guidelines on establishing, managing, sustaining and...

BLACK SEA HORIZON

D4.1: Guidelines on establishing, managing, sustaining and internationalising industrial clusters 1

Guidelines on establishing, managing, sustaining and internationalising

industrial clusters

Project Acronym: BSH

Project full title: BLACK SEA HORIZON

Project No: H2020-INT-INCO-2014

Funding Scheme: Horizon 2020

Coordinator: ZSI GmbH – Centre for Social Innovation

Project start date: February 1, 2015

Project duration: 36 months

Abstract

The report aims to analyse Industrial Clusters at the EU Level and

countries associated to Horizon 2020. It develops and presents a set

of guidelines for establishing, managing, sustaining and

internationalising industrial based clusters from the Black Sea region.

The report is developed through desk research and interviews with

industrial based cluster managers. Concrete examples of successful

cluster initiatives are provided. The project team also developed a set

of recommendations on how to establish feasible models of research

and industry clusters in the Black Sea region.

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DOCUMENT CONTROL SHEET

Title of Document D4.1: Guidelines on establishing, managing, sustaining and internationalising industrial clusters

Work Package WP4 – Increasing Innovation Cooperation

Last version date 18.12.2017

Status Final

Document Version: V5

File Name Guidelines Report_BLACKSEA-HORIZON.doc

Dissemination Level External

Partner Responsible SPI

VERSIONING AND CONTRIBUTION HISTORY

Version Date Revision Description Partner responsible

v.1 02/02/2017 Draft version SPI

v.1.1 09/02/2017 Revision of the draft version Inno

v.2 15/02/2017 Version developed for the event in Kiev

SPI

v.3 17/05/2017 Revision of v.2 according to the inputs received during the Kiev Event

SPI

v.3.1 22/05/2017 New reviews and inputs Inno

v.3.2 23/05/2017 New reviews and inputs NASU

v.4 04/10/2017 New version revised SPI

v.5 18/12/2017 Final version SPI

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Contents

TABLE OF CONTENTS ............................................................................................. 3

TABLES ..................................................................................................................... 4

FIGURES .................................................................................................................... 4

ABBREVIATIONS ...................................................................................................... 5

1. INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................... 6

1.1. Specific Objective and Value Proposition .................................................... 6

1.2. Methodology ................................................................................................ 7

2. PROPOSED GUIDELINES FOR RESEARCH BASED INDUSTRIAL

CLUSTERS ................................................................................................................ 9

2.1. Establishment of Cluster Management Organisations ............................... 12

2.2. Sustainability of Cluster Management Organisations ................................ 23

2.3. Internationalisation of Cluster Management Organisations ....................... 38

3. CONCLUSIONS .............................................................................................. 51

ANNEX I – GOOD PRACTICES OF INDUSTRIAL CLUSTERS .............................. 53

ANNEX II – NATIONAL CLUSTER POLICIES IN THE BLACK SEA REGION ...... 74

REFERENCES ......................................................................................................... 76

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TABLES

Table 1 – Assessment of Good Practice Research Based Industrial Clusters at the EU Level .... 54

Table 2 – Industrial Cluster Srednogorie ....................................................................................... 55

Table 3 – AgroTransilvania Cluster ................................................................................................ 57

Table 4 – ID4Car ............................................................................................................................ 59

Table 5 – Silicon Saxony e. V. ....................................................................................................... 61

Table 6 – Pharmaceutical Cluster of Kaluga Region ..................................................................... 63

Table 7 – Good Practice Examples among Industrial Clusters at countries associated to Horizon

2020 ................................................................................................................................................ 65

Table 8 – TAYSAD - Association of Automotive Parts & Components Manufacturers ................. 66

Table 9 – Lviv IT Cluster ................................................................................................................ 68

Table 10 – Blue Maritime Cluster ................................................................................................... 70

Table 11 – Iceland Geothermal ...................................................................................................... 72

FIGURES

Figure 1 – Guidelines for Research Based Industrial Clusters ...................................................... 11

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ABBREVIATIONS

BSEC – Black Sea Economic Cooperation

BSH – Black Sea Horizon

EC – European Commission

ECCP – European Cluster Collaboration Platform

ECEI – European Cluster Excellence Initiative

EEN – Enterprise Europe Network

ERRIN – European Regions Research and Innovation Network

ESCP – European Strategic Cluster Partnership

EU – European Union

H2020 – Horizon 2020 Programme

ICT – Information and Communications Technology

RDI – Research, Development and Innovation

STI – Science, Technology and Innovation

SLA – Service Level Agreements

SMEs – Small and Medium Enterprises

SPO – State Planning Organisation

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1. Introduction

This document is part of the Black Sea Horizon (BSH) - Enhanced bi-regional STI

cooperation between the EU and the Black Sea region project, funded by the European

Commission (EC) under the Horizon 2020 Programme. It presents a set of produced

guidelines on establishing, sustaining and internationalising industrial clusters, which

forms Deliverable 4.1 belonging to Work Package 4 (WP4) – “Increasing Innovation

Cooperation”.

The report aims to develop a set of guidelines for establishing, sustaining and

internationalising industrial clusters. This is complemented by an analysis of some

research-based industrial clusters at the EU level and in countries associated to

Horizon 2020, available in Annex I. In addition, an analysis on the national cluster

policies in the Black Sea region is provided in Annex II.

The BSH project aims to support the EU’s external relations with the target region by

significantly contributing to the ongoing bi-regional and regional Science, Technology

and Innovation (STI) policy dialogues, and by increasing the knowledge base about

the EU’s external environment. It also intends to increase the understanding of cluster

policies and cluster management actions, develop direct business contacts established

between cluster managers from the EU and the non-EU Black Sea countries, and raise

awareness on the advantages of inclusive, sustainable and social innovation. This

report will incorporate these goals, providing concrete examples of successful research

based industrial cluster initiatives, as well as a set of recommendations on how to

establish feasible models of research and industrial clusters in the Black Sea region.

1.1. Specific Objective and Value Proposition

The report aims to support the development of capabilities of research based industrial

clusters from the Black Sea region, providing relevant guidelines for enabling clusters’

capacity for establishing, sustaining and internationalising these industrial clusters. In

particular, it is expected that the report will provide relevant information for facilitating

internationalisation opportunities for the research based industrial clusters from the

region.

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In this sense, the Guidelines Report (D4.1) defines a set of main instruments and

mechanisms for effective and sustainable development of research based industrial

clusters in the Black Sea region, providing recommendations for enhancing their

performance and results. Thus, the main specific objectives are as follows:

• Support cluster organisations on how to establish, sustain and

internationalise industrial clusters in the Black Sea region;

• Provide examples of success cases of research based industrial clusters in

the Black Sea region;

• Develop good practice examples of successful research based industrial

clusters from other countries in the EU (apart from the Black Sea region);

• Encourage interactions and networking between clusters and other relevant

organisations.

1.2. Methodology

The methodology is based on the analysis of previous and current projects that focus

on supporting cluster cooperation (namely the European Cluster Collaboration

Platform – ECCP1). The report’s guidelines were also verified and discussed during a

seminar organised in Kiev on the 15th of February 2017. A total of 80 people attended

the seminar, covering countries such as Ukraine, Armenia, Moldova, Bulgaria,

Romania and Hungary. The participants included cluster managers from the Black Sea

region that were involved in discussing a draft version of the guidelines developed. It

is also relevant to highlight that the Guidelines are useful to provide support to cluster

management organisations – organisations that represent the cluster and its members.

The target group of this report are the cluster management organisations of research

based industrial clusters from the Black Sea region, research and innovation actors

and organisations such as companies, universities, research institutes, among others.

This target group was selected in order to generate a knowledge-based development

in the Black Sea region and encourage a close cooperation between research and

innovation entities.

Relevant definitions:

1 https://www.clustercollaboration.eu/

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Cluster: "A cluster is a geographical proximate group of interconnected

companies and associated institutions in a particular field, linked by

commonalities and externalities" (Porter, On Competition, 2008).

Cluster manager: “The planning, management, and information infrastructures

are coordinated by a single focal point in the form of the Cluster Manager,

through whom discussion and subsequent decision-making is channelled”

(Scheer & Zallinger, 2007).

Cluster organisations: “Specialised institutions, known as cluster

organisations, which take various forms, ranging from non-profit associations,

through public agencies to companies." (EC Communication, 2008).

Industrial cluster: Industrial clusters are groups of companies and institutions

co-located in a specific geographic region and linked by interdependencies that

aim to have an impact on economic performance through knowledge transfer

(Porter, 1990).

Research based industrial cluster: Taking into consideration the definitions

above, research based industrial clusters are considered as industrial clusters

that actively include research oriented members, are active in their participation

in national or international funding projects related to research or promote

technology transfer actions.

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2. Proposed Guidelines for Research Based Industrial Clusters

This section proposes the set of guidelines on how to establish, sustain and

internationalise research based industrial cluster organisations in the Black Sea region.

These guidelines are developed through desk research, namely the guidelines from

cluster management excellence, as well as supported by the analysis developed on

industrial clusters good practices – available in Annex I. The guidelines are built taking

into consideration the inputs received by the project team during the event in Kiev

organised under the Black Sea Horizon Project on Clusters Managers Seminar, where

a draft version of the guidelines was presented.

