Cities taking part in the Creative Metropoles project are Oslo, represented by Oslo Teknopol, lead partner Riga, Stockholm, Helsinki, Tallinn, Vilnius, Berlin, Warsaw, Amsterdam, Barcelona and Birmingham. The project was approved in October 2008, and will be running until the end of September 2011. 

The Creative Metropoles partners have identified five key policy areas on which to focus when mapping out best practice in both policies and practical tools for how the public sector operates in support of the creative economy. These areas are divided into structure of public support for creative industries, business capacity and internationalisation within creative industries, space for activities by creative industries and creative city districts as creative incubators, funding schemes, and finally, demand for the outputs of creative industries, including municipalities in the role of consumers.
 

The project is focused on experience exchange among the partner cities in order to increase the understanding of creative industries among the elected decision-makers and the executive level in the business communities. It is important to communicate the creative industries’ role in the overall economy - how they work, as well as increase the awareness of the different policies and approaches that have a positive impact on growth and development in the creative sector.