportunities. This will have the benefit of boosting start up activity
and engaging the attention of businesses not yet in Bradford.
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KEY FINDINGS
A number of key observations about the digital economy and CDI sector in Bradford emerged from
our consultations and analysis of the district’s current offer.
•
Almost all firms consulted with, regardless of their particular product or service, identified
a range of generic business growth ‘sticking points’ around access to finance, local physical
infrastructure and workforce recruitment and skills. This however, is no different to
anywhere else in the country.
•
There is almost universal agreement that current national vocational education provision
fails the needs of CDI businesses in terms of the skillsets they require in their business.
Many are under the impression that it would be better for their business needs to take an
individual earlier and train them in-house or through an apprenticeship scheme, making
high quality, relevant school-leaving age skills in ICT of the utmost importance to get right.
•
Many businesses appear open to interaction with schools and colleges to ensure the full
range of employment opportunities are better understood and the necessary skills are
embedded as early as possible in the education system.
•
Bradford is home to a relatively large presence of national and internationally recognised
assets and organisations that offer a ready-made platform for the promotion of CDI
activities in the district and to an external (in some cases international) audience. Among
these are the National Media Museum, the Advanced Digital Institute, Bradford College
WWI Film School, Kala Sangam, Bradford’s City of Film status and the presence of
animation and film festivals.
•
The University of Bradford deliver established courses in both creative industries related
skills and digital/technology related qualifications. However, their connect with
established businesses in the district in terms of dissemination of research and direct
working is much less evident.
•
Bradford is a place populated by a stable set of individuals and organisations that have
operated from the city over a long period of time. Many in the CDI sector feel this fact
makes it easier for new initiatives to be launched successfully in Bradford than in less
developed and larger cities.
•
The established history of collaboration in Bradford’s CDI sector among creative and
smaller digital economy organisations does however need some re –invigorating, and
crucially extending to include newer digital industries and a higher engagement of larger
businesses from the district.
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•
Bradford’s computer software industry is generally made up of re-sellers of ‘out of the box’
business software, with only a very small contingent of code-based producers of bespoke
software. The firms that are in Bradford are however, well established and selling into
international markets. More specialist software is also developed in-house by
manufacturing firms. Although small in scale, the breadth of software development activity
therefore offers an important stage upon which to increase indigenous activity and attract
further investment - something that Bradford should capitalise on in order to make the
digital offer somewhat different to other parts of the country.
•
There is no existing cluster of computer games development despite the presence of an
established games developer in Four Door Lemon, the National Media Museum and the
proximity of an internationally important cluster of firms and University courses in Leeds
and Manchester. The University in Bradford has a degree course but this is at present small
in scale relative to the two larger cities.
•
Beyond software development, the adoption of digital technology across a broad range of
manufacturing activity, not just in telecommunications and IT manufacturing, is high in
some firms in Bradford and places those firms in a competitive position nationally.
•
Against the backdrop of rapid growth of commercial opportunities in the online economy,
a number of yet to be explored opportunities for specific digital firms and/or the growth of
local specialisms around online retail (with national retail firms already operating in
Bradford being important potential beneficiaries and thus project sponsors). The same is
true of alternative finance opportunities with large financial services firms in Bradford.
•
The work of the Advanced Digital Institute spreads much wider into the Bradford business
base than firms that are traditionally classified as CDI sector businesses. As a result, there
is a large contingent of manufacturing businesses utilising digital technologies and a vast
resource of knowledge and links that could be quickly mobilised through the ADI.
•
The existence of the ADI also presents one of the most significant immediate opportunities
for Bradford to engage with other parts of the Leeds city region in defining and influencing
activity around a ‘digital corridor’.
•
A significant proportion of those consulted with wish to promote Bradford to their own
supply chain and customer base. A lack of access to detailed information on the city as an
investment location or training on how to do so was identified by some of these
businesses.
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•
January 2014
Historically, Bradford was an important centre of the traditional print industry in the UK
and home to an international Print Biennial until 20 years ago. Digital printing for both
commercial and retail markets is still an important part of Bradford’s economy and across
the wider Leeds city region. There may be a short-term window of opportunity to develop
activities based on Bradford’s important historic position in order to raise its profile in the
national print industry.
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KEY RECOMMENDATIONS
The project was asked for at least five recommendations of business development activities. We
have grouped a series of opportunities into the following, often overlapping, themes;
Connecting Bradford Theme
•
The Council should investigate the ‘who?’ and ‘how?’ of developing a digital mapping
resource for Bradford as soon as possible. This would ideally involve existing CDI
organisations and businesses collaborating to create content (a database of local
businesses and organisations) for a searchable map tool available online and on mobile
devices.
•
In the medium term, the Council should investigate how the digital mapping tool can be
extended into the production of a ‘hyperlocal’ app. Hyperlocal apps, deployed on mobile
devices, offer digital platforms that can be used by businesses and residents to stimulate
demand for local products and services. The most beneficial of these apps allow users to
contribute to the development of the app itself, listing places, companies and experiences
as they use them through check ins, reviews and ratings. The council can also provide
targeted municipal information through such an app, increasing its use still further.
•
As a more long term aim, the app and other initiatives should open up opportunities for
analysis and use of public and other datasets in Bradford. Ideally, the app itself should
produce a large quantity of raw data. As a major potential beneficiary, the local authority
could play a leading role in ensuring this.
•
The University should be further encouraged to connect its substantial international
linkages, research activities and student-based resource with businesses in Bradford,
through both events and direct engagement connecting graduates and course materials
with the needs of local businesses.
Investment Landscape Theme (funding and inward investment)
•
The Council should investigate how it can promote the use of online crowdfunding by
Bradford’s CDI sector businesses and residents. This helps secure growth or start up loans
for businesses through a collective online lending facility open to anybody to invest small
amounts into local businesses.
•
Linked with this, the Council should consider deploying a small amount of its own funding
via a crowdfunding platform into local businesses. This activity is already being pursued by
several other councils and central government on the major UK crowdfunding sites.
•
Beyond promoting and using existing online lending channels, a Digital Investment Fund
for Bradford should be considered. This would allow residents and existing businesses to
become financial sponsors and/or equity investors in the city’s young talent.
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•
Alongside stimulating procurement, training and levels of activity in Bradford’s digital
sector, increased investment in the Invest in Bradford team would bring the city in line
with resources available to its peer group of north of England cities. Targeted activities
should aim to provide a unique Bradford offer and lead to successful engagement with
potential domestic inward investment projects in the sector. Many of these will be
expansions of earlier foreign investments, primarily those into the London market.
•
Similarly, encouragement of local businesses to promote Bradford in their supply chain and
customer base should be supported by the provision of targeted materials from the Invest
in Bradford team. Regular briefing exercises for existing businesses would maximise the
exposure of the city to potential investors from their suppliers and customers.
In the main body of the report we suggest measures to strengthen the resources of the Invest in
Bradford team.
Under-Utilised Resources Theme
There are a number of activities and resources that are not being fully exploited in the district.
•
An open laboratory and business development space should be set up in the city centre,
potentially linked to a scheme to recruit those from relevant University courses into the
space to collaborate and develop new business ideas focused on the digital economy.
•
The Council should undertake a feasibility study of the viability of a post-film production
space in Bradford. This would work to trap the significant economic activity that takes
place after outside film crews use locations across the district and that are currently lost to
other established, but mainly higher cost, production locations.
•
A ‘Businesses into Schools’ project should be launched to boost knowledge of the range of
opportunities that are available in digital industries throughout the district along with a
focus on getting a thousand local schoolchildren into coding clubs in the next five years.
Many of the recommended actions and projects overlap one another. Through a more open design
and collaborative approach to identifying and solving issues there is a significant opportunity to
change the process and working relationships of all businesses and supporting organisations
currently involved in Bradford’s digital sector. This will ensure impacts that benefit all firms
regardless of whether they are in digital manufacturing or providing digital services and run deep
into the labour market, including children at the earliest stages of learning, to ensure Bradford is
the best place to start, grow and locate digital businesses into the future.
As a final note, it is imperative from our research and the breadth of existing digital activities in
Bradford that when considering the CDI sector locally the broadest possible definition is used.
Bradford’s manufacturing sector and almost all of its professional and financial services industries
benefit from and use digital technologies of various forms. This should be encouraged further.
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1.0
January 2014
INTRODUCTION
The following report contains data analysis on the Creative and Digital Industries (CDI) sector in
Bradford and the Leeds city region alongside a discussion of PESTLE and SWOT analysis. We have
also undertaken in-situ face to face and roundtable consultations and report back here on the key
issues emerging from our discussions with businesses and organisations operating across the full
range of CDI activities and others for whom digital products or services are becoming increasingly
embedded within their business model.
