Specialist evidence practice for UK creative and cultural industries

Quantifying the creative economy, beautifully and defensibly.

Impactonomix turns creative-industry questions into the economic evidence boards, funders, commissioners, investors and public bodies can act on: impact models, forecasts, causal evaluation, market analytics and funder-ready narratives.

Commission an evidence sprint → See public track record
✓ GVA, jobs and fiscal impact
✓ Forecasting and scenario modelling
✓ Causal evaluation and policy evidence
Creative economy evidence engine
ImpactSpend → GVA → jobs
ForecastScenarios + ranges
DecisionBoard-ready evidence
Economic signal
Turnover, employment, productivity, audience and investment evidence brought into one narrative.
Confidence band
Ranges first. Assumptions visible. Caveats explicit.
Fast senior delivery
2–8w
Decision intelligence
For public and private bodies that need the creative economy to be measurable without making it reductive.
11Clients helped already.
6+Stakeholder groups supported: funders, broadcasters, venues, local bodies, investors, universities and SMEs.
100%Built for transparent assumptions, range-based estimates and scrutiny-ready outputs.
Practice

The specialist consultancy for numbers behind culture, media and creativity.

We work where standard economic consultancy often feels too generic: screen and media clusters, cultural places, creative RD&I programmes, journalism, broadcasting, games, festivals, heritage, venues and public-value interventions.

Economic impact analysis

Robust GVA, jobs, fiscal, supply-chain and leakage/displacement logic for programmes, productions, places and policy interventions.

01

Forecasting and scenarios

Demand, audience, income, capacity, investment and counterfactual scenarios presented as usable ranges, not false precision.

02

Causal evaluation

Difference-in-differences, matching, contribution analysis and pragmatic quasi-experimental designs for funders and public bodies.

03

Funder-ready evidence

Board packs, investment cases, technical notes, dashboards and one-page narratives that survive scrutiny and travel well in meetings.

04
Use cases

Designed for the exact moments when creative-industry decisions need hard evidence.

Each engagement is tailored to the decision: a funding bid, a board approval, a growth strategy, a policy choice, a commissioning question or a post-programme evaluation.

For funders, public bodies and investment boards

Turn a creative proposition into a defensible economic case.

We structure the spend, model direct and indirect effects, define credible ranges, isolate risk, and produce the deck, workbook and narrative needed to unlock the next decision.

Impact modelSpend, GVA, jobs, fiscal indicators and leakage.
Evidence packAssumptions, sources, caveats and sensitivity tests.
Decision storyClear why-now argument for stakeholders.
For combined authorities, local government and sector bodies

Benchmark a creative cluster and show where growth is coming from.

We map enterprises, employment, turnover, occupations, subsectors, supply chains and spillovers so a place can make a credible case for intervention, infrastructure or inward investment.

Cluster mapBusiness density, specialisms, growth patterns.
Comparator setPeer cities, regions and sector benchmarks.
Action logicWhere investment can change outcomes.
For RD&I programmes, grant-makers and universities

Prove what an innovation programme changed.

We combine programme data, business outcomes, counterfactual thinking and qualitative context to show what was caused, what was contributed, what was learned and what should be funded next.

Causal designPragmatic methods matched to available data.
Outcome dashboardFirm, freelance, IP, skills and innovation metrics.
Learning loopEvidence that improves the next round.
For broadcasters, platforms, venues and cultural operators

Forecast reach, demand and uptake without pretending to know the future.

We build scenario ranges from observed signals: comparable audiences, genre portability, price sensitivity, capacity, digital discovery, historic behaviour and market context.

Demand bandsCautious, base and ambitious forecasts.
DriversWhat changes the range and why.
Go/no-go evidenceA model stakeholders can interrogate.
For cultural funders and public-interest institutions

Measure public value beside economic value, not as an afterthought.

We create scorecards for inclusion, plurality, access, learning, place, trusted information, cultural circulation and resilience — with clear separation between measured outputs and proxy indicators.

Public-value scorecardMeasurable indicators plus defensible proxies.
Spillover logicWhat should and should not be monetised.
Funder narrativeEconomic and civic contribution in one story.
Method

A transparent evidence engine, not a black box.

