Goldsmiths launches FOCI institute for creative industries research

Goldsmiths, part of the University of London, has launched the Futures of Creativity and Innovation (FOCI) Institute, led by Professor Jonathan Freeman with Noemi Ponzoni as Chief Strategy Officer.

FOCI was selected as the sole institute funded in this round of Goldsmiths’ Strategic Research Institute competition, following a process involving 12 college-wide bids and assessment by internal and external panels.

According to Goldsmiths, the institute will focus on the future of the creative industries, including screen, games and performance, in the context of rapid technological change, economic and political instability, the climate emergency, and shifts in work, skills and wellbeing.

The university said FOCI brings together its existing strengths in creative research, human–technology interaction and policy engagement, building on the work of i2 media and the Foresight Lab.

Professor Freeman said the institute gives a clearer public identity to collaborative work already taking place across Goldsmiths.

‘FOCI is designed to change that,’ he said. ‘It builds directly on 25 years of doing translational, collaborative work with industry and policymakers, but gives it a coherent, public-facing home that carries the Goldsmiths name.’

Goldsmiths said the institute will work across departments and with partners in industry, government and the third sector, with a tiered partnership model allowing different levels of engagement from named partnerships to embedded collaborative R&D.

FOCI will operate under a governance framework approved by Goldsmiths’ Research and Enterprise Committee, with oversight from the Vice-Chancellor and a governance board including external members and senior leaders.

Its core leadership team will include partnerships and development specialists, alongside a wider network of associated academics from across Goldsmiths who will be invited to help develop programmes of work.

The university said the institute will scan for signals of change across the creative industries, co-design questions with external partners, test possible responses in controlled environments, and translate its findings into policy, practice, curricula and public debate.

Noemi Ponzoni said the institute is intended to help bridge the gap between academic research and the timescales on which industry and policy decisions are often made.

‘The creative industries are going through rapid technological and infrastructural change, but human insight is still not well integrated into many of the systems being built,’ she said.

She added that FOCI aims to create a model that is agile enough to test ideas quickly while remaining grounded in research and connected to the needs of industry and policymakers.