Caroline Norbury OBE is the Chief Executive of Creative UK, the independent network for the UK’s Creative Industries working to support and invest in creative talent and businesses, and unite the UK’s creative industries. Creative UK is the coordinator of ICE UK Consortium.
Caroline sits on the Creative Industries Council and chairs the Investment for Growth sub-group of the Council. She is a non-executive director of Crowdfunder, the UK’s largest rewards-based crowdfunding platform; a member of BAFTA and the Royal Society of Arts and a trustee for the PRS Foundation, a charity supporting new music and talent. Caroline is also Chairwoman of The Music Works, a charity in Gloucestershire changing the lives of young people through music. She was awarded an MBE in 2012 for services to the film industry, and has recently been awarded an OBE at The Queen’s Birthday Honours 2022 for her leadership and advocacy in shaping the creative sector’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic.
ICE UK Consortium (UK Consortium) is the UK’s national vehicle for engaging with EIT Culture & Creativity activities. Established by six founding members (Creative Industries Policy and Evidence Centre, Creative UK, Innovate UK, UK Business Angels Association, University for the Creative Arts, University of the Arts London), it has the aim of identifying, sharing and maximising the opportunities for UK Cultural and Creative Sectors and Industries (CCSIs) flowing from EIT Culture & Creativity, as well as influencing their design and delivery.
Creative UK is the coordinator of the ICE UK Consortium. The list of current members and partners in the UK Consortium also includes:
- Creative Industries Policy and Evidence Centre
- University of the Arts London
- UK Business Angels Association
- University for the Creative Arts
- Arts and Humanities Research Council
- Royal College of Art
- Loughborough University
Future members in the UK Consortium will include representatives from across the creative ecosystem, including business, education, research institutions, cultural institutions, creative organisations, investor communities, devolved nations and UK Government.
ICE UK Consortium is an EIT Culture and Creativity Core Partner.
Complete the following sentence in the words and philosophy of your organisation: “Our contribution to this community (is)…”
Our contribution to this community is to provide strategic direction and play a leading role in driving collaborative innovation for the creative industries in the UK and Europe.
What inspired your organisation to become part of EIT Culture & Creativity? Moreover, what expectations do you hold for this collaboration?
Led by Creative UK, the UK Consortium was founded in October 2021 to act as a strategic partner to EIT Culture & Creativity. It will provide strategic direction and pan-European partnership development for the UK creative industries community. Inspired by our belief in the power of creativity to cross borders and design a greener future for everyone, our engagement with EIT Culture & Creativity reaffirms our commitment to working together with CCSIs across Europe whilst playing a leading role in driving collaborative innovation for the creative industries community. We want to forge a stronger relationship with Europe, raise the profile of the UK as an international partner and tackle some of the complexity brought on by Brexit, including the considerable barriers our brilliant creative talent faces to operating successfully in Europe. We want to learn from experiences from all over Europe. We’re not solely focused on the UK.
What does a successful ecosystem of innovators in Cultural and Creative Sectors and Industries (CCSI) looks like from your organisations’ point of view?
A successful ecosystem of innovators in CCSIs is an effective finance and growth ecosystem fit for companies in the CCSIs, so that they can fullfil their untapped potential, compete and succeed on a global level while creating a positive social and environmental impact.
Can you describe your organisation’s core mission and values, and how they align with the objectives underpinning the partnership with EIT Culture & Creativity?
The purpose of the UK Consortium is to coordinate and provide strategic direction, stimulate investment, foster innovation and R&D relationships, and develop products and services together with creative organisations to respond to social and technological challenges. One of our key functions is to ensure that favourable EU policy and practice in support of CCSIs is channelled into the UK, and UK policy and practice into the EU.
What unique products, services, or initiatives does your organisation offer that set you apart from others in your industry?
Each of the UK Consortium members brings different expertise that speaks to the forward plan of EIT Culture & Creativity. Our make-up means that our current offer ranges from providing independent policy and evidence to support the inclusive and sustainable growth of the creative industries, through generating opportunities for innovation to thrive by investing in people and their ideas, to driving knowledge exchange initiatives that support businesses to achieve their goals, notably R&D for innovative products and services.
About EIT Culture & Creativity
EIT Culture & Creativity is the ninth Innovation Community by the European Institute of Innovation and Technfology (EIT), a body of the European Union. It is designed to strengthen and transform Europe’s Cultural and Creative Sectors and Industries (CCSI) by connecting creatives and organisations to Europe’s largest innovation network. It takes a holistic and open approach to innovation – from tech to artistic driven innovations, from business to citizen driven – and reinforces the appreciation and anchoring of European values and identities. EIT Culture & Creativity will unlock latent value from a multitude of small CCSI stakeholders through technology transfer, improved cross-sectoral collaboration and their effective integration in production value networks. EIT Culture & Creativity will support technology and business innovation; artistic innovation and social innovation. It will also harness the unique position of the CCSI to facilitate the Triple Transitions in Europe – green, digital and social.
About The European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT)
The EIT is Europe’s largest innovation ecosystem bringing together close to 3,000 partners from top business, research and education organisations across Europe in over 80 innovation hubs. The EIT strengthens Europe’s ability to innovate by powering solutions to pressing global challenges and by nurturing entrepreneurial talent to create sustainable growth and skilled jobs in Europe. The EIT is an EU body and an integral part of Horizon Europe, the EU Framework Programme for Research and Innovation. The Institute supports dynamic pan-European partnerships, EIT Knowledge and Innovation Communities, composed of leading companies, research labs and universities each dedicated to solving a pressing global challenge, from climate change to health, to renewable energy.
