TIGA's Richard Wilson

Well, TIGA is unique in its vision, its objectives and its effectiveness. TIGA is the only trade association with the vision to make the UK the best place in the world to do games business. Our overriding priority is to serve the interests and needs of UK businesses, organisations and individuals.

We focus on three core areas: Firstly, raising the profile of the industry in Government and Parliament and campaigning for the adoption of measures to help the sector. TIGA instigated the creation of the All Party Group for the Video Games industry in the Westminster Parliament to champion our sector.

Thanks to TIGA, our industry now has a cross-party group of over 20 MPs, including ex-Ministers, taking a serious interest in the issues that matter to our sector: tax, skills, education, finance, trade support and so on. TIGA has also been instrumental in linking game developers with their local MPs. This in turn has helped to ensure that politicians have a greater understanding of the needs of our sector.

Secondly, we raise the profile of the industry in the media and publicly. So far this year we have secured coverage for the videogames industry on television, radio and in the press through championing the games industry as a positive and important business and economic story, commissioning and releasing new research and promoting our members.

Thirdly, we offer services that benefit our members commercially. As the only accredited trade association in the sector, we work with UKT&I to help developers who want to exhibit at overseas trade shows. We run a free PR service for our members to maximize their media profile.

We are building links between the games industry and other creative sectors through our Creative Industry Switch programme. Our Education Exchange programme is fostering collaboration between academia and the industry. And we have just launched a new Self Publishing Service to help developers who are moving into publishing.

Last month we announced that TIGA plans to open up membership to individuals in the development sector. We want to serve the needs and meet the interests of all developers who work in the UK games industry.

It's been good. We've had quite a mix of interest from people already working in development studios, through to students and freelancers. We plan to help both aspiring games developers and those already working in the industry to fulfill their career ambitions. The TIGA individual membership programme will provide access to a range of benefits, focusing on three core areas - career development; material benefits; and networking opportunities.

We intend to provide effective support for the next wave of creative individuals and successful interactive companies in the UK. TIGA is the trade association for new blood, new ideas and new businesses entering the industry. We are the trade association of the future, not the past. Further details will be announced when the service launches later this year.

At TIGA we have a clear vision - to make the UK the best place in the world to do games business. Only TIGA has the ambition, capacity, drive and remit from its membership to deliver this vision. TIGA will work to power the industry: championing UK developers in political circles; standing up for the UK games industry in the media; and supporting the UK games sector by delivering high quality services (best practice information, creating commercial opportunities, networking events; providing market data, and so on).

We will increase our support for the UK videogames industry by delivering new and improved services for our existing business and educational members.

And we will continue to broaden the TIGA network - over the last two years, TIGA has welcomed developers, publisher owned studios, publishers, outsourcers and education providers into the TIGA family in order to create a powerful network of organisations united around the vision of making the UK the best place in the world to do games business.

TIGA's commitment to serve the interests of our members remains absolute. By demonstrating our effectiveness as an organisation we hope to welcome more games businesses to the TIGA network.

We will deepen our roots in the development sector, not least through TIGA's individual membership programme. This will enable students, contractors and developers working in the UK games industry to benefit from TIGA's expertise, benefits and services. Individual students, contractors and developers are crucial to the future of the UK videogames industry. TIGA recognises this and we intend to support individuals in every practical way we can.

The UK games industry deserves to be represented by a trade association that is ambitious, effective, and passionate about serving and strengthening the sector. TIGA intends to fulfil this role.