Regional economic development through creative industries: a research project and partnership between Townsville City Council and James Cook University
Conference Contribution ResearchOnline@JCUAbstract
Creative industries continue to be recognized as a key contributor to economic and employment growth, given they can be developed without investment in major infrastructure projects that other industries require (e.g. agriculture, resources). In addition to recognizing the importance of creative industries, the current Australian government has recently renewed a focus on the vast northern tropical area of the country. Townsville, North Queensland, the most populated provincial city of northern Australia and one of the first sites for the rollout of the NBN, will be key to this vision and growth. A recent study of Townsville's creative industries however reveals that key sub-sectors of this area of economic activity are in fact in decline (e.g. creative arts, photography, design, fashion, architecture). Therefore, the key aim of this paper is to report on a research partnership between Townsville City Council and James Cook University, which has involved a detailed analysis of the current and future employment issues facing this sector. Using recently obtained survey and interview data, this presentation provides direct insights into the various employment, job creation and business development issues that creative industries practitioners currently face and which both enable and hamper growth of the sector. The findings reveal a number of insights of relevance to civic leaders in North Queensland, as well as those more broadly responsible for the development of regional economies, in terms of the potential for creative industries to play a distinctive and significant contribution to future employment and economic growth.
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NEDC 2015: National Economic Development Conference 2015
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52
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Moreton Bay, QLD, Australia
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Economic Development Australia
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Moreton Bay, QLD, Australia
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