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CHALLENGE

The Delaware Arts Alliance (DAA) commissioned Sound Diplomacy to research and author the Creative Economy Advancement & Tourism Expansion (CREATE) Plan to study and support the full-breadth of the First State’s creative economy. The cultural and creative industries are a powerful economic driver in Delaware, supporting over 18,500 jobs and generating US$3.7 billion in yearly output, but the sector needs additional support to reach its full potential.

The CREATE Plan is built on the input of over 600 Delawareans across the state, who identified a number of challenges and goals. These include:

Making Delaware the gold-standard when it comes to holistic creative economy development in the US
Increasing the value associated with the creative sector
Boosting the role that education plays in growing the state’s creative economy.
Putting cultural tourism at the heart of Delaware’s brand and marketing efforts, and expanding existing cultural offerings

Towards these ends, the CREATE Plan proposes 25 actionable recommendations to strengthen Delaware’s creative economy. It is the first plan in the United States to study the entirety of a state’s creative economy at the state, county, and municipal levels.

strategy

Collaborating closely with the DAA and their Community Engagement Captains, Sound Diplomacy deployed a multipronged research methodology that included:

Regulatory Assessment
A full analysis of the regulatory framework and programs that exist in Delaware, relevant to the creative economy.
Economic Impact
Measuring the direct, indirect, and induced economic impact of the creative economy in Delaware.
Mapping
An interactive index of 2,534 assets across every creative economy sector in Delaware, produced using a database built from secondary sources and georeferenced with Sound Diplomacy’s mapping tool. The interactive map will continue to function as an advantageous tool for stakeholders in the region to conduct future research and drive collaboration.
Stakeholder Engagement
An online survey, distributed to local stakeholders, and stakeholder roundtables, held from August‐September 2023, in which 227 stakeholders from all three counties were engaged.
SWOT Analysis
All data was collated and analyzed through the SWOT technique, which allows us to compare and contrast findings and think strategically.
CREATE Plan
These research steps led to the drafting of the CREATE Plan, which proposes 25 actionable recommendations centred upon creative economy development, industry support, tourism, funding, education, professional development, infrastructure development, and marketing & audience development.

Findings & outcomes

he CREATE Plan, launched in August 2024, kicked off with events across each of Delaware’s three counties and has since gained enthusiastic support from creatives, business owners, and government officials statewide. With buy-in from these stakeholders, the Delaware Arts Alliance (DAA) will move forward with advocacy and planning, utilizing the CREATE Plan Toolkit to drive impactful change.

Among the Plan’s notable recommendations are the formation of a creative economy task force to encourage cross-sector collaboration and the establishment of creative hubs in each county. The Plan also aims to streamline special event and performance-related permits and licenses at all government levels and integrate the creative economy into Delaware’s business and economic communications. Additionally, it calls for a dedicated government position to represent self-employed creatives and small businesses, alongside a new cultural economy brand to boost tourism, economic growth, and audience development.

To support sustainable growth, further recommendations include identifying additional revenue streams to fund Delaware’s creative economy and ensuring arts funding for every public school student. Altogether, the CREATE Plan’s 25 recommendations chart a visionary path for Delaware’s cultural and economic future.