A panel discussion exploring the role that creativity & innovation play within industrial policy.

Chaired by Dr Abigail Gilmore Head of the Institute of Cultural practices, University of Manchester.

Dr. Abigail Gilmore is Senior Lecturer in Arts Management and Cultural Policy and Head of the Institute for Cultural Practices, University of Manchester, which offers postgraduate research and taught programmes in arts management, museum and heritage studies. Abi has a background in research management, as the founding Director of the Northwest Culture Observatory, a regional capability working cross-sector to support evidence, impact assessment and evaluation, for arts, sports, heritage, tourism and creative industries, from 2005–2009. Current research concerns local cultural policies, participation practices and their impact on place, involving collaborative initiatives with cultural partners to inform teaching, knowledge exchange and public engagement. From 2012-2018, Abi was Co-Investigator on AHRC Connected Communities ‘Understanding Everyday Participation – Articulating Cultural Values’, a mixed methods study radically re-evaluating the relationship between participation and cultural value (see www.everydayparticipation.org). She is a Co-Investigator on the PEC, facilitating the Manchester component of the Policy Unit, with a focus on place-based development and regional engagement.