In the final section of the report we set out a series of recommended business support and sector
development projects. These have been informed through wider national exposure to similar
initiatives elsewhere. A number of these projects are small, short term in nature with others being
longer term, more transformational projects in terms of how the Council interfaces with CDI
businesses.
1.1
THE GROWTH OPPORTUNITY OF CREATIVE AND DIGITAL INDUSTRIES
The creative and digital sector, broadly defined, continues to buck the trends of the economic
downturn and remains one of the fastest growing areas of the economy. Recent research by Nesta
reports that the creative industries employed 1.35 million people (4.7% of the total workforce) in
2011, contributing £69.9 billion to the UK economy. A slightly broader definition to include all
creative occupations increases employment to 9.7% of the total workforce. Employment has
grown at four times the national average since 2004 3.
A more recent National Institute for Economic and Social Research (NIESR) report, measuring the
UK’s Digital Economy with Big Data 4, found that the digital economy is larger than previous
Government estimates. Digital clusters are especially important to local and regional economies
because they tend to feed the growth of other sectors. In total, the size of the UK creative and
digital economy is now estimated as greater than the construction, manufacturing and financial
services sectors.
Globally, the demand for digital products, from music, TV and film production to games and other
software development is increasing rapidly. The take up of technology by both consumers and
businesses that have not as yet embraced their use is rising fast. Demand for technology related
products as well as the services that the technology allows is rising. Consumer spending on
creative and digital goods across Europe has increased by 25% since 2001 with growth in the UK
reaching 28% over the same time period 5. Bradford’s CDI sector features firms operating across
almost all of these markets, from digital technology and sub-component manufacturers through to
software development firms and creative service industries.
3
NESTA 2013, A Manifesto for the Creative Economy.
NIESR and Google 2013, Measuring the UK’s Digital Economy with Big Data.
5
Booz and Co. 2013, The Digital Future of Creative UK – The Economic Impact of Digitization and the Internet
on the Creative Sector in the UK and Europe.
4
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One feature is common to all activities. The vast majority of all growth generated by today’s CDI
sector is digital. Depending on the industry, the non-digital part of the business is generally
stagnating or shrinking, but all industries have one thing in common; digital is growing.
Future digitisation will reach beyond frontline media and entertainment businesses. Innovations in
digital fabrication methods for manufacturing, machine-to-machine communication and wearable
computing are expected to lead to the emergence of an ‘internet of things’ in which material
goods become far more compatible with each other and customizable than they are today 6. In this
way, the issues facing the CDI sector today are beginning to face all industries. This pace of change
is forecast to increase rapidly over the very near future.
Regardless of which of these new, often ‘disruptive’ technologies emerge as viable products and
services, most commentators are clear on one impact summarised well by McKinsey, ”Business
leaders and policy makers—and society at large—will confront change on many fronts: in the way
businesses organize themselves, how jobs are defined, how we use technology to interact with the
world (and with each other) .. Many technologies on the horizon offer immense opportunities. We
believe that leaders can seize these opportunities, if they start preparing now.” 7
Opportunities cannot be aligned with the traditional sectoral view of the economy. The benefits
calculation from McKinsey’s recent work summarised on the next page highlights a better way to
interpret where growth opportunities in Bradford’s economy are likely to arise in terms of creative
and digital activity. This uses the technologies themselves rather than the largely irrelevant but
traditional view of the sector’s (SIC codes) that businesses are coded into, and reinforces the
central role of the internet, technologies that allow automation within the service sector and
digital innovation within manufacturing.
6
MIT’s MediaLab is at the forefront of publicising these emerging technologies and their opportunities. See
http://sap.mit.edu/resources/portfolio/media_lab/ for examples across all consumer and business activities.
7
McKinsey Global Institute, May 2013, Disruptive technologies: Advances that will transform life, business, and
the global economy.
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To prepare for the opportunities as they emerge will require new ways of working. In particular,
increasing openness, debate and collaboration between groups involved is showing real gains in
innovative ideas and processes leading to the exploitation of opportunity and creation of value,
wealth and employment in some parts of the UK.
Recent work around digital cluster businesses in Brighton for example, shows faster than average
rates of growth among local creative, design and IT firms as elsewhere in the UK, but growth at
twice that speed among those who are ‘fused’ and ten times that among ‘superfused’ companies.
Fused businesses are those that combine creative art and design skills with technology expertise.
Fused firms actively collaborate with other types of business, education providers and other
organisations in their local economy 8. The creative and digital economy now touches every other
sector, driving productivity and creating new opportunities for growth.
8
The Brighton Fuse - Final Report 2013, brightonfuse.com
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Enabling much of the growth in mobile and the ‘internet of things’ is the emergence of cloud
computing and the need that arises as a result of significant increases in storage volume and
processing power.
Whilst there are opportunities for some UK locations to develop themselves as server/storage
locations, these do not make much of an impact on local employment. The critical factor for the
growth of digital industries and associated jobs in Bradford will be adequate access to a fast and
resilient connection to resources elsewhere, regardless of where a business is located in the
district. This is not just a matter of installing hard infrastructure and network capacity. It often,
more practically, relies on the ability of a local authority to ensure installations can be done in the
shortest timescale possible, through a smooth planning process for example.
1.2
CREATIVE AND DIGITAL IN INWARD INVESTMENT TERMS
At national level the increasing integration of creative and digital activity across both
manufacturing and service businesses is reflected in the UKTI definition of the digital sector –
termed Information Technology, Electronics & Communications (ITEC).
The opportunity for creating sustained growth is reflected in the fact that ITEC is the largest
category of inbound inward investment activity to the UK. UKTI data show the dominance of a very
large number of software companies moving into the UK, 254 projects last year. Inbound ITEC
projects tend also to be centred around internet services and design. Electronics and IT hardware
such as data centres and telecoms are the third and fourth largest sources of inward investment
activity.
Major Inward Investments in ITEC in 2011/12
Although ITEC represents one of the largest sectors for inward investment, both from foreign and
UK companies, the number of jobs created in individual projects tends to be far less than is the
case in manufacturing or business and professional services. Table 1.1 shows the largest projects
recorded during 2011/12.
For Bradford, the growth story is more interesting and important than the data on first
investments into the UK however. The typical inward investor in this sector will be setting up a
small sales office in London or Thames Valley with a handful of staff. The interesting moves occur a
few years later when they look to ramp up their UK presence and often either expand into new
regional facilities or relocate their headquarters. This second stage growth is one of the most
significant opportunities for Bradford to increase employment in CDI sector businesses locally. It
does however, need the city to be able to demonstrate a skilled workforce with software and
analytical skills.
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Table 1.1: ITEC Projects by Location and Scale, 2011/12
Company
Source HQ
Town/City
Region
Activity
Industry
Jobs
New /
Expansion
FDI/UK
Telefonica Digital
Spain
London
LO
HQ
ICT
400
New
FDI
Avaloq
Switzerland
Edinburgh
SC
HQ
ICT
300
New
FDI
Ceridian
USA
Glasgow
SC
HQ
Business
Services
300
Exp
FDI
Shed Productions
London
Glasgow
SC
Media
ICT
230
New
UK
HTC
Taiwan
Slough
SE
HQ
ICT
150
Exp
FDI
Daisy
Communications
Nelson
Nelson
NW
HQ
ICT
100
Exp
UK
De La Rue
Basingstoke
Gateshead
NE
Printing
Business
Services
100
Exp
UK
Markco Media
London
London
LO
HQ
ICT
100
Exp
UK
UKFast
Manchester
Manchester
NW
Data
Centre
ICT
100
Exp
UK
Kainos
Belfast
Belfast
NI
HQ
ICT
80
Exp
UK
Micro Focus
Berkshire
Belfast
NI
R&D
ICT
72
Exp
UK
Gensler
USA
Birmingham
WM
HQ
Business
Services
50
New
FDI
Xaar
Cambridge
Cambridge
EE
HQ
ICT
50
Exp
UK
Altitude Group
Manchester
Middleton
NW
HQ / IT
ICT
45
Exp
UK
Tribold
USA
Cwmbran
WA
R&D
ICT
45
New
FDI
Informa
Switzerland
Colchester
EE
Publishing
Business
Services
30
Exp
FDI
Dada Events
Glasgow
Glasgow
SC
HQ
Business
Services
23
Exp
UK
MyJobGroup
Sheffield
Sheffield
YH
HQ
Business
Services
20
Exp
UK
Source: UK Projects Database (2012)
The latest UKTI national level ITEC inward investment data for 2012/13 show:
•
475 projects by foreign investors in the ITEC sector in the UK
•
9,776 new jobs were created in the sector (i.e. 21 jobs per project average)
•
250 (53%) were new companies entering the UK
•
225 (47%) were expansions of existing investments
The strongest sub-sectors were:
• Software (254 projects)
• Creative/Digital (92)
• Electronics (71)
• Communications (41)
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Software related skills are once again highlighted as the most important selling point for a location
given this pattern of inward investment projects. Inward investment interest will not be attracted
into Bradford from these types of projects until the local offer is made ready for the needs of such
businesses. This focuses most short term opportunities onto local initiatives before any significant
promotional campaign can be undertaken.
