Paper presentation at the 41st Social Theory, Politics and the Arts Conference, 10-12 December 2015, University of South Australia, Adelaide.

1. J AVIER J . HER N ÁN D EZ ACOS TA
P R ES EN TED AT S TP & A CON FER EN C E 20 15
AD ELAID E, AU S TR ALIA
The Creative Ecosystem as
a Cultural Policy Approach

2. Background
 Development of the concept of creative economy
(Howkins, 2001, DCMS 2001, UNCTAD, 2010)
 The difference between cultural industries and
creative industries.
 The development of a framework for the creative
economy in Puerto Rico.
 Commission for Cultural Development in Puerto Rico
 Bill 173 creating a public policy for the creative industries

3. Creative Economy: A New Approach
 Balance between cultural and economic value
(Throsby, 2001, Frey 2000, Holden, 2008)
 The expediency of culture (Yúdice, 2003)
 Creative economy as a new dimension of cultural
policy (CODECU, 2015)
 Understanding the challenges of the value chain the
different sectors (Caves, 2000, Wiinstedt &
Boxenbaum, 2012).

4. The value of culture
The Value of culture
Economic Value Indicators
Monetary Value GDP, Employment, Trade Balance
Non-monetary Value Creativity, Innovation, Skills, etc.
Cultural Value Indicators
Use Value Educational value, social cohesion,
identity, emotional value,
coexistence, etc.
Non-use Value Prestige, historical value,
internationalization, option value,
etc.

5. Definitions for the creative industries

6. Value Chain Analysis

7. The pyramid of the creative ecosystem

8. Research Objectives
 Contribute to the theoretical framework of the
pyramid of the creative ecosystem to understand the
differences between the three segments in terms of:
 Financial needs
 Main challenges
 Support from external agents

9. Methodology
 23 case studies in 9 countries
 Argentina (1), Austria (1), Colombia (1), Spain (9), United
States (1), France (2), Hungary (5), Puerto Rico (3),
United Kingdom (1)
 Publishing (2), Performing Arts (5), Visual Arts (3), Film
(1), Industrial Design (3), Games and Toys (1), Fashion
(1), Music (3), Cultural Tourism (2) and Cultural Spaces
(2)
 In-depth semi-structured interviews with founders or
managers.

10. Financial Needs
Seed Capital
Venture Capital
Angel Investors
Loans
Grants
Subsidies
Grants

11. Main Challenges
Internationalization
Management Support
Growth Strategies
Highly Competitive
Cooperation
Strategic Planning
Impact Assessment
Income Streams
Organizational Design

12. Support from External Agents
Private Sector -
Investment
Academia -
Management Support
Government -
Cultural Policy

13. Conclusions
 There is a need for a more comprehensive view on the
creative economy.
 It is important to understand the importance of cultural
value and their contribution to the creative ecosystem.
 The pyramid of the creative ecosystem could work as a
framework to design policies for the creative industries.
 It is important to develop operational definitions for the
three segments to use other data sources of cultural and
creative industries.

14. J AVIER J . HER N ÁN D EZ ACOS TA
U N IVER S ID AD D EL S AGR AD O COR AZÓN
J J HER N AN D EZ@ S A GR A D O .E D U
Questions?