About The Fifth Sector
A specialist consultancy for the creative economy: evidence, strategy and evaluation for the places and programmes that support it.
The company
The Fifth Sector works with cities and regions, providing the research, insight and tools to build place-based strategies and action plans that grow investment in the creative and digital economy.
It works with digital and creative businesses and cultural organisations to develop products and services, secure investment and build partnerships with universities and research bodies.
It works with universities and innovation agencies, connecting them to early-stage and high-growth creative businesses as a third space for collaborative research.
The team
Iain Bennett - Creative Alchemist and Project Director
Iain is a cultural and creative industries consultant with 30 years' experience in private and public sectors. He has delivered over 100 projects for clients including DCMS, British Council, WIPO, Innovate UK, AHRC, BFI, Digital Catapult, Liverpool City Region Combined Authority, Aberdeen City Council, Manchester City Council, London Legacy Development Corporation, University of Liverpool and Manchester Metropolitan University.
He is recognised for methodological innovation in mapping the creative economy: a model for measuring Liverpool City Region's music economy; a taxonomy for the experience economy used by Loughborough University London and UCL on Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park; and a creative economy development framework for the British Council in the Western Balkans. He is the author of WIPO's 2017 guide, "How to Make a Living in the Creative Industries", and the Creative Industries Council's "Toolkit for Cities and Regions", which informed Arts Council England's cultural compacts.
Before founding The Fifth Sector, Iain wrote the regional strategy for digital and creative industries that underpinned the £1 billion development of MediaCity in Salford and the BBC's relocation there. From 2012-14 he was project manager for DCMS's £150m Superconnected Cities programme. He is an Honorary Visiting Professor in the School of Communication and Creativity at City St George's, University of London, a Trustee of FACT, and a Life Fellow of the RSA. LinkedIn
Sara Sartorius - Visitor Economy and Transport Specialist
Sara specialises in cultural, travel and tourism marketing, with over 20 years' experience in marketing strategy, planning and delivery. She was Digital Marketing Manager for Liverpool Capital of Culture 2008, then developed the "Visit Liverpool" website and destination management strategy for the Liverpool City Region.
With The Fifth Sector, Sara has worked on cultural and visitor economy strategy for Liverpool, and led identification of brand elements and hierarchy in the place narrative for Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. She has held senior marketing roles at Merseytravel, National Museums Liverpool, c2c Rail, Transport for Wales, Taylor Wessing LLP and Epsilon, and is a chartered marketeer. LinkedIn
Associates
The Fifth Sector works with associates who bring complementary experience across cultural, communications and technology disciplines.
Lynne McCadden
An associate since 2019, Lynne is a former BBC journalist and producer who runs Morra Ltd, an advisory consultancy delivering strategic projects. She brings more than 25 years' experience across media, digital and creative environments: training and skills development, management of high-level and international projects, strategy origination, and collaboration between private and public partners. LinkedIn
Jon Bains
A marketing and business strategist, founder of ethical AI consultancy Obsolete.com and brand consultancy What & Why. Jon specialises in AI, business, brand and communications strategy, with over 25 years' experience delivering award-winning digital work. LinkedIn
Dominic Gray
A freelance consultant in the cultural and creative industries, Dominic has more than 25 years' experience as a senior arts leader, including Projects Director and Director of Education for Opera North. He chaired Culture Consortium Leeds from 2020 to 2023, served on the AHRC Advisory Board from 2013 to 2020, and was an independent Impact Assessor on the 2014 and 2021 Research Excellence Frameworks. LinkedIn
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