The section provides specific recommendations for organisations that manage

research based industrial clusters regarding the development process as well as

available methods that can be used in the establishment of the cluster, sustainability

of the cluster and internationalisation of the cluster. In addition, these guidelines are

developed by considering past studies and reports that are deemed relevant and useful

for this report. In particular, it is important to highlight the following studies and reports:

“Let’s make a perfect Cluster Policy and Cluster Programme / Smart

Recommendations for Policy Makers”, Thomas A. Christensen, Thomas

Lämmer-Gamp, Gerd Meier zu Köcker, 2012;

“Cluster Management Guide – Guidelines for the Development and

Management of Cluster Initiatives (CLOE)”, Günter Scheer, Lucas von Zallinger,

2007;

“Overview of cluster benchmarking indicators – Cluster Management and

Governance/Strategy of the Cluster Organisation”, ESCA;

“New Approaches to Improve the Performance of Cluster Management

Organisations in Europe (ESCA)”, Helmut Kergel, Gerd Meier zu Köcker,

Michael Nerger, 2014.

In the “Let’s make a perfect Cluster Policy and Cluster Programme / Smart

Recommendations for Policy Makers” report, it is stated that there are three main

advantages of having cluster management organisations. First, cluster management

organisations can facilitate collaboration between the cluster participants and other

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players (e.g. other clusters) for the benefit of joint projects. Second, being well-

connected with cluster participants and policy makers can serve as a node for both in

terms of communicating development needs and identifying corresponding remedial

measures. Lastly, the report also noted that the cluster management organisation can

trigger a certain behaviour of a cluster participant by providing information, offering

services and implementing corresponding activities, and thus having an effect on the

cluster participant which reflects in the development of the cluster as such.

The CLOE report outlines the set-up process of a cluster activity that includes the

following tasks:

Pre-analysis for background information – feasibility study;

Preparation of framework and internal organisation;

Financing;

Launching of the cluster initiative.

The report also features the main tasks for the management of cluster activities can

be divided into; (1) Information and Communication, (2) Training and Qualification; (3)

Co-operations; (4) Marketing and PR; and (5) Internationalisation.

The ESCA report on the overview of cluster benchmarking indicators, highlights the

following: there should be a clear definition of the roles of the cluster manager /

implementation of a governing body; assess the number of cluster members per

employee (full-time equivalents) of the cluster organisation; promote human resource

competences and development in the cluster organisation; define strategic planning

and implementation processes; understand the thematic and geographical priorities of

the cluster strategy.

In terms of the ESCA on new approaches to improve the performance of cluster

management organisations, some of the relevant information taking into consideration

the development of the guidelines, relates with the fact that the implementation

agencies must build up a trustful communication with the cluster management

organisations, training and support services have to be considered voluntary for the

cluster managers, training measures have to be of high quality, tailor-made and

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demand-oriented and there has to be a continuous process of identifying support

services, in order to identify future demands.

Taking this information into consideration, the Deliverable proposes a set of guidelines

for each stage of the Cluster Management organisation activity as detailed in the figure

below:

FIGURE 1 – GUIDELINES FOR RESEARCH BASED INDUSTRIAL CLUSTERS

• Management board with relevant players from the sector

• Clearly define the cluster membership criteria

• Develop an operational and sustainble action plan for the cluster establishment

• Compliance with the eligibility criteria for the Cluster establishment

Establishment of Cluster Management Organisations

• Promote general knowledge and acquaintance of H2020 and other EC funding opportunities to the cluster members

• Promote the industrial cluster among its members and develop a communication plan in order to show the potential solutions that the cluster can offer

• Develop H2020 proposals with the participation of the cluster and its members

• Involvement of several actors for enhancing sustainability

• Develop and implement a monitoring system of the clusters' actions and new RDI opportunities at the European level

• Establish a quality assurance team, assuring that quality standards are fulfilled

Sustainability of Cluster Management Organisations

• Enhance international visibility of the cluster and its members through active presence in online platforms and dissemination of capabilities to potential members

• Active presence of the industrial cluster and its members in relevant events

• Establish links with other clusters at the national and international levels

• Establish agreements with relevant international organisations

• Constant update and revision of the members' activities within the thematic of the industrial cluster

Internationalisation of Cluster Management Organisations

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2.1. Establishment of Cluster Management Organisations

Establish a management board with relevant players from the sector

A management board should be constituted in order to foster the cooperation of

interests and to promote the abilities of the Black Sea region clusters through its

internationalisation and knowledge sharing. As the clusters change over time,

particularly in terms of members’ characteristics and activities, as well as its

international dimension, the clusters have to adapt their strategy and activities

accordingly. In this sense, the industrial cluster management must predict the different

changing behaviours, building and implementing structures for decision-making

processes, with clear roles of participants and other stakeholders. The decision-

making process must be very clear, focusing on the different roles that the cluster

members should have, as well as on the decision body and the extent of the decisions.

All of this serves to facilitate and balance continuity on one side and the necessary and

inevitable change on the other side.

Several aspects should be taken into consideration for allowing a properly balanced

and continued growth of the industrial cluster. The first years are crucial for the clusters’

internationalisation and growth success, since it is stated that the clusters reach

maturity only after two years of operation. Thus, it is very important that the personnel

chosen to be involved in the cluster organisation are well qualified for performing the

required management tasks. Therefore, these personnel must have a specific mixture

of education background, work experience and skills in the field of management,

communication and leadership in order to lead the cluster’s internationalisation. The

choice of the most appropriate management personnel is, in fact, not only crucial but

it is the baseline for the research based industrial cluster’s future success. For this, it

is important to have a well-defined structure, with a detailed profile description for each

function, including the percentage of contribution that each person should have in the

cluster management. In addition, the lifelong learning aspects for the cluster

management team are also important. In particular, for the Black Sea region, it is

advisable that the management team comprises members that have extensive

expertise and a very broad network of contacts regionally and internationally.

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Therefore, the industrial cluster’s management board should include all the

stakeholders and players that have some interest or decision power in the industry

sector of the cluster in the Black Sea region. It is advisable that this management board

includes a diverse set of stakeholders such as:

Companies: large industrial firms, suppliers (SMEs), high-tech enterprises;

Research organisations, universities, technology centres, education providers;

Sector associations and networks;

Financial institutions;

National and local government representatives, policy makers;

Other ecosystem actors.

Thus, the management board has to include the companies which comprise the sector

and the region – in this case, the Black Sea region. This includes not only large

industrial firms with an international orientation, but also the supplier companies as

well as other enterprises associated with the sector (SMEs). The national and local

government representatives and sector associations from the Black Sea region

countries are also entities to be part of the management board, for their knowledge of

the national and local laws as well as other aspects regarding the sector. However,

and as stated by some clusters from the region, it is very difficult to interact with the

governmental bodies from the Black Sea region regarding the clusters’ thematic.

In addition, there are clusters that also establish Supervisory Boards, having a

permanent collegial management body, consisting of companies’ representatives,

local and national authorities and universities. This could be a suitable option to have

an independent body responsible for overseeing some of the clusters’ activities.

In this sense, industrial clusters are born from the need to bring together at the same

table the representatives of all interested parts in the cluster constitution. This could

imply putting together subsectors with different specific interests, including SMEs and

big industrial companies. In addition, it is relevant to note that Black Sea region clusters

face trust issues for successfully establishing the cluster management organisations,

namely at the governmental level which do not perceive the added-value of the

clusters.

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Guideline Main Features Black Sea Region

Context Potential Barriers Examples of Actions

Establish a

management

board with

relevant players

from the sector

Personnel chosen to be involved in the cluster organisation and responsible for managing the cluster activities are well qualified for performing the required management tasks.

The management structure should be planned and budgeted on an annual basis in order to foster the continuous learning of the clusters management team.

Management team should comprise members that have extensive expertise and that have a very broad network of contacts in the region and internationally.

Other ecosystem actors should also be included, such as service providers or other actors, considering their added value for the cluster, their position in the society or their contribution for the internationalisation of the clusters members.

Importance of long-term strategy thinking.

It is advisable that the management team comprises members that have extensive expertise and that have a very broad network of contacts in the region and internationally. The national and local government representatives and sector associations from the Black Sea region countries are also entities to be part of the management board

Black Sea region clusters face trust issues for successfully establishing the cluster management organisations, namely at the governmental level that does not perceive the added-value of the clusters. Thus, trust should be built by the cluster management organisation, clearly explaining to the members what is the cluster and the advantages of this type of organisation.

Difficult to interact with the governmental bodies from the Black Sea region regarding the clusters’ thematic.

Lviv IT Cluster (Ukraine) The Lviv IT Cluster is managed by a General Assembly that takes the decision on the activities developed by the cluster. Each cluster member has a number of votes proportional to the number of workers employed under the Cluster member in Lviv. There is also the Supervisory Board that is the permanent collegial management body. The Supervisory Board consists of companies’ representatives, local authorities and representatives of educational institutions that train IT professionals.

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D4.1: Guidelines on establishing, managing, sustaining and internationalising industrial clusters15

Clearly define the cluster membership criteria

In order to achieve an excellence level in the cluster sustainability and growth, the

cluster should have more than 10% of committed members. In this sense, the members

should contribute to the clusters activities by paying membership fees, signing a

declaration of accession, a letter of intent or a partnership agreement, among others.

