Hidden innovation: Creative industries policy in Australia

Introduction My book Hidden Innovation (2013/4) was dedicated to the proposition that the innovation framework offers the best opportunity in decades to refresh the case for the public role of the humanities, particularly the media, cultural and communication studies disciplines. The book points out that the term “two cultures” was coined more than fifty years ago by scientist and novelist C. P. Snow to describe the divergence in the worldviews and methods of scientists and the creative sector. This divergence has meant that innovation systems and policies have focused for decades on science, engineering, technology and mathematics, and the industries that depend on them. The humanities, arts, and social sciences have been bit players at best; their contributions hidden from research agendas, policy and program initiatives, and the public mind. But structural changes to advanced economies and societies have brought services industries and the creative sector to greater prominence as key contributors to innovation. Hidden Innovation traced the way innovation occurs through new forms of screen production enabled by social media platforms as well as in public broadcasting. It showed that creative workers are contributing fresh ideas across the economy and how creative cities debates need reframing. It traced how policies globally are beginning to catch up with the changing social and economic realities.