Sydney Business and
Education Creative Hub
Scoping Study
Sydney Business and
Education Creative Hub
Scoping Study
Report to the NSW Board of Vocational Education and Training.
NOVEMBER 2010
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Sydney Business and Education Creative Hub Scoping Study
Sydney Business and Education Creative Hub Scoping Study,
SCOPING STUDY STEERING COMMITTEE
Caroline Alcorso - Department of Education and Training
Susan Bearfield - Department of Education and Training
Judith Bowtell / Michael Volkering - Arts NSW
Sue McCreadie - Industry & Investment NSW
Jason Scattolin - Industry & Investment NSW
Steven Pozel - Object Australian Design Centre
UTS Research Commissioned by the NSW Board of Vocational Education and Training
Chief Investigator: Professor Roy Green, Dean, UTS Faculty of Business
Co Investigator: Darrall Thompson, Director of Teaching and Learning, UTS School of Design
Acknowledgements and authorship
This report includes contributions from the Chief and Co Investigator together with
Arup Senior Consultant: Dan Hill (dan.hill@arup.com),
Arup Consultant: Michelle Tabet (michelle.tabet@arup.com)
Research was conducted with Human Research Ethics clearance HREC 2010-217A
UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY, SYDNEY
Sydney Business and Education Creative Hub Scoping Study
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Contents
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ....................................................................... 5
- Introduction ........................................................................................ 8
- Map of the hub region ............................................................. 12 / 13
SCOPING STUDY PROCESS ............................................................. 15
- Design Thinking Event . .................................................................. 16
- Interviews .......................................................................................... 22
- Roundtable ....................................................................................... 28
IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATIONS .................................. 29
1. Soft & Hard Infrastructure ........................................................ 30
2. Models & Costs ............................................................................ 34
3. Activities & Projects ................................................................... 39
UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY, SYDNEY
Sydney Business and Education Creative Hub Scoping Study
Page 5
Executive summary
This study has its starting point in the emergence of a ‘creative hub’
of business and community activity in Sydney’s vibrant, multi-cultural
area around Broadway and between Pyrmont and Surry Hills.
This activity encompasses digital media and advertising, film and
television, architecture and planning and fashion and design, and its
internal dynamic of growth and innovation is increasingly reinforced
by development of social networks and collaboration.
The study asks what can be done to facilitate the growth and diffusion
of this activity, including the opportunities for collaboration, and how
can education and skill providers best contribute to build innovative
potential and capability in firms and organisations to maximise their
sustainable economic and social impact.
Background
The NSW Business Sector Growth Plan 2010
recognises that ‘creative activity drives the
development of new products and services
across a range of industries’, and that ‘strong
positioning of the creative industries will play
a significant role in underpinning the NSW
knowledge economy, and its global reputation
and performance’. This approach draws on international research and experience which demonstrates that such activity derives its energy and
critical mass not just from individuals and their
organisations but also from their connections
across geographically concentrated clusters or
networks, operating in close collaboration with
research and educational institutions. *
The proximity effect of clustering makes a
difference to local economies by enhancing
the innovation and productivity performance
of both the creative industries themselves and
the broader activities in which they participate
through knowledge spillovers, technology diffusion and global supply chains. Even if ‘the world
is flat’, in the words of Tom Friedman, due to
personal mobility and communications breakthroughs, it is also ‘spiky’, as Richard Florida
pointed out, reflecting the superior competitive
advantage of innovative and interconnected
clusters of ingenuity and expertise. The success
of a creative hub in central Sydney is not selfcontained but gains sustenance and reverberates
in other creative communities across greater
Sydney and NSW as a whole.
Findings
This study engaged with the four key leadership
sectors for the creative hub: business, government, arts and culture and education. There was
strong support both for a more systematic and
coherent approach to building entrepreneurial
and innovative capability and for social infrastructure that would facilitate connections and
the development of a creative community.
The findings of the study suggest that the
creative hub should operate at three separate
but related levels:
• A real network of cooperation among the
four sectors of business, government, arts
and culture and education not just in a formal
sense but in the everyday experience of entrepreneurs, knowledge workers and students
focussed on learning and innovation
• A virtual network among the four sectors
locally and with other individuals and groups
around the world through social media and
web platforms accessible with free wifi,
enhancing the connections, support and
opportunities for the creative hub
• A spatial network of social, exhibition and
work spaces as well as a central, branded hub
facility which both makes the creative activity
of the hub visible in the external environment
and provides innovation accelerator service
for business and the creative community.
Organisational models
There are a number of organisational models for
the support of innovative clusters. It is important
that such support is well targeted in relation to
identified and agreed objectives, facilitates rather than prescribes the implementation of such
objectives, ensures a cost effective approach to
meeting objectives, builds in evaluation criteria
and does not duplicate other services. The study
invited discussion of three models:
* J Tomaney, Place-Based Approaches to Regional Development: Global trends and Australian implications, Australian
Business Foundation, Sydney 2010; R Green & K Hughes, Northern Sydney’s Global Technology Corridor: A scoping
study of cluster development, Industry & Investment NSW, Australian Business Foundation, Sydney 2009
UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY, SYDNEY
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Sydney Business and Education Creative Hub Scoping Study
1. Trusted intermediary model
during this study suggest that such commitment
will be forthcoming.
This approach would entail each of the four
lead sectors contributing a secondment of staff,
possibly part-time, to a combined working team.
The director of the team would report to a high
level group – ‘champions’ circle’ – representing
the four sectors. Projects and activities would be
agreed by the high level group and implemented
by the working team in cooperation with others
in the fours sectors.
2. Creative lab model
This approach would bring together key individuals from the four sectors with international
thought leaders and advisers to work on projects
sponsored by business and other organisations
with an interest in the development and commercialisation of ideas, with structured support
from collaborative, multi-disciplinary teams
of students, academics and interns. Again the
model would be guided by a high level group
from the four sectors.
3. Network broker model
This model would combine the trusted intermediary concept with the creative lab in the appointment of a skilled and trusted broker to work
with individuals and organisations in the four
sectors, again under the guidance of a high level
executive group or advisory board. The group
would identify projects and activities, with input
from thought leaders and practitioners, which
would gain added value from collaboration
among the four sectors and from the contribution of carefully prepared but self-directed
student teams.
Recommendations
As a result of discussion and feedback, as well as
an assessment of the international experience,
the key recommendation of this report is that the
network broker model is adopted and funded
as essential soft infrastructure for the development of the creative hub. This will require the
appointment of a senior professional to perform
the role of broker for the real, virtual and spatial
networks summarised above, and two assistants
– one for administrative support and the other
for technical support on the social media and
web interface. The success of this approach will
depend on the positive commitment and participation of the four sectors, and the interactions
UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY, SYDNEY
To give substance to this recommendation,
and to enable the connections to take shape,
it is further recommended that a feasible and
inspiring project be funded jointly by government and the education sector as a pilot in the
first instance, with sponsorship from business as
it gets underway. This project would be modelled
on a number of initiatives around the world
(University of Toronto’s Designworks, Stanford’s
d-school, University of Connecticut’s Innovation
Accelerator, Denmark’s Mindlab, Finland’s Living
Labs) and would engage multi-disciplinary teams
of students from the University of Technology
Sydney and TAFE NSW - Sydney Institute in
collaborative projects with local businesses and
organisations and in their own start-up ventures
with mentoring support. The teams would be
prepared and guided by academic staff from the
two institutions and by visiting thought leaders
and practitioners in the context of the network
broker model of cooperative arrangements
between the four sectors.
Finally, for such a project to become embedded as an educational resource and incubator
for the development of creative business and
cluster activities, it must have a physical base. It
is therefore recommended that funding support
be provided for necessary hard infrastructure
through refurbishment and refitting of a current
educational facility, with which network broker
activities for the creative hub might also be
co-located. The result would be that the creative
hub is given physical expression in a building
which would become a recognised core facility
for the collaborative design and implementation
of innovative projects. It would also be a unique
prototype for future productive cooperation
between VET and higher education in Australia,
both in delivering outcomes for business and the
community and in providing students with the
opportunity to develop practical entrepreneurship and innovation skills.
Note: Throughout the scoping study research,
events and interviews, a range of ideas for
creative hub activities and projects emerged.
These are integrated with international examples
in Section 3. Activities & Projects. However, there
is an ‘Extracted Project Listing’ that gives a brief
description of 17 suggested hub projects that
can be found on page 40 of this report.
Sydney Business and Education Creative Hub Scoping Study
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‘The physical and the
virtual worlds are
converging, thanks
to the proliferation of
sensors, ubiquitous
wireless networks and
clever analytics software.
Increasingly there will
be two interconnected
worlds: the real one and
the digital reflection..
and “Smart cities”, in
which more and more
systems are connected,
are multiplying.. the
number of [smart]
applications is vast.
Yet the most promising
field for now may be
physical infrastructures.’
The Economist Magazine. 4 November 2010 - A Special Report on Smart Systems
UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY, SYDNEY
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Sydney Business and Education Creative Hub Scoping Study
Introduction
Separate studies were conducted in 2009 by a
team from UTS and John Mitchell & Associates
for NSW Board of Vocational Education and
Training into supporting the innovative capacity
of creative industries. The John Mitchell study
also included the fields of financial services
and logistics. One outcome from both creative
industry studies indicated that the area around
Broadway presented strong signs of an emerging creative industries cluster with important
educational needs.
NSW Board of Vocational Education and Training
commissioned this 2010 scoping study to
explore the most effective ways of implementing
a ‘Sydney Business and Education Creative Hub’
(working name). The aim being to raise the innovative capacity of organisations in the hub region
through a range of skills development, education
and training, and professional development
offerings. Whilst the working title included
‘business and education’, it became clear early in
the study that these educational needs required
collaboration with what we identified as four
sectors of leadership and engagement (as shown
in the adjacent diagram).
A creative hub may be defined as an area presenting a geographical concentration of firms in
the creative and cultural sectors that source their
knowledge through interaction with research
and educational institutions as well as other
firms. However, respondents felt that defining a
specific boundary may alienate some important
stakeholders in all four sectors of business,
education, government and the arts. The hub
region is also fragmented by major rail and road
thoroughfares and will need both hard and soft
infrastructure projects to develop cohesion (see
the adjacent map).
EDUCATION
AND TRAINING
UNI / VET
ARTS /
CULTURAL /
COMMUNITY
ORGS.
Four sectors of leadership and engagement needed
to form a creative hub and collaborate in
educational provision
Darling Harbour
Chinatown
Pyrmont
Ultimo
Glebe
This report presents findings from the stages of
the scoping study with descriptions of stakeholder engagement, interviews and exploratory
workshops that form the scoping study methodology.
This is followed by an ‘implementation and
recommendations’ section derived from the
scoping study process. Given the many Sydney
development initiatives currently in progress and
the pressing need for coordination across all four
sectors, the recommendations include proposals
for three possible cross-sectoral organisational
frameworks. There are also local and international examples of successful creative hub initiatives
as a resource for further discussion.
UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY, SYDNEY
BUSINESS &
CREATIVE
INDUSTRIES
LOCAL
& STATE
GOVERNMENT
Central
Surry Hills
Chippendale
Redfern
Defining a specific hub boundary may alienate
important stakeholders in a region that is also
fragmented by major road and rail thoroughfares.
Sydney Business and Education Creative Hub Scoping Study
Following previous research for the NSW Board
of Vocational Education and Training on the
creative industries, the idea of a creative hub
emerged as a focal point for this scoping study
aimed at improving the innovative capacity of or
organisations and the workforce. The proposal
was based on the realisation that the co-location
of complementary creative industries activities
provided untapped potential to build a strong
network of stakeholders connected to both
business opportunities and educational provision
in a broad area surrounding the southern Sydney
CBD.
Indeed, the Scoping Study Project Brief from the
NSW Board of Vocational Education and Training
suggests that innovation involves inter-firm
relationships, good communication and collaboration skills among complex and diverse teams
that collaborate on a project by project basis.