UKTI sub-sector focus priorities for 2013/14 are:
•
Software: - Cyber Security, Online Games, Cloud Computing, E&M Commerce, Data
Centres, Big Data, Animation, Post-production, Digital Media, Mobile Apps and Social
Media.
•
Hardware: - Consumer Electronics, Semi & Electronics Design, Lighting & Displays, Sensors
& Systems, Power Electronics, Mobile & Wireless Components, Fixed Line Infrastructure
The list of hardware related priorities offers more of an immediate opportunity to build on
Bradford’s existing manufacturing offer given that digital related design is already taking place
across manufacturing firms in the district. This is where early activity on inward investment can
take place whilst the supply of skills is built with other projects.
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2.0
January 2014
DATA ANALYSIS OF THE CREATIVE AND DIGITAL SECTOR
All attempts to define creative and digital industries carry with them subjective decisions on
activities that fall in or out of the classification. The increasing use of digital and related
technologies across all firms, service or manufacturing in focus, as indicated in section 1.0 of this
report means that any data analysis using official definitions of CDI should be treated with caution.
As such, they represent only a small sub-set of businesses that will be making use of digital and
other creative activities in any local economy.
Two methods of cutting the District’s CDI sector data have been undertaken; the first is to use the
current Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) definition for the creative industries
developed in 1998. Secondly, we assess a broader grouping of ICT and Digital Media activity. This
latter approach takes in many more ICT manufacturing and services activities not contained in the
official sector classification method. The spread of digitisation and use of digital platforms and
services across the entire economy, often in firms far removed from the traditional creative and
digital sector of the official definition, means this should be treated as a de minimis for digital
activity in Bradford.
It is notable that the current DCMS definition has been the subject of consultation on proposals to
change the classification method during the period of our work, moving from the use of industrial
to occupational measures to classify creative activity and closer to the method used by NESTA.
However, the new definition using industry codes omits computer games and music related
activities and for this reason we have not produced our analysis on the basis of the proposed new
structures.
2.1
DCMS BASED CREATIVE INDUSTRIES IN BRADFORD
In terms of active businesses, creative industries are broadly representative of the wider area
economic structure across the Leeds city region. 1,085 firms or organisations are active in the
creative industries in Bradford, making up 13% of the Leeds city region creative sector total
compared with 14.4% of the city region total when considering all firms 9.
In employment terms, close to 4,000 jobs arise in creative industries in the district, 11.5% of the
city region total. This employment accounts for 2% of all jobs in the district against 2.7% in the city
region and 3.5% nationally.
These jobs can be broadly grouped into the following activities, highlighting the dominance of
‘other publishing’ and, to a lesser extent, software, electronic publishing and consultancy
activities.
9
Not all jobs in the 1,085 local business units will be in creative activities given the employment weighting
factors inherent in some activities (see Annex 1).
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Table 2.1: DCMS Defined Creative Industries in Bradford, 2011
Creative Industries (DCMS definition)
of which;
Advertising
Architecture
Music, Visual & Performing Arts
Digital, Computer Games & Entertainment Media
Software, Consultancy & Electronic Publishing
Other Publishing
Other Creative Industries
BRADFORD
Jobs
% total
3,900
2.0%
200
200
100
200
5.4%
6.3%
3.7%
5.0%
1,000
1,700
400
24.5%
43.8%
11.3%
Source BRES 2011; NOMIS – columns may not add as data is rounded to nearest 100.
As Figure 2.1 shows, the structure of creative industries in Bradford follows the shape that is found
in the wider city region but is more pronounced in its lower employment share of those operating
in the visual arts, computer games and entertainments media and software, consultancy activities
and electronic publishing.
Figure 2.1: DCMS Creative Industries Activities in Bradford, 2011
Bradford
50.0%
Leeds CR LEP
GB
40.0%
30.0%
20.0%
10.0%
0.0%
Source BRES 2011; NOMIS.
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The predominance of ‘other publishing’ and ‘other creative industries’ also follows the pattern of
the LEP area in forming a larger share of creative industries employment than nationally, more
pronounced still in Bradford itself as these two account for 55% of the area’s creative sector jobs.
The former of these is heavily weighted by newspaper publishing and greetings card manufacture.
Other creative industries include art, crafts and fashion related activities.
Location quotients (LQs) are a measure of the employment density of various activities in a local
economy relative to a wider area structure. Albeit reliant on historical data and being limited to
employment share only rather than indicating any future competitiveness or strength or reflecting
the value of output of a sector, Bradford demonstrates very high LQs in crafts and design (1.31),
designer fashion (1.44) and publishing (1.88). In each case, total employment is in excess of 25%
greater than in Britain in these activities. Compared with the Leeds city region, crafts and design
maintains its 25%+ share (1.27) and there are almost 20% (1.17) more publishing jobs in Bradford
than in the national profile.
We discuss issues around funding and what the current funding agency datasets imply for
Bradford’s creative and cultural industries further in section 3.0 below.
2.2
A BROADER DEFINITION
Whilst the DCMS defined view of creative and digital activity allows for comparison across other
parts of the country and national studies, it fails to fully showcase the local economy’s range of
digital related activity. An example of this would be the inclusion in the official definition of
fashion designers but the omission of any digital inputs that occur in the supply chain of designers.
In Bradford for example William Halstead still operate a (part digital) design function as part of
their wool weaving business. This firm is not identified using the DCMS definition of the sector.
Other companies such as Knightsbridge Furniture and Kahn Automotive Designs integrate
computer aided design inputs into their activity and also fall outside of the traditional view of the
CDI sector.
It is therefore necessary to take a broader view of the activities in Bradford’s creative and digital
industries in order to include the increasing wider use of digital technologies in other firms.
This wider definition identifies just over 8,100 jobs across almost 1,100 local business units in all
ICT and digital media activities. This figure is equivalent to 4.2% of the district’s jobs total against
3.7% in the city region and 5.5% in Britain as a whole. The ICT definition is dominated by one or
two activities in Bradford. Computer consultancy and programming firms make up 36% of the
total. Other IT and computer related services account for a further 11% as does printing (excluding
newspaper and magazine print).
Digital printing for both commercial and retail markets is still an important part of Bradford’s
economy and across the Leeds city region. The continued presence of international firms such as
Xerox close to Bradford and the presence of major international retail printers in Bradford is a
somewhat unique defining feature.
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Of the 1,100 employers in Bradford’s ICT sector, 89% are micro-businesses employing fewer than
10 staff. A further 100 (9%) employers employ between 10 and 50 staff. Neither the Leeds city
region nor the national picture differ in this respect.
The fact that the wider definition identifies twice the number of jobs as in DCMS defined activities
but in broadly the same number of businesses indicates the inclusion of larger employers in the
wider activities definition. This is particularly the case with firms engaged in manufacturing activity
and pre-press/printing. For this reason, we consider this measure to be a more useful indicator of
the level and diversity of (digital related) activities taking place across the entire district.
The breakdown of ICT activity in Table 2.2 below highlights the lower proportion of jobs occurring
in Bradford’s ICT manufacturing base than nationally. This is however, reflected in a low level of
such employment across the city region too. Conversely, there is a much higher level of
employment associated with media content and its creation in Bradford than in the LEP area or
nationally. Many of these activities show up in the DCMS defined data identified in Figure 1.1 as
‘other publishing’. The importance of Hallmark Cards is clear given that the one SIC code that
includes greetings card publishing accounts for over two fifths of digital media content creation
jobs in Bradford and drives over 90% of the city region’s total employment in that activity.
Table 2.2: Creative and Digital Industries (ICT/Digital Media) in Bradford, 2011
ICT & Digital Media
Employment
of which;
ICT Manufacturing
ICT Services
Telecommunications
Digital Media Content Creation
BRADFORD
Jobs
%
8,100
4.2%
600
3,400
900
3,200
7.8%
42.4%
10.7%
39.1%
LEEDS CITY REGION
Jobs
%
46,900
3.7%
4,200
25,300
9,700
7,600
9.0%
54.0%
20.7%
16.3%
GREAT BRITAIN
Jobs
%
1,467,500
5.5%
212,300
792,100
205,500
257,500
14.5%
54.0%
14.0%
17.5%
Source BRES 2011; NOMIS - columns may not add as data is rounded to nearest 100.
Note: Sector based definitions for DCMS and the broader data here are provided in Annex 1.
