Written evidence submitted by New Deal
of the Mind (NDotM) (arts 132)
SUMMARY
New Deal of the Mind (NDotM) is a charity which
helps people into work in the arts and creative sectors, formed
from a coalition of artists, entrepreneurs and opinion formers
who recognise the economic, social and cultural value of Britain's
creative talent.
— We have developed over 100 creative jobs
since March 2009 and will have created hundreds more by the end
of next year.
— We know a thriving creative sector is
vital to the UK's future economic recovery.
— Arts and culture help regeneration, create
jobs and boost innovation in the wider economy.
— Our research shows aspiring artists and
creatives want practical help, not handouts.
— An Enterprise Allowance Scheme for the
21st century would be a cost effective way to help build the next
generation of creative entrepreneurs.
— Imaginative indirect funding and support
might include mentoring, business and financial advice, workspace
and apprenticeships.
— There should be greater understanding
of flexible freelancing and self employment.
— Economies of scale can and do work—we've
proved it and work with government, entrepreneurs, artists and
cultural institutions.
SUBMISSION
1. Getting into the arts and the creative
industries is tough. Being unemployed is worse but our research
shows that young artists and creative entrepreneurs would rather
endure personal hardship in order to pursue their ambitions and
their tenacity and dedication is astonishing. These are the people
with the drive, commitment and talent to create new business that
will be so essential to helping the UK back to economic recovery.
2. Job vacancies are seldom advertised,
unpaid internships are commonplace thus reinforcing the view that
working in the arts is only for the well off or well connected.
Consequently, ethnic minorities are seriously under represented
as are people from less affluent backgrounds. We have proved that
by working with partners and applying economies of scale, it has
been possible to create jobs in the arts and cultural sectors
which have given hundreds of unemployed young people the chance
of six months paid work, gaining valuable experience, skills and
a foot in the door. The majority of those would not have been
able to afford to work as unpaid interns and had no personal connections
to help so their chances of getting a job in this sector without
NDotM would have been remote.
3. Although the jobs are funded through
the FJF, it was NDotM that made FJF flexible and relevant to the
arts and cultural sector by putting in a joint bid for FJF jobs
on behalf of scores of arts organisation who were not offering
enough placements to be eligible on their own and in some cases,
simply didn't have the capacity to deal with the bureaucracy of
applying anyway. This was a good example of how working with multiple
partners achieved a good outcome through pragmatism and practicality.
4. Support and advice for people setting
up on their own is patchy but the places such as The Enterprise
Centre at the Bernie Grant Centre in North London and similar
"hubs" across the UK, shows that they can support local
creative businesses. Some are run by local authorities, arts centres
or community groups in response to local demand By their very
nature, many of these tiny enterprises are run in an unstructured
way by independent, non conformist individuals which makes it
hard for them to move easily to the next stage in business growth
and where sharing access to financial and business mentoring,
space and infrastructure support could have a huge impact. This
is the sort of indirect or relatively small investment that could
pay huge dividends in terms of strengthened communities, sustainable
local business and help build a competitive and innovative economy
for the future.
5. NDotM would welcome active encouragement
of creative hubs or incubators across the UK which we believe
could help foster innovative local approaches by drawing on the
experience, skills and support of local people through enterprise
agencies, community groups, trades unions and chambers of commerce,
charities, arts and cultural organisations. Local authorities
could help with planning, leases and business rates while local
businesses could be encouraged to rent out unused office space
to creative start-ups but there needs to be a trade off around
skills not just cash. NDotM is currently engaged in research for
a report, commissioned by Enterprise UK which will look at a range
of different options and experiences from across the UK for such
creative hubs or incubators.
6. The area of gaining work experience for
those wanting to run their own business is one where NDOtM would
welcome the idea of a limited FJF style short term paid work placement
programme that would put suitable unemployed young people working
alongside self employed people. The potential benefits for both
parties are clear but would be particularly relevant to a young
creative entrepreneur learning the ropes of running their own
business where some skills are as valid for a plumber or musician.
7. The financial contribution to the UK economy
of the creative industries is widely recognised to be in the region
of £50 billion a year. Representing an estimated 6.4% of
the economy, the UK's creative sector is the biggest in the EU
and, according to research published in February 2009 by the National
Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts (NESTA) likely
to employ more people than the financial sector by 2013. That
is even more astonishing when you consider that 85 of creative
businesses employ fewer than five people. The same research reckoned
the rate of growth of the creative sector is double that of the
rest of the economy. Evidence of how regeneration based on arts
and culture can have a beneficial impact on the local economy
and communities can be seen in Newcastle, Brighton, Manchester,
East London, Folkestone, Derry and Glasgow among many other places.
8. In March 2010, NDotM published a report
(attached separately) commissioned by Arts Council England called,
" Creative Survival in Hard Times" which provided a
valuable insight into the obstacles and barriers facing young
people wanting to pursue a career in the arts and creative sector,
and offered several recommendations for government and arts institutions.
