(2010-09-03)
New Observatory website launches on 30 September
The European Cluster Observatory will launch a new website at the European Cluster Conference in
Brussels, 30 September, a knowledge platform for clusters and cluster policy.
The new Observatory website provides cluster stakeholders with a wide range of services.
- The Cluster Mapping tool gives access to an advanced data set on clusters and regions in Europe.
- In the Cluster Calendar, users can post information about events they want to promote to the cluster community.
- The Cluster Library is a European depository for all kinds of cluster-related documents, and users can contribute to the Library by adding their own documents.
- The Cluster Wiki presents information about regions, sectors, organisations and networks.
- The Classroom offers videos and other educational materials which give an introduction to clusters and cluster policy.
The Observatory will be closed for technical maintenance 28-29 September.
(2010-09-01)
ERRIN seminar: Innovation, Research and Design for Development, 7 Sept, Brussels, Belgium
ERRIN, the European Regions Research and Innovation Network, is organizing a seminar to discuss the state of play in the innovation for development debate, to showcase the initiatives and mechanisms put in place by individual regions in this field and to discuss collaboration opportunities in this domain for the future. More information and programme . More information about ERRIN. Please register as soon as possible if you are interested!
(2010-09-01)
New FP7 call "REGIONS of KNOWLEDGE 2011" for trans-national co-operation between
regional research driven cluster published
On 20 July 2010 the European Commission has published a new call for proposals under the programme "Regions of Knowledge" inviting trans-national consortia of regional research driven clusters in the domain of sustainable transport to submit proposals for co-ordination actions. The call is open until 9 December 2010 and has a total budget of 18.66 M€. For further information and downloading the call documents please click here.
(2010-08-25)
Europe INNOVA Conference 2010: Reshaping Europe - Addressing Societal Challenges through Entrepreneurship and Innovation, 27-29 October, Liege, Belgium
This Europe INNOVA Conference is being organised by the Belgian Presidency of the European Union and, in particular, the Region of Wallonia in close collaboration with the European Commission’s DG Enterprise and Industry. In the context of the Europe 2020 Strategy, the conference will address policy priorities for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth and reflect on how innovation can support the transition towards a resource efficient and competitive economy. The conference will bring together the Europe INNOVA Community and key innovation stakeholders from the worlds of politics, academia and business. Together they will discuss three key themes that are crucial if Europe is to respond to the societal challenges with which it is currently confronted:
- Unlocking Europe’s Creative Potential
- Greening Industries
- Supporting Innovative Entrepreneurship
More information is available here.
(2010-08-24)
The 6th annual Paris Region Innovation Tour, 13 December, Paris
The 6th annual Paris Region Innovation Tour will be held on 13 December 2010 at the Cité des Sciences et de l’Industrie in Paris. PRIT will be an occasion to exchange ideas on cooperation in Europe, to strengthen existing relationships and initiate international partnerships in the fields of digital technologies, NITC, the automotive and aeronautics sectors, financial innovation, mobility and sustainable cities. The 7 business clusters in the greater Paris region of Île-de-France : Systematic, Advancity, ASTech, Cap Digital Paris Région, Finance innovation, Medicen, Mov’eo, invite you to :
- Meet the European operators active
- Develop R&D projects with a European Dimension
- Discover the wealth of technology available in Paris Region
More information and newsletter.
(2010-08-16)
TCI’s 13th Annual Global Conference in Dehli
TCI, the global practitioners network for competitiveness, clusters and innovation, will hold its annual Conference in Delhi on 29 Nov to 3 Dec 2010. The conference is aimed at economic development officials, academics, policy makers, business people, consultants, investors, analysts, development agencies and anyone interested in competitiveness and economic and cluster development. More information is found on the conference website.
(2010-08-06)
Top-20 Library downloads for July at the Observatory
(2010-08-06)
Seminar on regional innovation in Brussels 14 Sep
The German Federal State of Bremen is organising a seminar on “Staying Competitive in a Changing World – Regional Innovation and Cohesion Policies in Present and Future”. The seminar will demonstrate different experiences and important factors to prove the successful support for regional innovation through regional development policies. More information here.