There is also much emphasis in recent research
on the intrinsically social nature of creative work,
where serendipity, informal meetings and blurred
boundaries between work and life are the
characteristics of a creative career.
Despite a plethora of reports and studies,
practical efforts towards cohesive collaborative schemes have often been fragmented and
disparate. This scoping study, with its intentional focus on education, skills and knowledge
transfer within the creative industries presents
an inclusive cross-sectoral perspective. All
creative professions, whether in film production
or architecture, design or 3D animation, would
benefit from strengthened partnerships between
business, education, government and arts /
cultural and community organisations. New
collaborations are needed to form more ‘work
ready’ graduates and provide high-quality continuing education options for existing creative
industry workers.
With a host of potential benefits why has a
creative hub not come into existence already?
What are the barriers to entry and deterrents
to its creation? How integrated or bureaucratic
does this network of stakeholders or overarching
organisation need to be?
The following paragraphs outline some of the
many possible explanations which include factors inherent to creative industries themselves,
as well as spatial and urban considerations.
Creative Synergies
The districts surrounding the CBD are a dynamic
mix occupied by some of Australia’s flagship
cultural, creative, and educational institutions.
The institutions speak for themselves: The
Powerhouse Museum, the ABC, Google, IBM,
Foxtel, Fairfax and many more. In the same area
UTS, University of Sydney, UNSW College of Fine
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Arts, and many private VET providers alongside
TAFE are major contributors to the education
of creative personnel. And the numbers corroborate: 37% of Australia’s creative industry is
located in NSW a majority of which operates in
Sydney. According to the ABS, this accounted for
about 150,000 jobs in NSW for 2006 (Department of State and Regional Development, New
South Wales Creative Industry Insights, December 2008)
These facts and figures are only an insight
into what is already happening in the industry.
Creative activities range from City of Sydneyled-and-supported programs (Creative Sydney,
Sydney Design), Industry & Investment NSW
Digital Sydney initiative etc. through to big creative businesses and major cultural institutions.
There is also massive ‘undergrowth’ in the form
of SME’s, micro-businesses, grass roots operations and community organisations, a testimony
to the fact that the area is organically growing.
However, what constitutes the strengths of the
creative industries as a sector are also its weaknesses. Creative businesses come in all shapes
and sizes. Synergies between varying operation
scales and business models are difficult to
achieve. The delivery of innovative crossdisciplinary content is also a complex process
which involves teams from a variety of disciplines with varying working methodologies and
business priorities. Finding a common basis for
the engagement of a diverse range of partners
has been challenging, which explains the lack of
connectivity and visibility for Sydney’s creative
industries.
Creative Environments
The central area of Sydney also happens to be
at the crossroads of some of its major thoroughfares with heavy traffic in George Street,
Broadway, Harris Street and the various flyovers
at all hours. Central Station and the Fraser’s
construction site also constitute considerable
physical barriers, cutting across the fine-grain
pedestrian fabric of Surry Hills and Chippendale.
This fragmentation of the urban environment
acts as a barrier to the permeability of the area
and to the visibility of initiatives.
In light of new developments such as the City
of Sydney’s Ultimo Pedestrian Network (UPN),
there is potential to rethink the position and
identity of the area to incorporate visual and
spatial cues of the existence of a hub which
would further establish the emerging creative
cluster as well as render the activities of the hub
legible in the urban fabric.
Whilst it is important not to alienate important
stakeholders by defining a specific ‘precinct’,
broader research on creative industries hubs
UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY, SYDNEY
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indicates that creative industries and cultural
production benefit from a place-based advantage, a tacit knowledge which is embedded
locally. Cultural producers and creative workers
form part of a local circuit of knowledge, embedded within local cultures and networks that
possesses the potential to reach global circuits
of cultural consumption. The need for coordination of a broad range of educational and other
initiatives is clear. However, there is also the
need for a digital network, both local and global,
stimulated by a physical network of spaces that
host and encourage the hub’s creative activity.
Creative Leadership
As discussed previously, the organisations that
are starting to form part of emerging creative
clusters in Sydney more broadly are diverse
in size and activity. During the process of this
scoping study, many of these organisations
have come forward and expressed interest in
being involved in a burgeoning hub project but
uncertainties remain concerning the organisational model, and especially the leadership
strategy that is going to be adopted in shaping
this project. Who has the time and resources
to dedicate to this endeavour? If government
were to lead the initiative, what are the dangers
of losing the emergent, bottom up authenticity
of the broad ranging creative connections with
other sectors? How is the sustained involvement
of multiple organisations possible with no clear
leadership structure?
The first ‘design thinking’ event held in June
2010, the subsequent broad-ranging interviews
and the roundtable event in August have made
it clear that there are many exciting and innovative activities happening in Sydney’s creative
industries, but they remain fragmented, often
hidden and mostly disconnected.
The need for collaborative cross-sector funding
models and staffing demands creative leadership
within a highly competitive context. This hub
proposal will also be confronted by these realities but with the critical mass of creative activity,
there is real potential for a collective leadership
role to emerge. A consistent theme in findings
from this scoping study is that the formation of
a creative hub needs to include all four sectors
working in leadership together. For the purposes
of the scoping study these sectors have been
colour-coded and defined as follows:
n
n
n
n
Education (University and VET Sector),
Businesses and Creative industries,
Government (Local and State) and
Arts / Cultural / Community Organisations.
UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY, SYDNEY
Sydney Business and Education Creative Hub Scoping Study
Sydney Business and Education Creative Hub Scoping Study
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“A hub, in
its physical
expression, would
turn building
into platforms
for knowledge
exchange but also
create pathways
between those
platforms.”
Jess Scully, Director of Creative Sydney
UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY, SYDNEY
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Sydney Business and Education Creative Hub Scoping Study
Fairfax
Digital
Fairfax
Media
PYRMONT
SYDNEY’S CREATIVE HUB
Vibewire
GLEBE
Powerhouse
Museum
UTS Business
School
ABC
Glebe
Markets
TAFE Sydney
Institute
UTS Tower
CIIC
2SER Radio
White Rabbit
Gallery
Frasers
Studio
CHIPPENDALE
CarriageWorks
ATP
NEWTOWN
Newtown School
of Performing Arts
Design Centre
Enmore
Dulwich Hill
High School
BEC office
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UTS DA
Sydney Business and Education Creative Hub Scoping Study
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Raffles
This map is a conceptual representation of the emergent creative cluster
around central Sydney. The surface
represents concentrations of creative
businesses and organisations. Major
educational, cultural and business
institutions have been identified and
placed on the map. Smaller initiatives
such as businesses, gallery spaces
are indicated with smaller callouts to
highlight their density and interconnected nature.
White House
Billy Blue
College of Design
City of
Sydney
DARLINGHURST
Object
Gallery
UTS
Shopfront
AB
COFA
Arts Council
of Australia
Metroscreen
SURRY HILLS
Anagram
Studio
Surry Hills
Library
Fox Studio
Innovation Centre
UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY, SYDNEY
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Sydney Business and Education Creative Hub Scoping Study
Engaging the four
sectors of leadership
n
Businesses and Creative industries n
Government (Local and State) n
Arts / Cultural / Community Orgs. n
Education (University and VET Sector)
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Sydney Business and Education Creative Hub Scoping Study
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Scoping study process
Given the need to engage with a range of individuals from all four sectors in exploring
the development of a creative hub, with a focus on educational provision, the following
five stages constituted the scoping study process. These stages were all preceded by
extensive secondary research and preparation.
Stages in the process
Participant Organisations
1. Business & Education Design Thinking
Event - 10 June 2010
ABC Innovation Group
Location: UTS, Faculty of Design, Architecture
and Building
Keynote speakers: Justine Simons, Head of
Cultural Policy, Mayor of London’s office, Shirley
Alexander, Deputy Vice Chancellor and Vice
President of Teaching, Learning and Ethics and
Sue Rowley, Consultant to the Creative Industries
Innovation Centre (CIIC).
From a selected list of invitees 37 participants
engaged in this exploratory event to discuss
issues, scenarios and possible visions of the hub.
2. In-depth Interviews - June/July 2010
Animal Logic
Anagram Studios
Aquent
Arts NSW
Arup
Australian Graphic Design Association
Billy Blue School of Design
City of Sydney
Commercial Arts Training College
Creative Industries Innovation Centre
Location: various
Creative Sydney
Interviewees: 15 individuals identified through
research and the first event were a representative
range from the four key sectors: education, business, government and arts/culture/community.
Deluxe Associates
Interviews provided more in-depth insights into
understanding each participant’s involvement
with the creative industries, their views on how
vocational education and training could be
improved through a hub and what the motivators
for the hub are.
Digital Sydney
3. Steering Committee Discussion
- 29 July 2010
Location: NSW DET offices
Attendees: Scoping Study Steering Committee
UTS Researchers presented draft key findings
and recommendations for discussion together
with planning of the roundtable event for feedback on the viability of ideas and proposals.
4. Creative Hub Roundtable Event
- 31 August 2010
Design Institute of Australia
Digital Eskimo
Freeman Neville
Information Cultural Exchange
Industry and Investment NSW
Jungle Boys
JMC Academy
KPMG
Metroscreen
NSW Arts, Communications, FInance and
Property Services Industry Training Advisory
Body (ITAB)
NSW Dept of Education and Training
Object Gallery
PowerHouse Museum
Location: UTS Aerial Function Centre
Six Degrees
Attendees: From a small list of selected invitees
20 participants discussed findings and ideas from
the study presented by UTS researchers Roy
Green and Darrall Thompson and supported with
case studies from Michelle Tabet of Arup. The
discussion was facilitated by Peter Thompson
(presenter of the ABC Talking Heads program).
Spatchurst
5. Preparation of Final Report with recommendations to NSW Board of Vocational
Education and Training.
University of Sydney
Switch Academy
TAFE NSW Sydney Institute - Enmore Design
Centre, Ultimo College
UTS
Wacom
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Sydney Business and Education Creative Hub Scoping Study
Design Thinking Event
‘De-signing’ to create a ‘fluid’
(otherwise known as a solution)
This event brought together 47 participants
with an interest in the creation of the Sydney
Business and Education Creative Hub from the
four sectors identified through previous research.
The idea was to engage individuals in two key
aspects of design thinking. Firstly to reduce the
silo mentality between sectors by ‘de-signing’
participants (they did not have name badges
or their sectors identified). Secondly, to ‘put
oneself in another’s shoes’ and discuss a range
of presented scenarios from the viewpoint of a
sector different from ones own employment.
A young illustrator, Matt Huyn was engaged to
draw ideas and participant feedback projected
live on screen from a drawing tablet (pictured
opposite).
The event agenda was as follows 10.06.2010:
Welcome and background to project
(Darrall Thompson and Shirley Alexander, UTS Deputy
Vice Chancellor and Vice President (Teaching, Learning
and Equity)
Justine Simons Visiting Speaker
(Justine Simons, Head of Cultural Policy, Mayor of
London’s Office, UK)
Design thinking and introducing each other
(Darrall Thompson and All)
Shirley Alexander Overviews
(Shirley Alexander, UTS)
Sue Rowley Overviews
(Sue Rowley, National Education Consultant, CIIC)
Break and light refreshments
Overview of session + key aims
(Darrall Thompson, UTS and Michelle Tabet, Arup)
Understanding the issues through Scenarios (All)
+ Discussion
Visions of the hub (All)
+ Discussion
Working Lunch, Debrief and Conclusions (All)
Next Steps and Thankyou to guests
(Darrall Thompson, UTS)
UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY, SYDNEY
The image on page 15 was sent to all invitees
prior to the event. It is an original Bruce Petty
cartoon of UTS at its inception showing the
fluidity of the dynamics that any university or
educational institution must engage with.
The pdf on page 16 was sent to participants after
the event.
Sydney Business and Education Creative Hub Scoping Study
Page 17
‘Design for a Leaflet’ Bruce Petty. Courtesy of the UTS Art Collection and permission from Bruce Petty.
UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY, SYDNEY
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Sydney Business and Education Creative Hub Scoping Study
We are currently in ‘interview’ mode across the four colour-­‐coded sectors: Education, Business, Arts/Culture and Government, exploring in depth the viability of ideas and suggestions that emerged from the event and previous studies. Those who engaged in the event are to be thanked for the enthusiasm and great networking that went on… Here are some photographs and drawings … we will be in touch… For further info contact Darrall Thompson at UTS 9514 8916 or 0402 598 610 Getting on the map idea viewed by different colour-­‐coded layers… Government to hatch collaborative multi-­‐sector projects… to be continued… Darrall Thompson, Lisa Colley, Justine Simons, Shirley Alexander,Sue Rowley, Adam Blake PDF sent to participants after the Design Thinking event - June 10 2010
UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY, SYDNEY
Sydney Business and Education Creative Hub Scoping Study
Page 19
Objectives
The idea behind the workshop was to adopt a
problem-solution approach to explore what the
issues around learning, training and working in
the creative industries in Sydney are. .
The exercises aimed to start defining visions for
the hub, defining its key activities, possibilities
for its organisational structure and its physical
expression in the built environment.
Preliminary findings
The event participants provided feedback on
the existing issues surrounding the consolidation
and expansion of the emergent creative cluster
around the Broadway. The participants were
asked to categorise the issues by the specific
sector the issue related to on colour-coded
cards: education (green), business (yellow), arts
and culture (red) and government (blue). The
following cartoons are representations of how
the visions of the hub could include all 4 sectors
(see next page).
In summary, the findings indicate that the Sydney
Business and Education Creative Hub should
operate at three different levels:
• At the level of a coordinated organisational
framework between government and partners
such as local major cultural institutions,
educational institutions, local creative businesses, and students focused around learning
and innovation
• At the level of a virtual network, where
casual connections with the hub can be made
by individuals, businesses, schools and cultural
institutions to strengthen its activities through
a web platform accessible with free wifi.
• At the level of a spatial network of social, exhibition and work spaces, as well as through a
central space that makes the creative activity
of the hub visible and perceptible in the urban
environment.
UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY, SYDNEY
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Sydney Business and Education Creative Hub Scoping Study
Issues identified
(Design Thinking Event - 10 June 2010)
Education
Government
Arts and Culture
Business
Internships and
mentorships are a key
vehicle through which
students can acquire
experience and be
exposed to real-life
business situations
Government through
various grants and
funding programs
(that have yet to be
identified) could play
a key role in providing
incentives and support for collaboration
between education,
business and the arts
and culture sector in
and around Broadway.
In spite of arts and
culture’s role as a
key contributor to
innovation within the
emergent creative
cluster around
Broadway, creative organisations need help
from an intermediary
to facilitate access to
space and people
Creative businesses
have an interest in
contributing to
training to increase
the work-readiness
of prospective job
seekers in the hope
that this will contribute
to heightened skill
requirements and
improve the quality of
the work force
There is a need for
more collaboration in
the design of curricula and of internship
requirements between
education specialists
and business experts.
A permanent internship/mentorship
coordinating body at
University and in TAFE
is needed to make
sure coordination is
being effective on an
on-going basis.
The idea of reducing
barriers between cultural and educational
institutions, business
and government was
a major theme in
responses. A focus
on ‘bespoke’ education provision where
individual needs could
be accommodated in a
more open collaborative way.
The main barriers to
the consolidation of
the emergent creative
cluster around Broadway that government
could help with are:
• Lack of available
and affordable
space
• Lack of flexibility
in leasing arrangements
• Absence of free,
cluster-wide
wireless network to
ease virtual as well
as actual communication
• Lack of financial
incentives for
businesses to
enter mentorships/internship
agreements with
educational institutions.
However, in spite of
the acknowledged
role government could
play in the creation
and functioning of
the hub, it is essential
that the activities in
and around the hub
retain a degree of
independence from
government and authenticity to maintain
its innovative edge
and attract a diverse
group of collaborators
(bottom-up character)
UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY, SYDNEY
Creative workers
engaged in the arts
and culture sector also
lack fluency in business and technology
which prevents them
from taking a leading
role in the consolidation of the creative
cluster.
In addition to training
in business skills, arts
and culture needs to
provide clear avenues
for the provision of
financial support
through patronage
schemes.
Small and micro
business are often
faced with high initial
costs that a hub could
help spread and share
over several businesses
such as fast and free
wifi, collaborative work
spaces which facilitate
serendipity and knowledge transfer, business
support.
Space and exposure
are things that larger
businesses who value
innovation and collaboration could easily
provide as long as the
occupation of the
space fits with their
business cycles and tax
regimes.
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Sydney Business and Education Creative Hub Scoping Study
Interviews
A total of fourteen in-depth interviews were
conducted by UTS researchers and Arup consultants. The interviewees represented people
involved in education, the creative industries and
representatives of major cultural institutions in
central Sydney.
The interviews were the opportunity to establish
a face-to-face dialogue with the key stakeholders. The intention was to understand and identify
motivators and drivers that relate to the different
sectors together with potential sources of funding. This personal engagement also contributed
to identifying potential future engagement from
those who would potentially benefit from a
creative hub.
The interviewee selection process was based
on both self-designation and identification of
stakeholders by the project team. The rationale
behind the selection was to establish contact
and discuss opportunities of the hub with the
people likely to have the greatest involvement
in it. These included a range of individuals from
decision-makers to freelancers in order to inform
the basis of viable hub models.
Understanding
involvement
in the CIs
INTERVIEW
Discussing
models of
the hub
Identifying
motivators
Interviewee
feedback
FEEDBACK
Each interview was personally tailored to the interviewees through research about their context.
However, the following questions were asked of
all interviewees to give some comparative data
on important questions.
-
What do you think a) an overarching
organisation or b) a network of stakeholders
should take on as an activity / responsibility?
-
What staffing or facilities (locations /
arrangements) do you think an a) or b) would
require to fulfill these?
-
What benefits would an a) or b) offer
from your perspective?
-
Given that Government funding is minimal and would be non-recurrent do you have any
thoughts about how an a) or b) could realistically
be funded?
-
If you / your organisation were thinking of becoming involved with an a) or b) what
incentives and mechanisms would need to be in
place to make that a sustainable engagement?
NB Comments from individuals have mostly
been de-identified as part of research ethics
compliance. Their content appears in the compiled findings in the Interviews - Key Findings
section.
UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY, SYDNEY
Ideas and
on-going
discussion
ANALYSIS and
DISCUSSION
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Interviewees
Jess Scully
Catherine Wiggett
Editor SummerWinter, Creative Cities East Asia,
Director Creative Sydney, Qantas Spirit of Youth
Awards
Recruiter, Aquent employment agency
Perspective from a former UTS student in
Journalism and Law, Jess has always worked in
the CIs in and around the Broadway area. Jess
now shares workspace with other creatives in
Chippendale, which she would qualify as an
emerging creative cluster in its own right. The
primary issue Jess has identified is the lack of
physical interaction between the major institutions in the area. The buildings need to become
platforms but pathways between these platforms
need to be formed as well.
Lisa Colley
Director, Enterprise Connect Creative Industries
Innovation Centre
Perspective from a national industry initiative for
the Creative Industries. Lisa has years of experience providing business support to the creative
industries on a national basis. The physical location of the hub is an important factor for success
giving opportunities for exhibition, exchange
and engagement between industry, researchers
and students. It will also need to clearly identify
objectives and find a dedicated resource to drive
its development and projects.
Perspective from an employment agency dealing
explicitly in the creative sector. Employment in
the CIs is characterised by a strong freelance
culture. The hub should focus on skill transfer to
recent graduates as they are the most overlooked talent pool in the CI labour market. The
hub should be a physical space encompassing
exhibition spaces, learning spaces and key career
services similar to what other design centres
provide.
Jeffrey Crass
Director, Design Centre Enmore
Perspective from a TAFE centre with a large
number of certificates, diplomas and advanced
diplomas in the creative sector. Jeffrey has many
years of experience in the vocational education
sector and highlights the importance that the
hub possesses a diffuse presence in Central
Sydney that reaches beyond the immediate
Broadway context as much design learning and
training is occurring at a wider scale. However,
the hub should represent a single point of
contact for industry relations, whether recruitment or collaboration.
Alan Cadogan
Dawn Casey
Strategy Director, City of Sydney
Director, PowerHouse Museum
Perspective from local government responsible
for the hub region. Outreach to the CIs is difficult
because of the disparate and diverse character
of the businesses that fall within this category.
The City of Sydney does not typically provide direct support to individual businesses, but instead
delivers policy, programs and urban strategy that
can influence the physical expression and use
of the hub, and can lend its infrastructure and
support to this project where possible. Through
its vision, Sustainable Sydney 2030, the City has
highlighted the need for partnerships and connectivity, with corporate partnerships and wifi
likely to be crucial elements in bringing these
spaces into existence.
Perspective from the major cultural institution
in the hub region. The Powerhouse is a platform
between community and ideas. It is already a
drop-in point for the CIs through initiatives such
as Sydney Design and the Young Blood Markets
but the Powerhouse would like to strengthen this
position. There are already many existing education programs between the PhM, UTS, TAFE and
local Ultimo primary schools. The architectural
context of the Broadway/Ultimo area is a major
shortcoming but the upcoming UTS redevelopment and smaller interventions around the PhM
should help change that.
UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY, SYDNEY
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Interviewees
Andrew Barnum
Hael Kobayashi
Head of Design, Billy Blue College of Design
Chair, Digital Sydney Initiative, NSW Industry &
Investment
Perspective from Private Vocational Education
and Training in design, at degree level. Offering
Bachelor of Applied Design in 6 majors, most
of the 550 students are in Communication,
Digital Media and Branding Design. Interiors and
Fashion began 2009. Andrew has 23 full time
staff and approximately 65 sessional tutors
Simon Pemberton
National Head of College, Commercial Arts Training College (CATC)
Perspective from Private Vocational Education
and Training, at diploma and Advanced Diploma
level. Offering 1 year VET Diplomas and a further
1year for Advanced Diploma at four campuses,
one in Sydney two in Qld and one in Melbourne.
340 students in Sydney study Graphic Design,
Interiors and Photography.
Chris Winter
Manager New Services, Communication and
Marketing, ABC Innovation
Perspective from a State Government Initiative
that has intrinsic involvement with the Creative
Industries in Sydney. Hael also has a background
in Film. The Digital Sydney Forum 12 May 2010
formed the basis for the Advisory Team formation, they held the first meeting in June. They will
gradually decide on action plans in the coming
months aimed at facilitating collaborative
partnerships.
Simeon King
CEO, Anagram Studios, The Trophy Room, Surry
Hills
Perspective from an SME creative business operating collaboratively with others in the creative
hub region. The Trophy room is a small group
of companies, Anagram, a few architects and a
web company. They encourage local artists by
offering a free work and gallery space. Anagram
engages with a range of graphic / communication design projects.
Perspective from the National Broadcaster. By
definition an institution of creation, the ABC has
in recent years fostered a vigorous innovative
approach to its core business, both in process
and in content. Specific examples include ABC
Pool, recognised for its initiation of creative
collaborations between staff and audiences,
and in that sense not too far removed from the
ambitions of the recently launched ABC Open.
The ABC’s Innovation Division is at the centre
of much of the Corporation’s new work and
new approach - in cross platform publishing, in
ways of telling the ABC’s stories, in recognising
innovation in all divisions.
Meghan Hay
Amy Common
Strategy Manager, OBJECT Gallery, Surry Hills
Freelance Designer
Perspective from a non-profit cultural institution
operating in the education arts/cultural and
business realm. Object is partly State Government funded and acts as a gallery space for new
media and other creative sectors. They have
done creative projects with school groups and
hosted numerous VET sector and University
exhibitions.
Perspective of a freelance designer living in the
Surry Hills area. Amy has four main clients in different industry and business sectors. She works
both from home and in client’s workplaces and
finds the flexibility of this configuration is not a
barrier to conversations with banks for funding.
UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY, SYDNEY
Phil Raskall
Strategic Research Manager, City of Sydney
Perspective from a City of Sydney manager
seconded to the Federal Major Cities Unit. The
City of Sydney has a database of all spaces in
the CBD and South Sydney region with 650,000
GIS location entries showing a granular representation of specific creative industry activity in the
hub region. This will be updated with the census
in 2011 and there may be very useful synergies
with the hub project
Sydney Business and Education Creative Hub Scoping Study
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Interviews - Key Findings
The findings in three sections
The interviews conducted in June/July/August
2010 were structured around three themes:
Understanding the current activities in the
Broadway/Ultimo area at large, discussing the
possibilities of the hub and finally identifying
motivators for involvement.
1. Understanding current activities
A discussion around each interviewee’s experience of working in and around the creative
industries in Sydney revealed a fuller picture of
the CIs in Sydney. Key take-home points include:
• From an employment perspective, new entrants into the CIs as well as existing workers
are faced with a highly competitive job market
where presentation skills, self-reliance and
business skills are key and expectations high.
Firms are finding that to be small and agile is
no disadvantage in the current context. However, employees are often actually freelancing
rather than in an employment contract.
precinct. There are also many existing initiatives centred around support to the CIs such
as:
Vibewire, Object Gallery, Empty Spaces Project and Business Enterprise Centres. Other
current initiatives were identified as important:
• TED X was a good event... the hub could take
this on… UTS + PHM = TED?
• XMedia Lab (Brendan Harkin – excellent at
fund raising events here and Asia)
• POOL project (ABC Sherre deLys – linking
design/media education and professional)
• d_City (Davina Jackson – promoting digital /
green approaches (links with Justine Simons,
Mayor of London green initiative in the
creative industries).
• The role of libraries – Trove project at NLA
plus State Library initiatives to make digital
content available.
• From an education perspective, there is
consensus that degrees and diplomas in
disciplines related to the CIs need to have
direct and immediate practical and professional outcomes. Educational provision needs
to be differentiated through collaborative
engagement between University and VET
sector so that recipients understand the
variations. This is particularly important as the
Government’s intention to increase participation rates extends degree qualifications to the
TAFE sector.
• CIIC national initiative but because of the
emerging hub has a Sydney core.
• From an organisational point-of-view, the
diversity of businesses included in CIs has
made targeted support by local, state and
federal government difficult in the past years.
This has also made the establishment of
overarching objectives for past proposals for a
hub complicated and costly as an involvement
in a hub needs to fall within the core business
of each party.
• There will be an increase in video media / TV
free to air channels – ABC, Fox, Ten, Seven,
etc.
• From collaboration standpoint, there is a
myriad of existing partnerships and programmes that link the numerous cultural,
creative and arts-related institutions in the
• AIMIA has many ongoing events
• AGDA and DIA have ongoing events and
AGDA has a very good mentoring scheme
• Australian Technology Park has previously
been isolated but with Channel 7 moving in
this is expected to change.
• High School events – Newtown Performing
Arts, Dulwich Hill
• Sustaining one-off events, Sydney Design,
Creative Sydney etc.
• Whilst Architecture is sometimes considered
a separate category of creative industries the
new Frank Ghery building at UTS will bring
Architecture centre stage.
However, with many of these activities and events
there seems to be fragmentation and lack of
coordination.
UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY, SYDNEY
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• From an urban and spatial perspective, the
Broadway/Ultimo area is emerging as a de
facto ‘drop in’ area for creatives. Many creative
businesses deliberately locate in this area
due to its centrality, and its urban density.
However, a few interviewees mentioned that
there is no real design centre in Sydney. The
Powerhouse is Science + Design but there is
no centre that focuses on Design itself and
how it adds value to businesses.
2. Discussing the Creative Hub model
The interpretations of what would constitute a
hub naturally diverge from person to person.
Some focused more on the organisational aspect
of a hub and other on the spatial and urban
expression of a hub. The key areas of consensus
can be summed up in the following points:
• Some interviewees felt that the hub as a
virtual network could start to build from the
public wifi available in cafes around the area
and start identifying the network of connected
spaces a hub would encompass. eg ANZ
bank currently sponsor free wifi for some city
businesses.
• The hub has a physical expression within the
built environment to strengthen its visibility,
legibility and integration into the creative
cluster. There were perceptions about physical
disconnection – eg about the Powerhouse
Museum... it feels to many that it is a long way
from the city… but actually isn’t.
• The hub’s users are a diverse, fluid and skeptical group who need to see that something is
happening and soon, such as small scale interventions and events. A digital community can
start happening right away, but the strength
of the idea lies in the spatial aspect of this
network without which the digital network
will not work. There were views that there
are too many overlapping initiatives and too
many that are underfunded … without a good
foundation the bigger rewards are unlikely.
• The hub’s independence is key to the
retention of authenticity and its bottom-up,
emergent feel. Bureaucracy can be avoided
through an effective and well-designed
organisational structure. The visible collaboration of all four sectors would foreground this
aspect.
• The hub must collect expertise and excellence by capitalizing on the competitive
advantage of each participant. Identifying and
supporting individuals within the four sectors
is key.
• The hub needs to be a unified front, a one
stop shop aimed at cutting out duplication of
work and enhancing connection and networking between students, educators, professionals, institutions, and the community. However,
UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY, SYDNEY
Sydney Business and Education Creative Hub Scoping Study
some participant’s organisations (eg ABC,
CIIC) are not just Sydney based, and need to
be sensitive to the views of those who rely on
their national role.
3. Identifying Motivators
While there is general consensus that a hub
would be beneficial, the motivations underlying
each institution’s involvement are varied:
• Connectivity: the hub could enable like
minded professionals and people to build
relationships / partnerships.
• Engagement: the hub could provide a platform for entering the current design debates
and being able to influence the education
space.
• Status by association: endorsement by the
hub would be the hallmark of quality and
reinforce credibility from all four sectors
Government, Education, Business, Cultural.
• Profile raising: the hub could be a place to
access advertising budgets but there would
need to be valued / measurable outcomes (eg.
ANZ bank currently sponsor free wifi for some
city businesses)
• Practicality: the hub is a one stop shop for
inspiration and production that is educationbased, media-based, design-and-innovationled.
Secondary sources
Secondary sources of interview data were also
used during the interview phase of the scoping
study. The following are two relevant quotes
from the BBetween Journal 2009, that interviewed 28 Designers about design in Sydney:
Jason Little, Creative Director, Landor Associates, Sydney:
“There’s not enough ‘sharing’ in Sydney, too little
interchange between practising designers and
young designers, and the design profession can
at times come across as parochial”.
“I get a little frustrated by the lack of ‘design
place’ in Sydney, wouldn’t it be great if more
time, money and initiative was put into promoting the benefits of design to the business and
greater communities?”
Andrew Hoyne, Creative Director, Hoyne Design,
Sydney:
“If I’m honest, I didn’t expect it to be as vibrant
as Melbourne, but working in Surry Hills, I’ve
discovered an even bigger and more condensed
design ghetto than I’d first imagined. Sydney
is a hard place to know, I still feel I don’t know
enough people here.”
Sydney Business and Education Creative Hub Scoping Study
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Ideas emerging from Interview
feedback and discussions
The following list of ideas emerged from the
interviews and various discussions, and were
part of a presentation by UTS researchers to
the Scoping Project Steering Committee for
feedback.
• Coordination of existing Mentor schemes that
involve professional associations, business,
education, government and cultural institutions.
Plus the introduction of other mentor schemes
that aimed at imparting business acumen to
those ‘under the radar’ of CIIC.
• Masters courses in things design companies
are already doing… not a straight MBA. The best
timing during working hours around 2 hours per
week.
interns across all three of those areas, and funds
to support activities initially… maybe 3 years
initial funding... and a plan that integrated with
Government, Business, Education and Cultural
Institutions.
The Scoping Study Steering committee advised
with feedback on some of these ideas that have
been incorporated into the IMPLEMENTATION
RECOMMENDATIONS section. They also approved a plan to gain further feedback with
a small Roundtable Event targeting decision
makers in the four sectors.
• Travelling experts offering a range of in-situ
workshops on a variety of topics … business
acumen, software skills / tips, even research of
different kinds.
• Articulation Exchange program. Memoranda
of understanding between institutions and
businesses to ‘exchange’ students / employees
in providing pathways to experiences more
appropriate for their development.
• Coordinating and making available the many
international visitors to Sydney… eg ABC had
recent visits from BBC media people and a social
network / design academic from New York.
These could be available to education and the
other sectors too.
• Apart from formal communication more free
wifi/ cafes / meeting spaces… SIT / ABC / PHM
/ UTS need to offer generous access instead of
being closed megalithic institutions…
• There are unique people that need to be linked
up somehow so that all our initiatives are not
always reinventing the wheel. eg. Phil Raskal at
City of Sydney, Adam Blake (Manager CIIC), Jess
Scully (Director, Creative Sydney) Hael Kobayashi
(Chair of Digital Sydney).
• Idea of a rewards program where levels of
membership to the hub gave access to different
levels and types of engagement.
• Physical proximity and accessibility to meeting
spaces and activities is important for young
designers… many opportunities occur through
chance meetings.
• To begin, it might need an Events Curator, an
Online Manager, a General Manager with lots of
UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY, SYDNEY
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Sydney Business and Education Creative Hub Scoping Study
The Roundtable Event
The main idea of the Roundtable event was
to present findings and definite project ideas
that may be part of the activity of a creative
hub. Twenty high level participants from all four
sectors discussed the viability of these ideas
together with hub structures, possible funding methods and the requirements of funding
organisations.
Roundtable Agenda
8am - 12 noon Tuesday 31 August 2010
Location: UTS Aerial Function Centre
Registration and light breakfast from 7.45
Facilitator: Peter Thompson (ABC Talking Heads)
and Professor and Fellow of the Australian and
New Zealand School of Government
This is an invited and informal roundtable to
discuss draft findings and ideas from a scoping
study before a report to Government is produced.
Part One
• What’s the opportunity? Vision/Future?
Professor Roy Green
• Draft findings and ideas from the scoping study.
Darrall Thompson, Michelle Tabet (Arup) hub
examples… other suggestions and ideas?
Morning Tea
Part Two
Peter Thompson- Facilitated discussion
• Discussion about the viability of ideas presented and others emerging.
• Summary based on the questions: What should
we do? What may we do? What can we do?
Thankyou and close Professor Roy Green
Lunch
UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY, SYDNEY
A resounding call for action
The roundtable event was the final feedback session for the scoping study. UTS researchers were
commended for identifying the major issues,
challenges, opportunities and ideas for projects
and there was a resounding call for action.
As stated by a senior representative from the
Department of Education and Training there is
no need for further research. However, immediate actions need to be taken in the light of
international models and a long term vision. In
order to ensure the breadth and depth of this
scoping study we engaged Arup consultants to
inform our discussions and recommendations
with their vast international experience and case
studies outlined in the following section.
As shown in this study the creative ‘community’
is fragmented, diverse, and not prone to systems
or practices that seek to provide coordination,
control and additional layers of organization,
and reporting. However, these aspects are major
governance requirements.
The following sections of this report are intended
to form the basis for moving forward that have
the potential to fulfil these issues and requirements.
Sydney Business and Education Creative Hub Scoping Study
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IMPLEMENTATION
RECOMMENDATIONS
1.Soft & Hard Infrastructure
2.Models & Costs
3.Activities & Projects
(Acknowledgement to Arup consultants for their
local and international examples and contributions to these
recommendations)
UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY, SYDNEY
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Sydney Business and Education Creative Hub Scoping Study
1. Soft & Hard Infrastructure
The Design Thinking Event, the interview process
and the Roundtable brought forward recurring
themes that spanned the function and design
of the creative hub. These themes are outlined
below and feed into the conception of a soft
infrastructure, a series of strategic drivers, values
and organisational designs to be overlaid onto
the physical environment or ‘hard’ infrastructure.
These necessarily result in legal, digital and
social networks that are the components of soft
infrastructure. They would also underpin the
mission statements of the hub and the development of an ecosystem which is not prescriptive
in nature, but rather enabling.
