Cluster Excellence Day 2015, Brussels

On Thursday 19th February 2015 the Foundation marked the completion of its third Train-the-Trainers programme in Cluster Excellence Management in style by holding a Cluster Excellence Day in Brussels. The Cluster Excellence Day was addressed to those wishing to learn more about the European Cluster Excellence Programme as well as the training activities of the Foundation. 

Many delegates joined the current cohort of the training programme.

Training programme showcase

During the event in Brussels a number of participating teams presented their experience of undertaking the training and showcased their projects in reinforcing the competitiveness of their regional and national clusters. Videos of the showcases are available below.

Cluster based economic development: the experts viewpoint

There was extensive opportunity to find out the details of the policy frameworks and instruments that support cluster economic development from Olivier Brunet, DG Research and Innovation, Katja Reppel, DG Regional and Urban Policy, Germana Ricciardi, DG GROW as well as Nicolas Singer of the recently launched INTERREG Europe programme.

The afternoon session saw Emiliano Duch of World Bank provide a global examination of cluster based economic development and Kirsi Ekroth-Manssila, Head of Unit, SMEs: Clusters & Emerging Industries DG GROW, outlined the latest developments in EU Cluster Policy. Thomas Lämmer-Gamp, of European Secretariat for Cluster Analysis (ESCA), set out the role of cluster organisations and their quality standards within a cluster based economic development policy framework.

During the day participants, guests and speakers exchanged and discussed specific aspects of the work of the Foundation, and of current state-of-the-art in economic development among European Regions.

Presentations and videos of the speakers can be accessed by clicking on the following links:

Projects developed through the Cluster Excellence Programme were showcased, highlighting the key learning points and explaining how the methodology transformed their approach to economic development:

1. North West Romania & Mazovia Region (Poland) on Cosmetics. You may download the presentation on cosmetics clicking on the link.
2. Trinidad & Tobago on Cocoa. You may download the presentation on cocoa clicking on the link.
3. Malta on Aviation services. You may download the presentation on aviation services clicking on the link.

Please scroll down the page to watch corresponding videos of the showcases.

EU policy instruments for cluster development – Views from different angles

1. From FP7 to Horizon 2020 by Olivier Brunet, DG Research and Innovation.
2. Smart Specialisation Strategies by Katja Reppel, DG Regional Policy.
3. EU Policy Instruments by Nicolas Singer, INTERREG Europe.
4. Role of Cluster Organisations and their Quality Standards by Thomas Lämmer-Gamp, ESCA.
5. The Global Take on Cluster Development by Emiliano Duch, The World Bank Group.
6. Overview of Latest Developments in EU Cluster Policy by Kirsi Ekroth-Manssila, Head of Unit, SMEs: Clusters & Emerging Industries DG GROW.

CIP Call 2013/2014 - 6th Training Week

Week 6 of the Train-the-Trainers Programme:  Brussels, European District, February 20, 2015

The CIP Call 2013 Programme reached successful completion with its sixth week of in-class training held in Brussels in partnership with ACCIÓ, the Catalan Agency for Business Competitiveness, and under the auspices of the European Commission. 

During the week, participants of the Train-the-Trainers programme enjoyed the concluding sessions of their 6-month curriculum. They notably had the opportunity to get engaged in a collective reflection on continuous cluster policies and cluster programmes evaluation. As always participation was high, contributions proved insightful and favored forward-thinking over conventional wisdom.

On the 19th, the day culminated with the the Participants being awarded their certificates of Associate Trainers from the hands of Mr. Reza Zadeh, Executive Director of the European Foundation for Cluster Excellence.

The last class closed with both nostalgia and excitement while Participants said their goodbyes after 6 months of intense interaction, team-building and co-working. Back to their respective regions they will push cluster-based economic development forward, looking to foster enhanced competitiveness and social well-being.

CIP Call 2013/2014 - 5th Training Week

Week 5 of the Train-the-Trainers Programme: from Linz, Austria

The fifth week of in-class training ended with participants achieving further accomplishments on the road to completing their field projects. Participants of the Train-the-Trainers programme continued with the European Foundation for Cluster Excellence in-class curriculum during this week, while being hosted by Clusterland Oberösterreich in the city of Linz, Upper Austria.

Clusterland is made up of a network of clusters located in Upper Austria. This organization is a unique entity as it manages clusters completely from a private point of view. They hold a policy for economic development that is cluster oriented and promotes strategies of sustainable innovation and competition among companies. It is with this efficient and systematic management that many of their clusters have achieved the Gold Cluster label.  

Many of our participants took advantage of this week to complete the reference trips mandatory for their field projects visiting local or nearby best-in class companies. They got the opportunity to meet with regional gold labelled clusters and cluster agents to see impressive examples of what cluster excellence management can look like. One highlight of the week was notably the visit of Bombardier's Austrian subsidiary Rotax also known as BRP-Powertrain GmbH (see picture); a distinguished member of Upper-Austria's automotive cluster.   

The end of the week was met with excitement for the future as participants continue to move forward in developing further knowledge and understanding of what cluster excellence means in practice.