In considering future growth opportunities, it is extremely important to appreciate that
even this wider definition cannot adequately record the various use of digital technologies that are
increasingly being adopted across manufacturing and professional services firms.
The information economy, made up from creative and digital businesses, is currently transforming
every other sector, driving productivity and creating new opportunities for growth. Some of the
business growth and employment benefits will accrue in businesses that are not yet working with
digital technologies in any significant way. More importantly, many of the new growth
opportunities and firms exploiting them do not even exist today. For Bradford this means that one
of the most important issues in growing the future digital economy is to allow the right conditions
in which new opportunities, businesses and individuals can flourish rather than attempt to pick
winners and create solutions around them.
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3.0
CDI SECTOR PESTLE ANALYSIS
3.1
POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC ISSUES
January 2014
One of the most important political/economic pressures likely to affect the creative and digital
industries, particularly those in the smallest micro-organisations, is the changing funding
landscape. High level changes to national funding for arts and related cultural projects imply fewer
funds and greater competition. This includes the impacts of reduced local authority regeneration
and arts and cultural budgets on demand for CDI services.
Arts Council England (ACE) changes to their National Portfolio Organisations (NPO) model are likely
to result in further reductions in funding in real terms. Along with reducing funds, there are
geographic implications as ACE move to a system of five area funding councils from the current
nine regionally structured councils. From July 2013 Bradford sits within a single ACE area covering
the entire north of England rather than one for Yorkshire specifically and arts funding will
therefore be subject to a significant increase in competition across the north.
£27.8m is currently allocated to NPO projects across Yorkshire by ACE, £22.8m of this inside the
Leeds city region LEP area and £1.1m in nine NPO organisations within the Bradford LA area (NPO
budgets 2012/13). In addition to NPO projects, ACE provided a further £390,000 to various
organisations in Bradford through the Grants for the Arts Programme during 2012/13, close to 12%
of all awards in the Leeds city region area.
National Lottery funding is also expected to be subjected to greater competition due to the
reductions in ACE and other funding streams.
There is an increasing evidence base of, and accompanying national policy shift based on, the
recognition that CDI activity makes a significant contribution to the economy. The UK’s creative
industries have continued to grow through the recession and have significant additional long-term
potential to create jobs and produce exportable goods and services.
However, at the same time, the CDI sector is characterised by a very different mix of private-third
sector-public activity to the wider economy and resulting business growth issues can sometimes
be different to other forms of economic activity.
Two key and somewhat unique factors are emerging from national level work; the need to
understand the broader range of drivers for business start ups, and to ensure legal/regulation and
competition policy fits the activities taking place in digital businesses. In respect of the latter,
intellectual property legislation is increasingly important for firms operating in online markets and
producing digital products and services (see Legal section below).
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Many other CDI business growth needs appear broadly similar to other businesses and include;
ensuring a skilled employee pool fit for CDI business needs, the need to keep on top of rapid
technology developments, ensuring adequate access to finance, the need to deliver a competitive
tax framework and investment in infrastructure to support new business models.
In the period of slower economic growth since 2008 a major growth issue for many businesses has
been the apparent low level of bank lending. This has been particularly acute among start up and
smaller firms and therefore, due to its structure, to firms operating in the CDI sector. New online
models of finance built around peer to peer lending/crowd-funding or angel investor/equity
schemes are emerging. Many are in their earliest stages in the UK but CDI take-up of such schemes
is relatively high among the smallest of businesses and self employed individuals.
A significant national promotion of TechCity London is underway by investment promotion
agencies in the capital and UKTI nationally. If this is left unaddressed it could pose a threat to nonLondon locations competing for inward investment projects. It could however, be turned into an
opportunity through making the case for Bradford as an area with expansion or support potential.
3.2
SOCIAL / TECHNOLOGY ISSUES
A major difference between many businesses in the CDI sector and elsewhere in the economy is
the much higher incidence of non-traditional routes into business. This results in a relative lack of
knowledge of the range of assistance available to start ups through traditional routes.
This feature, combined with the lack of SME lending and for some in the CDI sector, increased
competition for grants and other awards, suggests that signposting and help in securing financial
and other assistance is critical for a large section of those working in the CDI sector. Recent calls by
the House of Commons Culture, Media and Sport Committee include the creation and promotion
of a clear channel of advice to creative individuals interested in setting up business—a creative
business ‘hub’. Public libraries as ‘long established knowledge centres’ are seen as having a
critically important supporting role in these proposals3.
The reducing cost and therefore increased take up of a wider range of IT technology by businesses
is an important development, not only for the sector and those working within it but also in
powering growth in other sectors. Success in the CDI sector is increasingly being translated into an
underpinning for innovation and market success in other areas such as science and engineering for
example.
There are two main areas where technological advance is likely to have profound implications for
business development in the near term.
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The first is the rapid rise in (domestic and commercial) mobile internet use in the UK, with
continued significant growth forecast. This will change the market focus for digital firms supplying
‘product’ and generally increase the number of marketing channels for business to use. A recent
UK benchmarking report suggested that businesses are rapidly adopting mobile commerce, with
73% optimising their sites for mobile commerce and 22% boasting mobile apps. Almost half of all
large business respondents (48%) plan to develop mobile apps in the next 12 months 10.
Forecasts for online retail growth in the UK also remain strongly positive and will continue to affect
physical location decisions for shops but also yield opportunities for businesses to grow from nontraditional and ‘virtual’ locations.
Secondly, technology-related developments have resulted in an increasing ‘bleed’ or ‘influence’ of
digital technologies and digital firms into other activities. This is true regardless of whether one
considers manufacturing or service activities. Convergence between financial and technology
sectors is for example resulting in new opportunities around so called ‘FinTech’.
Combining social and technological developments, an increasing number of open data projects
around the UK are creating new business models and opportunities for reflexive public-private
sector working. Such projects allow new insights into unlocking social, environmental or economic
value - or a mixture of all three – through the interrogation and use of large new sets of data.
International evidence shows that local authority involvement in such projects can often unlock
both innovative forms of reacting to local community issues as well as create new structures
focused on citizens or business needs.
In the UK local authorities are already the keepers of various large datasets on residents and
businesses through their statutory duties. Some of the more forward thinking authorities are now
embarking on digital projects that are proving useful as decision-aiding and policy making tools in
areas as diverse as planning, healthcare, local community wardens and other provision and
economic regeneration. In almost all cases, this is not simply more data being put to new uses but
is truly innovative and entails different ways of doing as well as better outputs. Open data projects
shift thinking and often result in entirely new structures and relationships. The process rather than
the data or data tool is what leads to a more creative, flexible and ultimately more attractive or
efficient outcome. Open data projects are where technological change meets social change.
10
Sage Pay e-Business Benchmark Report 2013.
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Bradford District CDI Sector Development
3.3
January 2014
LEGAL / ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES
At national level, Creative industry tax reliefs are a group of four Corporation Tax reliefs that
provide qualifying companies with financial assistance through offsetting tax credits. Film Tax
Relief has been available since April 2007, Animation Tax Relief and High-end Television Tax Relief
were introduced in April 2013. A fourth relief for Video Games Development is planned to be
introduced after state aid approval. A number of more local initiatives are in place around the UK,
such as local business rates relief in Bradford for those operating inside the City Centre Growth
Zone.
Copyright legislation is subject to significant change, reflecting the international context of the
digital economy. Significant shifts around intellectual property rights and usage will have a direct
impact on the digital economy and UK firms. These include a new Intellectual Property Bill at third
reading in Parliament on innovation and IP. The 2013 Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act
contains changes to UK copyright law that have raised concerns in the CDI sector around
commercial exploitation of so called ‘orphan works’, images and other digital content available
online that have no author metadata and are therefore deemed available for commercial
exploitation with little regard to the original IP.
In September of 2013 the Commons Culture Media and Sport Committee recognised the
‘extraordinary success’ of the UK’s creative industries but warned that it may be jeopardised by
dilution of intellectual property rights and a failure to tackle online piracy alongside delays to the
proposed Digital Economy Act 11.
A further risk to growth for some CDI businesses is lack of knowledge of financial regulations.
Consumer awareness of fraud prevention and data privacy is high on the news agenda but less so
on some businesses agenda. A recent report showed 18% of large businesses failing to comply
with PCI (Payment Card Industry) regulations on data security of card payments and 31% thought
it unnecessary. Among SMEs, 18% did not know if they complied with PCI regulations or not, and
more than half (58%) did not understand them.
Environmental and waste regulations continue to be tightened and this has had an impact in the
CDI sector, especially for those involved in either traditional or digital print industries in terms of
increasing costs of compliance.
Employment legislation tends to be largely inapplicable for the many micro-businesses active in
the sector, or in the case of larger firms the same regardless of their creative and digital industries
nature as opposed to any other sector.