The soft infrastructure framework for the hub
is aimed at the creation of the right conditions
for the flourishing of certain types of activities.
These activities as well as illustrative examples
will be explored in the following section 3.
Activities & Projects.
Whilst this scoping study can make suggestions
as to how the soft infrastructure of the hub
can be designed and implemented, sustained
engagement with the local community and the
network of creatives will be essential. The hub
also needs to obtain sustainable commitment
and financial backing for a hub model. This
brokerage phase extends beyond the scope of
this study but there are recommendations in the
section 2. Models & Costs.
Strategic Themes
These recurrent themes from the scoping study
outline the gaps in the fragmented creative
industries that a creative hub approach could
begin to bridge.
• Authenticity
The need for the hub to be perceived as not
‘government or corporate-led’ is core to
the retention of a genuine, authentic, and
emergent engagement with the hub.
• Serendipity
In line with a desire for an authentic initiative
and emergent spaces that will evolve from
it, the need for openness and accessibility to
support serendipitous encounters is key.
• Flexibility
The hub needs to be able to adapt to the
evolving needs of students and professionals
of the creative industries with a focus on
the ever-changing nature of the technology
involved. In its physical expression. The spaces
need to support multiple uses to ensure a
fluidity of programme.
UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY, SYDNEY
• Pervasive connectivity, pervasive work
The hub is essentially conceived around a
shifting idea of workspaces and workstyles.
Creatives often blur the boundaries between
work and leisure and therefore a creative
hub needs to reflect this phenomenon with
pervasive connectivity to the internet, the
cloud and social media that are increasingly
being appropriated as collaboration platforms.
• Visibility and legibility
The visibility and legibility of the hub is key
to indicate that action has been taken to
heighten the creative profile of the general
hub region (immediate and on-going interventions that register with creatives as well as the
local community).
Example
The Edge
Both a physical building on the South
Bank of the Brisbane river and a digital
network the size of Queensland and beyond, The Edge represents a genuinely
21st century organisation – networked,
open-source, participative, hybridised,
sustainable, real-time and distributed.
The Edge is a centre for experimentation and creativity, which provides contemporary tools to enable young people
to explore critical ideas, green initiatives, new design practices, and media
making. The Edge exists specifically to
broaden the range of education, arts
and enterprise platforms providing for
their development. It stands for open,
experimental, multidisciplinary pursuits
in which technology and creativity are
entwined. Participants are drawn largely
from Queensland’s 15 to 25 year olds;
its audience is both local and global.
The Edge is deliberately positioned in
a complex and fluid space between
formal education and informal cultural
and business networks. The Edge sits
between the home and formal education and business, and between the sole
creator and broader social networks. or
some professional practice.
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SOFT INFRASTRUCTURE HARD INFRASTRUCTURE
Values
The hub values listed below start to outline the
defining characteristics that the hub should take
on to fit the needs but also the aspirations of the
parties involved.
Example
Le Cent Quatre
• Independence
A hub that is seen to be unbiased is key in
terms of engagement and recognition within
the industry. This establishes the hub as a
quality provider that is not a university or a
TAFE but somewhere in between (see The
Edge example)
• Commitment to Creativity and Innovation
A key driver behind this study is also the need
to strengthen innovation capacity through
improvement to educational provision. The
promotion of problem-based learning (PBL)
and the valuing of creativity and innovation in
assessment is key.
• Inter-disciplinary, multi-literacy and creative
technical approach
Drawing on this theme of innovation and
design thinking is the importance of multi-disciplinary engagement with building pathways
between multiple technical and creative
languages at its core.
• Catering to distributed micro-enterprise
The fragmented and disparate creative
industry is distributed among large structures
(ABC, Powerhouse,UTS) at one end of the
spectrum and micro, one-person enterprises
and start ups at the other. The hub needs to
start addressing creative industries in all its
shapes and sizes to bridge the opportunity
and innovation gap that exists between them
• Encouraging engagement with the city
The hub has an undisputed spatial/physical/
urban dimension and needs to engage the
creative sector in the City context. Connection
to the City in new ways and delivering a new
experience of the urban environment are both
important values behind the hub.
Located in a former municipal funeral
home, le Cent Quatre has now become an
important cultural and creative centre in
northern Paris. With 40,000m2 of artist
studio space, le Cent Quatre is a space to
incubate and develop projects. Resident
artists’ studios are open to the public
who then are able to witness the work
in progress. The complex also includes
two auditoriums for performing arts, a
cafe, a restaurant, a clothing shop and a
bookshop, exhibition space as well as 19
separate studios. The 19th century structure has been refurbished extensively and
is continously peppered with temporary
art projects. Le Cent Quatre also includes
a social dimension: a local not-for-profit
organisation called Emmaus utilises this
incubator as a springboard for training
and education in the arts for unemployed
people in search of a skills development
and new career paths in the creative
industries. This initiative is supported and
financed by the Paris Municipality.
• Enabling flexible career paths
A key characteristic of the creative industries
labour market is this idea of flexible and
multiple career paths where the fluidity and
mix of activities a person may undertake for
income generation falls outside of traditionally
conceived career paths. The hub needs to be
responsive to this trend by catering to a large
group of interests represented by creatives.
Discussions and international literature and experience show the need for both soft infrastructure
(network brokering) and hard infrastructure
(joint facility, incubator) to facilitate and drive
the development of creative clusters.
UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY, SYDNEY
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Sydney Business and Education Creative Hub Scoping Study
URE
T
C
U
R
T
S
A
R
F
SOFT IN
HARD INFRASTRUCTURE
A Soft Infrastructure Framework
In reference to Arup research on creative
clusters in China there are a number of ‘soft
infrastructure’ elements that shape the network,
the culture and operational model of creative
clusters. The Sydney Business and Education
Creative Hub has similar characteristics to
these creative clusters but a different social
infrastructure and spatial context.
Elements of soft infrastructure that will inform
the design of the hub model are contingent
upon the regulatory framework within which the
hub exists as well as its operational model. The
example of Renew Newcastle shown opposite
could possibly inform a similar regulatory
approach in the hub area of Sydney.
The scoping study findings indicate:
• Strong support for a creative hub (but how?
who?).
• Need for improved collaboration to reduce
duplication of projects and not reinventing the
wheel.
• Coordination role is vital and needs to include
– Education, Business, Government and Arts /
Cultural / Community sectors.
• A sustainable hub would need to work on three
levels
1. a coordinated organisational framework
2. a virtual network using social media
3. a spatial network of social, exhibition and work
spaces.
The energy and motivation is already there, the
hub is a shopfront, a crossroads where all this
activity is revealed. The value-add of the hub lies
in its independent and authentic identity as well
as the organisation, programming, curation and
maintenance that will clearly require dedicated
staffing by those already experienced and
networked within the creative sector.
As stated in previous research, an innovation
framework needs:
‘Building of a culture in our public agencies,
schools, universities and workplaces that
champions innovative thinking’.
(Roy Green, Leader of National Innovation
Framework Advisory Committee and report
co-author, 2006).
To progress this change of culture these scoping
study recommendations continue with possible
organisational approaches in the section
2. Models & Costs, followed by an extensive
section 3. Activities & Projects.
UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY, SYDNEY
Example:
Renew Newcastle
With a focus on temporary uses within
Newcastle CBD, Renew Newcastle aims
to occupy underutilised buildings awaiting further redevelopment. Beyond the
obvious positive knock-on effects this
project has had from a cultural, artistic
and urban redevelopment perspective,
the true strength of the concept lies in
its conceptual and strategic design. Indeed, Marcus Westbury uses an effective
computer hardware analogy and likens
to urban environment to the hardware
and the planning regulations, leasing
arrangements and other organisational
level components of the project as the
software. With minor tweaks to the
software of the city, Renew Newcastle
has enabled artists to gain access to affordable workspaces and incubate artsbased projects in a flexible and connected work environment connected through
site-wide wifi. This is a prime example of
how a redesign of the soft infrastructure
can transform the culture of a place and
foster innovation and creativity.
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Sydney Business and Education Creative Hub Scoping Study
2. Models & Costs
The design of an implementation strategy will
require definite commitment and buy-in from
all four sectors identified and colour-coded
throughout this study.
IDENTITY
n
n
n
n
Branding strategy
Education (University and VET Sector))
Businesses and Creative industries
Community awareness
Hub name
Interactive mapping of activities and partners
Government (Local and State)
REGULATORY CONTEXT
Arts / Cultural / Community Orgs.
Flexible planning framework (as per Renew
Newcastle)
Whilst some costings are included, the following
recommendations would need considerable inkind support in regard to staffing, office accommodation and basic administration costs.
Use of municipal infrastructure
Not-for-profit status
Corporate funding and partnership
Mission Statement and Name
The key to the success of any initiative is a
statement of purpose that matches the initiative’s objectives. The aims and objectives are
suggested in the last section of this report 3.
Activities & Projects, but these would need to
be prioritised for a clear mission statement to
emerge. During the course of the scoping study
many names have been suggested, but these
too should emerge with the clarity of mission
statement and long and short term goals.
‘Creative Hub’ has become the most common
shorthand term. The following suggestions are
also offered for consideration:
C-Hub
Creative Precinct
Creative Crescent
C-Lab or I-Lab
ICE Network Sydney
(Innovation, Creativity and Entrepreneurship)
C’ing Sydney
Creative Industries Hub
International Best Practice
The scoping study process has drawn upon the
international experience of Arup consultants
who have done many studies of creative clusters
around the world including China. It is recommended that the following four pillars of soft
infrastructure are used as a guide by the hub
team to ensure a successful and sustainable
approach.
UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY, SYDNEY
OPERATIONAL MODEL
Staff terms of reference
Hub charter
Membership criteria and benefits (corporate
and individual)
AMENITY
Precinct-wide wifi
CIIC and Business Enterprise Centres
Mentors, interns, intermediaries, Catalysts
The Organisational Architecture
This scoping study proposes that the hub
would operate on multiple layers. First and
foremost, the hub will operate as a coordinating
mechanism for already existing activities and
priority projects. The hub is also a network of
dynamic and serendipitous connections that
are maintained through both a digital and
physical presence of the hub. The organisational
architecture needs to predict the operational
and maintenance requirement of the hub with an
aim to sustain the hub’s existence well into the
future. The design of a well-conceived organisational chart, job titles, mentorship, internship
and residency programmes will form part of
this organisational architecture. The following
three models are offered as suggestions with
approximate indications of funding and resource
implications.
Sydney Business and Education Creative Hub Scoping Study
EDUCATION - Uni / VET
Page 35
BUSINESS - Creative / Digital
C/I Champions Circle
- high level reps from all four sectors
C/I Director
- expert project design and facilitation
C/I Hub Team
- permanent multi sectoral flat project
team of trusted intermediaries with
affiliation / expertise in one sector
Arts / Culture / Community
GOVERNMENT- State / Local
1. Trusted intermediary model
the four sectors. Projects and activities would be
agreed by the high level group and implemented
by the working team in cooperation with others
in the fours sectors.
This approach would entail each of the four
lead sectors contributing a secondment of staff,
possibly part-time, to a combined working team.
The director of the team would report to a high
level group – ‘champions’ circle’ – representing
2. Creative lab model
commercialisation of ideas, with structured
support from collaborative, multi-disciplinary
teams of students, academics and interns.
Again the model would be guided by a high
level group from the four sectors.