(2010-08-06)
US government invests in regional cluster initiatives
The U.S. Small Business Administration has announced the availability of funding to support economic development and job creation through existing regional clusters. As part of its Regional Cluster Initiative, SBA will accept proposals from local and regional cluster initiatives for funding of up to $600,000 per cluster to support up to 15 projects across the country.
(2010-07-26)
CENTRAL EUROPE Programme announces a cluster call
The CENTRAL EUROPE Programme has called for Expressions of Interest. One of the seven project concepts is “Boosting innovation through new cluster concepts in support of emerging issues and cross-sectoral themes”. Please find further information on the project concepts as well as all relevant documents for submission of the expression of interest to participate in one of the above mentioned project concepts here.
(2010-07-26)
Top-20 Library downloads for June at the Observatory
(2010-07-15)
Tomorrow's innovative industries: Workshop documentation published
The European Cluster Observatory and the Sector Innovation Watch held a workshop on "Tomorrow's innovative industries" on 11/12 May 2010. The conclusions the projects drew for their work and the workshop documentation is now published. Read more and download the documents.
(2010-07-14)
New issue of the Cluster Organisation Directory available
The latest issue of the quarterly Directory has now been released. It presents more than 1 300 cluster organisations in a single document. The organisations in the Directory are classified across regions and keywords with this version's addition of keywords accessible from the table of contents. All organisations and keywords have hyperlinks allowing for instant navigation between the sections of the document.
Download the Directory here.
(2010-07-13)
EU-India cluster event at the TCI’s 13th Annual Cluster Conference, 29 Nov-3 Dec, New Delhi, India
From November 29th to December 3rd 2010, the 13th TCI Annual Global Conference, organized in collaboration with the Institute for Competitiveness India and the Management Development Institute, will gather practitioners from Indian and global clusters to create an expansive discussion platform for the future of clusters. More information on the 13th Annual Cluster Conference.
The EU-India Cluster event will take place in Delhi on 1 December 2010 at the occasion of the TCI annual Global conference. The objective of the EU-India cluster event is to stimulate research, innovation and industrial cooperation between European and Indian clusters through increasing mutual awareness on cluster policies, development methods and management practices; Fostering cooperation between research, innovation and industrial clusters in Europe and in India; and facilitating in Europe and in India access to and contact with the appropriate stakeholders and understanding of their respective research, innovation and industrial environments. On the European side, the potential participants include clusters as such but also networks of clusters (thematic or geographic) as well as ETPs (European Technology Platforms) and KICs (European Knowledge Innovation Communities). More information about the EU-India Cluster event .
(2010-06-29)
The European Cluster Observatory held it’s 2nd Consortium meeting hosted by ZENIT
in Mülheim, Germany on June 21, 2010.
(2010-06-24)
The 2nd European Innovation Summit (EIS)
Knowledge4Innovation will arrange the 2nd European Innovation Summit (EIS)
planned for 11-14 October 2010, Brussels, BE. More information.
(2010-06-23)
The Regional Competitiveness Institute (USAID) presents their activities in
Southeast Europe (2010-06-10)
Cluster Library updated
You can now find a total of 200 cluster-related documents in the Library. (2010-06-09)
A new book on Emerging Clusters: Theoretical, Empirical and Political Perspectives on the Initial Stage
of Cluster Evolution has been released.
(2010-06-08)
Observatory initiator reaches the top
Dr. Reinhard Büscher, who in 2007 took the initiative to launch the European Cluster Observatory, has climbed Mount Everest. On 24 May he reached the summit at 8 850 meters. The Observatory congratulates!
(2010-06-03)
ECO Business Environment Workshop in Brussels
The workshop "Tomorrow's innovative industries: Regional and national specialization patterns and the role of the regional business environment", took place in Brussels on the 11th and 12th of May. It was attended by more than 60 academic experts in the fields of specialisation and regional competitiveness, European Commission representatives, and policy practitioners from cluster associations and regional development organisations. The workshop was jointly organised by the European Cluster Observatory and the Sectoral Innovation Watch, and featured the presentation of a proposed framework for benchmarking regional competitiveness within the European Cluster Observatory. Information about the workshop, including many of the presentations, can be found here.
(2010-06-02)
Top-20 Library downloads for May at the Observatory
(2010-06-01)
The Nordic Globalization Barometer 2010 is now available
Apart from tracking the global competitiveness of the region, this year’s report also provides a more in-depth analysis of the status and trends in corporate R&D activities in the Nordics, including the role that clusters play in this context. Please also see Christian Ketel’s presentation and a YouTube footage from the Nordic Globalisation forum 2010 where the report was presented.
