PUBLIC SECTOR CUTS: Announcing a new work programme in Innovation Economics

The news about cutbacks is slowly sinking in. But there is inevitably more to come if the economy worsens or if the first round of haircuts does not yield sufficient results for the government.

There are three ways that arts Organisations can respond to cutbacks:

a)      Cut and run: This will entail radical action but a few organisations may be forced to close down. Bad as it may sound, many arts organisations may have grown beyond their capacity to deliver but in the present climate any threats of ‘fund us or we scream’ mentality may have no effect. Does this really happen, one might ask? Anyone who has been in funding appraisals, Lottery assessments or confidential internal reviews will know many an arts and cultural organisation has survived, if not thrived, by making threats. Yes, the threats may be couched in diplomacy or plain brinkmanship but it is inevitable that trustees and management will have seen the end of the road long before the Chancellor sharpened his knife.

b)      Buy time: This is not unique to arts and cultural organisations. Any enterprise which operates within a culture of accountability and respect for market forces will need time to work out various options for their survival or planning for the future. The experience of dealing with the annual 10% cut may not be enough.  Trustees and management will have to look hard at strategy and tactics, not just cost reduction.

c)       Innovate and lead: Many an arts organisation will say “ Ah but we are a very creative organisation and we have worked very hard to run a lean organisation”. Creativity will not win a race against Usain Bolt! It is time to innovate and put all those creative ideas into action. The recession should have already signalled arts and cultural organisations to stop being creative for its own sake. It is time to commit the organisation to a deep rooted resolve to benefit from the economics of innovation.

Mirador, for its part, will be working on several initiatives to promote the use of innovation to survive. As a leading arts player, we have always RESISTED opportunities to become the much cherished ‘RFO’ or regularly funded organisation. We have felt that RFO status can be restrictive; it breeds complacency on the one hand and also diminishes opportunities for innovation on the other. Mirador will campaign for innovation in the arts and cultural arena. It will address itself to a major sector such as dance but also aim to generate critical debate on why the creative industries must invest in innovation to prepare for the next economic cycle. Any student of A level Economics will know that recessions have a habit of coming back.