11
House of Commons Culture, Media and Sport Committee, Supporting the Creative Economy, September
2013.
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Bradford District CDI Sector Development
3.4
October 2013
CREATIVE AND DIGITAL INDUSTRIES IN BRADFORD - SWOT
STRENGTHS
National Media Museum, City of Film, Kala Sangam (largest Asian arts space in the
UK), Advanced Digital Institute, Bradford College-WWI Film School provide readymade platforms for CDI sector promotion on a relatively large (and potentially
international) scale
The Advanced Digital Institute is a major, internationally connected resource working
on extending innovation across all activities but including a significant focus on digital
technologies and digital economy related businesses.
A diverse sector with embedded individuals and organisations enables more rapid
responses in BD than in many other locations
Existing diversity of space and activity in BD
Adoption of digital technology in manufacturing is high in some firms within Bradford
and places those firms well in terms of market opportunity
BD is clearly an entrepreneurial city – duport.co.uk 2012 data show a record 2,000
new company formations since records began (7% increase on 2011). Bradford ranked
at 22nd/100 UK towns for company growth (c/f Leeds 44th Sheffield 80th)
WEAKNESSES
CDI firms often working in isolation with little knowledge of the range of activities
taking place in other BD businesses
Perceived weakness of the University offer for skills, overshadowed by earlier
development of Leeds Met and Manchester Met Universities in both courses and
industry engagement
Lack of evidence of existing research from University transferred into local economy
There is lack of a clear message on the benefits to wider business from BDs CDI
activities
Lack of critical mass of coders/software development activity – games and commercial
Little evidence of exploitation of the presence of MediaCityUK in Salford or activities
around TechCity in London
National Media Museum resources not being fully exploited (photography and
technology collections, existing Asian community links and other community
partnerships limited to ‘small experiments’)
Opportunities presented by developing technology may be beyond the scope of single
companies. Alliances and partnerships are not sufficiently established within BD and
with city region/north of England partners to exploit these opportunities as yet.
OPPORTUNITIES
Relatively stable set of individuals and organisations make it easier for new initiatives
to be launched successfully in BD than in less developed and some larger cities
History of collaboration in BD’s CDI sector, only needs re-invigorating
New clarity in CDI policy and strategy nationally, yielding different (many focused on
innovation and cross-working) but substantial funding opportunities (TSB competitions
etc)
Significant medium term growth in mobile data use and associated applications
Online retailing is already high in the UK market and forecast further growth
Emerging 3D print technologies offer an opportunity for Bradford’s CDI and
manufacturing sectors to collaborate
THREATS
Structure of national funding for the arts moving to a ‘north of England’ geography
implies significantly increased competition
New national policy and business environment requires more flexible (partnership)
structures in place to respond rapidly to opportunities
Success of CDI business growth in BD will be dependent on securing a fresh pool of
talent and ideas from the younger population – engagement of the young is critical.
At city region level there is currently an insufficient understanding of BD and
consequently its representation in the Leeds CR LEP CDI investment offer
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BUSINESS CONSULTATIONS & SECTOR DEVELOPMENT ISSUES
We have undertaken a mixture of face to face consultations, follow-up telephone interviews and
roundtable discussions structured around understanding the nature of CDI businesses operating in
Bradford and any growth issues that they might have or be facing by operating from the district.
Twenty businesses have been consulted to date alongside the Chamber of Commerce, the Leeds
City Region LEP team and three national CDI sector and related organisations (Skillset, Arts Council
of England, NESTA).
4.1
GENERAL SECTOR ISSUES
The supply chain activities of most firms, regardless of their size or length in business, extend well
outside of the district itself. A slightly surprising finding was that there is currently little evidence
of firms seeking and winning contracts in Manchester despite the presence of the BBC and other
large media content providers in the city. Competition is felt by Bradford’s businesses from the
larger number of CDI businesses in both Manchester and Leeds. Collaboration is more likely to
occur across the city region geography or, for a few larger firms with international links, outside of
the UK altogether.
Market geographies are continuing to expand for those involved in digital content creation; for
games, advertising, film and other digital media services, with international markets becoming
more important.
The large number of small firms and freelancers in particular makes it a difficult sector to influence
through public policy.
In broader digital businesses involved in manufacturing activity there have been successes
following supply chain improvements involving Bradford Chamber. Radio Design in Shipley
demonstrably improved their business through a supply chain initiative
4.2
BUSINESS GROWTH ISSUES
Resources in Bradford
Bradford is able to demonstrate a number of nationally important CDI-linked assets and events
(such as the animation and film festivals). These appear to be relatively unexploited in terms of
their use in forming a focus for stimulating existing and promoting new CDI business activity.
The National Media Museum is seen by those in the CDI sector as a resource that has yet to be
realised within the context of business activities. Bradford’s City of Film status is viewed as mainly
limited to TV drama filming outside of the city centre and not fully exploiting the links with
Bollywood or the opportunities emerging from the BBC relocation to MediaCityUK in Salford.
There has been little momentum behind taking the City of Film concept into the digital realm – a
Google Map project is incomplete and, critically, does not integrate with physical signposting in
the city centre.
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The University own and operate a mobile film studio that is used in connection with sports events
and for training. The talent being created at the University is not thought to be exploited
sufficiently for the city’s gain and is almost always lost upon graduation. The University also deliver
training modules to MSC level to the BBC in Manchester. Outside of the University, those working
in the sector appear unaware of the potential commercial links this activity may be able to open.
Creating a single point of entry for Bradford’s SME base to access University activity would appear
to be a logical first step that the Council can assist with.
A key concern among those consulted was that businesses themselves that are already in Bradford
have no general information materials on the city and district that they can use directly with
suppliers, customers and potential recruits to showcase Bradford’s strengths and resources. At the
same time almost all felt they were missing information on the full range of opportunities and
events that are available and did not know who or where this information could be accessed. For
some, a solution was seen as simple. The Council should as a minimum develop and co-ordinate an
RSS feed for others to embed on their websites.
It is clear from a 360 degree view that we have been able to assemble through our consultations
that all the pieces of the CDI jigsaw are already in place in Bradford or nearby. The real issue for
businesses and their employees is that the jigsaw is not made up nor the pieces even in the same
box.
Skills
Among consultees there is almost universal agreement that current national vocational education
provision fails the needs of CDI businesses in terms of the skillsets they require in their business.
Many are under the impression that it would be better for their business needs to take an
individual earlier and train them in-house or through an apprenticeship scheme.
However, the low supply of those seeking apprenticeships in CDI related fields was noted by firms
who had tried this route. Lack of information among those advising the young at local schools
about the range and extent of careers in creative and digital firms was believed to be one of the
major obstacles.
A mis-match between schools provision of ICT education (focusing on the use of software for
example) and the more technical, programming oriented needs of employers was also noted. This
was fully understood to be a national issue but nevertheless something that should be attempted
to be addressed in Bradford’s schools through greater exposure of schoolchildren to the activities
of local businesses.
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A national research project was launched by the University and Bradford digital firm
Webanywhere, the CodeAnywhere Survey, in December 2013. This will examine the role of the
school IT curriculum and changes that might benefit business. As a national project this offers a
unique opportunity for Bradford to get ahead of any national level change and fully understand
the important role of schools in supplying skills for the future. The project is the first to be funded
by the Yorkshire Innovation Fund. The research builds on WebAnywhere’s development of learning
resources for teachers known as CodeAnywhere.
Manchester is viewed as an important source of new skills into the labour market for those in the
content creation market. Leeds and the wider city region are also a major source for many digital
firm’s recruitment needs. Specialised programming and digital content skills in particular are more
likely to be sourced from the Universities in Manchester and Leeds than they are from Bradford’s
own University. Very few businesses had had any direct contact with the University. Leeds or
Yorkshire is often used as the ‘location’ by those advertising posts nationally. The draw of Bradford
is perceived to be very limited.
One larger organisation that regularly works with SMEs operating in the creative sub-sector
highlighted that there is identifiable pent-up demand for basic business up-skilling, including
assistance in negotiating the grants system that is not being fully satisfied in the district. This is
compounded by a lack of knowledge among those SMEs of the regular business support
mechanisms that are available. A single point of contact is what is needed, rather than a confusing
array of different potential funds available. Business advisors should be able to navigate the web
of funding with no need for businesses to fully appreciate the different criteria being applied. This
would speed up the process for the businesses involved.
Bradford as a Business Location
Most comments of city centre businesses related to the general lack of activities and amenities for
staff to partake of. This, it was felt, generally limited the appeal of the city centre for staff and
therefore recruitment potential. For some, client and investor meetings were held in Leeds in
preference to Bradford. After hours activities appear more important to many firms involved in the
creative and digital sector and the lack of regular events and chances to meet and explore others
experiences and potential market developments was mentioned frequently.
