Creative Economy Focus Groups Held

The Creative Economy is a vibrant economic asset of the City — the enterprises, organizations, activities, and people who are involved in the work and business of art and culture. The Creative Economy generates significant income in wages and revenues, yet this economic contribution often goes unrecognized and opportunities for leveraging these assets are often lost.

The Washington DC Office of Planning and the Washington, DC Economic Partnership are working to raise the profile of the District’s Creative Economy and to document its value to the local economy. They have retained Mt. Auburn Associates, an economic development consulting firm, to help create a strategic plan for DC’s Creative Economy.

As one of the initial steps in this process, eight Focus Groups from each of the key industry segments of the District’s Creative Economy – Fashion, Theater, Music, Film and Media, Heritage, Design and Architecture, Visual Art, and Technology were held in November to help the project team better understand the competitive strengths, challenges, and opportunities of each of these segments. This work is part of the Creative DC Action Agenda study, which aims to promote creative industries throughout the District.