This week Creative Clusters confirmed three new backers: DCMS, the Council ofEurope and Sheffield First for Investment.

The UK Government Department of Culture, Media and Sport has decided to supportthe conference by providing funding and making a contribution to the programme.

Sheffield First for Investment are backing us as part of their strategy toattract inward investment in the creative and digital industries to the city.

Finally, the Council of Europe is adding its weight to Creative Clusters with asession looking at the role of creative industries in Eastern Europe, andexamining the implications of EC enlargement for European cultural enterpriseand cultural diversity.

More on all these and other new partnerships to follow.

** Master-Class on Cultural Quarter Development

** Sheffield Cultural Industries Quarter (CIQ) was the UK's first businessdevelopment area explicitly devoted to cultural industries. This former cutleryand manufacturing area, ¾ of a square mile in the heart of the city, was zonedfor creative businesses and cultural production twenty years ago. Since then theCIQ has gradually attracted more and more creative organisations so that todayit is home to more than 300 enterprises, making it the largest creative anddigital cluster in the region.

Delegates at Creative Clusters will be able to assess the CIQ for themselves, asthe conference will be using the facilities of all of the CIQ's major projects:the Workstation Media Centre, the Showroom Cinema, the Site Gallery, PersistenceWorks artists' studios, Red Tape music studios, and Sheffield Science Park.

The CIQ Agency will unveil at Creative Clusters a major initative to understandand learn from the experience of building the CIQ. This begins with a half daymaster-class, 'CIQ Uncovered', which will ask some searching questions aboutSheffield's experience. It will attempt to assess successes and failures,interrogate policies and present models for future development. Has the city's20 year investment in the Creative Industries paid dividends or was it a flashin the pan?

CIQ Uncovered is based on a long-term research project that, unusually,incorporates both hard analysis and creative evaluation, putting together a'rich picture' of the CIQ using a variety of analytical techniques.

Component parts include an impact analysis, film and video material, timelines,maps, systems analysis, historical narrative, specially commissionedcommentaries, academic papers and political reports. The project draws on arts,urban planning, economic development and entrepreneur support, and includesevidence from a multiplicity of players and witnesses. Conference delegates willreceive a free CD rom which releases the first tranche of this material.

Sheffield CIQ Agency is the conference host and is one of our longest-standingsupporters.

More about them at http://www.ciq.org.uk.

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The deadline for proposing contributions to the Creative Clusters programme is23rd August.

We are particularly interested in case studies of projects andpolicy interventions that can be shown to have both cultural and commercialoutcomes.

Please see our website for more information.