Region gets in on Creative Economy Network
Helena Fruscio, the state's creative economy industry director, said MetroWest's designation as part of the Massachusetts Creative Economy Network will benefit a wide variety of industries here.
Is your business part of the region’s creative economy? You may be surprised by the answer.
MetroWest and the Interstate 495 corridor were recently named part of the Massachusetts Creative Economy Network, which was launched earlier this month to help cities and towns across the state foster opportunities to enhance the creative industry, which includes art and architecture, among other businesses.
The hope, according to Helena Fruscio, the state’s creative economy industry director, is that member regions will help their businesses and organizations find ways to collaborate and enrich the creative industry, which will ultimately provide a boost to the broader economy.
Ample opportunity for wide swath of business
The MetroWest Tourism and Visitors Bureau in Framingham and the Metrowest/495 Partnership in Westborough applied as partners to receive the designation as a network member in the fall. One of four Bay State regions to receive the designation so far (two more will be named by spring), MetroWest/495 will have access to development tools designed by the Massachusetts Creative Economy Council to help them launch their initiatives, Fruscio said.
The state defines creative industry fairly broadly, meaning there’s ample opportunity for a wide cross-section of area businesses to benefit from MetroWest/495’s participation in the Creative Economy Network. There are the usual suspects, like downtown art studios and galleries, but that’s just the beginning. Any business that involves an element of creativity (think architecture, video game and software design firms) is fair game. Any employee whose job involves creativity is part of the mix, too, such as an advertising director at a bank.
Fruscio said that it isn’t often that businesses from separate industries find opportunities to work together in a creative manner, but grouping them together through the network changes that.
“It’s about breaking down silos,” Fruscio said. “I think that’s where the real innovation happens.”
The state estimates that creative industries employ about 100,000 in Massachusetts, and generate $1 billion annually. In the MetroWest/495 region, those industries are very diverse, according to Fruscio. The mix includes large companies like Staples Inc. and Bose Corp., which Fruscio said employ a large number of creative industry employees. Cultural attractions, such as The Danforth Museum in Framingham and The Center for the Arts in Natick, are equally important, she added.
A ‘visionary’ definition
“I think the state was quite visionary in having such a broad definition,” said Paul Matthews, executive director at the 495/MetroWest Partnership.
Matthews said it was important to pursue Creative Economy Network designation in partnership with the MetroWest Tourism and Visitors Bureau because there are many cutting-edge companies in the region that will benefit from the region being involved in the creative economy discussion.
Matthews said action items have yet to be identified, and since there’s no funding attached to the Creative Economy Network, the MetroWest/495 region will start small. But an effort to bring stakeholders to the table is already underway. A number of area organizations and businesses are already involved, including Framingham State University, Dean College, and local chambers of commerce, to name a few.
“We think this is going to be a growing dialogue,” Matthews said.
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