The non-committed members should be a part of the cluster in order to promote its

activities to potential members, entities with interest and the society in general, bringing

awareness of the clusters activities. These non-committed members might be aware

of the cluster’s activities through a mere registration for a newsletter or similar

materials, or by regular participation in events.

With regards to the membership fee, it is useful to note that this should be defined up

to a reasonable amount that should not be considered as a major barrier to the member

organisation. The membership fee is one way to support the sustainability of the

industrial cluster organisation. Membership fees also support the creation of a sense

of belonging between the members towards the organisation. Hence, the application

of membership fee will support further growth of the cluster organisation.

The majority of committed participants should be businesses (industry/service

providers) within the cluster’s relevant sector or field of technology. Besides this, the

cluster should also have as committed partners research organisations and/or

universities, and at least one of the following: intermediates, government/public

organisations and marketing companies. In terms of dimension, a membership of more

than 40 committed participants is considered necessary to create a critical mass for

projects that benefit the entire cluster.

Regarding the research based industrial clusters members’ geographical

concentration, it is advisable that more than 70% of the committed cluster participants

should have their premises within a distance of around 150 km or 1.5h travel time from

the headquarters or any regional office (if existing) of the cluster organisation. This

aims to make personal contacts among the participants more feasible.

In addition, and as described in Annex I, the information should be clearly available on

the cluster’s website (including the application form), so that every potential member

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has all the needed information to successfully apply to the membership. This should

be both in the local language and in English to allow further dissemination, with the

price structure (when applicable) clearly presented in the information provided for the

effect.

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Clearly define

the cluster

membership

criteria

The cluster should have more than 10% of committed members.

The members should contribute to the clusters activities by paying membership fees, signing a declaration of accession, a letter of intent or a partnership agreement, among others.

The majority of committed participants should be businesses (industry/service providers) within the cluster’s relevant sector or field of technology.

The cluster should also have as committed partners research organisations and/or universities, and at least one of the following: intermediates, government/public organisations and marketing companies.

A membership of more than 40 committed participants is considered necessary to create a critical mass for projects that benefit the entire cluster.

Clusters in the Black Sea Region are not oriented for payment in advance, they are oriented on real demand of the industry – also related with the ability to proper communicate the clusters’ added-value to the stakeholders. When the cluster is active, financing the cluster through membership fees are a good way. However, Black Sea clusters should not rely exclusively on membership fees.

Unwillingness of the cluster members to pay the membership fee might be one of the barriers primarily in case of those which are relatively new to the market and do not perceive the added value of being a member of the cluster. Within this context, the membership fee should be defined up to a reasonable amount as it is one way to support the sustainability of the industrial cluster organisation.

Silicon Saxony e. V. (Germany)

The Silicon Saxony e. V. provides clear information (in English) for the membership application. All the guidelines are clearly defined on the website and are easily accessible to any user. This provides an important tool for potentially obtaining new members.

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Develop an operational and sustainable action plan for the cluster establishment

All of the industrial clusters’ players, including companies, research organisations,

universities, among others, have a role in the cluster ecosystem. However, the

connections and knowledge transfer between these organisations, and the potential

benefits, do not happen spontaneously. This is why a cluster plan is needed. A cluster

plan is a roadmap to help the growth of the cluster and, therefore, it is a critical factor

to its success and internationalisation. The industrial cluster plan provides a framework

for the cluster organisation, through the identification of shared goals and on how these

can be achieved. In this sense, the action plan should include:

A description of the cluster;

The objectives and the intended results of the cluster plan;

A mapping of the challenges and opportunities related to the development of

the cluster;

A mapping of business needs of the members;

Definition of services that the cluster organisation will provide to its members –

these are key for establishing the membership structure, such as Marketing

support, HR training, joint R&D activities, joint EC funded projects, provision of

tender information and opportunities, etc.;

Indicators to monitor and evaluate the implementation of cluster initiatives and

the fulfilment of the proposed objectives;

How is the cluster going to achieve an international level, namely through the

participation of its members in European projects (e.g. Horizon 2020) and

events;

How the cluster will develop knowledge spillovers through national and

international cluster networks.

The operational action plan is as strong as the consortium strength and its contribution

to the productivity, innovation, export competitiveness and international reputation of

the cluster and its region, which in this case is the Black Sea. Also important is the

market opportunity, that is, the potential for global market growth of the cluster's

products and services, which can affect its degree of internationalisation. For this, the

consortium should include in the operational action plan a list of international

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stakeholders that can help the cluster leverage global market opportunities. Lastly, the

plan should be aligned with the Black Sea region’s government economic priorities and

EU cluster policy, if possible. For the correct implementation of the action plan, a Gantt

Chart should be built in order to map all different stages and activities, their duration,

and the starting and ending periods. The action plan should be updated throughout the

years so it can better represent the degree of internationalisation of the clusters, as

well as the social and economic aspects that can affect the sustainability and success

of the industrial cluster.

As seen before, some indicators should be achieved so that the industrial clusters are

successfully established and reach an international recognition:

The cluster shall be dominated by so-called committed cluster participants;

More than half of the committed cluster participants shall be business entities;

A high number of committed cluster participants in total;

A geographical concentration of the cluster participants.

In addition, a detailed financial plan should also be defined for the establishment and

internationalisation of the cluster. In general, the financial situation of an industrial

cluster organisation can be considered as excellent if the budget is secured for the

coming two years of activity and if there is a positive outlook beyond. A cluster

management organisation therefore requires sufficient resources for a successful

operation, especially taking into account internationalisation and innovation

operations. This means having diversified sources for financial income, allowing a

concentration of the core work of managing the cluster and its activities. For this, the

industrial cluster should have at least 20% of its budget generated by private sources

such as membership fees, donations, sponsoring, participation fees or commercial

services.

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Develop an

operational and

sustainable

action plan for

the cluster

establishment

It should include a description of the cluster, the objectives and the intended results of the cluster plan.

It should also include a mapping of the challenges and opportunities related to the development of the cluster and that of business needs for the members.

Definition of services that the cluster organisation will provide to its members, such as Marketing support, HR training, joint R&D activities, joint EC funded projects, provision of tender information and opportunities, etc. should be incorporated.

It should include indicators to monitor and evaluate the implementation of cluster initiatives and the fulfilment of the proposed objectives

The operational action plan should have a list of international stakeholders that can help the cluster leverage global market opportunities.

The action plan should be updated throughout the years.

The operational action plan

is as strong as the

consortium strength and its

contribution to the

productivity, innovation,

export competitiveness

and international

reputation of the cluster

and its region, which in this

case is the Black Sea.

The action plan should be

aligned with the Black Sea

region’s government

economic priorities and EU

cluster policy, if possible.

It should be taken in

consideration that the

industrial clusters can be

very diverse in terms of its

members. Therefore, the

management board

should have a strong

financial stability to deal

with a potential

uncertainty.

A cluster management

organisation requires

sufficient resources for a

successful operation,

especially taking into

account

internationalisation and

innovation operations.

TAYSAD (Turkey)

The TAYSAD association developed in 2015 a document stating the establishment of the cluster, including its main goals, the existing committees, activities of the members, relations with companies, government and other organisations.

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Compliance with the eligibility criteria for the Cluster establishment

Another relevant aspect relates with the necessity of complying with the European

eligibility criteria for the cluster establishment and management. This implies the

compliance with several criteria, including the cluster having at least three kinds of

members, issues related with the proximity of the members, among others. In some

countries within the Black Sea region (e.g. in Ukraine), there is still very limited

awareness on the need of clusters at the European level. It is relevant to note that

some funding opportunities have specific eligibility criteria for cluster participation that

need to be taken into account in the application process. Some examples of potential

necessary criteria are defined below:

Innovation clusters: “structures or organised groups of independent parties

(such as innovative start-ups, small, medium and large enterprises, as well as

research and knowledge dissemination organisations, non-for-profit

organisations and other related economic actors) designed to stimulate

innovative activity by promoting sharing of facilities and exchange of knowledge

and expertise and by contributing effectively to knowledge transfer, networking,

information dissemination and collaboration among the undertakings and other

organisations in the cluster” (Framework for State aid for research and

development and innovation)2;

Registration on the European Cluster Collaboration Platform (ECCP);

Have legal entities – these can be fully or partly public or private bodies.

2 http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:52014XC0627(01)&from=EN

http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:52014XC0627(01)&from=EN

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Compliance with

the eligibility

criteria for the

Cluster

establishment

Criteria include the cluster having at least three kinds of members, issues related with the proximity of the members, among others.

Registration on the European Cluster Collaboration Platform (ECCP) is one of the potential necessary criteria.

Legal entities are required.

In some countries within the Black Sea region (e.g. in Ukraine), there is still very limited awareness on needs for clusters at the European level.

Some funding opportunities have specific eligibility criteria for cluster participation that need to be taken into account in the application process. Clusters from the Black Sea region have limited knowledge with respect to the eligibility criteria on some opportunities at the European level – European standards for cluster establishment should be taken into consideration.

