Over the past four years, Scotland’s creative industries have been to hell and back. The sector is demanding strategic insights and action. Inner Ear’s director, Dougal Perman, has been a member of the Creative Industries Leadership Group (CILG) since 2018. In 2021, the Cabinet Secretary for the Economy, Fair Work and Culture (at the time), Fiona Hislop, along with co-chair Brian Coane (The Leith Agency) commissioned two CILG working groups to explore how to increase resilience in the creative industries in Scotland and how to develop its workforce. You can read about the process, and what happened as a result of the reports, in Dougal’s article for Sceptical Scot: “How to fix the Scottish cultural funding crisis?”.
Although the reports have been presented to a culture minister, discussed in government meetings and submitted to parliamentary groups, they have not been publicly available until now. With the publication of Dougal’s follow up piece “Seven Steps to save Scotland’s creative economy”, we felt it was time to make them available.
Inner Ear is pleased to present:
These reports offer a roadmap for navigating and strengthening Scotland’s creative ecosystem amid ongoing challenges. While they were published in March 2022, the recommendations are still valid and valuable.
The Resilience Group Report, chaired by Inner Ear’s own Dougal Perman, highlights an urgent need for adaptable funding, policy changes, and sustained support structures to stimulate industry growth. When he presented this report in March 2022, Perman proposed adopting, “the triple bottom line, the appreciation of the value of society, culture and value as well as economic value. Practical examples could include encouraging best practice, paying freelancers on time, teaching people to price themselves properly and fairly, using constructive language that empowered people and celebrating and valuing great leadership.” Emphasising flexibility, this report argues for targeted financial support and an update to economic metrics to capture the diverse contributions of creative enterprises.
In parallel, the Workforce Report — led by Carol Sinclair — spotlights the critical need for skill development, focusing on lifelong learning, adaptable training, and advocacy. When she presented the report in March 2022, Sinclair recognised that “success was not indicated by having a job… A lot of the support agencies, external organisations and new entrants into the sector automatically considered that a job was the holy grail. There was a need to talk further about business skills and the skills of developing and recognising opportunities as a skill in the creative industries tool box.” The report’s recommendations aim to bridge gaps between education, policy and practice, ensuring creative professionals have clear career pathways.
Together, these reports embody a bold vision for Scottish creativity. Inner Ear is proud to champion these findings and advocate for a thriving, resilient creative sector. Explore the full reports via the links above. Let us know (in the comments, on LinkedIn or by getting in touch directly) how you would increase resilience and develop our creative workforce. Join us in shaping Scotland’s creative future.