Maverick message: The legacy of the Creative Industries observatory

This article reviews the research objectives and contributions of the Creative Industries Observatory, based at the University of the Arts, London, from 2006 to 2009. As a government-sponsored project, the Observatory was designed to support the development of the creative and cultural sectors in the United Kingdom and to encourage relationships with creative organizations in key world markets, including China and India. This article describes how in its brief history the Observatory contributed to an understanding of the creative industries landscape, the relationship between different creative sectors and the real-world processes of creative practice. As such it enhanced the definitional and academic debates as well as informing policy-makers and practitioners.