![\"Flickr:](\"http:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/creativecardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/381\/2015\/04\/Cardiff-University-credit-Mark-Turner.jpg\")
<\/a>Cardiff \u2013 and indeed Wales \u2013 has strong creative traditions and a significant cultural sector. It has leading venues, world famous companies, and a breadth of innovative and creative talent across a range of sectors. Yet it would be fair to say that Cardiff\u2019s reputation as a creative centre is muted, while other cities in the UK \u2013 whether Brighton, Bristol or Edinburgh – have done more to nurture and develop creativity and innovation.<\/p>\n
The desire to play a part in making Cardiff a more dynamic creative city was the main driver behind our decision to launch our\u00a0Creative Cardiff\u00a0project. The timing was fortuitous, fitting perfectly with one of the big new ideas at the heart of the University\u2019s ambitions – the Innovation System. The idea is simple: to bring together academics, business, government, public sector and civil society in dynamic ways to create new ideas and practices. It is about engaging with the world and changing it.<\/p>\n
Behind the Creative Cardiff\u00a0project blows a fair wind. Both Cardiff Council and Welsh Government have recognised the importance of the creative economy \u2013 indeed, the University\u2019s Professor of Digital Economy, Ian Hargreaves<\/a>, has written key policy documents for both. The University is part of two flagship AHRC funded projects: REACT<\/a>, bringing academics and practitioners together to create innovation, and Creative Citizens<\/a>. As well as Cardiff, the University of South Wales and Cardiff Metropolitan both have strengths in creative practice, and the city\u2019s reputation has been boosted by the success of its high profile TV drama and by cultural innovators like Artes Mundi and National Theatre Wales.<\/p>\n The addition of the \u2018impact\u2019 measure as a way to assess research performance (an idea now embedded in the both the Higher Education Funding Councils and the Research Councils) has changed the academic landscape in a way that gives the Creative Cardiff\u00a0project added impetus. While impact is broadly defined \u2013 it can be artistic, cultural, economic or scientific \u2013 the emphasis is on impact beyond<\/em> the academy. Cardiff University has quickly established itself as a leader in this kind of research – in REF 2014, the first research assessment exercise to include impact, the University finished second only to Imperial College London, and ahead of Oxbridge, on this measure.<\/p>\n