AgroTransilvania Cluster (Romania)

The AgroTransilvania Cluster was established in February 2013, where it formed an emergent innovative cluster strategy. The cluster is registered in the ECCP and is currently a Silver Label cluster.

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2.2. Sustainability of Cluster Management Organisations

Promote general knowledge and acquaintance of H2020 and other EC funding

opportunities to the cluster members

The promotion of general knowledge regarding European funding opportunities to the

clusters members may be done through a set of different initiatives (events, meetings,

conferences) that aim to foster their international presence and orientation. In

particular, the following topics should be addressed:

Introduction to Horizon 2020;

Relevant projects for the Black Sea clusters and their members in Horizon 2020,

such as the “IncoNeT EaP PLUS: STI International Cooperation Network for

Eastern Partnership Countries (Horizon 2020 project)”;

Horizon 2020 partner search mainly through the Cordis

(http://cordis.europa.eu/home_en.html).

For the first topic, “Introduction to Horizon 2020“, the cluster should organise a session

or event that provides information to its members, summarizing the main opportunities

within the Horizon 2020, covering its entire structure, its main pillars and their

respective specific objectives, as well as the main action types, and the new

opportunities available in the new Work Programme. Furthermore, it should identify

where potential interest for the Black Sea region might lie, providing a deeper

description about those aspects of Horizon 2020 that are most relevant for the cluster

within that region.

After the introduction of Horizon 2020, its main pillars and specific objectives, the

cluster team should analyse the relevant calls within those specific objectives, further

identifying and analysing relevant topics for the Black Sea region clusters and its

members. After the analysis of the most relevant topics, the potential role that the Black

Sea region cluster members can play in Horizon 2020 projects should also be defined.

For the “Horizon 2020 partner search” the cluster team should use the most important

partner search tools available: CORDIS Partner Service3 (), Enterprise Europe

3 http://cordis.europa.eu/home_en.html

http://cordis.europa.eu/home_en.html

http://cordis.europa.eu/home_en.html

BLACK SEA HORIZON


Network (EEN)4 Database, European Regions Research and Innovation Network

(ERRIN)5 and NMP Team Partner Search Facility6. Using these, the cluster team can

define a set of potential partners, including some of the most outstanding RDI

organisations at the European level.

Furthermore, it is advisable that the cluster management disseminates information on

potential relevant events for matchmaking and promotion of actions within the Horizon

2020, so that the members are aware of the existing initiatives.

4 http://een.ec.europa.eu/ 5 http://www.errin.eu/ 6 http://www.nmpteam.com/

BLACK SEA HORIZON




Promote general

knowledge and

acquaintance of

H2020 and other

EC funding

opportunities to

the cluster

members

Done through a set of different initiatives (events, meetings, conferences) that aim to foster their international presence and orientation.

The cluster should organise a session or event that provides information to its members, summarizing the main opportunities within the Horizon 2020.

After the analysis of the most relevant topics, the potential role that the Black Sea region cluster members can play in Horizon 2020 projects should also be defined.

The cluster should identify where potential interest for the Black Sea region might lie, providing a deeper description about those aspects of Horzion 2020 that are most relevant for the cluster within that region. Projects such as the Black Sea Horizon promote general knowledge and understanding about H2020 opportunities and other programmes.

It is advisable that the cluster management disseminates information on potential relevant events for matchmaking and promotion of actions within the Horizon 2020, so that the members are aware of the existing initiatives.

AgroTransilvania

Cluster (Romania)

The cluster promotes

actively on its website

opportunities within

European funding

programmes, such as the

Horizon 2020.

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Promote the industrial cluster among its members and develop a communication plan in

order to show the potential solutions that the cluster can offer

Research based industrial clusters should develop a series of initiatives for their

members in order to clarify the benefits and potential solutions that the cluster and its

members can offer, namely through the organisation of informal meetings, conferences

or other events. The organisation of a wide range of initiatives and its effective

promotion to clusters members and other Black Sea interested entities is fundamental

to attract and maintain the clusters members. In fact, an overall loss of committed

participants of less than 5% during the last two years of activity is considered as the

maximum for a cluster being managed excellently. Therefore, developing cluster

organisations in the Black Sea region could bring a wide range of advantages, such

as:

Promote the international visibility and presence of their members;

Increase competitiveness of cluster members;

Accelerate innovation in the Black Sea region;

Foster networks of entrepreneurs;

Encourage new investments;

The research ideas and new technologies from universities could be

commercialized and used by firms to strengthen their abilities to compete

globally;

The innovation absorption by large companies can help drive the growth of start-

ups, SMEs;

Colleges and universities provide talent and skilled employees, who are in

demand at local firms.

In order to promote the industrial cluster among its members for showing the potential

solutions that the cluster can offer, some initiatives should be developed:

Creation and distribution of newsletters (internal focus) and press releases

(external focus). To reach an excellence level in cluster management and

internationalisation is expected that the cluster publishes more than 30

regional/national and 10 international press releases in one-year period;

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Organisation of international missions for participation in events (meetings,

conferences, seminar);

Promotional campaigns in specialized magazines, platforms and websites;

Profile creation in general and specialized cluster platforms or networks;

Events where the cluster invites potential members to attend a presentation

about the cluster’s activities and the benefits of being a part of it;

Promote events for B2B matchmaking sessions;

Promote informal meetings for disseminating the cluster’s initiatives.

For monitoring the industrial clusters activities, the clusters should create and use a

controlling system to monitor the performance of the cluster organisation on a regular

basis (at least annually). This should include a range of key performance indicators

that control information such as the number of events, newsletters, projects initiated,

among others. Since the cluster should be aware of its member’s initiatives, the

management team should constantly update and revise them.

The development of a communication platform is essential for exchanging information,

experience and knowledge among the cluster members. For the efficiency of this

initiative, the platform should be filled with constant information such as regular

meetings and events, and include an internal forum dedicated to the members. It is

important for the cluster managers to visit the members of the cluster in order to be

aware of the members’ needs and activities. These visits provide crucial information

for the generation of co-operation projects. In fact, the relations between the cluster

and its members can be effective in multiple ways. It is expected that during each year

the cluster has direct contact with at least 20% of the clusters participants, that can be

done through:

An actual visit from the cluster to the members’ facilities or vice versa;

An extensive bilateral exchange of information and experience (via telephone,

email or other means);

A joint work of the cluster and its members in specific projects, working groups,

and/or other joint activities.

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Promote the

industrial

cluster among

its members and

develop a

communication

plan in order to

show the

potential

solutions that

the cluster can

offer

It promotes the international visibility and presence of their members and increases competitiveness of cluster members.

It fosters networks of entrepreneurs and encourages new investments.

Organisation of informal meetings, conferences or other events.

Creation and distribution of newsletters (internal focus) and press releases (external focus)

Promotional campaigns in specialized magazines, platforms and websites.

For efficient communication, a platform should be developed and filled with constant information such as regular meetings and events, and include an internal forum dedicated to the members.

During each year the cluster should have direct contact with at least 20% of the clusters participants.

Accelerate innovation in

the Black Sea region.

The organisation of a wide

range of initiatives and its

effective promotion to

clusters members and

other Black Sea interested

entities is fundamental to

attract and maintain the

clusters members.

Opportunities outside the cluster might eventually lead to disengagement of the members from the cluster.

Industrial Cluster

Srednogorie (Bulgaria)

All the information regarding the dissemination of activities or events organized by the cluster or by any of its members can be found on the cluster’s website, as well as in the cluster’s magazine (Shared values magazine). In addition to this, the cluster is also a member of the European Cluster Collaboration Platform.

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Develop H2020 project proposals with the participation of the industrial cluster and

members of the cluster

The participation of Black Sea region industrial clusters in project proposals is crucial

to increment their international visibility. However, this participation must be carefully

prepared so that the chance for successful involvement in H2020 proposals and

projects is high. This should include a range of sequential initiatives such as:

Capacity building of the Black Sea region cluster staff and members in Horizon

2020 processes and proposal development;

Promotion of international visibility of the Cluster and its members;

Promotion and dissemination of the Cluster among its members;

Development of national and international partnerships;

European opportunities identification service;

Development of H2020 proposals with Black Sea region clusters and/or its

members as partners;

Monitoring and evaluation of the Horizon 2020 strategy implementation and

impact.

In this sense, the cluster should aim to have in each year at least 15% of its members

involved in bilateral and/or multilateral cooperation activities with each other, by their

own initiative or organised by the cluster. For this, only active participation should be

considered. The following could be considered as a form of cooperation: participation

in regular working groups, projects, delegation visits, joint trade fair activities and

lecturing activities, with a minimum effort of two working days spent. Initiating and

implementing a structure of working groups can be considered as a good practice for

cluster organisation management.

For this, the cluster organisation should maintain good cooperation contacts on a

regular basis with stakeholders, organisations of institutional innovation support and

service providers, business and innovation promoters, funding authorities, etc. At least

three of these actors should either be official committed participants of the cluster or

have implemented strategic partner agreements with the cluster. These contacts and

cooperation are vital in order to successfully develop project proposals.

BLACK SEA HORIZON




Develop H2020

project

proposals with

the participation

of the industrial

cluster and

members of the

cluster

Capacity building of the Black Sea region cluster staff and members in Horizon 2020 processes and proposal development.

