£5m fund for creative industries
Thursday, 23 October 2008
Gregory Campbell, MP, NI Minister for Culture Arts and Tourisim, during his brief tour of the Limavady campus pictured with Angela McClarey and David Hanna.
CULTURE, Arts and Leisure Minister, Gregory Campbell, MP, MLA has launched a £5m fund to stimulate Northern Ireland's creative industries.
Speaking at the launch of the Creativity Industries Innovation Fund in Limavady the Minister said: "The creative industries sector is a very important sector of the economy and has the potential to generate very significant and long lasting economic benefits for Northern Ireland. In terms of the economic value, it is estimated that around 34,600 or 4.7% of the working population, is employed in the creative sector which is growing at a faster rate than the economy in general.
“By investing in the development of talents and skills of our people we will improve our competitive position in national and international markets and reap the benefits in our communities. The drive to develop new markets and in particular to encourage an outward-looking, global perspective, underpins all".
The creative sector is diverse and includes advertising, architecture and design consultancies, film and television companies, computer and video games development, music labels and book and magazine publishers, theatre, opera and dance companies and live music promoters, and craft-makers, visual artists and designer-makers.
The Minister continued, "One of the goals of the Programme for Government is to grow the creative sector by up to 15% by 2011. The opportunities are there to meet this target with the help of new technologies and the development of new markets, that did not exist a few years ago, opening up for creative entrepreneurs".
The Minister said that the Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure had developed the Creative Industries Strategic Action Plan in consultation with key stakeholders and is working closely with the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment and Invest NI on the way ahead for the sector.
“The Action Plan will support initiatives to increase the quality, visibility and value of the creative industries. It will focus on innovation in business, in people and in sectoral infrastructure and knowledge", he said.
In conclusion the Minister said, "I believe that the Creative Industries Innovation Fund can be a vital component contributing to the Programme for Government commitments and in doing so helping Northern Ireland become a world class hub for the creative industries.
“If we can do this we will not only reap the economic benefits, but we will build cultural capacity, improving the quality of life of our citizens and the perceptions of Northern Ireland on the global stage".
The first call will be to Sectoral Bodies only, for innovative initiatives which will develop the infrastructure, knowledge and people within the sector. Subsequently there will be three levels of grant available to individual businesses : For projects up to £10,000, 100% grants are available.
For business seeking to become active Invest NI clients companies, through a process of strategy and capacity development, a grant of up to 75% is available, up to a max of £75,000.
In all other cases the maximum grant is 75% up to a max of £50,000.
The Arts Council has a dedicated team for the Creative Industries Innovation Fund and that team is available to advise potential applicants on their projects.
