"To make sense of a rapidly changing world and to connect the seemingly unconnected a greater emphasis on human imagination, innovation and creativity...must be the key differentiators for business."                   

-Klaus Schwab, founder of the World Economic Forum, Davos Switzerland
(www.govtech.net 2/06/06)

Creative Economy Initiatives in the US 

Santa Fe, NM:  UNESCO “Creative Cities” program named Santa Fe the first city in North America and one of the first three cities in the world a “Creative City for Folk Art Design.”  Also started Santa Fe Design Week:  “an initiative to promote Santa Fe as a leading design and creative industry center.”

BusinessWeek (12/19/05)   Best Ideas of 2005: 

“The Way to Succeed in the Creative Economy:  Innovate”

“The knowledge Economy is giving way to the Creative Economy.  Information has become a commodity like coal or corn. 

"People once thought that superiority in technology and information would ease the economic pain of outsourcing manufacturing to Asia.  But it turns out that a good deal of knowhow—software writing, accounting, legal work, engineering—can be outsourced to places like India, China, and Eastern Europe too.  The solution:  Focus on innovation and design as the new corporate core competencies. 

"To prosper, companies have to constantly change the game in their industries by creating products and services that satisfy needs consumers don’t even know they have yet.  That’s how loyalty is built. 

"Mastering new design methods and learning new innovation metrics are the keys to corporate success, if not survival.  Smart companies now have a senior-level executive charged with driving innovation or sparking creativity.  Perhaps it’s even the CEO.”

More Creative Economy Quotes from Around the Country:

Robert Axtell of The Brookings Institute: “what matters to the growth of cities is the ability to attract and retain creative people.  The clustering of creative agents in cities fosters the growth of the creative economy.” 

Lou Mousante, an executive with strategic planning company Catalyix: 

“research indicates that the creative sector includes professionals and managers, and workers in the research and development, education, and arts and culture sectors—will see job growth of 20 percent in the next ten years.”  He notes that “that’s better than the 14% job growth expected in the service sector in the same period and the 10% predicted for the working sector of manufacturing and construction.”

 Savannah, GA:  Says Creative Coast Initiative founder Chris Miller, “We’re quietly tapping people around the world to tell them about Savannah’s innovation economy and selecting the kind of economy we want.” 

Miller says that his public/private partnership is receiving calls from consular offices in Atlanta as well as the Georgia Department of Economic Development to talk with foreign and US companies about setting up operations in Savannah. These firms want to tap into the city’s growing community of knowledge-or brain-based businesses, including industries such as Internet/Web design, digital media, consulting and software development”, he said.  

Miller noted that their area already some 350 knowledge-based businesses in Savannah that now generate “the same wages as the regions travel and hospitality industry.”   

 “Everyone thinks of Savannah as a sleepy little town with historic tourist attractions, but it’s innovation—the combination of technology and art—that make it an attractive place for companies going offshore or companies overseas that want to have a cost effective US location with international flavor,” he said. (The Creative Coast  10/27/05)