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European Cluster Conference 2010: Presentations now available

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

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

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.

European Cluster Conference 2010

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.

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

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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

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.