We interviewed young artists and creative entrepreneurs and found
that overwhelmingly they wanted work space, access to information,
mentoring and business skills. Low cost but highly practical interventions
that could make a big difference to their lives were far higher
on their list of priorities than money. Some argued against public
financial support because they didn't believe "hard working
midwives and teachers" should pay for them to follow their
dreams. But they did argue for the rules on working and claiming
benefit to be changed so that they could more easily start up
as freelancers. Within government departments and Jobcentres,
there is a cultural acceptance of very narrow definitions of work—someone
is either an employee or employer and there is very limited understanding
of freelancing, self employment, short term contracts or other
ways of working that are so predominant in the arts and creative
sector. Because of that, there is a lack of flexibility around
benefits where it is actually easier to stay on JSA than take
a short term contract which may lead to more paid work but would
endanger someone having to start registering for JSA all over
again once a short term contract ended. This " Snakes and
Ladders" experience actively discourages people from taking
a chance on a temporary job which would give them valuable experience,
self confidence and networking opportunities and seems to be totally
contradicting any stated desire to help the next generation of
entrepreneurs. As a starting point, current provisions for paying
self-employment credit could be simplified and publicised and
for payment to be extended from 16 weeks to a year which would
encourage some jobseekers to take a self-employed option. Those
we interviewed for "Creative Survival" did not think
it rational to be offered unemployment benefit to do nothing or
to work for nothing. If they are to receive benefits, they would
rather be given financial help to set up a creative business where
any financial help should encourage productive self employment.
9. Our experience and research underlines
the sense that that most would-be creatives value their freedom
and independence and would not exchange it for a better-paid regular
job. They are therefore willing to take casual, low paid work
and consequently miss out on any advice and help available to
people claiming Jobseeker's Allowance. It is these same people
who are most likely to become the successful creative entrepreneurs
and artists of the future—not least because of their commitment,
self belief and willingness to make personal sacrifice in order
to fulfill their creative dreams. As one of "Creative Survival's"
co-authors said, "Although the creative sector is widely
recognised as key to economic recovery, we treat those who are
striving to work in the creative industries abominably with low
pay, long internships and little help with professional training."
10. NDotM grew out an article by Martin
Bright in which he called for an imaginative approach to unemployment
based on President Roosevelt's Works Progress Administration (WPA)
and the Enterprise Allowance Scheme (EAS) which was brought in
by Margaret Thatcher in the 1980's. Introduced by US President
Roosevelt in the depths of the 1930's Depression, the WPA created
3,500 branch libraries, 4,400 musical performances every month,
a national collection of oral histories featuring featured the
stories of the last living slaves and hundreds of thousands of
jobs for artists, writers, musicians, designers and other creatives.
Among the artists and writers supported through the WPA were Jackson
Pollock, Mark Rothko and Willem de Kooning, Saul Bellow, John
Cheever and Ralph Ellison. What was hugely significant was the
recognition that arts, culture and creativity are not just an
"add-on" for the good times but are essential forces
for economic, social and cultural good that allow ideas to blossom,
knit communities together and leave a legacy of music, art, theatre,
literature, design and heritage for everyone.
11. Some economists credit the EAS with
enabling the UK's creative economy to surge ahead of international
competitors in the decade to 1991. The National Audit Office found
the EAS was successful in terms of cost-benefit outcomes and compared
favourably with other employment measure. We know that businesses
set up under the EAS had a greater success rate than the average
start up with some 65% still trading three years after launch.
In many instances, these same businesses employed local people
and put money back into the local economy. It is well documented
that former beneficiaries of the EAS include Alan McGee, founder
of Creation Records, Julian Dunkerton who set up the Superdry
fashion label, the artists Jane and Louise Wilson and many other
successful entrepreneurs. We believe the time is right for an
EAS for the 21st century which would encourage people to set up
on their own, kick start new creative enterprises and fan the
flames of entrepreneurship which has always played such an important
role in the UK's success, particularly in the fields of design,
technology and innovation.
12. In conclusion, our experience of helping
young unemployed people into jobs in the arts and creative sector,
working with a range of partners, has shown us that investment
in individuals is just as important as investment in institutions.
In this difficult economic climate, it is vital to be flexible
and imaginative. That means looking at practical measures that
will help nurture and support the next generation of creative
entrepreneurs and artists such as space and advice. There must
be improved mechanisms for widening the intake of people working
in the arts which means a more flexible approach to freelancing
and self employment which would also help older people whose circumstances
may have changed, as well as young people starting out. Just as
the arts and creative sector cannot rely on state handouts,neither
should it rely on the ability of a few people from a very narrow
section of society to work for free to attract new talent. The
arts encompasses opera to DJ decks, games design, dance, fashion,
digitisation of archives, creating new buildings, conserving old
ones and breathing new life into our towns and cities, so we should
seek to use all measures possible to encourage jobs in the arts
for an equally diverse range of people. That doesn't mean a blank
cheque but it does mean some innovative thinking and being as
imaginative and creative as those we seek to encourage—a
small investment in the risk takers could pay huge dividends to
the UK—socially, culturally and economically.
September 2010
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