Promotion of international visibility of the Cluster and its members.

Promotion and dissemination of the Cluster among its members

Development of national and international partnerships.

Monitoring and evaluation of the Horizon 2020 strategy implementation and impact.

Development of H2020 proposals with Black Sea region clusters and/or its members as partners. The cluster management organisation should maintain good cooperation contacts on a regular basis with stakeholders, organisations of institutional innovation support and service providers, business and innovation promoters, funding authorities, etc. and at least three of these actors should either be official committed participants of the cluster or have implemented strategic partner agreements with the cluster.

Less participation of some members in the cluster’s activities hinders collective collaboration. Low success rate of H2020 proposals might be seen as a barrier from the cluster members and the cluster management organisation.

AgroTransilvania

Cluster (Romania)

The AgroTransilvania

cluster is a good example

of actions taken in order

to participate in Horizon

2020 projects. The

cluster has applied to

several calls for

proposals under the

programme.

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Involvement of several actors for enhancing sustainability

According to the desk research conducted, as well as the good practices analysis, it is

considered that the involvement of several actors in the clusters’ activities is a way of

enhancing its sustainability. In particular, having a structure based on a bottom-up

approach is considered to be related with more sustainability. In addition, having both

industry and academia players as members of the cluster and its management board

can be an effective way of involving different actors from both sides and reaching

additional opportunities for joint projects to the cluster’s members. In this sense, the

promotion of activities such as matchmaking actions, open innovation workshops,

surveys, research and commercialisation projects are considered crucial for involving

a different set of players in the cluster. The public sector should also be involved7.

Another aspect that should be taken into account is the open governance and

management of the industrial cluster organisation. The open governance principles

allowing effective public oversight are particularly important in addressing the

corruption aspect that has become one of the biggest problems in financing and

sustaining clusters in the Black Sea region. In order to do so, industrial cluster

organisations need to involve local communities, universities, governmental

institutions, among others that have significance in the region to ensure the

transparency in the financial management of the organisation (E.g. in the management

of membership fees, project fees, etc.). In particular, regarding the membership fees,

these are useful so that the cluster members take an active role in the daily actions of

the cluster.

7 Creating successful and sustainable Clusters through cluster organizations ‐ Micael Gustafsson, European Cluster Manager of the Year 2012

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Involvement of

several actors

for enhancing

sustainability

A structure based on a bottom-up approach.

Both industry and academia players as members of the cluster and its management board can be an effective way of involving different actors from both sides.

Promotion of activities such as matchmaking actions, open innovation workshops, surveys, research and commercialisation projects.

Industrial cluster organisations need to involve local communities, universities, governmental institutions, among others that have significance in the region to ensure the transparency in the financial management of the organisation

The open governance principles allowing effective public oversight is particularly important in addressing the corruption aspect that has become one of the biggest problems in financing and sustaining clusters in the Black Sea region.

Corruption aspect has

become one of the

biggest problems in

financing and sustaining

clusters in the Black Sea

region.

Lack of transparency in

showcasing the financial

inflow and outflow.

Iceland Geothermal (Iceland)

The Iceland Geothermal is a good practice example of direct involvement of several types of actors including universities, governmental institutions, associations, companies and service providers, having a high focus on technology transfer activities.

BLACK SEA HORIZON


Develop and implement a monitoring system of the industrial clusters’ actions and new

RDI opportunities at the European level

The cluster’s international success depends on its relations with other entities and on

its participation in international projects. To achieve that, a service to monitor and

identify international (mainly European) RDI opportunities for the Black Sea region

cluster and its members should be developed and implemented. In fact, this service

should be one of the cluster’s core actions, since the identification of European RDI

opportunities is usually seen as an obstacle for the companies. Therefore, there is

space for the Black Sea region clusters to provide added value to their respective

sector by facilitating this type of monitoring information, since companies would benefit

from increasing their capacity and knowledge by participating in more international RDI

opportunities. Thus, the Black Sea region clusters should design a clearly structured

protocol defining several aspects:

Type of information to monitor;

Information sources to monitor;

Definition of monitoring frequency of each information source and

responsibilities;

Definition of the dissemination protocol.

The type of information to monitor should include open and forthcoming calls and topics

as well as partner requests interesting for the cluster members. Other RDI information

may be interesting to the companies as well, such as relevant recent publications, RDI

agendas, approved projects, new products/services or technology advances with

impact in Horizon 2020 areas of interest, new organisations that start a successful

participation in Horizon 2020, among others. By doing so, the Black Sea region clusters

would provide their members with more accurate knowledge about the situation of their

sector at the European level, and information about key players and trends.

Regarding the information sources to monitor, these need to be clearly defined in order

to do a systematic search. Sources need to include the Horizon 2020 Participant Portal,

the CORDIS partner search tool, the EEN database and ERRIN, among other potential

partner search platforms and networks. Furthermore, Horizon 2020 discussion groups

on LinkedIn can be a valuable source to find relevant opportunities for a cluster itself

BLACK SEA HORIZON


or its members. In addition, the clusters should consider EEN contact points, NCPs

and ERRIN members as information sources. In this regard, a close relation with these

organisations should be established in order to further identify relevant opportunities.

There is also a need to define the monitoring frequency of each information source and

who is responsible for doing this. When possible, the Black Sea region cluster should

register in the platforms and online services in order to receive newsletters or relevant

notifications and disseminate the information among its members. Additionally, the

clusters need to clearly define the responsibilities of each staff member involved in this

initiative. This monitoring action should be followed up by a monthly report that should

be uploaded on the cluster’s website, so that every member can understand what

progress was made during that month.

Apart from defining which type of information and how this would be monitored, the

Black Sea region clusters should define an effective protocol to deliver the information

to their members. In this regard, it would be advisable to deliver the information

periodically, letting the companies know in advance when they will receive it.

Furthermore, the delivery system needs to be defined. What would be advisable is to

survey the clusters members in order to find out their preferred delivery system and

frequency to receive the information.

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Develop and

implement a

monitoring

system of the

industrial

clusters’ actions

and new RDI

opportunities at

the European

level

It should be one of the cluster’s core actions.

The protocol should define the type of information to monitor, information sources to monitor, definition of monitoring frequency of each source and definition of dissemination of each protocol.

The type of information to monitor should include open and forthcoming calls and topics as well as partner requests interesting for the cluster members.

Information sources need to include the Horizon 2020 Participant Portal, the CORDIS partner search tool, the EEN database and ERRIN, among other potential partner search platforms and networks.

The Black Sea region cluster should register in the platforms and online services in order to receive newsletters or relevant notifications and disseminate the information among its members.

There is space for the

Black Sea region clusters

to provide added value to

their respective sector by

facilitating this type of

monitoring information,

since companies would

benefit from increasing

their capacity and

knowledge by participating

in more international RDI

opportunities.

The Black Sea region

clusters should design a

clearly structured protocol

defining several aspects.

Lack of participation from

the cluster members in

follow-up activities that

may lead to information

gaps.

Absence of a survey

check on the cluster

members could lead to

certain issues going

unnoticed.

AgroTransilvania

Cluster (Romania)

The cluster has been very

active in several networks

and has participated in

several Horizon 2020

proposals.

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Establish a quality assurance team, assuring that quality standards are fulfilled

The cluster has the role of assuring that the quality standards are fulfilled for itself as

an organisation, as well as for its members. For this, the cluster should establish a

quality assurance team in order to fulfil the quality standards for clusters, namely such

as the ones defined in the European Cluster Excellence Initiative (ECEI).

The standards for the excellence in managing clusters are defined by the EC through

the ECEI, and established since 2009. This initiative aims to develop methodologies

and tools that lead to increasing cluster capabilities related to management of networks

and clusters. For this, a list of uniform cluster management quality indicators was

created. This is related to a quality labelling system for professional cluster

management that results in a system accepted and recognized all over Europe. In this

sense, the clusters might be classified from bronze, silver or gold, depending on the

cluster evolution stage and performance.

The ECEI defines a set of 31 quality indicators, which allows the clusters management

to prepare the assessment for the GOLD Label. These quality indicators focus on the

operational side of cluster management instead of the framework conditions, and cover

the following dimensions: structure of the cluster; typology, governance, co-operation;

financing cluster organisation management; strategy, objectives, services;

achievements, recognition. In addition to the ECEI quality standards, the cluster

management team should also implement internal quality procedures and designate

people to guarantee that the management actions are being applied in an efficient way.

In particular, the following aspects should be taken into consideration for analysing

successful Black Sea region clusters:

Mutual trust among the members and the management team;

Business driven;

Sharing the information and resources – use “virtual” factories;

Focusing on industries with high added-value and export orientation;

Involvement in projects with national and international funding;

Partner with different institutions for sustainable structure.

BLACK SEA HORIZON




Establish a

quality

assurance team,

assuring that

quality

standards are

fulfilled

This initiative aims to develop methodologies and tools that lead to increasing the clusters’ capabilities related to management of networks and clusters.

A list of uniform cluster management quality indicators was created.

The ECEI defines a set of 31 quality indicators.

The clusters might be classified from bronze, silver or gold, depending on the cluster evolution stage and performance.

Quality indicators focus on the operational side of the cluster management instead of the framework conditions.

