News & Events

European Cluster Conference 2010

Submitted by Administrator on 27 April, 2010 - 08:57
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Sep 29 2010
Venue: 
Brussels, Belgium
29th September Pre-conference parallel workshops:
European Club of Cluster Managers & European Cluster Alliance workshop
 - Centre Borschette
30th September World-class clusters renewing European industry  - Charlemagne
1st October Cluster policies of the Future - Centre Borschette

The high-level “European Cluster Conference 2010” will address the role of world-class clusters in renewing European industry in light of the Europe 2020 strategy. It will gather key policy-makers from the European Commission, Member States, regional authorities and high-level speakers from academia and industry to discuss how better policies can be formulated to make full use of the economic potential of excellent clusters. The event is organised under the chairmanship of the Belgian EU Presidency by the European Commission DG Enterprise and Industry.

European Cluster Conference 2010: Presentations now available

Submitted by Administrator on 14 October, 2010 - 17:46
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The European Cluster Conference 2010 took place on 29 September - 1 October 2010 in Brussels organised by the European Commission under the auspices of the Belgian EU Presidency. The conference addressed the role of world-class clusters in accelerating European industries in light of the Europe 2020 strategy.

Europe has a long history of a competitive and innovative industry. Automotive, aerospace, chemicals, food, textile are just a few examples where Europe has a strong competence and international recognition. As global challenges are becoming bigger, policy responses should be more ambitious and the development of more world-class clusters in Europe will be instrumental in this respect. Industry changes all the time. The new society-driven challenges and the increased importance of research and innovation have a profound impact on our industry and clusters are catalysts of change. They operate most often at the intersection of traditional sectors, develop and integrate cutting-edge technologies, and help companies to internationalise. A more strategic approach is needed that applies the concept of world-class clusters also to emerging industries, thus aiming at creating more innovation champions in Europe in promising areas of new technologies and services.

The presentations, speeches and videos of the event are now available for download: http://www.proinno-europe.eu/clusterconference2010/content/conference-pr...

European Cluster Conference 2010: Overwhelming Success

Submitted by Administrator on 4 October, 2010 - 09:50
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More than 450 participants participated at the European Cluster Conference representing policy makers from national and regional public authorities, key academic experts as well as cluster managers and entrepreneurs from all over Europe.

A main topic of this Conference was the presentation and further discussion of the final report of the European Cluster Policy Group (ECPG) that had been established last year by the European Commission. This report calls for an improved coordination between the different EU initiatives in support of clusters and proposes that the “focus of cluster programmes needs to be shifted from capacity building and compensation for poor performance towards a clear orientation on excellence, focusing on clusters with the ability and the willingness to upgrade in the face of global competition and ensuring the consistent provision of public knowledge infrastructure to support them.”

ECPG Final Reports

Submitted by Administrator on 30 September, 2010 - 09:01
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Today – faced with tighter budgets, more intense global competition, and evolving innovation processes – there is a need for European policymakers to more actively lever the potential of clusters to modernise and improve their economic policies. The question is how?

The European Cluster Policy Group (ECPG) presented its recommendations for future cluster efforts in Europe at the first European Cluster Conference (held in Brussels, September 30th). The ECPG Final Recommendations - A Call for Policy Action (available for download below) highlights three principles and eight action proposals for EU institutions and Members States to take on board. A complementary report (Consolidated Set of Policy Recommendations on Four Themes) provides a summary of the suggested actions related to the four themes addressed during the Group's mandate.

File Attachment: 
application/pdf iconECPG: Final Recommendations – A Call for Policy Action
application/pdf iconECPG: Consolidated Set of Policy Recommendations on Four Themes

ATclusters conference held to boost international cluster cooperation in the Atlantic Area.

Submitted by Administrator on 17 March, 2010 - 09:47
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Around 130 cluster policy-makers and practitioners gathered in Santiago de Compostela at the transnational conference on "Cluster, cluster policies and innovation networks in Europe" on 11-12 March. The participants discussed the role of clusters as innovation drivers and better practices of how to engage in international cluster cooperation, especially in the Atlantic Area among the partnership of the ATclusters Interreg IVB project lead by the Galician Institute for Economic Promotion (IGAPE).

European Cluster Policy Group meets to discuss actions for excellent cluster policies and cluster organisations in Europe

Submitted by Administrator on 5 February, 2010 - 18:55
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The key to strengthening clusters in Europe lies in striving for excellence both at the level of cluster policies and at the level of cluster management. This was the issue discussed by the European Cluster Policy Group, which met for the third time in Brussels on 28-29 January 2010 to formulate policy recommendations to be addressed to the European Commission and EU Members States.

Need to better address the 'new nature of innovation' through clusters

Submitted by Babis on 20 September, 2009 - 23:00
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The European Cluster Policy Group met for the second time in Ljubljana, Slovenia, on 17 and 18 September 2009 to discuss the role of clusters in support of emerging industries and the different applicable policy measures. The meeting was hosted by the Faculty of Economics, University of Ljubljana, and by the State Secretary Darja Radic, Ministry of the Economy, Government of Slovenia.

New enabling technologies, global competition, global knowledge sourcing, and today’s societal challenges ... all change the nature of innovation and pave the way for new industries to be born.

European Cluster Policy Group appointed to advise on modern policy responses in support of more world-class clusters in the EU

Submitted by Administrator on 13 March, 2009 - 11:15
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The European Commission has adopted a Decision to set up a European Cluster Policy Group with the aim of exploring how to better assist Member States in supporting the emergence of more world-class clusters in the EU.  

European Cluster Policy Group appointed to advise on modern policy responses in support of more world-class clusters in the EU

Submitted by sbrizolakis on 13 March, 2009 - 00:00
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The European Commission has adopted a Decision to set up a European Cluster Policy Group with the aim of exploring how to better assist Member States in supporting the emergence of more world-class clusters in the EU. The European Cluster Policy Group, the result of the European Commission Decision on 22 October 2008, will start its 18-month term in April 2009 .

European Cluster Policy Group: first report available

Submitted by Babis on 10 February, 2009 - 00:00
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The European Cluster Policy Group’s mandate is to advise the Commission and Member States on how to better support the development of more world-class clusters in the EU and to make policy recommendations on how to better design cluster policies in the Community.

The outcomes of the European Cluster Policy Group’s first meeting on international cluster cooperation is available now and open for comments here.