Arts and humanities research and innovation
Authors:
Hasan Bakhshi, Philippe Schneider and Christopher Walker
Year published:
24 November 2008
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Arts and humanities research and innovation (PDF 232KB)
Description
Policymakers increasingly recognise that the UK’s ability to address urgent social issues and to remain competitive in global markets rests on innovation – the successful exploitation of new ideas.
But innovation does not happen in isolation. It requires cooperation between government, universities, third sector organisations, entrepreneurs, businesses and consumers.
Innovative performance depends on their relationships and on the quality of the overall system. Innovation flourishes when there is a strong knowledge base combined with a culture of tolerance that embraces novelty and a diversity of ideas.
Traditional understandings of innovation emphasise the importance of science and technology research. In contrast, this paper investigates the role that arts and humanities research plays in the innovation system.
It explores the funding structures by which the Government supports this research in the UK, and the work of the Arts and Humanities Research Council in particular.