Professor Graham Hitchen

Graham leads the work of the Policy Unit, promoting policy engagement and policy impact across the University. He is also co-Director of the Creative Research and Innovation Centre (CRAIC) at Loughborough London, and until recently he was working with the Industrial Strategy team at UKRI, leading evaluation and strategy for the Audience of the Future and the Creative Industries Clusters programmes. He has led research projects on creative technologies, data and policy, and the Creative Industries in India, and brings a wealth of experience in a number of social policy areas. Graham was the Corporate Policy Director for Arts Council England, and has worked for DCMS as well as London government. He has been running a successful consultancy business since 2007, advising government agencies, cities and universities.

Graham's early research focused on cultural policy in the UK. He has contributed lectures and articles for a number of institutions on topics such as cities and regeneration, creative innovation, and Government arts and cultural policy.

Graham is part of the AHRC Creative Economy Champion team, working alongside Professor Chitty on Creative Industries applied research and innovation. He has recently led studies on Creative Technologies, mapping the Creative Industries in India, and assessing the impact of Covid-19 on creative businesses in Hackney Wick. He is also part of the East London Policy Innovation Partnership, which is a collaboration with UCL, University of the Arts London and other partners at SHIFT.

• The application of research to policy
• Cities and regeneration
• Creative clusters
• Applied research and innovation in the Creative Industries
• Government policy on culture and the creative industries