Amsterdam is the fifth most innovative city in the world when it comes to accepting and developing new ideas, according to a new report.

New York tops the list, followed by London, Helsinki and Barcelona. The report looked at 40 cities and nine roles that a city can play to support innovation and entrepreneurship. These ranged from its approach to regulatory issues to broadband internet.

Amsterdam was singled out for its Smart City platform – a partnership between the city government, businesses, research institutions and citizens – and its open approach to regulating rental property website Airbnb.

The CITIE report was drawn up by international advisory group Accenture, the British government innovation body Nesta and innovation network Catapult.

Last year, the Netherlands dropped one place to 6th in the 2014 European innovation index, published annually by the European Commission. Top of the index was Sweden, followed by Denmark, Germany, Finland and Luxemburg.

In 2011, a report by ING economists said Utrecht was the most innovative region in the Netherlands.