Respond to the Call for Evidence 

Important update: The deadline for responses to our Call for Evidence has now been extended to Wednesday 8 April, as we recognise that there is currently a high workload volume in the sector and we want to ensure we get as many high-quality submissions as possible. 

Download a pdf of the Call for Evidence here. 

Responses to the Call for Evidence can be submitted through this survey. Additional evidence can also be submitted to: [email protected]. 

 

The GuildHE Creative HE Strategy Call for Evidence is the sector's opportunity to provide crucial insights for developing a roadmap that will secure the pipeline of talent, strengthen the sector's impact on regional growth, and ensure better policy support for creative higher education. 

The UK's creative industries are a significant success story, defining our culture and providing a fast-growing economic sector. Projected to be the largest high-growth employment sector from 2025-2030, according to Skills England - and currently expanding at twice the rate of the wider economy - the sector heavily relies on university graduates; 75% of its workforce holds a degree, compared to the UK average of 51%. Higher education supports research and innovation for the industry, while creative HE institutions act as anchors for cultural and community exchange across the country. 

We are gathering evidence across three key themes: 

  • Curriculum, Skills, and Student Experience
  • Research and Innovation
  • Regions, Engaged Citizenship, and Civic Responsibility

With our Creative HE Strategy Project, we seek to secure and reinforce a pipeline of skilled people, a thriving research and innovation environment, and effective regional and social collaborations that can deliver the economic growth and creative innovation needed in twenty-first century Britain.  

Chair of the Creative HE Strategy Project Taskforce, Professor Emeritus Roni Brown, University of the Arts London, said: "The UK's creative higher education sector is a world-leading force for driving success - whether economic, social or cultural. Yet its vital role and the support that it needs to fostering innovation, inspirational people and places and the highly-skilled workforce we will need in the future is often overlooked. This Call for Evidence is a crucial opportunity to secure a more effective, sustainable, and transformative future for creative HE that can deliver more impact. I urge all higher education providers and stakeholders across the whole sector to contribute their invaluable insights to help us build a compelling roadmap that will strengthen our relationships with government and industry and maximise the impact of creative HE nationwide."

Dr Kate Wicklow, Director of Policy & Strategy, said: "The Creative HE Strategy Project is a critical moment to elevate and champion the transformative power of creative higher education. It is not merely a pipeline for our world-leading creative industries, but the engine for economic and social growth across the UK. We must secure the recognition and support that this sector deserves, acknowledging that Creative HE is the bedrock of creative thinking—a force that drives innovation, delivers impactful research, and is fundamental to all industries, our cultural identities, and daily lives."

 

How to respond to the Call for Evidence

The deadline for submissions is Wednesday 8 April (extended from Tuesday 31 March 2026).

Download a pdf of the Call for Evidence here.

Responses to the Call for Evidence can be submitted through this survey. Additional evidence can also be submitted to: [email protected]

 

Join our exploratory workshops

Complement the survey by joining our 90-minute online workshops throughout March and April for a deeper dive into each theme. You can register to attend a workshop here.

  • Tuesday 31 March: 15:00 to 16:30 - Creative curriculum development and review.
  • Wednesday 1 April 14:00 to 15:30 - Creative education and regional creative economies.
  • Thursday 2 April 11:00 to 12:30 - Innovation and creative higher education.
  • Thursday 16 April 10:00 to 12:00 - Creative higher education in social and cultural ecologies.
  • Thursday 16 April: 14:30 to 16:00 - Preparing creative students for diverse career paths.
  • Tuesday 21 April: 14:30 - 16:00 - Research in creative disciplines. (Note: this session was rescheduled from 30 March).