New Cluster Policies – for Central Europe, and beyond!

Since 2011, 18 partners from eight central European countries are joining forces in the strategic project “CluStrat” to create framework conditions conducive of such cross-sector innovation, tapping the potentials resting with clusters. CluStrat has already triggered a change in cluster policy and regional cluster landscapes in the participating regions.

Clusters are an essential trigger in innovation policy to make European SME more competitive. New market opportunities that result from major societal challenges request products and services which can only be delivered in a multi-disciplinary approach making use of the key enabling technology in Europe. The transnational consortium of the strategic project CluStrat has identified the major issues of new cluster concepts to support the necessary innovation processes in SME.

“Companies need to know the market opportunities related to the emerging industries and how to exploit them. Innovation at the interface of different technologies and industries is a key capacity in this respect” said Prof. Dr. Norbert Höptner, Commissioner for Europe of the Minister of Finance and Economics of the Baden-Württemberg and director of Steinbeis-Europa-Zentrum. “Cluster initiatives can function as an important leverage in this respect, but policy needs to create the right framework conditions.”

In order to stay competitive, Europe must take action to boost the innovation performance of its regional economies. The grand societal challenges – including, for instance, ageing societies or climate change – call for solutions, which Europe’s industry is in a good position to provide: Complex new products, services and business models that are developed at the interface of different industries and technology fields are needed. Since 2011, 18 partners from eight central European countries are joining forces in the strategic project “CluStrat” to create framework conditions conducive of such cross-sector innovation, tapping the potentials resting with clusters.

Three main factors have been identified : (1) a systemic coordination of actors and competencies in order to achieve the quality and scope of collaboration that is needed – across all relevant technologies and branches; (2) a demand driven approach, including end-users in all stages of the innovation process; and (3) integrating knowledge on the possibilities of key-enabling technologies (KET) as identified by the European Commission (including micro-/nanoelectronics, nanotechnology, photonics, advanced materials, industrial biotechnology and advanced manufacturing technologies).

“It is impressive to see how CluStrat has already triggered a change in cluster policy and regional cluster landscapes in the participating regions” said Dr. Petra Püchner, managing director of Steinbeis-Europa-Zentrum and coordinator of CluStrat during the CluStrat conference on 17 February 2014 in Brussels. The already achieved results of the pilot actions in the participating regions underline this statement and are a signal to clusters in regard to their role towards smart specialization in view of the societal challenges of the Europe2020 strategy.

During the following months, CluStrat will issue recommendations to cluster policy on how to create framework conditions that are apt to unlock these cluster potentials, for instance through future ERDF programmes. Moreover, it has become apparent that cluster policy has a part to play in activating – at an early stage – the potentials of clusters in the light of the chances entailed by Horizon2020.

Further information:
https://cordis.europa.eu