ECPG
In October 2008 the European Commission took the initiative to establish a European Cluster Policy Group (ECPG) with a mandate to advise the Commission and Member States on how to better support the development of more world-class clusters in the EU.
Through an open call for applications, 20 high-level members with a diverse background and outstanding expertise were selected in March 2009 for a term of 18 months. The Group is chaired by Tea Petrin, former Minister of Economy in Slovenia and professor at the University of Ljubljana.
The objectives of the European Cluster Policy Group are as follows:
- to make recommendations on how to better design cluster policies in the Community;
- to assess international trends in cluster development;
- to identify future challenges for cluster policies in response to globalisation;
- to explore tools for the removal of existing barriers to transnational cluster cooperation;
- to analyse complementarities between the main Community level policies and the financial instruments that support clusters.
The Group is expected to deliver practical and concrete policy recommendations in its mid-term and final reports.
During the period April 2009 – September 2010 the Group will meet four times and it will conduct two study trips to explore how countries outside the EU are supporting the development of world-class clusters. The themes of the four meetings include: international cluster cooperation, the role of clusters in creating new industries (in the field of services), effectiveness of cluster policies, initiatives and cluster organisations, and synergies between community instruments in support of clusters.
Based on the discussions during these meetings the Group is expected to formulate 3-5 policy recommendations on each theme which will be handed over to the Commission by the end of the term in connection with a public conference scheduled to take place in September 2010.
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