-C
l
igita
/D
International
Experts
CREATIVE THINKING LAB
R
/
/L
o
St
at
e
U
LT
CU
S/
cal
Residential high profile
5-day lab with experts
surrounded by a support
team of research students,
executive interns and
selected advisors from all
four sectors
ART
E
BUS
IN
ES
S
ET
/V
ni
U
-
ive
at
re
ED
UC
AT
IO
N
This approach would bring together key individuals from the four sectors with international
thought leaders and advisers to work on projects sponsored by business and other organisations with an interest in the development and
CO
MM
UN
IT Y
G OV
ER
N
N
ME
T
-
UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY, SYDNEY
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Sydney Business and Education Creative Hub Scoping Study
EDUCATION
- Uni / VET
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Arts / Culture /
Community
I
C/I Hub
BROKER MANAGER CATALYST
Senior facilitator and broker
for projects
GOVERNMENTState / Local
BUSINESS
- Creative / Digital
3. Network broker model
This model would combine the trusted intermediary concept with the creative lab in the
appointment of a skilled and trusted broker to
work with individuals and organisations in the
four sectors, again under the guidance of a high
level executive group or advisory board. The
group would identify projects and activities, with
input from thought leaders and practitioners,
which would gain added value from collaboration
among the four sectors and from the contribution of carefully prepared but self-directed
student teams.
Staging the Implementation
Stage 1: Building the Soft Infrastructure
Although the NSW Board of Vocational Education and Training’s brief required viable models
for the hub it is recommend that efforts be
channelled into exploring how the strategy could
be deployed in two stages.
To begin anything significant with the calibre of
people required a first stage of a minimum of 3
years is recommended.
This will break the project into bite-size portions
which will in turn facilitate the implementation
of the hub. Moreover, if successful, the first stage
will secure support and additional funding for
the second phase.
Stage 1 would evolve around getting the soft
infrastructure of the hub into action. From local
government’s perspective, this would involve
the drafting of a dedicated policy framework for
creative industries in Sydney and this area, the
establishment of financial Incentives and rebates
(tax, grants, leasing arrangements and others)
for businesses targeted by the framework. Slight
UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY, SYDNEY
changes to local planning regulations could
also incentivise creative businesses to locate
centrally in Sydney, thus creating a critical mass
of creative industries a la Renew Newcastle.
From the corporate perspective, Stage 1 would
entail partnership and sponsorship agreements.
From the hub management perspective the
funding for the hub will start to support full-time
staff that will coordinate the web platform for
the hub, its internship and mentorship services
as well as its coordination function.
Stage 2: Going Spatial
In the second stage of the implementation
strategy, the already established ‘soft hub’ would
seek to develop its spatial functionalities drawing
on the activities described in the section titled
3. Activities and Projects. Due to the cost implications of developing a ‘spatial hub’, support
for this phase will be crucial and will need to be
gathered in Stage 1.
Sydney Business and Education Creative Hub Scoping Study
Page 37
Recommendations
As a result of discussion and feedback, as well as
an assessment of the international experience,
the key recommendation of this report is that the
network broker model is adopted and funded
as essential soft infrastructure for the development of the creative hub. This will require the
appointment of a senior professional to perform
the role of broker for the real, virtual and spatial
networks summarised above, and two assistants
– one for administrative support and the other
for technical support on the social media and
web interface. The success of this approach will
depend on the positive commitment and participation of the four sectors, and the interactions
during this study suggest that such commitment
will be forthcoming.
To give substance to this recommendation,
and to enable the connections to take shape,
it is further recommended that a feasible and
inspiring project be funded jointly by government and the education sector as a pilot in the
first instance, with sponsorship from business as
it gets underway. This project would be modelled
on a number of initiatives around the world
(University of Toronto’s Designworks, Stanford’s
d-school, University of Connecticut’s Innovation
Accelerator, Denmark’s Mindlab, Finland’s Living
Labs) and would engage multi-disciplinary teams
of students from the University of Technology
Sydney and TAFE NSW - Sydney Institute in
collaborative projects with local businesses and
organisations and in their own start-up ventures
with mentoring support. The teams would be
prepared and guided by academic staff from the
two institutions and by visiting thought leaders
and practitioners in the context of the network
broker model of cooperative arrangements
between the four sectors.
Finally, for such a project to become embedded as an educational resource and incubator
for the development of creative business and
cluster activities, it must have a physical base. It
is therefore recommended that funding support
be provided for necessary hard infrastructure
through refurbishment and refitting of a current
educational facility, with which network broker
activities for the creative hub might also be
co-located. The result would be that the creative
hub is given physical expression in a building
which would become a recognised core facility
for the collaborative design and implementation
of innovative projects. It would also be a unique
prototype for future productive cooperation
between VET and higher education in Australia,
both in delivering outcomes for business and the
community and in providing students with the
opportunity to develop practical entrepreneurship and innovation skills.
Costings for the recommended model:
Senior professional network broker
3 years=450K
1 part time assistant: admin / project management
3 years=210K
1 part time assistant: technical / virtual / web
3 years=210K
Setup and operational costs for hub facility
600K
Seed funding for projects
250K
UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY, SYDNEY
Sydney Business and Education Creative Hub Scoping Study
Page 39
3. Activities & Projects
As the examples and quotes provided throughout this report and in this section indicate, the
creative hub model has been explored across
the world and has resulted in a range of organisational, network and spatial arrangements.
Common to all of them is an acknowledgement
that creativity occurs in cross-disciplinary
environments with government involvement and
government support yet with an independent
and authentic identity.
1. EXTRACTED PROJECT
LISTING
As the examples in this section show, most successful hubs and projects have a clearly defined
goal which in turn defines the types of activities
and projects.
4. EDUCATIONAL INITIATIVES
The Sydney Business and Education Creative
Hub should have a strong educational focus
as the impetus for its creation comes from the
education sector. However, with this educational
focus in mind, there are a number of associated
activities that are vital to support the learning
and training outcomes of the hub, such as networking, events, common workspaces, and open
knowledge infrastructure for people to tap into.
These activities and project suggestions provide
a long term vision for the hub to homegrow,
develop and maintain creative talent in Sydney
by targeting students and existing professionals
as well as the community around the general hub
area.
The decisions about activity or project priority
would rest with the hub network, but this study
provides a rich and well-researched resource
with which to make those decisions.
The following pages include a range of ideas for
activities and projects for the creative hub that
have gained support during the scoping study.
In each section there are local and international
examples to illustrate successful endeavours and
initiatives.
2. INTERNSHIPS
3. MENTORSHIPS
5. EVENTS, AND MAPPING
6. BUSINESS SPACES AND
SUPPORT
7. OPEN KNOWLEDGE
INFRASTRUCTURE
8. DIGITAL CULTURE AND
COMMUNITY
9. PERVASIVE WORK
ENVIRONMENT
10.BUILDINGS AS PLATFORMS
& PATHWAYS
UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY, SYDNEY
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Sydney Business and Education Creative Hub Scoping Study
1. EXTRACTED PROJECT
LISTING
Please note that these projects are
briefly described and should be read in
conjunction with the rich exploration of
potential hub activities in the following
pages from which they have been extracted. It is suggested that hub branding and web presence projects such
as ‘Getting on the Map’ are carried out
first in order to maximise the message
that any projects undertaken or linked
to the hub are supported by all four
sectors: Education, Business, Government, Arts / Culture & Community.
and updating of this database would need to
include feeds from other internship schemes and
would require the development of relationships
and agreements with universities, VET sector,
professional associations, government bodies,
centres, cultural and community organisations
and companies.
3. Internship Kit for employers and interns
The Internship Kit would be a guide for both
employers and interns including logbooks, insurance policies, assessment criteria, suggested
activities and pay arrangements. The kit would
be available on the ‘Find an intern’ website but
also presented as workshops for interested
companies and interns.
4. Hi-Tech upskilling project
1. Getting on the Map and Hub Branding
The idea of interactive mapping has gained a
great deal of enthusiastic feedback during the
scoping study. It would be accessible as part
of the Hubs branded web presence and could
contain selectable layers so that a vast range of
hub features could be quickly found.
For example one could select a dropdown map
menu that would allow ‘view by’
•
Educational provision (all courses from Uni
and VET Sectors with details)
•
Mentoring and Internships
•
Current Exhibitions
•
CI Businesses
•
Find an Expert
•
Arts Events
•
Visiting Speakers
•
Spaces for events
•
Launches
•
Empty Spaces project
•
Creative Spaces project etc.
The incentive for engagement would be ‘Getting
on the Map’ with obvious benefits for the cohesion and visibility of hub affairs.
2. ‘Find an intern’ web service
This hub project could be articulated as a type
of social networking around the offer and
demand for internships, where an updated
online database of available positions are posted
onto the hub’s online forum. The maintenance
UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY, SYDNEY
This project involves negotiating the supervised
use of ‘down-time’ on high-tech equipment lying
idle in companies, colleges and universities on
evenings and weekends. It could be offered as a
special upskilling for existing interns or prospective interns needing experience with ‘difficult to
access’ hi-tech hardware or software.
5. Creative Student Mentoring
Coordination and matching of mentors and
students in both university and VET sector
similar to the Queensland University of Technology CareerHub project.
6. Creative Business Mentoring
Aimed at imparting business acumen to creative
business individuals and SME companies that
are too small for engagement with the Creative
Industries Innovation Centre, Enterprise Connect
initiative.
7. Problem-Based Learning Workshops
Aimed at developing awareness for both university and VET sector teachers of the differences
between project-based learning activities and
problem-based learning.
8. Creativity Assessment Project
Pilot schemes for schools, university and VET
sector of the UTS online assessment system
Sydney Business and Education Creative Hub Scoping Study
(ReView) that explicitly includes Creativity
and Innovation in assessment criteria together
integrated with other attribute development
categories.
9. Mobile Experts project
‘Find an expert’ in any topic relevant to creative
business activity (possibly through the Hub
website) and book an on-site workshop for selfselected small groups.
Page 41
15. Digital Open Library project
Foregrounding libraries as a major part of open
knowledge infrastructure with digital indexing and access to creative content integrated
across the hub region. Also provision of open
specialised computer workstations with creative
software and expert training available from
volunteers or possibly interns.
16. Digital Culture project
Negotiate exchanges to expand individuals
exposure to educational experiences suited to
their abilities or intended career development.
The use of social networking media to encourage
grass roots engagement across the hub region.
Linking together and providing support to arts
and community initiatives such as Vibewire and
promoting them as an important aspect of hub
activity with access to all the facilities that the
hub will embrace…. Getting them ‘on the map’.
11. Creative Practice Firm
17. Pervasive work and social spaces
10. Articulation Exchange Project
This could be staffed by creative educators, business people, artists or designers in residence and
provide a training space for business staff and
students from all levels and creative industries.
12. City of Sydney spaces project
Using the database that includes GIS data about
use of spaces in the hub region there could
be initiatives developed to provide spaces for
creative business and activities for little or no
cost. This database will be updated with the
Census in 2011 and could be linked to the hub
interactive map.
The hub should provide a series of networked
and flexible spaces designed for a mix of social
interaction and work-related activities. Study
pods, stepped amphitheatres within open space,
informal meeting spaces, exhibition spaces,
workshop space defined by the knowledge
transfer potential rather than a purely functional
approach.
13. Free WiFi and power sockets
This would open up the creative work spaces
and support an open knowledge infrastructure in
the hub region.
14. Large LCD panels and building
projections
Giving a visible display of hub activities as a
constant 24x7 digital reflection of the many
exciting activities happening in the hub region.
Also providing a facility for art / informatics /
history projects, temporary installations, wayfinding projects and exhibitions.
UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY, SYDNEY
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Sydney Business and Education Creative Hub Scoping Study
2. INTERNSHIPS
Example
A consistent finding throughout this scoping
study was the acknowledgement that internships
were a crucial part of the educational experience, whether in the vocational education sector
or in universities. Internships represent a first
opportunity to trial and test skills and knowledge
acquired through formal learning channels
or workshops in the real world. Built into the
concept of an internship is the acknowledgement that the intern is still in a learning phase in
which observation and guided practice within a
professional setting is essential.
From a student’s perspective, an internship is a
first step in the world of work which will, with
other work experiences, start to shape a distinct
and personalised career path. Internships are
also a space to test out interests and affinities
to refine career options and thus make more
specific and focused educational and training choices in the future. An internship also
represents a foot in the door within a company,
with a high proportion of interns hired for more
permanent employment.
According to the recruitment specialist interviewed, internships and early work experiences
form a crucial part of job seeker’s overall profile.
