Creativity can help solve Australia’s productivity problem 

Accelerate: Reframing culture’s role in productivity, the new Insight Report from A New Approach (ANA), has revealed culture and creativity can accelerate productivity growth and contribute to solving Australia’s complex productivity problem.

Productivity is critical to our quality of life but Australia’s measured productivity is growing at its lowest rate in 60 years. Accelerate analyses international and Australian evidence to understand the contribution of culture and creativity to productivity and demonstrate it can be enhanced through innovative policy design.

ANA CEO Kate Fielding said the evidence shows cultural and creative engagement can positively influence the key determinants of Australia’s future productivity highlighting the need for integrated cultural, social and economic policy.

“Cultural and creative engagement can foster an ‘adaptable workforce’, a ‘dynamic business environment’ and ‘data, technology and diffusion’. It can also help address some of our productivity challenges including costly healthcare, an ageing population and climate change,” said Ms Fielding.

Ms Fielding noted the important role for cultural and creative industries in direct innovation, through new content, products, services and business models, as well as diffusing innovation across other industries.

“Many new-to-the-world or new-to-the-firm ideas, techniques and technologies originate in Australian cultural and creative industries. Creative skills, labour mobility and industry associations can embed and diffuse innovations in these industries, and across the entire Australian economy, accelerating productivity growth.

“With this focus, we can empower our cultural and creative industries to reach the global frontier of performance, delivering value and returns to investors, businesses, workers and all people who call this place home, and helping Australia reach its potential as a global cultural powerhouse.”

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For media enquiries please contact Alexandra Nichols 0431 468 665 or alexandra.nichols@newapproach.org.au.