Creative PEC Award
Newcastle University led Creative PEC wins national award
Published on: 18 May 2026
The Creative Industries Policy & Evidence Centre (Creative PEC) has been awarded the prestigious Arts Professional Award for Excellent Research or Policy Intervention.
State of the Nations
The award was announced at the inaugural Business of the Arts Summit earlier this month, a national event bringing together leaders from across the UK’s arts and cultural
sectors.
The award recognises research or policy work that has made a significant contribution to the arts and cultural sectors. Creative PEC received the honour for its ‘State of the
Nations’ research series, which has fast become a leading source of longitudinal evidence on the UK’s creative economy. The Creative PEC is funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council.
Since its launch in 2023, the series has produced 15 reports examining key developments across the creative industries, including arts, culture and heritage, research and development, international trade and creative education.
The research shaped national debate on inequality in the creative industries, featuring in two Channel 4 News specials on working-class representation in TV and Film and the decline in creative further education. It also informed the Government’s 2025 ten year Creative Industries Sector Plan, which included an announcement of £100m for a new round of the creative clusters programme, a new £150m Creative Places Growth Fund and a new £75m screen growth and £30m video games growth package.
The series is delivered in partnership with researchers from consortium partners Newcastle University, The University of Sheffield, University of Sussex and Work Advance, with Newcastle University leading on the series’ international strand, looking at the global growth of the UK creative industries.
Other winners of the Arts Professional Awards include a disability access scheme led by the British and Irish Arts Councils, and a climate toolkit by international non-profit Julie’s Bicycle.
Fantastic recognition
Hasan Bakhshi, Director of Creative PEC and Professor of Economics of the Creative Industries at Newcastle University Business School said:
“I am delighted that Creative PEC’s flagship State of the Nations research series has received this national recognition from Arts Professional. The State of the Nations series was created to provide robust, longitudinal evidence on the changing economic landscape of the UK’s creative industries, and this award is a fantastic recognition of that ambition.
“From our dual-hub at Newcastle University and RSA House in London, we have worked closely with consortium partners across the country to build a research programme that supports policymakers, cultural organisations and industry leaders with the insights they need to make informed decisions. We are particularly grateful to AHRC for their support, which has been instrumental in enabling this work.”
Professor Giorgio Fazio, Research Director of PEC, Chair of Macroeconomics at Newcastle University Business School and Editor of the State of the Nations research series, said:
“It is especially meaningful that this research series has been recognised for shaping conversations and policy across the UK’s cultural and creative sectors. This award reflects the strength of collaboration between universities, researchers and industry partners, and demonstrates the vital role that Creative PEC continues to play in driving evidence for the creative economy. We are incredibly proud that this work is helping to inform national and regional policy and support the future growth of the creative industries across the UK.”