(2010-05-25)
The International Marburg Conference on "Networking, Clusters and Local Knowledge Exchange"
June 15, 2010, Marburg, Germany
The conference brings together researchers and practitioners to discuss scientific knowledge and practical experience on how clusters and networks can be supported and organised. Bringing together leading experts from the academic sphere with cluster managers and policy-makers from governmental and international organisations the conference will present a unique opportunity to discuss the following questions:
- What are adequate tools to support clusters?
- What are the differences between supporting clusters and supporting networks in terms of policy-making?
- How can cluster organisations be managed best?
- How can the knowledge exchange within regions be improved?
The Conference is organized under the scientific chair of the Philipps-University Marburg in cooperation with the HA Hessen Agentur GmbH, TTN-Hessen and is supported by Eurodite, Dime and the Marburger Universitätsbund. Participation is free of cost. Read the invitation and more information.
(2010-05-24)
Press conference: Creative and Cultural Industries
On May 19 the European Cluster Observatory held a press conference presenting the priority sector report: Creative and Cultural Industries. Please download the main report here (The methodological appendix is here, and the main report with appendix included is here.)
(2010-05-19)
European Innovation Policy discussion group at LinkedIn
The "European Innovation Policy Group" at LinkedIn supports knowledge exchange, joint action and project partnerships between its members. Target groups are intermediaries, policy makers, but also researchers and innovation actors from the business sector.
Major tasks are regional innovation systems, innovation support, governance, financing, and the respective European programmes and projects. The membership is reserved for stakeholders in the European innovation system, with the motivation and capability to contribute actively to the discussion.
(2010-05-18)
The 7th Annual Conference of The Technopolicy Network
September 30 - October 1, Heidelberg, Germany
The conference will be held under the theme: Building a World-Class Knowledge Region and is organized in cooperation with BioRN Cluster Management GmbH, one of the first round winners of the Leading Edge Cluster Competition Germany, 2008. Registration is now open with an Early Bird discount before July 5. For more details, please see the First Announcement and the Annual Conference Website.
(2010-05-06)
MOBIP 2010: Partnering and Investment Event for Mobile Services
On 10-11 June 2010 Valencia will become a meeting point for SMEs, professional experts, corporations and venture capital investors to network, discuss strategies, investment opportunities and new business trends in the Mobile Value-Added Services industry. MOBIP 2010 spans two days and is focused on providing the different players within the mobile industry with an opportunity to join hands. The exhibitions, partnering workshops and discussions of the most up-to-date topics will be used to provide a conducive environment for the different players in the mobile industry. For more information and registration click here . Download press release.
(2010-05-06)
European Cluster Conference 2010: "World-Class Clusters Renewing European Industry"
29 September - 1 October 2010, Brussels, Belgium
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. During the conference, the high-level European Cluster Policy Group will present its final policy recommendations. The workshop of the European Cluster Alliance and roundtables will give national and regional authorities the opportunity to discuss specific actions of cluster policies and cases of specific sectors. The pre-conference day will bring practitioners together interested in the further professionalisation of their cluster support activities and finding international partners during the first European Club of Cluster Managers. Moreover, participants will have the opportunity to test among the first the new Knowledge and Collaboration Platform of the European Cluster Observatory. Click here for more information. Information and registration will be avaliable here.
(2010-05-04)
Cluster Library updated
44 new documents added which means that you can now find a total of 193 cluster-related documents in the Library. (2010-05-04)
Top-20 Library downloads for April at the Observatory
(2010-05-04)
Report and book launch on Creative and Cultural Industries
Welcome to a report and book launch on Creative and Cultural Industries on Wednesday, May 19, at 9.00-10.30 am at the Stockholm School of Economics, Stockholm, Sweden.
The European Cluster Observatory present the second in a series of priority sector reports, which analyse clusters in sectors of special importance to the future of the European economy. The new study details the creative and cultural industries’ status in 250 regions and shows where the industries’ 6.5 million employees are clustered. The authors, Professor Dominic Power (Uppsala University) and senior analyst Tobias Nielsén (Volante), will at the same time launch their new book Creative Business: 10 rules to help you build a business your way (more information).
