The Creative Economy Initiative (CEI) is a partnership of New England's business, government, cultural and educational leaders committed to strengthening the region's economic vitality by fostering its creative economy. This initiative has successfully linked businesses and organizations from economic sectors that had previously functioned only autonomously, and is unique in its regional approach. The involvement of all six New England states sets the project apart from state-based economic impact studies.
The CEI stemmed from NEFA's early research into the economic impact of the arts. In 1996 NEFA presented findings which revealed that nonprofit cultural organizations and attractions generate $3.9 billion in revenue each year while supporting more than 110,000 jobs in the region. Read more about these findings here: Arts, Cultural, and Humanities Organizations in the New England Economy, 1996.
The corporate, nonprofit and government sectors took notice of these findings, and shortly thereafter a partnership was formed between leading organizations in each of these sectors to form the Creative Economy Initiative. Work under the Initiative progressed in three phases, culminating in the formation of the Creative Economy Council.
Phase 1
In June 2000, the CEI released a report entitled The Role of the Arts and Culture in New England's Economic Competitiveness. In this report, the creative sector was analyzed for the first time in its entirety, and named "the Creative Cluster" - a sector that goes beyond businesses connected to cultural tourism - and includes nonprofit and commercial enterprises and the region's numerous individual artist-entrepreneurs. Within this newly-defined framework, culture is treated as an independent economic sector, and New England citizens began to recognize the creative cluster as an economic powerhouse.
Phase 2
In June 2001 the Initiative expanded on findings from the first report, and released A Blueprint for Investment in New England's Creative Economy. This strategic action plan provides the guidelines necessary for New England to establish a coordinated effort among the region's business, government and arts communities to help develop further growth in this economic sector (the creative cluster). Drawing on models from throughout the world, the Blueprint proposes a groundbreaking regional investment strategy rooted in a holistic approach with long-term, results-driven guidelines.
Phase 3 The creation of a "Creative Economy Council" closely followed the release of the Blueprint. A key initiative outlined in the Blueprint, the Council was composed of representatives from financial, cultural, government & educational institutions in New England and designed to provide coordinated voice, visibility, policies and actions to the creative sector.
