Best shared services for regional cluster inititative needs

Programme 2007 - 2013 Interreg IVC

Date of latest update: 2025-06-21

Description

Description (EN):

Throughout Europe, clustering of companies and R&D organisations is acknowledged as an effective tool for regional development. There are hundreds of cluster initiatives in existence aiming to foster innovation and internationalisation of companies using collective actions. Cluster initiatives are mainly closely tied to national, regional or local development or innovation agencies but they are also sometimes linked to specific networking bodies. The way in which links are set up and managed can vary widely from one region to the other. However, two facts appear to be significant. Firstly, over the past few years an increasing number of cluster initiatives (CIs) have been set up. Each Development Agency (DA) is now linked to cluster initiatives. Secondly, they all provide - or are in a position to provide - some value added services to clusters. The flipside is that almost all CI managers face challenges when attempting to fully exploit the potential of their respective cluster. The POOLING4CLUSTERS (Best shared services for regional cluster initiative needs) project will focus on the links between DAs and CIs in their environment. To be more precise, the project will analyse and share experiences regarding value added services provided by DAs in order to help CIs to be more efficient and to boost their contribution to the success of regional development objectives. Attention will be specifically focused on the transferability potential of mutual value added services (i.e. services which appear to be pertinent to a majority of the CIs with some ties to a DA). By producing recommendations plans to their respective regional authorities, the project will therefore contribute to the improvement of cluster support regional policies but will also achieve steps towards interregional platforms of services provided by DAs to the CIs in their environment. The POOLING4CLUSTERS partnership comprises of seven partners – BE, EE, FR, SI, DE, GR and MT - and is led by the Economic Office of the Province of Namur (BEP). In the field of clustering, all partners are working together with their regional authorities on fostering innovation and internationalisation of companies via the development of CIs. Together, they will exchange different levels of experience in different regional situations in order to mutually identify good practices using a common analysis methodology, analyse the transferability of said good practices to other regions, evaluate the quality of results obtained, and propose recommendation plans to regional authorities in order to improve cluster support policies. POOLING4CLUSTERS project results will be disseminated throughout Europe by means of a final conference in Sophia-Antipolis as well as several press releases and extensive dissemination of leaflets and reports generated by the project.

Achievements (EN):

The Pooling4Clusters partnership comprises of seven partners - BE, FR, GR, EE, SI, DE and MT - and is led by the Economic Office of the Province of Namur (BEP). In the field of clustering, all partners are working together with their regional authorities on fostering innovation and internationalisation of companies via the development of CIs. Together, they exchange different levels of experience in different regional situations in order to mutually identify good practices. Since the beginning of the project, they agreed ing a common methodology to collect services offered by cluster initiatives and development agencies. On that basis, partners begun to collect data in their respective regions. The second step was about the methodology of ranking services from each partner region (on average 20 per partner) in order to find services with the best added values for the field test. The third step was also really important: definition of what is a good practice has been defined by partners. From this definition partners presented the 15th good practices found and how to test them (concrete implementation or workshop). Each partner picked min 2 practices in order to test in their region. Practices have been chosen by partners following their needs in their region, so, the practice tested can also be adjusted to the needs of partners and their regions. Partners have begun their field testing in their respective regions. In this context, we disseminate the project and the first results of the practices found througheuropean events. Technical worksops are also really beneficial for the project because we are now able to broadcast few information about the results to clusters initiatives and enterprises.

Thematic information

Clustering and economic cooperation SME and entrepreneurship

Partners (7)

Lead Partner: Bureau économique de la Province de Namur

Address: Av. Sergent Vrithoff, 2, 5000 Namur, Belgium

Legal status: n/a

Wirtschaftsförderung Region Stuttgart GmbH (WRS)

Name: Wirtschaftsförderung Region Stuttgart GmbH (WRS)

Address: Friedrichstr. 10, 70174 Stuttgard, Germany

Legal status: n/a

Tartu Teaduspark (TSP)

Name: Tartu Teaduspark (TSP)

Address: Riia 185, 51014 Tartu, Estonia

Legal status: n/a

“Corallia” - Ελληνική Πρωτοβουλία Τεχνολογικών Συνεργατικών Σχηματισμών / "Αθηνά" Ερευνητικό και Τεχνολογικό Κέντρο

Name: “Corallia” - Ελληνική Πρωτοβουλία Τεχνολογικών Συνεργατικών Σχηματισμών / "Αθηνά" Ερευνητικό και Τεχνολογικό Κέντρο

Address: Sorou 12, 15125 Maroussi, Greece

Legal status: n/a

Malta Information Technology Agency (MITA)

Name: Malta Information Technology Agency (MITA)

Address: MITA, Gattard House, National Road, HMR 9010 Blata, Malta

Legal status: n/a

BSC, Poslovno podporni center d.o.o. ,Kranj

Name: BSC, Poslovno podporni center d.o.o. ,Kranj

Address: Cesta Staneta Žagarja 37, 4000 Kranj, Slovenia

Legal status: n/a

Fondation Sophia Antipolis (FSA)

Name: Fondation Sophia Antipolis (FSA)

Address: Place Sophie Laffitte, PO Box 217, 6904 Sophia Antipolis, France

Legal status: n/a

Partners map

Partners and Projects info

Wirtschaftsförderung Region Stuttgart GmbH (WRS)

Best shared services for regional cluster inititative needs

Partners and Projects info

Tartu Science Park

Best shared services for regional cluster inititative needs

Partners and Projects info

Best shared services for regional cluster inititative needs

Partners and Projects info

Malta Information Technology Agency (MITA)

Best shared services for regional cluster inititative needs

Partners and Projects info

BSC, Business support centre Ltd, Kranj

Best shared services for regional cluster inititative needs

Partners and Projects info

Economic Office of the Province of Namur

Best shared services for regional cluster inititative needs

Partners and Projects info

Sophia Antipolis Foundation

Best shared services for regional cluster inititative needs

Lead partner

Project partner

Summary

Project name (EN): Best shared services for regional cluster inititative needs

Project acronym: POOLING4CLUSTERS

Project start date: 2010-01-01

Project end date: 2012-12-31

Project status: closed

Total budget/expenditure: EUR 1 456 216.69

Total EU funding (amount): EUR 1 160 543.62

Co-financing sources:

Information regarding the data in keep.eu on the programme financing this project

Financing programme

2007 - 2013 Interreg IVC

Last month that data in keep.eu was retrieved from the Programme's website or received from the Programme

2015-09-01

No. of projects in keep.eu / Total no. of projects (% of projects in keep.eu)

204 / 204 (100%)

No. of project partnerships in keep.eu / Total no. of project partnerships (% of project partnerships in keep.eu)

2 250 / 2 250 (100%)

Notes on the data

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Best shared services for regional cluster inititative needs

Description

Thematic information

Partners (7)

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Summary

Information regarding the data in keep.eu on the programme financing this project

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