Research

SIGN works collaboratively with higher education institutions and industry partners to generate new and valuable insights. Our research strengthens understanding of digital creativity and screen storytelling across interactive media, AI, film, TV, games and other digital screen-based technologies. We want to enhance our region’s competitiveness, and secure the future of our screen-related industries.

We are committed to undertaking research that will make a significant positive impact on culture and society. By identifying and analysing challenges, future requirements and best practice, we aim to provide evidence-based solutions.

SIGN also identifies new opportunities across skills, training, talent development, business support, diversity and inclusion. Striving to be at the forefront of industry knowledge and academic understanding, our research involves horizon scanning for new technologies, production models, modes of storytelling and routes to market, in order to facilitate new ideas for growth and innovation. 

Research themes include:

  • Understanding the scale of equality, diversity and inclusion in education, the screen industries and content creation
  • Identifying opportunities for widening equality, diversity and inclusion
  • Understanding digital creativity and storytelling, across interactive and immersive media, artificial intelligence (AI), film, TV, games
  • Horizon-scanning for new technologies, production models, workflows and markets
  • Developing strategies for business innovation, routes to market, growth, job creation, and future finance models
  • Investigating the effectiveness of Creative Industries policy
  • Understanding how the audiences of the future will engage with screen content.

The research workstream is led by the University of York and includes a £400k research development fund.

To view the outputs of our research, visit our publications page.

Projects