Working with a small business or arts organisation experiencing difficulty accessing grants and funding? BSU Boost might be able to help.
BSU’s Centre for Cultural and Creative Industries (CCCI) has been busy. Since it was founded by Professor Kate Pullinger in 2017, we have led or co-led a series of three large externally-funded research projects all aimed at supporting cutting edge R&D in the creative industries.
Our work has primarily focussed on the creative use of technology – immersive audio, XR or extended, virtual and augmented reality, as well as writing for emerging technologies.
If we’ve learned one thing through the work of CCCI, it is this: most creative businesses in our region are micro-businesses that consist of freelancers or small teams of people pursuing their passion. And, despite the influx of academic research funding and the fact that the creative industries in the UK contributed £124b GVA to the economy in 2024 alone, it can be very difficult for micro-businesses to survive.
One way that BSU is supporting businesses is through our enterprise and innovation hub, The Studio. The Studio is home to around 80 createch (which broadly means ‘creative projects and businesses that use new technologies’) microbusinesses and freelancers.
We offer support through our Studio Resident programmes, a combination of paid-for and free desk space, events, networking, skills exchanges, and externally-funded business growth programmes.
Through these programmes we have learned that many micro-businesses face barriers when it comes to being eligible to apply for grants and funding.
This might be because they are not organisationally robust or do not have the necessary cash-flow available. For example, many funders require project activity to start well before contracts are signed and payments made and many funds require applicants adhere to complex reporting requirements.
With that in mind, CCCI and The Studio have set up BSU Boost. Through BSU Boost, microbusinesses can work with us to jointly apply for funding, with the University supporting the business to put the correct procedures and mechanisms in place.
In our pilot year we worked with an arts-based micro-business to apply for money from the West of England Combined Authority to become a skills provider for adults and young people. And this year we have a number of partnerships and applications in development supporting the training and of musicians and filmmakers as well as exciting immersive theatre and placemaking.
We’ve recently published an open access academic paper about BSU Boost in the City, Culture and Society journal.
So, here’s our call to action: help us spread the word about BSU Boost to businesses in our region. And get in touch if you work with a business or organisation who could use our help.
To find out more, follow the links on the BSU Boost webpage.