Universities as creative industry intermediaries: University-led creative cluster policy in the United Kingdom

This introduction frames the special issue's focus on intermediaries and the expanding roles universities play in shaping urban cultural economies. Across diverse city-regions and institutional contexts, the papers examine how universities mediate relationships among: creative workers, cultural organisations, local government, funders, and communities. They thereby operate through formal knowledge-exchange infrastructures as well as informal, relational and place-based practices. We develop an analytic approach that treats universities not only as sites of research and skills formation, but also as multi-scalar cultural actors whose brokerage can enable new collaborations, redistribute (or concentrate) resources, and influence the symbolic and material production of urban culture. The introduction synthesises scholarship on cultural and creative industries, governance, anchor institutions, and intermediary labour to highlight recurring tensions between: civic missions and market logics; short-term project funding and long-term capacity building; inclusion claims and unequal cultural value; and the benefits and risks of universities' increasing presence in cultural policy and urban development. We argue that intermediary work is best understood as situated practice that is contingent on local institutional histories, power relations, and the often-fragile infrastructures that sustain partnerships. The final section maps the contributions, showing how each article advances understanding of intermediary roles, ranging from brokerage and translation to evaluation, advocacy and care, while collectively raising questions about accountability, legitimacy, and the conditions under which universities can support more equitable cultural futures.