An internship with a renowned firm or individual
will weigh in equal measure to educational
attainment when candidates are considered for
a position.
One of the key functions of the hub will be to
facilitate the matching of demand and supply for
internship placements and interns. The organisation of internship placements often falls within
the scope of busy academics and course coordinators that are not remunerated for these efforts.
The hub, as an independent body, may be able to
contribute to an internship coordinating function
for skill-shortage areas of the creative industries,
whereby the hub becomes a one-stop shop for
both employers and prospective interns.
This role could be articulated as a type of social
networking around the offer and demand for
internships, where an updated online database
of available positions are posted onto the hub’s
online forum. The maintenance and updating of
this database would fall within the description of
the roles and responsibilities of the hub staff who
will need to develop relationships with existing
internship schemes and potential employers.
One suggested project was the development of
an ‘Internship Kit’ as a guide for both employers and interns including logbooks, insurance
policies, assessment criteria, suggested activities
and pay arrangements.
Another possible project may involve negotiating
the supervised use of ‘down-time’ on high-tech
equipment lying idle in companies, colleges and
universities on evenings and weekends.
UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY, SYDNEY
Eyebeam
Eyebeam is a New York based initiative
founded in 1997 dedicated to exposing
broad and diverse audiences to new technologies and media arts, while simultaneously establishing and demonstrating new
media as a significant genre of cultural
production. Eyebeam has evolved to
support fellowships, internships, residencies and continuing education programs
for artists and creative ‘technologists’.
Eyebeam provides state of the art facilities
for digital experimentation and creation
throughout the Eyebeam offices and labs.
Resident artists also have the opportunity
to take on an intern who is actively involved in research and production of various projects. Eyebeam provides unpaid
internship and volunteer opportunities to
the public as part of the educational component of its mission. Through internships
and volunteering, the public is invited to
engage with, and learn from, artists and
arts professionals actively working with
new technologies.
Sydney Business and Education Creative Hub Scoping Study
3. MENTORSHIPS
Mentorships are distinct from internships as they
are usually directed at new and recent graduates.
According to a recruitment specialist interviewed
during the research phase of this scoping study,
recent graduates experience the most difficulty
in finding either permanent employment or
freelance work. Indeed, training and upskilling
a recent graduate who is expecting to get paid
market wages is not possible due to lack of time
or financial resources. Effectively, the demand is
for a senior person at entry-level wages which
squeezes graduates out of the market.
The establishment of a mentor or buddy relationship during the course of a student’s education
could provide an additional way to strengthen
graduates’ profiles as a follow-on experience
acquired during internships. The coordination
of existing mentor schemes and the creation
of new schemes should involve professional
associations, business, education, government
and arts / cultural / community organisations.
The hub could also assist with mentor schemes
that aimed at imparting business acumen to local
businesses identified by the CIIC, but operating
below the financial threshold of their terms of
reference.
Similar to the schemes offered by the QUT Careerhub, mentoring coordination could support
a scheme by dedicating a coordinator to advise
and assist mentors and students with initial
matching, progress reports and organise briefing
sessions to discuss expectations and objectives.
Despite the lack of direct financial incentive to
be a mentor or a mentee (mentor schemes are
unpaid and rely on a commitment to pro bono
work via the hub) there are multiple benefits to
be reaped for graduates and mentors alike. Mentors find incentives in the networking possibilities
as well as the privilege to be part of the hub.
Students and graduates get advice and feedback
on their work, develop relationships and their
career path.
Page 43
Example
Hyper Island
Hyper Island was priginally a Stockholmbased digital learning programme that has
now expanded to New York, London and
Manchester. The Hyper Island Masterclass
is an advanced professional training program aimed at executives, project managers, account managers and creatives. It
gathers students from all over the world
and uses ‘experience-based learning’ to
teach how creators, executives and strategists find design-based solutions to problems. Hyper Island’s graduates are poised
to become the next generation of creative
talent and utilise the connection made
during the Masterclass to initiate international collaborative projects thus creating
a global community of like-minded creatives. Hyper Island also offers longer term
programmes in Digital Media, Interactive
Art Direction Motion Graphics Design and
Development, E-Commerce Management
and Application Design and Development
for Mobile Devices (where 2 years of prior
industry experience are required to join
the course). The emphasis is on learning
the practical, technical, business and design skills to be a successful creative professional through workshop-style learning
and a compulsory internship.
Mentorship schemes that span different age
ranges also offer the chance to identify, cultivate
and retain a local talent pool as well as create
synergies between emerging creatives, established professionals, professional associations,
educational facilities and the hub.
UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY, SYDNEY
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Sydney Business and Education Creative Hub Scoping Study
4. EDUCATIONAL INITIATIVES
Example
As a result of the scoping study and previous
research done for the Department of Education
and Training there have been a range of important educational initiatives suggested.
For example the lack of problem-solving abilities
suggests the promotion of Problem-based
Learning (PBL) in both university and VET sector
courses. This approach is different from Projectbased learning where specific briefs are given
for the design of a defined product for a defined
target audience. The motivational differences
and deeply engaged research requirements of
PBL are not necessarily understood by many
teachers and lecturers in the creative industry
sector, who themselves are usually practitioners
with little exposure to educational theory and
research. One hub project may involve an
invitation to practitioners who teach and those
already within institutions to engage with PBL
workshops as an enhancement to their design of
learning environments and activities.
Another example is the lack of developmental
feedback that students receive about their
development of creativity or innovation skills. If
assessment drives learning and the criteria for
assessment do not include explicit criteria for
creativity and innovation, one could infer that
these are not genuinely valued. The more subtle
inference is that academics find it difficult to
make explicit their criteria for assessment, and
making that assessment developmental over
time and across subject boundaries is rather in
the ‘too-hard basket’. It is for this reason that
the ReView software was produced as an on-line
system that saves academics’ marking time and
encourages the refinement and development of
attribute-coded assessment criteria. One project
for the hub might be to promote the use of this
form of assessment in courses across the education sectors including schools.
Another example is the lack of educational provision for the staff of CI SME’s. There has been
a request for a system of ‘moblie experts’ who
would deliver on-site workshops on a wide range
of topics to SME’s in the local area. There is also
a lack of advice about educational opportunities for staff development in both theory and
technical areas.
Another example is the lack of ability for
students already enrolled in courses to move
seamlessly between institutions and possibly
businesses through ‘articulation exchange
programs’, both local and international.
These and other eduational initiatives could form
an important aspect of hub activities to improve
educational provision and access to the institutional providers.
UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY, SYDNEY
ReView Online Assessment
ReView is an online criteria-based assessment system that encourages the
meaningful assessment of creativity and
innovation together with other important attributes of student work. Based
on research on how lecturers can help
their students develop the skills and
personal attributes they need for a rapidly
changing world, The ReView software is
a web-based tool for marking student
work and allowing students, as well as
lecturers, to assess performance against
discipline specific criteria and attributes.
Being commercialised by UniQuest and
the UTS Research and Innovation Office,
ReView has been proven in the Faculty
of Design, Architecture and Building and
other UTS faculties, is being trialled by
several Australian universities and now is
getting the attention of the international
education market. The underlying addage
that ‘assessment drives learning’ has led to
over-assessment rather than a valuing of
such things as creativity and innovation in
assessment criteria with feedback about
their development over time and across
subject boundaries. The system also
enables student self-assessment against
these criteria and encourages the development of reflective graduates rather
than marks-driven students with ‘surface
approaches’ to educational contexts.
Sydney Business and Education Creative Hub Scoping Study
5. EVENTS, GETTING ON
THE MAP
Page 45
Example
Creative Quarter, Exhibition Road Project
As a key strategy to enhance the visibility and
legibility of the hub to the community and to
creatives in Sydney, the organisation of events in
and around the hub will put the hub on the radar.
The events should be diverse, frequent and elicit
interest from a wide audience.
The organisations that have expressed interest in
the creation of a hub all host events that relate
to design, creativity and innovation in Sydney.
The hub is to become a platform to publicize
and curate these events. Similar to the idea of
a database for internships, there could be a
hub calendar, where events hosted by member
organisations and business are shared on the
hub’s digital platform.
The hub’s potential to act as an event platform
can start right away with the implementation of
the soft infrastructure framework and the design
of a digital network of stakeholders. Existing
social networking platforms such as Facebook,
Twitter and LinkedIn can be tapped into to
enable serendipitous encounters.
In terms of defining the types of events that the
hub will host through the platform, we recommend there be a diversity of events ranging from
workshops, discussion forums, evening lectures,
conferences and symposiums, festivals, parties
and exhibitions. The idea is to establish the area
as a vibrant and dynamic creative and cultural
quarter.
The idea of an interactive map of the hub that
can be queried by activity would be a first step
in establishing the events platform function of
the hub. The idea of interactive mapping has
gained a great deal of enthusiastic feedback during the scoping study. It could contain selectable
layers so that a vast range of hub features could
be quickly found.
For example one could select a dropdown map
menu that would allow ‘view by’
• Educational provision (all courses from Uni and
VET Sectors with details)
• Mentoring and Internships
• Current Exhibitions
• CI Businesses
• Arts Events
• Visiting Speakers
• Spaces for events
• Launches
• Empty Spaces project
• Creative Spaces project etc.
Creative Quarter is part of the wider
redevelopment of the Exhibition Road
precinct in South Kensington, London.
South Kensington is home to many of the
nation’s finest cultural institutions including the Victoria and Albert Museum, the
Science Museum and the Museum of
Natural History. In an effort to raise the
visibility and profile of these institutions,
Creative Quarter is a once a year event
which opens the doors of all the cultural
and creative institutions in the precinct to
school children. Special programmes are
designed to show children what professions are represented by the museums’
collections and to give school children
the opportunity to engage with these
professionals first hand. This highlights
the symbiotic nature that exists between
cultural institutions and professionals that
work for those institutions within the precinct. Building on the success of Creative
Quarter, The Exhibition Road Project has
been developed to increase connectivity between these institutions, improve
wayfinding and create a legible and visible
experience within the precinct through
strategic urban design interventions such
as shared spaces, homogenised paving
throughout the precinct, and wayfinding.
The incentive for engagement would be ‘Getting
on the Map’ with obvious benefits for the cohesion and visibility of hub affairs.
UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY, SYDNEY
Page 46
6. BUSINESS SPACE & SUPPORT
In the past years, the Federal Government has
acknowledged the contribution of the creative
industries to Australia’s economy in terms
of employment and output but also in terms
of innovation. One of the expressions of this
acknowledgment is the pledging of funds to
initiatives such as the UTS-based Creative Industries Innovation Centre (CIIC) which represents a
national initiative to provide business advice and
training to creative business in accordance with
the Enterprise Connect model.
The CIIC has successfully reached the businesses
over $500,000 AUD turnover on a national
scale but according to the Director of the CIIC,
there is much to be done on a much smaller and
more local scale in central Sydney. Many creative
enterprises emerging around central Sydney are
micro to small business and as such do not fit
the requirements for CIIC assistance.
Business support should form an integral part
of the hub’s roles and responsibilities. Delivering business support to business can happen
through several channels: proof of concept
reviews, business reviews, referral to Commonwealth funding, matching with consultants,
business-oriented training etc.
There are successful models in the UK management sphere of ‘shadowing’ and ‘business
exchanges’ developed at the Lancaster University Management School that could also apply to
the creative industries sector.
In addition, the hub could set up a ‘practice firm’
that would act as a training ground for business
staff at all levels.
The other aspect of business support could also
come directly from access to cheap spaces in the
hub region. The City of Sydney has a database
that shows a great deal of empty space both
private and government-owned, that could
perhaps be made available with some regulatory
changes (see the Renew Newcastle project).
UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY, SYDNEY
Sydney Business and Education Creative Hub Scoping Study
Example
Lower Manhattan Cultural Council
The Lower Manhattan Cultural Council is
Manhattan’s largest arts council, serving as a gateway to culture, information
and resources across all five boroughs.
The Council’s activities range from business training and support to artists, artist
residencies and the provision of exhibition and workspace through a temporary
space leasing program for visual and
performing artists called ‘Swing Space’.