The cluster management team should also implement internal quality procedures and designate people to guarantee that the management actions are being applied in an efficient way.

Mutual trust among the

members and the

management team is

important.

Focus should be on

industries with high added-

value and export

orientation.

Involvement in projects

with national and

international funding.

Partnering with different institutions for sustainable structure.

Some cluster members

might not want to

disclosure information

that allow a quality check

on their performance.

Lviv IT Cluster (Ukraine)

The Cluster management is composed by a General Assembly, which is the supreme governing body that takes decisions on any matters of the cluster’s activities, the Supervisory Board that consists of a permanent collegial management body and the Secretariat, that is the working body of the cluster.

BLACK SEA HORIZON


2.3. Internationalisation of Cluster Management Organisations

Enhance the international visibility of the industrial cluster and its members through

active presence in online platforms and dissemination of capabilities to potential

members

The online presence is fundamental for the sustainability, improvement and

internationalisation of industrial clusters. Therefore, the inclusion of the clusters work

and activities in the digital world is mandatory. By participating in online platforms,

clusters can easily find partners for collaboration among universities, research

organisations, SMEs and industry across Europe and around the world. The online

presence is indeed also crucial for the clusters to show their work and disseminate

their activities to current and potential partners, and members. Online platforms are

crucial for knowledge transfer as well.

For this, the Black Sea region clusters must create profiles on relevant Horizon 2020

partner search platforms and networks. These profiles should include a general

overview and details on the work of the cluster, and information in the local language

on the industrial and/or technological sector in general, as well as important contact

points. In general, it should be possible to find regularly updated content regarding the

cluster organisation on these platforms. As the clusters have the goal of

internationalisation, they should also provide the above-mentioned information on their

websites in English, as well as in the languages of the key countries targeted for

collaborations and market opportunities.

Other information that the cluster profile has to include in these different

communication platforms is its targeted themes, expertise description and categories,

skills and competences, among other. Contact details about the cluster members

should be provided as well. The online presence puts the Black Sea region cluster

visible for other clusters and European organisations that are looking for Horizon 2020

partners with such profile. This would increase the clusters possibilities of being

contacted to join a consortium. Some generic platforms where the cluster should

register are:

CORDIS Partner Service;

Enterprise Europe Network (EEN);

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European Regions Research and Innovation Network (ERRIN);

NMP TeAm Partner Search Facility;

TCI Network8;

European Cluster Collaboration Platform (ECCP).

The Black Sea Region cluster might also be a part of other specific platforms, networks

and events, such as:

The Balkan and Black Sea ICT Clusters Network;

Black Sea Universities Network9;

Balkan & Black Sea Conference “Days of Clusters”;

Black Sea NGO forum10;

Black Sea cross border cooperation;

The annual high-level stakeholder conference (by the EC).

Additionally, it is advisable that the cluster creates profiles on social networks

(especially LinkedIn and Facebook) and be active in H2020 groups and discussions in

order to find new partners and share its knowledge in sustainable cluster management.

It is expected that these initiatives will increase requests from European organisations

to the Black Sea Region cluster for European projects. The same way, the increased

international visibility of the cluster may have a positive impact on their

internationalisation.

8 http://www.tci-network.org/ 9 http://www.bsun.org/ 10 http://www.blackseango.org/

BLACK SEA HORIZON




Enhance the

international

visibility of the

industrial

cluster and its

members

through active

presence in

online platforms

and

dissemination of

capabilities to

potential

members

Black Sea region clusters must create profiles on relevant Horizon 2020 partner search platforms and networks.

These profiles should include a general overview and details on the work of the cluster, and information in the local language on the industrial and/or technological sector in general, as well as important contact points.

The information should also be provided on all respective websites in English, as well as in the languages of the key countries targeted for collaborations and market opportunities.

These communication platforms should have the targeted themes, expertise description and categories, skills and competences and contact details as well.

It is advisable that the cluster creates a profile in social networks (especially LinkedIn and Facebook) and be active in H2020 groups and discussions.

The online presence puts the Black Sea region cluster visible for other clusters and European organisations that are looking for Horizon 2020 partners with a relevant profile.

The Black Sea Region cluster might also be part of other specific platforms, networks and events, such as The Balkan and Black Sea ICT Clusters Network, Black Sea Universities Network etc.

Lack of constant update

of content on the online

platforms leading to a

decline in the online

activity and presence.

This constant update

requires time and effort

from the cluster

managers.

ID4Car (France)

In its 10 years of existence, the cluster has organized more than 200 events through its tree platforms. The relation with the 221 members resulted in a total of 239 SMEs accredited projects. Besides this, the cluster has 180 additional accredited projects. ID4Car has 110 projects funded through 106 million euros of public funding, among other funding sources. In fact, the total R&D budget reaches a total of 400 million euros. The cluster also organizes a set of international missions to enhance the international visibility of the cluster.

BLACK SEA HORIZON


Active presence from the industrial cluster and its members in relevant events

The presence and participation of the Black Sea region clusters and their members in

several events is fundamental for their development because networking activities can

be carried out in different meetings, but these events also bring the option for widening

the audiences/participants. In fact, the organisation and participation in different

events, both national and international, promotes the interaction among the cluster

members, besides bringing international attention to the cluster, enhancing the

possibilities of international deals and partnerships with other clusters, companies or

entities.

For this, there is a diverse range of events that the Black Sea region cluster might

attend or organise. So, these events can be rather open or tailored to a specific

community. In the open ones, the cluster might participate or organise thematic round

tables, workshops, conferences, trade shows or exhibitions. For the specific ones, the

options are informal meetings, executive encounters (lunch or breakfast) or other

events tailored to a specific community.

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Active presence

from the

industrial

cluster and its

members in

relevant events

Promotes the interaction among the cluster members, besides bringing international attention to the cluster.

Enhances the possibilities of international deals and partnerships with other clusters, companies or entities.

These events can be rather open ones or specific ones tailored to a specific community.

In the open ones, the cluster might participate or organise thematic round tables, workshops, conferences, trade shows or exhibitions.

For the specific ones, the options are informal meetings, executive encounters or other events tailored to a specific community.

There is a diverse range of events that the Black Sea region cluster might attend or organise. The presence and participation of the Black Sea region cluster and its members in several events is fundamental for its development because networking activities can be made in different meetings.

Lack of financial

capacity to address

travel expenditures.

Lack of interest among

cluster members to

actively participate in

events that are relevant

for the cluster

organisation.

Lack of promotion from

the cluster management

organisation to enhance

participation in relevant

events.


As a member of the Romanian Cluster Association and based on a collaborative work with other regional clusters, on 4th-5th of June 2015, AgroTransilvania Cluster organized the “Clusters International Conference – Innovative Business Models” in Cluj-Napoca City. The conference was attended by around 50 international known speakers at a European level and over 300 participants from all over Europe, such as makers of cluster policies, public authorities, financial institutions, support associations and European cluster management organizations, research institutes, companies etc.

BLACK SEA HORIZON


Establish links with other clusters at the national and international level, namely in other

Black Sea countries

Collaboration between clusters and other entities is very important for the Black Sea

region and for the clusters development. Therefore, the clusters should cultivate

attitudes towards collaboration and sharing information with firms, universities, training

centres, institutions and government. Black Sea region’s industrial clusters have all the

interest in connecting with other industries and countries by cooperating with other

cluster networks. Therefore, the Black Sea region clusters should establish regular

meetings with other national and international clusters in order to promote the

development and internationalisation of their members, as well as, innovation

initiatives. This cluster cooperation could be done through the participation and

organisation of thematic round tables, workshops, conferences, trade shows and

exhibitions in which cluster managers can share their knowledge and experience. In

addition, before registering on international cluster network platforms, such as the

ECCP, membership with regional cluster networks should be encouraged. Such prior

guidance enables the clusters to get easily accepted by international cluster platforms

such as the ECCP as previously mentioned.

Outside of the Black Sea region, these cooperation initiatives should focus on good

practices, methods and results benchmarking. Organisation of cluster cooperation

activities as well as participation in such activities is the best way to share knowledge

on how to internationalise and manage industrial clusters. Besides this, industrial

clusters should also focus on the relations with other international clusters which are

located in other Black Sea countries, such as:

Industrial Cluster Srednogorie (Bulgaria);

InnoCluster Moldova (Moldova);

AgroTransilvania Cluster (Romania);

Kaluga Pharmaceutical Cluster (Russia);

TAYSAD - Association of Automotive Parts & Components Manufacturers

(Turkey);

Lviv IT Cluster (Ukraine).

BLACK SEA HORIZON


The coordination with industrial clusters that are located in the Black Sea region is

important because even though these clusters might be from different sectors, they

have a common ground. As they are closely located on the Black Sea coast, there are

shared interests and issues that should be discussed and taken into consideration in

the industrial clusters action plan.

BLACK SEA HORIZON




Establish links

with other

clusters at the

national and

international

level, namely in

other Black Sea

countries

The Black Sea region clusters should establish regular meetings with other national and international clusters, in order to promote the development and internationalisation of its members, as well as, innovation initiatives.

This could be done through the participation and organisation of thematic round tables, workshops, conferences, trade shows and exhibitions in which cluster managers can have their knowledge and experience.

