Aisling Murtagh, Geography, NUI Galway, presented this talk entitled "Peripheral regional development and creative entrepreneurship in the European northern periphery" on behalf of the Creative, Liveable and Sustainable Communities research cluster at the 2017 Whitaker Institute Research Day on 6th April 2017.

1. Peripheral regional development and
creative entrepreneurship in the
European northern periphery
Creative, Liveable and Sustainable Communities Cluster
Whitaker Institute Research Day
6 April 2017
a creative momentum project
Principal Investigator: Dr Patrick Collins
Post Doctoral Researcher: Dr Aisling Murtagh

2. Overview
• About a creative momentum
project
• A few quick definitions…
• Creative economy
• Peripheral regions
• Role of creative
entrepreneurship in peripheral
regional development?

3. a creative momentum project
• 2015-2018
• Funded by the
Northern
Periphery and
Arctic Programme
• Builds on Creative
Edge project
(2011-2013)
Main objectives:
• Support development of the
creative economy
– Promote entrepreneurship
– Reach market potential (local
and international)
– Strengthen support ecosystem
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4. • Creative Sector Index
• Economic Impact
Assessment
• Supports Assessment
• Legacy Planning
• Creative Steps
• Business Model
Toolkit
• Online Knowledge
Resource
Activities

5. Transnational project across Europe’s
northern edge

6. The ‘periphery’?
Characteristics of
peripheral regions:
• Low population
density
• Low accessibility
• Low economic
diversity
• Abundant
natural resources
(NPA, 2016)

7. Creative economy sub-sectors
• Advertising
• Animation
• Architecture
• Craft
• Cultural
facilities (e.g.
museums,
galleries)
• Design
• Film
• Games
• Marketing
• Music
• IT and
Computer
Services
• Performing Arts
• Photography
• Publishing
• Radio
• Software
• TV
• Visual Arts
“Industries with their origin
in individual creativity, skill
and talent which have a
potential for job and wealth
creation through the
generation and exploitation
of intellectual property”
(UK Department for
Culture, Media and Sport,
1998)

8. WHAT ROLE CAN CREATIVE
ENTREPRENEURSHIP PLAY IN
PERIPHERAL REGIONAL
DEVELOPMENT?

9. Developing peripheral regions
Challenges e.g.
• Draw to the core
– Education, business opportunities, jobs
– Erosion of human capital
• Local market limited
• Low levels of innovation and entrepreneurship
• Narrow industry sectors and job opportunities
– service, primary industry
• Diversify the economy
– What role for creative sector entrepreneurs?

10. Role of the creative entrepreneurs in peripheral
regional development…
1. Job creation
• Entrepreneurship a way to
navigate the issue of
limited jobs in peripheral
places:
– Facilitates staying at work in
the creative sector
– Stable job opportunities rare
2. Catalytic nature of creative
sector
• Sub-sectors can complement
each other
• Competing sectors work
together

11. 2. Catalytic nature of
creative sector
development
• Spill-overs stimulate growth in other sectors:
• Tourism (culture, heritage, film/TV)
–Game of Thrones and Northern Ireland
Tourism
–Star Wars and the Skelligs
• Agriculture? ‘agri-tivity’
–Kollafoss Games Farm, Iceland

12. 3. Periphery itself can be a
creative resource
– Attracts people (tourism,
lifestyle migrants)
• Beyond arctic
photography
expeditions
– Inspires products (culture,
heritage, nature,
landscape)
• Hugrún

13. 3. Periphery itself can be a creative resource
• Location inspires creativity, such as
local culture, landscape, tradition and
heritage (Drake, 2003)
• Challenge of low population density
becomes an advantage
– Creative freedom
– Place promotes and facilitates the creative
process

14. • Some sectors strongly
socially embedded e.g.
craft, arts (Bertacchini
and Borione; 2013;
Bennett, McGuire and
Rahman, 2015)
• Creative and social
entrepreneurs?
4. Support more
balanced
development
• Other sectors
also socially
embedded e.g.
– Media
production
– Games
• CoderDojo
• Game Jams

15. Conclusion (1)
• Important role:
– Job creation
• Create more stable employment
– Stimulate broader growth
• Other creative sub-sectors
• Other industry sectors (e.g. tourism)
– Harness place-based resources
• Nature
• Traditions
– Socio-economic development
• Traditional arts
• Also wider creative sectors

16. Conclusion (2)
• But care needed not to over-value…
– Precarious labour
• Job insecurity and issue of labour exchange (Dissart,
2003; Luckman, 2013)
– Rural and peripheral creative entrepreneurs not focused on
business growth
• Provide a livelihood for themselves
• Limited potential for job creation? (Herslund, 2012)
• But…
– One very successful company (e.g. IKEA) or a cluster of
smaller companies can stimulate more significant growth
(Power, 2002)

17. Thank-you
aisling.murtagh@nuigalway.ie
www.mycreativeedge.eu