A national survey of Jamaica’s cultural and creative industries (CCIs) is now under way to garner comprehensive and empirical data on the sector.

The Jamaica Business Development Corporation (JBDC) will be carrying out the survey in conjunction with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) under a project geared towards bolstering the country’s CCIs.

The survey will provide for an economic impact assessment (EIA) of the creative industries, thereby ascertaining its specific value, including the contribution to gross domestic product and employment, among others.

The initiative is being conducted under the UNESCO project, which is geared towards bolstering the country’s cultural and creative industries. Other key stakeholders involved in the project include the Ministry of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sports as well as the Statistical Institute of Jamaica (STATIN).

Paula Jackson, director of the Economic Accounting Division at STATIN, told the Jamaica Information Service that the entity is pleased to be collaborating with the JBDC and the other partners in measuring the CCI, which she noted, “is a very important part of the economy”.

She is urging those who will participate in the survey to provide detailed information, so that the data can be accurately measured.

Preparing for survey launch

Harold Davis, JBDC deputy CEO, informed that in preparing for the launch of the survey, a preliminary instrument was designed and a series of consultation sessions held across the island with various stakeholders. These included individuals within governance and policy, education, industry associations, literature and publishing, film, television, broadcast and digital media, design and fashion, museums and galleries, theatre, dance and performing arts and music.

Davis indicated that, based on the feedback received from those sessions, the survey instrument and the data-mining mechanism were refined. He pointed out that countries that have conducted EIAs have found that “immediately, their governments are able to strategically assign specific investments to the sector that they would have, perhaps, been uncomfortable to do prior to doing the assessment”.