Download the press release
(2010-05-03)
The pre-registration for the Europe INNOVA Annual Partnering Event 2010 has been launched
This year, Europe INNOVA is combining forces with the EPISIS INNO-Net to organise a joint conference which will focus on the theme of ‘Services innovation as a catalyst for the Europe 2020 strategy.’ This joint event will take place from 14 to 16 June in Copenhagen, Denmark.
On the first day, 15 June, high-level policy makers from the EPISIS partner organisations will set out their national services innovation strategies and the conference will also debate the role of services innovation in tackling societal challenges. The second day, 16 June, will take a more practical view discussing, in the framework of Europe INNOVA, which new business support services are needed to promote services innovation in support of the Europe 2020 Strategy. The event is expected to attract some 200 innovation stakeholders and, in particular, national and regional policy makers, representatives of service industries and innovation support providers.
More information about the event is available here. To pre-register for this joint event click here. The official registration will start in May and further information on the event will be available in the coming weeks. Should you need further information, please do not hesitate to contact us at europe-innova(at)logotech.gr
(2010-04-29)
The Observatory proudly announces the first Mediterranean Observatory Newsletter
The newsletter is produced by the Observatory consortium member Fondation Sophia Antipolis and is divided into three main parts: presentation of the project, a focus on the Euromed countries, and on upcoming events. Since the newsletter focuses on the Mediterranean countries you will find the text both in English and in French.
(2010-04-22)
The Mediterranean Observatory Newsletter
New features: Now you can see last month's top-20 library downloads at the Observatory
(2010-04-20)
Request for quotation announced for website development
The Center for Strategy and Competitiveness and the European Cluster Observatory has announced for bidding the development of the new www.clusterobservatory.eu website. The RFQ requests the development of a new more interactive and more community oriented website to replace the current Cluster Observatory website.
The new Cluster Observatory website will leverage the latest in interactive web technology and the most current statistical data to provide an intuitive and user friendly interface. The website will display cluster and region data in interactive tables, on Google Maps, or as an animated time series on Google Motion Chart. The new user-driven aspects will include user-uploaded documents, comments and wiki style collaboration to build a comprehensive Knowledge Platform for clusters in Europe.
Bidders are invited to read the RFQ at Elance.com, under the title ”Interactive Website RFQ” .
(Please note: the Collaboration Platform is developed separately and is not part of this RFQ.)
(2010-04-15)
Services innovation as a catalyst for the Europe 2020 Strategy - Joint event of the EPISIS INNO-Net and the Europe INNOVA Annual Partnering Event, June 14-16, Copenhagen, Denmark
Since 2006, the Europe INNOVA Annual Partnering Event has been the main opportunity that Europe INNOVA projects have had for networking. This year, Europe INNOVA is combining forces with the EPISIS INNO-Net to organise a joint gathering which will focus on the theme of ‘Services innovation as a catalyst for the Europe 2020 strategy‘. The bringing together of the actions and projects of PRO INNO Europe® and Europe INNOVA will help to clarify the links between the overarching level of policy and the various levels of implementation, and to identify synergies and complementarities. In this way, participants should gain a coherent overview of all on-going activities in the field of innovation. The event is expected to attract some 200 innovation stakeholders and, in particular, national and regional policy-makers, representatives of services industries and innovation support providers. More information is available here. To pre-register click here.
(2010-04-12)
Reshaping Europe - Addressing Societal Challenges through Entrepreneurship and Innovation, Europe INNOVA Conference 2010, 27-29 October, Liege, Belgium
This Europe INNOVA Conference is being organised by the Belgian Presidency of the European Union and, in particular, the Region of Wallonia in close collaboration with the European Commission’s DG Enterprise and Industry. In the context of the Europe 2020 Strategy, the conference will address policy priorities for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth and reflect on how innovation can support the transition towards a resource efficient and competitive economy. The conference will bring together the Europe INNOVA Community and key innovation stakeholders from the worlds of politics, academia and business. Together they will discuss three key themes that are crucial if Europe is to respond to the societal challenges with which it is currently confronted:
- Unlocking Europe’s Creative Potential
- Greening Industries
- Supporting Innovative Entrepreneurship
More information is available here. To pre-register for the Europe INNOVA Conference 2010 click here.