Based on an up-to-date inventory of available commercial space in the Lower Manhattan area, the LMCC matches temporary
occupants to fit with the business cycles
and needs of the leaser. LMCC has also
compiled an interactive online map of cultural institutions located in Lower Manhattan according to category of art form. The
LMCC is an example of an interdisciplinary, multi-literate organisation supporting
learning and training within the arts with
a digital presence which reaches beyond
its geographical location and a supporting
spatial network of temporary art spaces.
Sydney Business and Education Creative Hub Scoping Study
Page 47
7. OPEN KNOWLEDGE
INFRASTRUCTURE
Example
A key outcome from the scoping study process
has been the emphasis on openness and accessibility. This goes hand in hand with the idea of
independent identity of the hub which sets it
aside from any one institution. Accessibility of
information and open virtual and public spaces
are integral to the operational system of the
hub. Libraries are a core resource and one of the
functions of the hub may be to promote digital
access to library data.
Open Knowledge Infrastructure covers the
systems, the ‘wiring’ of the hub that enables the
transfer of knowledge. This includes actual infrastructure as well as built-in provisions that shape
the hub into an ‘always on’ environment, one
that blurs the boundaries between life and work,
that connects people to the city in a new and
energised way. This could manifest in the form of
external LCD panels on public buildings linked to
webcams recording a variety of activities going
on in the hub region at any time 24 x 7.
Wireless connectivity is the backbone of open
knowledge infrastructure as it is both located
(wifi) and near ubiquitous (3G) and further
dissolves the demarcation between learning
environments and their surrounds. The environment thus acquires multiple layers of networking
possibilities: formal/informal, hub/beyond,
academic/professional, social/business.
In the absence of municipal wifi, corporate
partnerships with telecommunication companies
could ensure that there is free and available wireless in the hub in exchange for advertising on the
hub splash page.
Surry Hills Community Library
The Surry Hills Library and Community
Centre is a de facto hub of creative activity
in central Sydney. Thanks to its location
amongst a concentration of creative firms
in design, publishing, architecture and so
on, the state of the art facilities designed
by architect Richard Francis-Jones attract
creative professionals from the area to
work in the cafe space, the reading room
and lobby space thanks to the provision of
free wifi. The library and community centre
also stages events around local artists and
writers as well as craft courses and music
performances. Beyond the architectural
and spatial qualities of this building, it is
the provision of open knowledge infrastructure and an aware community which
gives this place its success as a workspace,
a socialising space and a community dropin.
The distributed supply of outdoor power socket
and sun shelters throughout the hub will enable
users to connect to the hub seamlessly and use
their personal hardware as easily as they would
at home or at the office.
The Open Knowledge Infrastructure also includes
hardware such as specialised computer stations
equipped with design software packages and
post-production packages (Adobe Creative
Suite) on which users of the hub can train and
strengthen their skills. Video and projection material as well as collaborative workshop environments could turn the hub into a collective and
shared office space for creative professionals.
As the hub example showed, the open knowledge infrastructure also includes the type of staff
and the staff behaviour. Following The Edge and
the Apple Store’s example, the transfer of knowledge may be facilitated by on-site ‘mentors’ or
‘geniuses’ whose job it is to assist the users of
the hub in taking full advantage of the provided
facilities, programmes and connectivity.
UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY, SYDNEY
Page 48
8. DIGITAL CULTURE AND
COMMUNITY
A Digital Culture and Community will be fostered
through a web interface to represent the hub in
the digital/virtual sphere and the social media
platform. With the ascent of social networking as
a key mode of interaction both in personal lives
and professional endeavours, the digital platform
will play a key role in enabling connections in the
virtual world that will later play out ‘face-to-face’.
The hub’s digital presence will become a shared
platform between the users of the hub and the
organisations and businesses supporting it and
will act as a real time dashboard of its activities
and programme. Drawing from what social
media does best, this digital interface will be
able to personalise offers to students, educators, mentors and business representatives and
create a digital community of like-minded people
around creative industries in Sydney.
Online content such as business resources, helpdesks and references should also be developed
for the hub. The digital platform of the hub is
also a place for sharing content, testing out ideas
and designs on a community of like-minded
people for peer-review. Web platforms such as
wikis and online collaborative design spaces
would strengthen the collaborative and digital
character of the hub.
The digital face of the hub inevitably ties back
to place: the hub is a place-based initiative and
the online community that emerges around it is
only a dashboard and showcase for face-to-face
meeting and other physical interaction in spaces.
This link to space could further be explored
through a precinct-wide neural map, one that
connects events to educational provision to
available studio space.
UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY, SYDNEY
Sydney Business and Education Creative Hub Scoping Study
Example
Vibewire
Vibewire Youth Inc is a dynamic non-profit
organisation based in Ultimo, Sydney
that supports young people to effectively
shape their world through media, arts and
entrepreneurial opportunities. Vibewire
runs events and projects such as FastBreak, Reelife short film festival, e-Festival
of ideas and many more. Recently, Vibewire has made a move towards more permanent activities for Australia’s creative
youth to get involved in. These involve the
Enterprise Hub which is a business incubator providing space, resources, inspirations
and connections for young creatives starting up their own business. The Vibewire
facilities include a workspace, broadband,
scanning copying facilities, production
facilities, weekly business workshops,
and 24/7 access. The Vibewire portal also
provides the opportunity for writers, artists and content producers to experiment
and develop their creative expression and
have their work reviewed by the in-house
Vibewire editorial team. Networking nights
are held to offer residents the opportunity
to meet, collaborate and gain inspiration
from other social and creative entrepreneurs who are creating projects or have
experience creating successful projects.
Vibewire also offers internships in Design,
Enterprise Hub support, Portal support
and Multimedia.
Sydney Business and Education Creative Hub Scoping Study
9. PERVASIVE WORK
ENVIRONMENTS
A key finding from our workshop was the interest in new working environments, perhaps best
described as pervasive, which characterise the
nomadic working modes of creatives. Pervasive
learning and work environments are made of
networked spatial arrangements that vary in
formality and in openness.
Page 49
Example
Object Gallery
The focus here is on spaces that enable the
creation of pervasive work and learning experiences and as such starts to influence the spatial
qualities of the hub as it overlaps between the
soft and hard infrastructure of the hub.
Pervasive learning environments are inextricably
linked to the Open Knowledge Infrastructure
where connectivity to the digital platform of the
hub and to the neural network of activities are
key.
Spatially, the hub materialises as a series of networked and flexible spaces designed for a mix
of social interaction and work-related activities.
Initially building on existing social infrastructure
such as cafes with wireless internet, the physical
and spatial expression of the hub will evolve to
include a dedicated space characterised by its
flexibility and architectural interest.
Study pods, stepped amphitheaters within
open space, informal meeting spaces, exhibition
spaces, workshop space form an emerging taxonomy of space, one defined by the knowledge
transfer potential rather than a purely functional
approach.
In a previous consultancy to UTS for the Faculty
of Engineering and IT Building, Arup presented
a list of international best practice for pervasive
learning environments. Examples included: the
Walt Disney Concert Hall Gardens, Los Angeles,
the Storefront for Art and Architecture, New
York City, the SYNTHe roof garden, Los Angeles
and Federation Square, Melbourne.
Object Gallery is based in St Margaret’s
Surry Hills, Sydney. As a creative and
cultural organisation, Object takes an
innovative approach to design by emphasising the importance of grey spaces ,
the exploration of the unexplored and the
pursuit of the hybrid to creative processes.
Object’s manifesto is to seek new ways of
interpreting design and to make connections between design professionals and
the community. Object achieves this by
hosting a large variety of activities from
exhibitions, publishing, podcasts as well
as educational programmes that put students in direct contact with design professionals in disciplines as diverse as furniture
design, graphic design and many types
of crafts. Object has also put forward a
proposal for its expansion over the next
5 years. As Object grows too large for its
current space, the Object team has proposed to evolve into Sydney’s own Centre
for Creativity and Design, an inspiring
showcase of Australia’s significant design
expertise, a portal into the best international creativity, and a leader in design
thinking and learning. Key to the proposal
for the Centre for Creativity and Design
is its potential to take the position as an
industry hub – representing and connecting creative resources with business and
government, with the mutual benefits that
would result.
UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY, SYDNEY
Page 50
Sydney Business and Education Creative Hub Scoping Study
10. BUILDINGS AS PLATFORMS &
PATHWAYS
Example
Using the buildings themselves to convey
activity and act as a platform for creative work is
becoming increasingly achievable. Contemporary
technology allows the built environment to
sense, analyse and feed information about itself
to itself in a closed feedback loops. This even has
the potential to affect behavior change, influence
decision-making processes.
The area and network tapped by the hub would
be a prolific data generator and its spaces
will be teeming with activity. Visualising the
performance of the hub could be an interesting
application of urban informatics in a system
that helps the hub know more about itself, how
people are using the spaces, how people using
the digital interface and where people like to
work most.
On a more basic level, it is the physicality of the
building and the urban fabric that needs to be
leveraged onto to enable the hub to connect
onto the street and effectively connect a whole
network of spaces in Sydney. Increasing the legibility and visibility of the hub to the community
would ensure that the benefits of having a hub
is reaped by all. Projections, branded signage,
temporary installations and wayfinding are
some of the strategies that can be deployed to
strengthen this physical presence.
As discussed in the introductory sections of this
report, the urban environment in the Broadway/
Ultimo area is unappealing and physically
separated from other centres of activity by barriers such as Broadway and Harris Street, Central
Station, the Fraser construction site and the
general redevelopment of the UTS campus. It is
this same major redevelopment that represents
an opportunity to rethink not only the individual
buildings that make up the precinct but also
how they physically connect one to another, how
pathways can be carved out.
Just as the impetus behind the Exhibition Road
Project in London was the desire for a more
pedestrian friendly environment and a precinctwide experience, there is potential to extend
the hub project to key strategic urban design
interventions. Locally-designed temporary
pavilions could punctuate the urban environment
thus adding interest to the area but also giving
an opportunity to showcase local design talent.
UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY, SYDNEY
The Shopfront for Art and Architecture
Founded in 1982, Storefront for Art and
Architecture is a nonprofit organization committed to the advancement of
innovative positions in architecture, art
and design. The program of exhibitions,
artists talks, film screenings, conferences
and publications is intended to generate dialogue and collaboration across
geographic, ideological and disciplinary
boundaries. As a public forum for emerging voices, Storefront explores vital issues
in art and architecture with the intent
of increasing awareness of and interest in contemporary design. Beyond the
Storefront’s function as a forum for ideas,
the forum has a physical expression in
the urban environment, a wedge-shaped
space with a foldable facade designed by
artist Vito Acconci and architect Steven
Holl. which opens the entire length of the
gallery directly onto the street. The project
blurs the boundary between interior and
exterior and creates architectural interest
by the myriad of possible articulations for
the facade and the spatial impact of this
on the interior space. Now regarded as
a contemporary architectural landmark,
Storefront’s facade is visited by artists,
architects and students from around the
world. The Storefront owes it success to
its dynamic and changing face, its flexible
and open space which acts as a platform
for art and architecture within the city.
Sydney Business and Education Creative Hub Scoping Study
Page 51
“The production processes
of the cultural and creative
industries are subject to
constant adaptation and
innovation, making it essential
to exchange information,
build on intangible assets and
attract talent to refresh the
process. These characteristics
derive from the very nature
of cultural products. Varying
consumer tastes entail a high
level of uncertainty in terms of
consumer acceptance. Because
of these constraints, the best
organisational structure is
often a “cultural and creative
industries cluster”, i.e. a
concentrated set of reactive
and adaptable industries.”
European Commission Green Paper, 2010,
Unlocking the potential of the cultural and creative industries, p9.
UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY, SYDNEY
Any Enquiries about this report should be addressed to:
Darrall Thompson
Director of Teaching and Learning
UTS School of Design
POBox 123 Broadway
NSW 2007
E darrall.thompson@uts.edu.au