For those businesses based outside of the city centre, many felt that proximity to Leeds and/or
ease of access to the national motorway network were strong features of their location rather
than the city centre itself. Relatively quick and uncongested access to Leeds-Bradford airport was
mentioned with its rapid growth, the growing number of airlines and flight routes being
welcomed.
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Among the larger firms in the CDI sector, resilience and scalability is key to their performance.
There are still areas that lack an adequate broadband supply at the speeds that are needed by
modern businesses in the CDI sector, including close to and on the fringe of the city centre. There
are also some rural broadband accessibility issues although the infrastructure is understood to be
changing rapidly by most.
Although the city centre and Little Germany is home to (inter)nationally trading digital content
businesses, the lack of availability of fibre to the premises and high speed broadband was regularly
mentioned as a limiting factor. Costs involved in arranging for the infrastructure ‘to the door’ were
the most often quoted issue. Concerns did not just include financial costs, but also the time taken
to arrange planning consent for road and associated works. These costs are too high for many
SMEs to consider. Many firms held the view that they would need greater bandwidth in the
immediate future. There is a direct role for the Council to alleviate at least the planning element of
this identified bottleneck to growth.
In the city centre, the City Centre Growth Zone and Business Growth Scheme can already support
digital business space ‘above the shops’. The initial phase of the Scheme appears to have been
largely focused on leisure and retail employment. Given their scale in the city centre this is
understandable. However, there is a feeling among those in the CDI sector that the scheme needs
to be widened as far as possible to promote diversity in activities – extending the use of the city
throughout the day, early evening and later time periods by a wider range of organisations. The
recent extension of the scheme to include infrastructure works within properties will only ensure a
more diverse take-up if CDI firms (many currently outside of the growth zone) are actively
targeted. Empty spaces in the city centre could also be better utilised as part of an integrated
project to bring the University into the centre or to offer start up space for student businesses.
Accessing Funds
Most consultees agreed that parts of the CDI sector have struggled with poor access to bank and
other traditional sources of finance for some time, a feature that has grown worse since the onset
of slow economic growth since 2008. Lack of adequate start-up finance holding back new entrants,
particularly among the younger population, was mentioned by a significant minority.
However, those outside of the specialised arts and creative industries did not view finance as a
major problem holding back business growth. A partial reason for this would appear to be that for
many CDI firms business inventories are not significant and thus people represent the largest
single cost. So long as these businesses continue to find new contracts, business finance is not so
significant an issue for them. Inside the city centre growth zone there is significant support for the
business rates rebate scheme, reflected in its rapid take up rates to date.
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Access to finances and grants for those operating in the cultural and performing arts sub-sector is
viewed as increasingly difficult. Larger organisations that have regular access to small and microbusinesses and other community organisations operating in this area have highlighted a lack of
adequate signposting to grants and assistance specifically for their activities. An initiative similar to
Leeds Inspired, a small grants fund of up to £1,000 per project and a large grants scheme up to
£15,000, is apparently lacking in Bradford.
Networks in Bradford
There is currently no co-ordinated CDI sector initiative to replace B Media. MAD Bradford started
the process but was dependent on a small number of key individuals. These activities may simply
need a renewed push rather than substantial funds or other Council involvement
Bradford has no cluster of gaming companies. This leads to the perception of no ready supply of
‘ideas exchange’ or staff availability for firms. There are however, a number of commercial nongaming developers embedded in other businesses and a small number of business to business
software developers and financial services experts in the area. Some commentators in the games
and supporting industries suspect that the talent being created at the University is largely lost to
other locations on graduation.
The proximity of Leeds and Manchester is seen as a negative factor by many, able to draw
employees, and in at least one case a games development company 12, out of Bradford. The larger
cities clearly benefit from a larger supply of new talent (mainly in digital content creation
activities) but others have also commented on the as yet untapped opportunity this brings for
greater co-operation given their relative proximity.
Within the wider Leeds City Region there is a strong gaming community in Leeds. Leeds
Metropolitan University courses for gaming started much earlier and are more mature and useful
to employers than Bradford or Huddersfield University’s offering. Creative England have an office
in Leeds and are aware of the Bradford offer. An opportunity exists for working up a proposition to
place Bradford into the wider city region, not only to help the LEP inward investment offer but also
to create linkages and the potential for collaborative joint working between firms in the future.
There are a number of unexplored opportunities for specific digital firms and/or the growth of
specialisms around online retail (with larger firms such as Morrisons, Freemans Grattan being
important potential beneficiaries and thus project sponsors). The same is potentially true of
activities involving alternative finance given the cluster of financial services firms active in
Bradford.
12
Game Frontier operates from Leeds Round Foundry Media Centre.
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January 2014
PROJECT THEMES AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Here we provide our initial summary of the themes that have resulted from both consultations
with organisations active in the CDI sector within Bradford, support organisations inside Bradford
and the city region and external consultations with sector bodies at national level.
In Leeds city region and Bradford as in the UK, much of the creative sector is composed of micro
and small enterprises often grouping together for particular commissions and projects, there is a
tendency to operate primarily through a series of networks made up of peers. In the digital subsector similar processes are often found, groups of firms coming together to deliver project based
work before moving on to new opportunities. This fluidity creates a difficult environment for
business support organisations to align their range of assistance with individuals and companies.
An emerging development that appears to be able to bridge this industry structure is the
development of an action learning set (otherwise termed a peer to peer business programme)
that bridges activities between Universities, public sector organisations and the creative
communities.
Action learning allows participants to develop new skills with peers, network and strengthen
relationships through collaboration. They are peer-led but allow those involved to reach out
through partners and find the particular support they need when they need it. If there is nothing
else that public sector organisations can do it is to enable the conditions in which such action
learning can take place. Many of the projects below can, and we believe should, be carried out in
this way.
Each theme contains a series of potential project ideas, some only achievable over a longer time
period. In some themes, sequencing will be important in that the initial project develops methods
of working, a resource or networks that subsequent projects need as a pre-requisite. Such open,
innovative networks and methods often represent the real long-term benefits of the projects
themselves, making Bradford a truly innovative creative and digital city and, as a result, one of the
best places to be in business.
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Figure 5.1: Project Themes – Making Bradford an Innovation Space
There may also be some crossover in projects with other sector growth work underway where the
underlying business growth issue is generic 13.
5.1
CONNECTING BRADFORD THEME
Bradford has as many pieces of a great creative and digital jigsaw as most other UK cities. The lack
of any easy access resource that allows connectivity between the various organisations already in
the city represents a significant obstacle to growth in new ideas, opportunities for collaboration
and, ultimately, local supply chain strength. At the same time, such a resource could help visitors
or potential investors into Bradford to find its creative and digital offer.
There are various elements of these ideas in existence around Bradford but none have joined up
the need for businesses to know each other exist, what activities they can offer to each other and
where they are.
Project: Develop a digital mapping of Bradford’s CDI businesses and organisations. A digital map
resource, developed by existing CDI sector organisations, with the potential for others to use.
Development of a mapping resource needs some form of kickstarting - this is potentially the main
role of the Council along with support in physically signposting and highlighting activities in the
city centre and other locations (similar to, but more developed than, the City of Film map project
that already exists).
13
mainly around general business use of the city centre space and the relatively low application rate for
apprenticeships from Bradford residents mentioned by many regardless of their sector focus.
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To be successful, we believe that the defining feature of a mapping project should be that it is as
‘crowdsourced’ as possible and based on ‘open source’ and ‘open data’ principles. This would
allow it to be owned by those who use it (increasing adoption) and allow its extension into a more
technical tool over time (increasing flexibility).
The concept of ‘mapping Bradford’ also has important potential spill-overs for all business sectors.
It links directly to the expressed need for connecting Bradford’s professional services business
base that we have uncovered in our sister work on that sector for example. The mapping could
include or be extended to a mini-directory of business-friendly coffee shops and restaurants (with
wifi, private dining and special deals etc) for example, or could showcase the extent of the existing
free wifi network in the city centre.
Existing projects in other parts of the UK include the Humber LEPs digitalestuary.com and a
cultural industries mapping of South London in southlondonartmap.com.
Project: Extend the digital mapping project into a mobile ‘hyper-local’ App platform. This would
allow much greater use of the mapping tool and, ultimately, the gathering of valuable intelligence
and data on CDI and other city issues.
The map should be extended to become interactive, potentially allowing data/feedback via rating
of experiences or businesses in a similar manner to a social media experience such as Facebook
check-ins or restaurant/attraction ratings. This would provide a unique platform that could be
built on into the future, providing vital intelligence and data. Leading cities around the world have
developed mechanisms based on mobile data technology that provide real-time feedback to the
city authority.