(2010-04-12)
User Expectation Survey Report on Clusters
The European Cluster Observatory and the European Cluster Excellence Initiative are happy to share the results of a new survey. The survey covers the results related to the identification of the needs of cluster organisations from an on-line collaboration platform as well as from a European Club of Cluster Managers. The organizers Clusterland Upper Austria and ZENIT GmbH would like to warmly thank the cluster community for their active promotion and support provided within a very short period of time and contributing as such to making the survey probably the largest one in Europe for cluster organisations. Download the report here.
(2010-04-06)
New video series ”ON CLUSTERS” released by the European Cluster Observatory
CSC has launched a new video series “ON CLUSTERS” at the Cluster Observatory. “This series of three programs covers the most important aspects of cluster dynamics, cluster policy and management of cluster organisations”, says program host Professor Örjan Sölvell. The series features a range of cluster experts, including Dr Christian Ketels, Dr Göran Lindqvist, Ifor Ffowcs-Williams and many others. In addition to the video series, the European Cluster Observatory also offers the accompanying free book – “Clusters: Balancing Evolutionary and Constructive Forces”, also known as the “Redbook” – which can be downloaded together with the program series. The series will also be available on a DVD, which can be ordered free of charge. The free video series can be viewed at the Observatory’s Classroom, which is part of the recent “facelift” of the Observatory website. Download press release.
(2010-03-31)
1st Darmstadt TCI Cluster Conference from 15-16 April 2010
TCI German Contact Point: Exploring the benefits of clusters. Under the patronage of the TCI German Contact Point, the Hessenmetall Cluster-Initiative is organising the 1st Darmstadt TCI Cluster Conference from 15-16 April 2010. TCI is the global practitioners network for cluster, competitiveness and innovation. The conference provides companies, politicians, cluster-managers and scientists with an interactive forum to discuss their individual requirements of the use and increasing measurable benefits a cluster initiative should provide.
For several years now, the cluster concept is booming in Germany and Europe. Politics and commerce started many cluster initiatives. However there is still a lack of understanding regarding the various stakeholders' expectations and demands of the cluster initiative. Not only the future of the solely private financed cluster initiatives will depend more and more on measurable benefits.
Subjects of the 1st Darmstadt TCI Cluster-Conference are:
-Stakeholders and their expectations on a cluster initiative
-Evaluation and Controlling of clusters and cluster initiatives
-Social Media's contribution for cluster co-operations.
If you are interested in more detailed information on the 1st Darmstadt TCI Cluster Conference please visit www.tci-network.de or contact Dr. Alexander Bode, Hessenmetall Cluster-Initiative, bode@cluster-initiative.de. Please note: The conference language is German.
(2010-03-24)
Observatory website gets a facelift
In preparation for the major overhaul that the Observatory will go through later, the current website has been given a facelift, introducing new colours and an improved user interface in the mapping tool. However, the facelift is just a warm-up: the main changes will come in Autumn 2010.
(2010-03-19)
New report on Creative and Cultural Industries
The Cluster Observatory presents the second in a series of priority sector reports, which will analyse clusters in sectors of special interest. This report covers Creative and Cultural Industries , a sector that employs about 6.5 million people in Europe. A first draft was presented by professor Dominic Power at an expert workshop in Amsterdam, 4-5 February 2010.
Please download the main report here (The methodological appendix is here, and the main report with appendix included is here.)
An earlier report on Knowledge Intensive Business Services can be found here.
(2010-03-17)
Observatory user surveys
From November to January, the Observatory carried out a series of user surveys to study what functions and services Observatory users would find useful. Three surveys were aimed at cluster organisations, at regional government, and at national government. The reports for two of these are now completed and you can read them here:
Regional government user survey report
National government user survey report
We would like thank all respondents who took the time to fill in the questionnaire and provide input for an extended and improved Observatory.
(2010-03-15)
Joint workshop of the Sectoral Innovation Watch and the European Cluster Observatory
Planning is currently underway for this joint project workshop, which will take place in Brussels, Belgium, on 11th and 12th May 2010. The workshop is an opportunity for experts associated with both projects, alongside external experts working on similar questions in other contexts, to meet and discuss the challenges of understanding, measuring and developing policy towards innovation, clusters and competitiveness in Europe.
