UK launches creative industries strategy with £500m investment

The UK government has launched an R&D strategy for the country's creative and cultural sectors with £500 million (€573.44m) in funding.

The strategy, which was announced by the UK's Creative Industries Minister Ian Murray on 20/01/2026, allocates the largest share to the creative industries.

• £369m is allocated to the creative industries by UKRI, of which £100 m is specifically allocated to supporting innovative companies;
• £25m to expand UKRI’s CoSTAR activity (a programme supporting innovations and experiences that enrich the UK's creative industries, economy, and culture);
• £155m to develop creative economy infrastructure through the DiSSCo UK (Distributed System of Scientific Collections) programme, an initiative to digitise the nation’s vast natural science collections.

A statement accompanying the announcement of the strategy said it would "help UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) ensure its investments in the creative industries drive economic growth across the UK".

In December 2025, UKRI also announced a record investment of £369m in the creative industries as part of its…