‘A sector which has remained resilient, innovative and daring in the face of recession.’ This is the description of the U.K’s creative sector, at the launch of the Creative Industries Federation.

The organisation describes itself as the “the UK’s first independent membership organisation for the creative industries.” Founder members include the BBC and the Design Council; membership is now being offered to the private and public sectors as well as individuals. Look out for discounts on membership if you sign up before June 2015.

The Creative Industries Federation, or CiF, aims to lobby and represent the many industries covered by the government’s own definition. This includes you if you work in advertising and marketing, product and graphic design, film and video, software and computer services or publishing as well as many other sectors.

Design Week magazine reports that the Creative Industries Federation will also be putting together a definitive report looking at ‘the competitive position of UK public arts and culture and commercial creative companies” and to ‘benchmark the UK’s creative industry performance and to discover international best practice.’

The aims of the new organisation are wide-ranging including ‘defending intellectual property rights in an ever more digital future’ as well as to ‘challenge the performance of all our companies and arts organisations to stay ahead of the global competition.’ They also aim to make the case for strong public funding alongside entrepreneurialism and investment.

Founder members include private design consultancies as well as representatives from creative names such as the Arts Council, the Tate and BBC Worldwide.

Design Week looked into the issues behind the organisation with design experts’ views on what issues should be tackled, including making sure the wide range of creative sectors communicate well with each other, in order to be heard with one voice. Take a look here at their article on the launch and industry reaction.