(2010-03-15)
New Observatory team member
Dr. Susana Franco joined Orkestra last week to work on the Cluster Observatory project, and specifically on the development of the regional competitiveness analysis. Susana is from Baracaldo, near Bilbao, and has a PhD from the University of Nottingham. She brings to the Observatory an interesting range of experience, having worked on data- and index- oriented projects at the UNDP and Oxford University, among other places. We wish her a very warm welcome to the project team!
(2010-03-11)
International Conference “Boosting Regional Competitiveness through Cluster Initiatives”
On 23 April 2010 the International Conference “Boosting Regional Competitiveness through Cluster Initiatives” will take place in Fribourg/Switzerland.
The aim of the conference is to identify and explore the mechanisms of cluster initiatives. The conference, which will offer the opportunity of gathering the MOC Harvard Business School affiliates members, will be attended by academics, cluster managers, economic and investment promotion leaders, business CEOs as well as government representatives at the national level and at the regional level.
The keynote speakers at this event will be:
- Joseph Deiss, Former President of Switzerland and Former Minister of Economy
- Christian Ketels, Principal Associate, Institute for Strategy and Competitiveness, Harvard Business School
- Örjan Sölvell, Director of the Center for Strategy and Competitiveness, Stockholm School of Economics
- Ambassador Eric Scheidegger, Deputy Director, Head of the Promotion Activities Directorate, State
Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO)
The sessions will be dedicated to cluster initiatives and cluster management issues. Specialists coming from several European countries will present contributions (Germany, France, Italy, Austria, Sweden, Switzerland, etc.).
Please find the conference programme and further information in the invitation below and on the conference website:
Download the invitation here.
(2010-03-08)
Third Cluster Academy in Linz
Clusterland Upper Austria organizes the 3rd Cluster Academy in Linz from 20-22 April 2010. The 3-day workshop gives a detailed insight in our cluster management operations, covering areas of knowledge like initiation and support of cooperation projects, information management, qualification and event management, marketing&PR, internationalisation. A particular attention will be given this year to the financing mix, important to ensure a sound self-financing ratio of the cluster organisations, as well as to the evaluation and measuring tools of the cluster organisation performance. This year's academy will also include direct visits to cluster companies (Softwarepark Hagenberg, Rosenbauer International) to find out more about their motivation of being active in a cluster and what benefits they get from that.
More information can be found here.
(2010-02-22)
2010 TII Conference
The 2010 TII Conference “Innovation 3.0 – Challenges, Needs and Skills of the New Innovation Era“ will be held in Düsseldorf/Germany end of April. Organised by TII, Europe's premier independent association of technology transfer and innovation support professionals, and hosted by innowise and ZENIT (European Cluster Observatory consortium), the conference brings together future-minded practitioners and thought leaders from industry, clusters, technology transfer and innovation management as well as political stakeholders.
TII is looking for contributions for the conference; deadline for proposals is the 8th February 2010 (maximum 1 A4 page).
(Programme with the Call for Contributions and suggested themes can be found here.)
(2010-01-12)
Second user survey released
On 14 December, the Observatory's second round of user surveys is released. This time, it is government and academia who have a chance to give their input on what services the Observatory will be providing. If you would like to participate, please contact goran.lindqvist (at) hhs.se, for a survey invitation. (2009-12-13)
Clusters in Europe II - cluster conference
The conference will discuss the European cluster development practice and will give a worldwide overview, as well. The main objective of the conference is to share the different local challenges and responses of the national cluster policies regarding the economic crisis. In addition to the representatives of the European Commission, speakers from the following countries will share their experience: UK, Germany, Czech Republic, China, Greece, Japan, Russian Federation among others. More info here. (2009-12-08)
Great survey response from the cluster community
The response to the joint survey carried out by the European Cluster Observatory and cluster-excellence.eu exceeded even ambitious expectations: within less than one month the cluster community was highly mobilised and almost 300 responses were collected from all over Europe. Since the estimated number of cluster organisations in Europe identified by the European Cluster Observatory lies at 1150, the current response quote of approx. 26% shows the genuine interest of the future users in shaping the online collaboration platform and the cluster managers club, we extended the deadline to December 11th. All the results of the survey will be summarized in a report that will be published, as well as sent directly to each individual participant at the survey. We thank all participants for their interest and active contribution! (2009-12-07)
Showcase your cluster documents on the Observatory
The Observatory is in the process of extending the Cluster Library function, where you can find interesting reports on all things cluster: cluster policy reports, cluster cases, regional reports about clusters, and so on. Do you have a cluster-related report or document you would like the cluster world to read? Please send it to us, and we will make it avaliable through the Cluster Library.
