In tune with concepts of collaborative consumption and the sharing economy (particularly prevalent in the USA), ‘co-creation’ is currently very much in vogue for businesses looking to freshen up management, design and production processes, enhance communication upstream and downstream, foster stakeholder engagement, plus deliver both ideas and efficiencies. As a cutting-edge business strategy, the philosophy draws on the creativity of customers, staff and suppliers, combining all collective inputs to innovate and improve performance, sharing knowledge and learning. The paradigm shift is from thinking in terms of ‘goods’ to ‘services’, in pursuit of the co-creation of value.

In response, the world of the Arts is both learning and teaching simultaneously; picking up on these signals from business, as well as being seen as a natural arena for exploring alternative, open and dynamic new ways of working and thinking. But, why is this approach trending now?
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