Companies that harness art and science skills outperform their competitors in terms of sales, employment, productivity and innovation, according to research from UK innovation charity Nesta and the University of Sussex.
The Fusion Effect report found that companies that combine the two disciplines within their workforce show an 8% higher sales growth than science-only firms, and are also 2% more likely to bring radical innovations to market. It estimates that 3.5 million people are employed in such businesses, which (despite accounting for around a tenth of UK companies) employ roughly a fifth of all workers.
Examples of organisations that show the ‘fusion effect’ include Sugru, the world's first mouldable glue that turns into rubber; and Double Negative, an award-winning visual effects studio that combined scientific and artistic capabilities to model phenomena like wormholes and black holes for Hollywood film Interstellar.
Hasan Bakhshi, director of creative and digital economy at Nesta, said education has an important role to play. “The UK is blessed with large numbers of these firms [those in possession of a mix of skills], no doubt helping to explain the strength of its creative economy. Education should build on this strength by making it easier for young people to pursue a combination of arts and sciences subjects.”
Josh Siepel, lecturer in management at the University of Sussex's Science Policy Research Unit, explained the importance of creative skills. “Our findings show that firms that combine arts and science skills are prevalent throughout the economy, and these firms grow faster across all sectors,” he said. “Creative skills play a crucial role in unlocking growth throughout the economy, and this research opens up new ways of thinking about the vital complementariness between two areas that have long been seen as incompatible.”