The final output should be beautiful enough to win attention and rigorous enough to be checked line by line. Every headline number gets a source, assumption, calculation route, caveat and range.

1Frame the decisionWe define the choice, stakeholders, success criteria, data reality and acceptable level of precision.
2Build the modelWe combine sector data, comparators, programme data, administrative records and defensible assumptions.
3Package the argumentWe translate the model into a persuasive deck, workbook, technical note and stakeholder-ready narrative.
Sector dataONS, DCMS, Companies House, regulator and programme data.
→
Analytical modelImpact, forecast, causal or scorecard logic.
Scenario workbook
Scrutiny layerAssumptions, sensitivities, caveats, confidence bands.
→
Decision packBoard-ready evidence and funder narrative.
Experience

Selected creative-industries casework — and what it showcases.

A selection of public-facing work showing the questions Impactonomix helps clients answer: where creative clusters grow, how investment creates value, what innovation programmes change, and how cultural activity can be translated into clear, decision-ready economic evidence.

Media sector economics2021–2025

Cardiff Capital Region media-sector overviews

Economic overviews of one of the UK’s leading screen and media regions, translating turnover, employment, business density and cluster dynamics into decision-ready evidence.

Public source
Impactonomix in public2024

Media Cymru growth analysis

Impactonomix’s public commentary is tied to Media Cymru’s evidence on growth, productivity and targeted innovation investment in Wales’s media economy.

Public source
Benchmarking2025

Cross-city media-sector comparison

Comparative evidence across media centres, designed for regional strategy, cluster positioning and investment conversations.

Public source
Creative supercluster2024

CCR and West of England scoping

Place-based creative-industry analysis spanning Cardiff Capital Region and the West of England, including cluster, GVA and growth logic.

Public source
RD&I2025

Innovation in the creative industries

Frameworks for understanding research, development and innovation in creative businesses, from evidence design to funder-facing investment logic.

Public source
Programme evaluation2023

Clwstwr RD&I model

Evidence on how creative-industry innovation programmes can be structured, measured and translated into future funding arguments.

Public source
Journalism2023–2024

Data-driven journalism strategy

Public-interest journalism research showing how data can inform strategy, sustainability and public-value choices for a pressured media sector.

Public source
Creative hubs2022

Mapping creative hubs in Wales

Commissioned mapping of creative hubs: location, business model, audiences, social and economic impact, challenges and opportunities.

Public source
EDI evidence2022–2023

Inclusive and diverse media sector

Quantitative policy evidence on equality, diversity and inclusion in creative industries and how R&D can support EDI goals.

Public source
Creative ecosystems2023

Creative hubs and intercultural dialogue

Survey and workshop-based evidence on creative hubs, cultural exchange and socio-economic contribution across countries.

Public source
European policy2025

Creative Europe triple-transition evidence

Empirical analysis of policy-funded creative projects, digital-green-social transition goals and the role of institutions in shaping creative-sector behaviour.

Public source
Built for scrutiny

World-class consultancy feel. Specialist creative-economy substance.

Impactonomix is not a generic strategy shop. The offer is narrow, technical and valuable: quantify creative-industry questions quickly, clearly and credibly.

Senior-ledFast deliveryTransparent modelsBeautiful outputsUK sector focus
A

For decision-makers, not just researchers

Outputs are designed for boardrooms, grant panels, investment committees, policy teams and partner meetings — with the technical evidence behind them ready when challenged.

B

Quantitative, but not reductive

Economic value, public value and strategic value are separated so the evidence is useful without pretending everything cultural can be monetised.

C

Rapid without being flimsy

We prioritise lean data plans, visible assumptions and disciplined scopes so stakeholders get usable evidence while the opportunity is still live.

D

Designed to win confidence

Every engagement ends with a model and a story: the numbers, the caveats, the decision logic and the next evidence step.

Need to prove the value of a creative-industry decision?

Send the decision, the deadline and the evidence you already have. We will shape a focused route to the numbers, model and narrative you need.

Contact Impactonomix →fodorm@impactonomix.com