Fundamental research and methodological advances

Overview

This theme undertakes fundamental research into creativity and innovation. It seeks to identify from first principles the nature of creative innovation, and show how the concept has evolved from an early focus on creative industries as a sector of the knowledge economy to more recent attention to creative innovation as an enabling component of the overall economic system; the place where economic and cultural values meet.

The research has shifted analytic attention from closed, expert, supply-side providers to open, complex networks, demand-side dynamics and consumer/ user co-creation.

This shift has promulgated an agenda to redirect creative arts, cultural, media communication studies towards an applied focus with manifold research, scholarship, industry-partner and educational implications.

Faculty researchers have influenced government policy in Australia, the UK and China through their research into the nature, extent and potential of the creative industries. Through international links they are reconceptualising humanities based research (including cultural, media communication studies) in culture, creativity and innovation, leading to a new dialogue with interdisciplinary partners in law, business, education and the sciences.

The research has mapped the dynamics of the sectors comprising the creative industries, their processes and interrelationships, and their increasing impact on the services sector in general. This includes investigating the true value-add of digital content sectors and inputs and ways of representing the relationship between economic and social capital (Higgs, Cunningham). Special progress has been made in the study of digital social networks and social network markets. International dimensions are also investigated particularly in China. Mapping user interaction with online and work on the cultural geography of creativity are also priorities.

Alongside this fundamental research into the creative industries is ongoing pure basic research in art and design focussed around enquiry into modernity, the arts, design, fashion, architecture and design, and literature. Much of this research is cross disciplinary and rests with critical issues, practices and media from the early twentieth century to the present. A priority is to investigate the legacy of modernism for contemporary practices as well as social, historical and aesthetic enquiry generally.

Methodological Advances

In keeping with the dynamism of the Creative Industries, researchers have found that their research programs are not always well served by existing research methodologies and methods. Consequently, it has been necessary to develop and test new ways of undertaking research, ways which are congenial to the demands of creative action, participatory development, applied intervention and critical reflection.

While creative practitioners have been researching their creative and artistic practice at Kelvin Grove campus for over two decades ongoing research into the methodologies of creative practice as research has resulted in our Creative Industries Faculty being recognised as a national leader in the methodology of practice-led research.

In parallel, media researchers have developed an internationally renowned suite of action research based approaches to the study of new media in particular. Faculty researchers have pioneered the concept of Ethnographic Action Research (EAR) via its deployment in development projects and communicative ecologies as a conceptual framework for understanding aspects of media and communication in context.

Projects

Research degree enquiries

Creative Industries - postgraduate research enquiries

Partnership and commercial research enquiries

Professor Greg Hearn