It is the best way to share knowledge on how to internationalise and manage industrial clusters.

Industrial clusters should also focus on the relations with other international clusters which are located in other Black Sea countries.

Black Sea region’s industrial clusters have all the interest in connecting with other industries and countries through the cooperation with other cluster networks.

Lack of experience in

identifying the right

industries and potential

partners. Countries such

as Romania are known to

have a successful set of

clusters established.

Establishing links with

such clusters is bound to

yield substantial results.


Regarding the activities related to establishing links with other clusters, it is relevant to highlight the session chaired by AgroTransilvania Cluster, that gathered managers from other clusters from Portugal (Agrocluster Ribatejo) and Spain (FEMAC) for the discussion of topics on the state of cluster policy in the agro-food sector, focusing on the interests of the cluster members and sharing best practices with audience.

BLACK SEA HORIZON


Establish agreements with relevant international organisations

The connection of a cluster with international organisations is very important for its

development through knowledge and innovative practices and for the opportunity of

joining forces with these international organisations in European proposals and

projects. In fact, Horizon 2020 projects are highly collaborative and are an excellent

way to find new international partners. In this sense, being part of a network of

international partners well positioned as RDI providers in European projects is crucial

for Black Sea region clusters’ participation in Horizon 2020. For this, the clusters should

select and contact a set of potential partners based on their previous participation in

Horizon 2020 projects, characteristics and strategy. This will indeed strongly contribute

to the clusters’ internationalisation.

These agreements are also important for putting the cluster in a strong position as a

support organisation for its members. The development of partnerships is even more

important in the beginning of the establishment of the cluster. The partnerships and

agreements with relevant international organisations bring higher chances of success,

in the short term, if the cluster tries to collaborate with more experienced partners with

similar goals and interests. The expected impact of the clusters’ relationships with

relevant international organisations is the increase in the number of international

organisations that know the Black Sea region cluster, the acceleration of the clusters’

development through innovation absorption and the increase in the number of

cooperation agreements signed with national and international organisations. It is also

relevant to establish agreements, not only with relevant organisations, but also with

target events and fairs organisations, allowing further dissemination of the cluster

member’s activities.

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Establish

agreements with

relevant

international

organisations

The clusters should select and contact a set of potential partners based on their previous participation in Horizon 2020 projects, characteristics and strategy.

The partnerships and agreements with relevant international organisations bring higher chances of success, in the short term, if the cluster tries to collaborate with more experienced partners with similar goals and interests.

It is also relevant to establish agreements with target events and fairs organisations, allowing further dissemination of the cluster member’s activities.

Being part of a network of international partners well positioned as RDI providers in European projects is crucial for Black Sea region clusters participation in Horizon 2020. The expected impact of the clusters relationships with relevant international organisations is the increase in the number of international organisations that know the Black Sea region cluster.

Lack of experience in

getting into consortiums.

The less developed

clusters generally neglect

the importance of

internationalization and

the role it could play in

fostering the cluster

members’ activities.

TAYSAD (Turkey)

TAYSAD cluster has agreements with trade fair organisations in order to provide more appropriate conditions for its members to participate in international exhibitions. In addition, the cluster participates with information stands or booths in relevant trade fairs in order to promote and disseminate the technical capabilities of its members. This association also participates in the domestic and international conferences and meetings concerning automotive industry.

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Constant update and revision of the members’ activities within the thematic of the

industrial cluster

The cluster team has the responsibility for the success and efficiency of the cluster

initiative. Thus, the cluster management and the team members should support the

cluster’s initiatives in their daily work, in a cumulative process. Also, the cluster should

be aware of its member’s initiatives, and to do so, the management team should

constantly update and revise the member’s initiatives. This is necessary so that the

cluster can adapt its actions to better address the member’s needs, in areas such as

training, consultancy, marketing and public relations initiatives, and

internationalisation. Therefore, the information about all these areas as well the one

about the member’s activities should be communicated to all interested parts,

members and non-participating entities, through a range of communication channels:

Development of a communication platform;

Regular company visits;

Regular events;

Newsletter and monthly branch and network news updates;

Cluster data base / supplier catalogue / industry information;

Homepage.

The development of a communication platform is essential for exchanging information,

experience and knowledge among the clusters members. For the efficiency of this

initiative, the platform should be filled with constant information such as regular

meetings and events, and include an internal forum dedicated to the members. The

visits from the cluster managers to its members are important activities for the cluster

awareness of the needs and activities of its members. These visits provide crucial

information for the generation of co-operation projects. In fact, the relations between

the cluster and its members can be effective in multiple ways. It is expected that during

each year the clusters have direct contact with at least 20% of their respective

participants.

In the scope of the revision of the member’s activities, the cluster should collect

success stories that include the cluster itself and its members. These stories should

be based on the complexity of the activities developed, the number of members

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involved, the development of a new product or service, and other. It should be clearly

demonstrated the complexity, impact on participants and industry, contribution to

strategic challenges and the contribution to the sustainability of cluster development.

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Constant update

and revision of

the members’

activities within

the thematic of

the industrial

cluster

A communication platform is essential for exchanging information, experience and knowledge.

The information regarding these should be communicated to all parts, members and non-participating entities, through communication channels.

The platform should be filled with constant information such as regular meetings and events, and include an internal forum dedicated to the members.

During each year the cluster is expected to have direct contact with at least 20% of the clusters participants through visits.

In the scope of the revision of the members’ activities, the cluster should collect success stories that include the cluster itself and its members.

Platforms developed for

the update and revision of

the members should be in

the country’s language,

namely in some specific

countries from the Black

Sea region such as

Ukraine.

A relatively new cluster

might not have success

stories to showcase as

best practices.

Lack of participation from

the cluster members in

the revision process may

lead to the lack of

information available to

be passed to the

management

organisation.

Lviv IT Cluster (Ukraine) / AgroTransilvania Cluster (Romania)

Both clusters represent good examples of practices related with the constant update of the members’ activities, as well as regular communication actions to continuously promote the cluster’s updates.

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3. Conclusions

In the present report, a set of guidelines that can support the Black Sea Region research

based industrial clusters regarding their establishment, sustainability, management and

internationalisation was developed.

Recommendations on internationalisation and cooperation strategies were provided in

order to promote the capabilities of Black Sea regional clusters. The guidelines were

based on three basic pillars: establishment of the cluster sustainability of the cluster and

internationalisation of the cluster. Management aspects of the cluster are included within

each pillar. They recommend clear actions and tools that are crucial to the Black Sea

region clusters’ internationalisation and innovation. Furthermore, the guidelines are

focused on the specificities of the Black Sea region and take into account its economic

and social context as well as the already existing cluster policies. Some of the

recommended actions for the industrial clusters that should be highlighted are:

Establishment of industrial clusters: Industrial clusters should include in their board

representatives from all interested parts in the cluster constitution. Furthermore,

membership information should be clearly available on the cluster’s website

(including the application form) and an operational action plan is highly advisable

to promote productivity, innovation, export competitiveness and international

reputation of the cluster and its region.

Sustainability of industrial clusters: It is advisable that the cluster management

disseminates information on potential relevant events for matchmaking and

promotion of actions within the Horizon 2020, so that the members are aware of

the existing initiatives. In this sense, the participation of Black Sea region industrial

clusters in project proposals, namely within Horizon 2020 is crucial to increment

their international visibility. However, this participation must be carefully prepared

so that the success possibility of participating proposals and projects is high –

maintaining constant interactions with relevant players is a key for having a good

start. Involvement of several actors in the clusters’ activities is also a way of

enhancing its sustainability. Furthermore, a service to monitor and identify

international (mainly European) RDI opportunities for the Black Sea region clusters

and their members. In addition, defining an effective protocol to deliver the

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information to the members is also seen as relevant. The cluster should establish

a quality assurance team in order to fulfil the quality standards for clusters.

Internationalisation of industrial clusters: Having a strong online presence is

fundamental for the sustainability, improvement and internationalisation of

industrial clusters – some relevant platforms are as follows: CORDIS Partner

Service; Enterprise Europe Network (EEN); European Regions Research and

Innovation Network (ERRIN); NMP TeAm Partner Search Facility; TCI Network;

European Cluster Collaboration Platform (ECCP). Thus, the clusters should

cultivate attitudes toward collaboration and sharing of information with other firms,

universities, training centres, institutions and government. The engagement with

partnerships and agreements with relevant international organisations brings

higher chances of success, in the short term.

According to the guidelines provided, there are some main actions that should be taken

in order to create a successful industrial cluster in the Black Sea region. Thus, having a

clear operational action plan, participating in national and international cluster

cooperation actions, being integrated in national and international cluster networks,

applying to EU’s funding programmes, namely the Horizon 2020, and defining a clear

communication/dissemination plan, are the key aspects to innovation and

internationalisation of the industrial clusters in the Black Sea region. The good practice

examples provided (both from the Black Sea region and other areas – available in Annex

I), allows the assessment of relevant data on general practices adopted by the different

clusters and the actions that can be considered successful.

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Annex I – Good Practices of Industrial Clusters

Industrial Clusters are powerful engines of economic development and drivers of

innovation within the EU. Industrial clusters across the EU provide a fertile business

environment for companies, especially SMEs, to cooperate with research institutions,

suppliers, universities and competitors located in national and international clusters in

order to promote innovation and internationalisation.