The evidence of existing cities suggests that this style of community engagement will be a defining
feature of successful and vibrant cities in future. The initial mapping project and its extension into
a mobile tool would start Bradford’s journey towards gathering useful information in real-time
that helps to build both public and economic value.
NESTA’s Destination Local programme is already funding eleven UK pilots developing hyper-local
projects including one in Leeds (thecitytalking project). Further calls for funding to develop similar
projects are planned 14. Bradford should aim to be among the next round of such projects.
Project: Ensure Bradford is represented online in CDI community listings and commercial web
directories. As an example Bradford is not yet listed online in directories such as
creativeboom.co.uk’s Creative Cities listing 15.
14
Background research and project examples of hyper-local media in the UK are contained in Damian Radcliffe,
Here and Now – UK hyperlocal media today, published by NESTA.
15
http://creativeboom.co.uk/features/creative-cities/
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This project can be researched and started with little resource and immediately with the potential
to recruit local FE college assistance to deliver it. More detailed company directory listings would
benefit from the mapping exercise or, alternatively, could inform the mapping work by populating
its database.
Project: Engage University to reach into the city centre and beyond, creating a single point of entry
and connecting it’s (inter)national links and speakers with Bradford’s SME businesses (who
currently view Manchester and Leeds as more likely to supply new talent into the labour market).
See ‘lean labs’ project under 5.3 below.
5.2
INVESTMENT LANDSCAPE THEME - FUNDING
The CDI sector is more reliant on external non-traditional funding routes. These are changing
rapidly and there is an identified need for formal awareness-raising with local organisations
alongside opening up EU/wider network links.
Project: In an environment where assistance and funding for business start-ups and growth is
facing significant change, the Council should support the development of local CDI businesses
through better information on funding opportunities.
This project can be started relatively quickly through a website-based project with signposts to
outside sources of funding specific to CDI but, critically, backed by a series of events for current
businesses. This type of project is underway in other parts of the Leeds city region (Enterprising
Barnsley seminar series on funding for example) and also benefits from the presence of Creative
England in Leeds who are administering the Regional Growth Fund Phase 2 backed £1 million pot
of funding that provides interest free loans between £60,000 and £100,000 to SMEs.
Project: In an environment where funding for business start-ups is facing significant change, the
Council should support the sector through exploration of a crowd-funding arena for the city.
Crowd-funding is being increasingly used by start-up businesses and those wishing to pursue
specific projects. In the past 12 months three projects have listed on kickstarter.com, the world’s
largest crowd-funding platform and all have succeeded in raising their target funds. All three are
CDI related projects (Figure 5.2). One project in particular, John McLear’s NFC Ring, is a combined
digital technology/manufacturing business idea that has been spectacularly successful and raised
800% of its target funding. The business behind the NFC Ring has aggressive targets for further
fund raising and business growth.
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Figure 5.2: Crowdfunding Success in Bradford
The exact shape of the council’s intervention should be carefully considered. We do not believe
that Bradford needs to develop its own crowd-funding platform. The expensive, time-consuming
development work has already been undertaken by some of the larger websites already in
existence. Council promotion of these and its involvement (through funding) might be a better and
shorter route to more Bradford projects being successful in raising their funds.
National evidence supports this. In November 2012 Lancashire County Council were the first UK
authority to place funds with fast growing UK finance website fundingcircle.com. Their initial
£100,000 fund has been joined by four other authorities during 2013 with total public sector funds
of £495,000 now being used to drive localised business loans 16. After 12 months experience,
Lancashire council have now set a much higher participation target of reaching £1 million being
used in this way in the near term.
Project: Bradford Council should encourage residents and existing businesses to become financial
sponsors and/or equity investors in the city’s young talent in both creative-digital and broader ICT
businesses.
As a bare minimum, creation of a Council-led Digital Investment Fund should be investigated.
16
Gloucestershire County (£100,000), Kirklees (£150,000), Camden (£100,000), Nottingham County (£45,000).
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Bradford already has an online equity finance platform being privately developed in the form of
cityseeders.com. However, we believe that the Council can drive a more targeted funding project
through the development of links with Further Education colleges and the University to identify
specific individuals for investment purposes. In this way, it potentially links and supports the
project discussed below (use of vacant city centre space as a ‘Digital Start-up Hub’).
The most advanced projects of this type involve both funding and mentoring elements with
websites such as upstart.com focusing solely on University graduates. In Scotland, a hybrid
business/individual investment programme is operated through upstarts.uk.com focusing
investments on technology businesses and those forming them and combining this with an
incubator scheme operated by Strathclyde University. There is no reason that Bradford should not
be doing something similar.
5.3
INVESTMENT LANDSCAPE THEME – INWARD INVESTMENT
Every city in the UK has a dedicated inward investment team that is responsible for promoting the
business benefits of their city to businesses, both in the UK and overseas. All teams receive
funding from local authorities (either a single council, or several councils across a city-region) and
increasingly, teams leverage in additional funds from private sector partners (for example,
Marketing Derby receives more than £250,000 from 170 local firms; Nottingham has a similar
number of supporters in its Invest in Nottingham Club; and Hull has a well-subscribed ‘bondholder’
scheme that supports its promotional efforts).
Whilst Bradford has the ‘Invest in Bradford’ brand, with a website and associated materials, it is
woefully under-resourced compared to other competitor cities; its collateral looks and feels dated;
and does not compare favourably to other towns and cities. If Bradford is to make the most of its
locational assets and begin attracting jobs and investment from companies in this sector, the
Invest in Bradford team needs to be strengthened through access to additional resources.
The Leeds City Region has been discussing the establishment of a LEP-wide inward investment
team for two years. As of October 2013, there appears to be progress towards creating a cityregion inward investment team through Leeds & Partners. While this is a logical approach when
competing with Scotland, London, Manchester and Birmingham internationally, it is not the
panacea for Bradford’s lack of inward investment success. Bradford is just one part of a city region
that includes very strong competing and/or complimentary offers across Bradford’s target sectors.
The city cannot simply leave inward investment to Leeds & Partners. It must have a team of its
own, responsible for:
•
investor development (account managing the most important existing firms),
•
responding in a coherent way to all investment enquiries,
•
ensuring that Bradford’s strengths are understood at the LEP level,
•
targeting potential investors in the UK, and
•
local sector support and partnerships with local networks.
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Invest in Bradford would leave overseas promotional activity to Leeds & Partners allowing greater
focus on its relationship with individual UKTI teams and staff.
Whilst there is a need to promote Bradford, there is a lot of mileage in leveraging and being
associated with the much stronger Leeds brand. The cities are barely seven miles apart from ring
road to ring road – the same distance as Manchester city centre to Manchester Airport; or Baker
Street to Wembley Stadium. The airport is Leeds-Bradford and this should be extended when
promoting the area in different sectors. Leeds City Region doesn’t do this and there is a danger
that any LEP-level initiative will either be too ‘Leeds’ focused, or else diluted between 11 local
authorities. Invest in Bradford should embrace Leeds and associate with its clear strengths in
financial and digital sectors and talk about the ‘Leeds-Bradford area’, make more of LeedsBradford Airport and include both cities universities and interesting companies when talking with
outside parties. The area’s businesses already do this when talking with their clients and suppliers.
The Invest in Bradford team should be resourced to undertake a rolling programme of investment
promotion activity and projects for the CDI sector that makes key audiences aware of Bradford’s
existing strengths and opportunities. These could include:
•
creation of detailed propositions for different types of project (digital media; cultural;
digital/technology related manufacturing),
•
development of up-to-date collateral, especially web-based and social media tools,
•
targeted intermediary programme with Manchester-based advisors and specialists,
•
involvement in regional sector organisations and initiatives,
•
partnering with Leeds, Manchester, Sheffield on common sector initiatives,
•
hosting of regional events focused on CDI issues (eg UKTI sector team visits),
•
facilitating a 3D printing initiative with major local firms and the University, highlighting
the increasingly important linkages between CDI and manufacturing.
5.4
UNDER-UTILISED RESOURCES THEME
There appear to be three main under-utilised resources for CDI businesses; physical spaces within
the city centre environment, the University’s offer to local CDI businesses and the potential future
recruits that are currently of school age in the district.
City Centre Space
There are broadly speaking two types of city centre space that could be better utilised for CDI
sector activities; existing high quality spaces such as those at the National Media Museum, Kala
Sangam and, potentially, CityPark itself 17, and vacant/under-used commercial premises within the
city centre.
17
Over the medium term the Odeon Cinema may also complement these spaces and be of use to businesses
dependent on the nature of the final development proposal.
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Project: Use of existing spaces to bring together the CDI community to discuss issues of common
concern. This possibly needs little more than a re-kindling and re-energising of previous activities
undertaken by groups such as MAD Bradford. The will and demand for a regular series of industryrelated events has already been demonstrated and was a common recurring issue raised during
our consultations.
