Mt. Auburn Associates and Berkshire Creative have formed a partnership to provide technical assistance and training to communities interested in developing their creative economy. Berkshire Creative and Mt. Auburn will provide support and information on all aspects of creative economy economic development. All information is practical, and can be tailored to meet your organizations needs and areas of interest. Our goal is to provide you with actionable information to help you reach your development goals.

For info contact judi@mtauburnassociates.com or visit www.berkshirecreative.org.

In May 2010, the Washington, DC Office of Planning and the Washington, DC Economic Partnership issued the report Creative Capital: The Creative DC Action Agenda written by Mt. Auburn Associates. The purpose of the report was to quantify and put into context the creative economy of the District, giving the city's myriad arts and cultural endeavors their rightful recognition as a powerful tool for job creation and economic growth in neighborhoods across the city. Our work revealed a creative economy that is much edgier than most people think as well as extraordinarily rich in theater, design, media and digital arts, and African-American heritage and culture. The Action Agenda provides a blueprint for the public, private, and nonprofit sectors as well as for residents as they seek to realize the economic promise of the city's rich creative industries and strong concentration of creative talent. The image of Washington, DC as a government town dominated by the Smithsonian and the "Mall" may soon change.

In response to the development of the Surdna Foundation's new mission in 2009, the future of manufacturing in the U.S. emerged as an area of potential promise that could unite common goals and strategies across the foundation. As a result, the foundation became interested in developing a more comprehensive strategy to advance America's manufacturing sector. To further its understanding of what a strategy to support manufacturing might encompass, the foundation asked Mt. Auburn Associates to help plan and facilitate a Manufacturing Roundtable in January 2010. This roundtable was comprised of 17 national experts, including local practitioners, policymakers, academics, and individuals representing the unions and the manufacturing business community. The purpose of the roundtable was to provide an opportunity Surdna to learn from local and national experts about the challenges and opportunities for American manufacturing and to explore whether and how the foundation could expand its support in this area. Mt. Auburn authored a white paper that summarized the key findings of the Roundtable. The paper is available on the Surdna Foundation website.

In January 2010, Living Cities, a philanthropic collaborative of 22 of the world's largest foundations and financial institutions, launched "The Integration Initiative," a multi-year effort designed to advance successful models for effective urban investment and transformation. Living Cities is in the process of selecting up to five communities that will receive a significant investment in grants, program-related investments, and senior debt to undertake an integrative and sustainable approach to revitalizing neighborhoods and connecting low-income people to opportunities in their region. Mt. Auburn Associates and Mathematica Policy Research were selected as the national evaluation team for this initiative. The evaluation team will work with Living Cities to assess the long-term outcomes of the initiative and to participate in a learning process focused on building knowledge in the community revitalization field.

Mt. Auburn Associates is leading a team that includes RTS, Bill Bulick, and Surale Phillips in the development of a creative economy strategy for the Milwaukee region. The project, Creativity Works! is a visionary collaboration between the Greater Milwaukee Committee and the Cultural Alliance of Greater Milwaukee who together are embarking on a groundbreaking process designed to define, promote, integrate, and grow a globally competitive, locally authentic creative economy sector.