ABSTRACT
This paper uses the theoretical model of the Triple Helix (Etzkowitz & Leydesdorff, 1997;
Leydesdorff & Etzkowitz, 1998; Etzkowitz & Leydesdorff, 2000; Leydesdorff &
Etzkowitz, 2001; Etzkowitz, 2003) to examine the potential relationship between two key
phenomena within the regional and urban planning literatures: the role of the cultural and
creative industries (CCIs) in fostering regional and urban innovation and growth, and the
role of institutions of higher education in promoting these objectives. For the purposes of
this paper, the CCIs are taken to be industrial activities that are primarily geared towards
the production of symbolic products, the value of which is ultimately valorized in a
market-place (Hesmondhalgh, 2007). The paper draws upon the experience of the UK,
which, since the election of the Coalition Government in May 2010, has conspicuously
withdrawn from the regional development agenda, and, in stark distinction with much
of mainland Europe, has also disengaged from the CCI development agenda which has
now become so much associated with previous New Labour governments.