Inclusion of both colleges and the University within the events and discussions taking place would
however be paramount. This would provide a natural bridge to better understand the skills
emerging from local education establishments and needed by businesses, and also showcase
research activities and potential opportunities outside of the immediate area.
Project: The use of vacant city centre space for the creation of CDI showcasing or specific pop-up
activity should be considered. We do not mean the style of pop-up retail that many town and
city centres have undertaken recently. The temporary nature of those spaces has generally
created little lasting impact beyond supporting an individual or group of small businesses.
Much greater and longer term impacts would result from a project designed around creating a
digital ‘lean lab’, a space where new start-ups could be assisted financially through
reduced/removed rents and other costs. If the project was designed to allow more than one start
up sharing the space in some way, then skills swap and collaborative development of products and
services would also be promoted. Designed correctly this style of project could also promote
retention of University talent in the city (see equity finance project above).
Being part of the city centre would also potentially allow for the use of vacant spaces to showcase
and develop an understanding by the wider Bradford community of; what CDI is - opportunities for
careers/apprenticeships, collaborative working, and what it can achieve - lean labs (accessible to
residents/students/schools).
Higher Education Resources
Bradford University’s course offer for digital media and, in particular, games development skills is
now maturing and should be able to offer more potential recruits into local firms than are being
seen by businesses.
There are many ICT businesses outside of the games development arena that nevertheless require
young recruits with good basic coding and programming knowledge. In Bradford official data
shows there are over 300 businesses classified as software firms. Only one or two are involved in
games development, many more provide and support commercial software for the business
market. There appears to be a mis-match between the University’s course content and the needs
of these businesses that should be relatively easy to resolve through discussion with the
businesses themselves.
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At the same time, closer working with the University might lead to the identification of specific
students with ideas that show commercial promise. The ‘lean labs’ project discussed above could
be used to support these activities, securing the new business in Bradford rather than elsewhere
on the student’s graduation.
Project: Investigation of the feasibility of developing a commercial space in order to trap postfilming activity already taking place across the district that is currently being lost to London and
other locations for high-value post-film production.
The University offers a great opportunity for the city to benefit from further development of its
film production facilities. These were in place until the lack of resource led to the closure of a
facility hosted by the National Media Museum. Currently, the University has a mobile film
production unit but, critically, does not have the ability to produce to high definition standards.
Evidence from Manchester suggests there is significant commercial need for lower cost postfilming production space in the UK outside of London and the South East. Manchester’s Sharp
Project production facilities have been successful and the offer in Manchester is now expanding to
provision of a full drama production facility with an additional five stages. Whilst not on the scale
of the Manchester operation, there appears to be an opportunity for Bradford to offer similar
production facilities given activity around on-location filming and its City of Film status.
Schools Level Project
Project: ‘Businesses into Schools’ style project could be used to provide a direct linkage between
firms and those at school, of all ages, who might not consider careers in either the creative or
digital sector or, in most cases, even appreciate the breadth of activities that are taking place
across Bradford at present.
This project falls directly in line with current national recommendations to government by the
Culture, Media and Sport Committee of the House of Commons which recommends, “school
children be introduced to the ideas of intellectual property and the nature of business to gain a
better understanding of the importance of creativity both to the learning process and to wider
society and the economy.”
We believe, over time, that this project could extend into other sectors such as manufacturing and
professional services, but the nature of some of the tangible products that CDI firms can
demonstrate in schools and the likely high interest of children in digital platforms appears to offer
an ideal first pathway for the widening of a business into schools initiative across Bradford in the
future.
This project would also appear to help in resolving an issue highlighted by many consultees (in CDI
and other businesses) that local schools are not promoting the apprenticeship route sufficiently
with many more applicants for apprenticeships from outside of the area than from Bradford’s
schools.
East West Locations / Breeze Strategy
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Bradford District CDI Sector Development
January 2014
A Final Note: Bradford in the Wider Area
Many of the projects under each of the themes above need to be co-ordinated if duplication of
effort is to be avoided. From our consultations, it is clear that co-ordination is also important
across the wider West Yorkshire and Leeds city region space. A ‘Digital Action Plan’ that sets out
the vision for Bradford and the wider area would help to focus the range of interventions and
projects that are needed to place Bradford and the city region in front of more significant
opportunities across the UK and internationally.
Bradford has an opportunity to provide a lead role in a wider area action plan. However, choosing
the right geography is important. Bradford should consider whether it is a component of the offer
that includes Manchester, MediaCityUK Salford and the production facilities at the Sharp Project
in Manchester or is better presented as part of the Leeds city region with its strengths in games,
digital elements of manufacturing and other digital platform development. In reality, both
approaches will fit different parts of the digital economy.
East West Locations / Breeze Strategy
42
Bradford District CDI Sector Development
January 2014
ANNEX 1
CREATIVE AND DIGITAL INDUSTRIES
SECTOR DEFINITIONS
East West Locations / Breeze Strategy
i
Bradford District CDI Sector Development
January 2014
DCMS OFFICIAL CREATIVE INDUSTRIES DEFINITION
First column: weighting factor of employment to include
Second column: SIC2007 code
Third column: Descriptor
0.01
1
1
0.25
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
0.5
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
0.05
0.05
0.05
0.05
0.05
0.05
0.05
0.05
0.05
0.05
0.333
0.047
0.396
7810
7311
7312
7420
6201
6202
6391
7410
9001
9002
9003
9004
5811
5813
5814
5819
5821
5829
5911
5912
5913
5914
5920
6010
6020
1411
1412
1413
1414
1419
1420
1431
1439
1512
1520
1820
4778
4779
Activities of employment placement agencies (TV/theatre casting)
Advertising agencies
Media representation
Photographic activities
Computer programming activities
Computer consultancy activities
News agency activities
Specialised design activities
Performing arts
Support activities to performing arts
Artistic creation
Operation of arts facilities
Book publishing
Publishing of newspapers
Publishing of journals and periodicals
Other publishing activities
Publishing of computer games
Other software publishing
Motion picture, video and television programme production
Motion picture, video and television programme post-production
Motion picture, video and television programme distribution
Motion picture projection activities
Sound recording and music publishing activities
Radio broadcasting
Television programming and broadcasting activities
Manufacture of leather clothes
Manufacture of workwear
Manufacture other outerwear
Manufacture of underwear
Manufacture other wearing apparel & accessories
Manufacture of articles of fur
Manufacture of knitted & crocheted hosiery
Manufacture other knitted & crocheted apparel
Manufacture of luggage, handbags & the like, saddlery & har
Manufacture of footwear
Reproduction of recorded media
Other Ret sale of new goods in specialised stores
Ret sale of second-hand goods in stores (antique(s) books)
East West Locations / Breeze Strategy
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Bradford District CDI Sector Development
January 2014
BROAD DEFINITION - ICT AND DIGITAL INDUSTRIES
First column: weighting factor of employment to include
Second column: SIC2007 code (4-digit)
Third column: Descriptor
0.2
1
0.75
0.8
0.8
1
1
0.885
1812
1813
1820
2611
2612
2620
2630
2651
1
1
1
1
4651
4652
4666
4741
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
4742
5811
5812
5814
5819
5821
5829
5911
5912
5913
5920
6010
6020
6110
6120
6130
6190
6201
6202
6203
6209
6311
6312
6399
7219
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
7220
7320
7420
7430
9003
9511
9512
Other printing
Pre-press & pre-media services
Reproduction of recorded media
Manufacture of electronic components
Manufacture of loaded electronic boards
Manufacture of computers & peripheral equipment
Manufacture of communication equipment
Manufacture of instruments & appliances for measuring, testing
and navigation
Whsale of computers, computer peripheral equipment & software
Whsale of electronic & telecommunications equipment & parts
Whsale other office machinery & equipment
Ret sale of computers, peripheral units and software in
specialised stores
Ret sale of telecommunications equipment in specialised stores
Book publishing
Publishing of directories and mailing lists
Publishing of journals and periodicals
Other publishing activities
Publishing of computer games
Other software publishing
Motion picture, video and television programme production
Motion picture, video and television programme post-production
Motion picture, video and television programme distribution
Sound recording and music publishing activities
Radio broadcasting
Television programming and broadcasting activities
Wired telecommunications activities
Wireless telecommunications activities
Satellite telecommunications activities
Other telecommunications activities
Computer programming activities
Computer consultancy activities
Computer facilities management activities
Other information technology and computer service activities
Data processing, hosting and related activities
Web portals
Other information service activities
Other research and experimental development on natural
sciences
Research and experimental development on social sciences
Market research and public opinion polling
Photographic activities
Translation and interpretation activities
Artistic creation
Repair of computers and peripheral equipment
Repair of communication equipment
East West Locations / Breeze Strategy
iii