Please send PDF documents you wish to publish on the Observatory to:
Goran.Lindqvist (at) hhs.se
Q4 issue of the Cluster Organisation Directory available
The latest issue of the quarterly Directory has now been released. It presents more than 1.100 cluster organisations in a single document. The organisations in the Directory are classified across regions and keywords. All organisations and keywords have hyperlinks allowing for instant navigation between the sections of the document. You can download the Directory here. (2009-11-17)
Kick-off for the Observatory consortium
In late October 2009, the six partners behind the European Cluster Observatory met in Linz for a kick-off, marking the the starting point for the next three years of developing the Cluster Observatory. During 2009-2012 the Observatory will provide additional tools and services for analysis and collaboration for clusters, cluster organisations and their members.
The Center for Strategy and Competitiveness continues as the coordinator for the Observatory, and the other partners include Ivory Tower, Orkestra, Clusterland, ZENIT and Fondation Sophia Antipolis. For more information about the consortium, see "About the Observatory" in the menu, or click here. (2009-11-10)
Europewide Cluster Organisations User Survey
The European Cluster Observatory and Cluster-Excellence.eu seek support of Cluster Managers
The European Commission launched a number of cluster related projects and initiatives aiming at strengthening cluster policies within Europe and improving the efficiency of existing efforts in cluster management, as well as fostering international cluster cooperation. The European Cluster Observatory and Cluster-Excellence.eu - the European Cluster Excellence Initiative constitute two central pillars within this approach.
The European Cluster Observatory will offer an online collaboration platform for cluster organisations and their members enabling them to get easily in contact, to find a wide range of sectoral information, to find cooperation partners and to benchmark their performance within a virtual marketplace.
The Cluster-Excellence.eu project will develop a European Club of Cluster Managers that will have its contact point on the collaboration platform of the European Cluster Observatory.
In order to develop a user-oriented collaboration platform and a European Club of Cluster Managers based on your real needs and interests, cluster managers are kindly asked to give their feedback on their expectations by filling in this questionnaire before 30 November 2009.
For questions, please contact:
Lucia.Seel(at)clusterland.at
Please download the survey form here.
Please return your feedback either to the email address above or by fax to the number: +43 732 79810-5110 (2009-11-09)
European Cluster Observatory: the first 3 years
The new publication "EU Cluster Mapping and Strengthening Clusters in Europe" presents the main findings, results and achievements of the first 3 years of research and work of the European Cluster Observatory. The Observatory has provided, for the first time, a quantitative analysis of European clusters based on a fully comparable and consistent methodology across all EU countries. The rich data on clusters generated in this project laid the foundation for improving the general knowledge about the nature and role of clusters for policy-makers. Its success is also shown by the fact that since its launch, it has tripled the number of users on its web platform to reach some 4,000 unique visitors per month. The Observatory also supported the birth of the European Cluster Memorandum, signed by a large number of cluster organisations across Europe. (2009-09-16)
- Cluster Organisation Directory
The Directory is the new quarterly report presenting the Observatory database of more than 1.100 cluster organisations, including nearly 200 Observatory members, in a single document. The organisations in the Directory are classified across regions and keywords. All organisations and keywords have hyperlinks allowing for instant navigation between the sections of the document. (2009-08-01)
Disentangling Clusters
In this doctoral dissertation, Goran Lindqvist presents theoretical, methodological and empirical contributions to the study of clusters and cluster organisations. (2009-06-12)
Knowledge Intensive Business Services
This is a Priority Sector Report, dealing with Konwledge Intensive Business Services (KIBS) in Europe. It presents data on the location of KIBS employment in Europe as well as how KIBS relate to regional innovation and prosperity. (2009-03-01)
Clusters: Balancing Evolutionary and Constructive Forces
A book for cluster policy makers and practitioners written by Prof Orjan Solvell has been released and is available for download. (2009-02-16)