The EC has given a special emphasis to cluster policy. In fact, cluster policy initiatives are

often developed through the European Cluster Observatory, which aims to facilitate

practical cluster policy-making that makes better use of the transformative power of

innovation.

In order to also promote clusters’ sustainability and excellent management, the EU has

implemented the European Cluster Excellence Initiative (ECEI). This initiative recognises

industrial cluster organisations that demonstrate excellent cluster management and are

committed to an ongoing improvement that will lead to even higher performance.

The internationalisation of industrial clusters is also one of the focuses of the European

Commission’s cluster support policies. Therefore, to promote international cluster

cooperation, a number of initiatives have been set up such as ECCP, International Cluster

Matchmaking Events and European Strategic Cluster Partnerships (ESCPs). These

initiatives aim to promote international cluster cooperation, which shall contribute to better

supporting EU industrial clusters in global competition in strategic fields.

Due to the EC’s strong cluster policy, there are several cases of world-class industrial

clusters within the EU, which are known by their level of innovation, sustainability and

degree of internationalisation. In this regard, five good practice industrial clusters have

been identified.

In order to select successful examples within the EU industrial clusters, the following

selection criteria are developed:

Countries from Europe located in the Black Sea region;

Presence in Industrial Cluster Cooperation Activities;

Active participation in national and international networks/relevant associations;

Country with the highest number of Gold Label Clusters/Silver Label Clusters.

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With the abovementioned selection criteria, this report aims to select good practice

clusters that can have a major contribution to the thematic of successful clusters’

management, cooperation and internationalisation, mainly due to their previous

successful experience in implementing innovation support activities within the cluster.

The assessment of the selected clusters is presented below:

TABLE 1 – ASSESSMENT OF GOOD PRACTICE RESEARCH BASED INDUSTRIAL CLUSTERS AT THE

EU LEVEL

Countries from

the BSH region

Presence in

industrial

cluster

cooperation

activities

Participation in

national and

international

networks/relevant

associations

Gold Label

Clusters/Silver

Label Clusters

Industrial Cluster Srednogorie

x x x

AgroTransilvania Cluster

x x x

ID4Car x x

Silicon Saxony e. V x x

Kaluga Pharmaceutical

Cluster x x

The clusters selected are considered as good practices within the above-mentioned

criteria, having at least two of the required fields fulfilled. There are of course other

clusters that would fit this criterion and could be presented. These selected are in line

with the consortium’s experience in the clusters’ thematic and in their extensive

knowledge on the selected countries from the Black Sea region, and present a good

variety of activities.

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TABLE 2 – INDUSTRIAL CLUSTER SREDNOGORIE

Industrial Cluster Srednogorie

Name of the Cluster: Industrial Cluster Srednogorie

Website: http://srednogorie.eu/

Country: Bulgaria

Sector: Production and engineering

Excellence Label: Yes (Silver)

Description: Srednogorie Med Industrial Cluster is a non-profit organisation, an initiative of

large industrial enterprises in the region of Central Srednogorie. The association integrates

companies which define the industrial character of the area of central Srednogorie: basic

industries of mining and processing of copper, gold-containing ores and copper concentrate,

high-tech companies producing optical, optomechanical and optoelectronic device systems,

companies serving the industrial productions; research and educational organisations and

local government representatives. Members of the organisation are some of the largest

corporate employers in the country, employing over 8,000 people. It is the first Bulgarian

cluster with a Silver label for quality. The cluster is also registered in the European Cluster

Collaboration Platform (ECCP).

The organisation focuses on the cooperation of interests and abilities of its members, having

as a goal the improvement of the competitiveness and potential of the regional economy. The

specific objectives are as follows:

Increase the competitiveness of the industrial sector in the Central Srednogorie region;

Sustainable development and environmental protection in accordance with national

and regional priorities;

Improvement of technical and social infrastructure in the region;

Elevate the quality of life and living standards of the local population;

Technological innovation and implementation of innovations;

Increase energy efficiency;

Better the working conditions in the enterprises participating in the cluster network;

Improvement of the system for enhancing the qualification and education of the staff

for the needs of the cluster network;

Realisation of other projects of mutual interest.

The structure of the cluster is composed by leading companies, that comprise key

organisations exporting goods and services outside the region, network of suppliers, including

raw materials, equipment and services, and an economic infrastructure with the several areas

– human resources, technology, capital and finance, business climate and physical

infrastructure.

Number of Members: The cluster has a total of 27 members divided by:

Eight SMEs;

Seven Large companies;

Two Universities / research organisations / technology centres;

10 other ecosystem actors.

http://srednogorie.eu/

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Main Actions Developed: The main actions developed by the cluster cover a range of several

services provided to its members, including:

Access to public support (regional/national programmes, innovation vouchers, etc.);

Facilitation of collaboration between members;

Support to knowledge and technology transfer;

Innovation Management / Support of innovation processes (internal, external).

Different tools are used to disseminate the activities or events organised by the cluster or by

any of its members, including the cluster’s website and the cluster’s magazine (shared values

magazine).

In this context, the cluster itself organises a range of events such as conferences, trainings

and seminars. An example of this is the “Industry, energy and environment” conference held

in Sofia, which aims to become an annual platform for national policies on energy and the

environment, regulation of the energy market, successfully applied technological solutions and

best practices from industry. Another example is the “Innovation & entrepreneurship: Science,

Research, Technological Development” conference also held in Sofia, which is an annual

platform for national and supranational policies to improve competitiveness through

investments in innovation, successful implementation of technology solutions, best practices

of large, medium and small businesses. In the context of training courses, the cluster

organised the event called “Standards, Business Processes and Key Performance Indicators”

which, among other issues, addressed the European standards in facility management,

service level agreements (SLA) and business processes and Key Performance indicators

(KPI).

From the group’s main action stands out the Project “Srednogorie Laboratories”, which was

successfully completed. The project is implemented partially with the financial support of

Operational Programme "Development of the Competitiveness of the Bulgarian Economy"

(2007 – 2013), financed by the EU through the “European Regional Development Fund" and

the national budget of the Republic of Bulgaria.

The main focus of the project activities is to increase the capabilities of Srednogorie Industrial

Cluster for the realisation of technological transfer, increasing the innovation potential in R&D

area, reaching new markets and expanding in the areas of activity. Project "Srednogorie

Laboratories" creates the so-called "Knowledge triangle" between business, government and

education and contributes to strengthening relations and the opportunities for implementation

of innovations and the realizing of successful cooperation.

International Focus: The cluster aims to have an international focus, and for this the cluster

develops several transnational activities which address the following countries: France,

Germany, Greece, Poland and Spain. Besides this, some conferences that the Srednogorie

Med Industrial Cluster organises have an international goal. This is the case of the “Innovation

& entrepreneurship: Science, Research, Technological Development” conference that

addresses national and supranational policies to improve competitiveness through

investments in innovation. In addition, the cluster participates in several international B2B

matchmaking events, such as the “4th Cluster Matchmaking Conference: Internationalisation

the Strategic Way”.

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TABLE 3 – AGROTRANSILVANIA CLUSTER

AgroTransilvania Cluster

Name of the Cluster: AgroTransilvania Cluster

Website: http://agrocluster.ro/

Country: Romania

Sector: Food Industry


Description: The mission of the AgroTransilvania Cluster is to promote collaboration and

cooperation between business entities in the agricultural industry and encouraging competitive

restructuring of the sector, as well as ensuring participation in multiple commercial projects,

both national and international. In this regard, members of the AgroTransilvania Cluster

decided to join forces to support the development of the agro-industrial sector, with the aim to

build on the competitiveness of the association – both on the national and international

markets. In this sense, this cluster is born from the need to bring together at the same table

the representatives of farmers and of large retail companies to put in place a sustainable

development strategy.

The mission for which the management team AgroTransilvania Cluster has been mandated

by the general assembly of shareholders is to become an integrator pool of research,

innovation, technology transfer and sustainable development of the Transylvanian

agribusiness sector (supporting sustainable competitiveness of the agribusiness sector). In its

own view, this cluster will become the main active and viable partner for actors into the field,

and a model of good practice for associative activity. The objectives of the AgroTransilvania

Cluster are:

Create and develop a harmonious interaction between all stakeholders operating in

the value chain in the agro-industrial complex;

Develop a platform for research, development and innovation. Drive the private sector

towards innovation and technology transfer;

Support and promote project of common interest, including projects abroad;

Promote and encourage entrepreneurship by providing relevant solutions for the

renewal and modernisation of the sector;

Create tools and channels for effective information and opportunity management in the

field;

Develop partnerships at home and abroad to achieve the objectives of the association;

Promote legislative initiatives designed to correct – or, if necessary – to regulate certain

matters of interest to the industry;

Identify opportunities for collaboration towards financial support through various

programmes, partnerships, tools and / or banking operations;

Organise and participate in forums, symposiums, conferences, seminars, debates,

etc., in the country and/or abroad;

Conduct any activities necessary to achieve the goals and objectives of the

association.

http://agrocluster.ro/

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In addition to this, the cluster is registered in the European Cluster Collaboration Platform

(ECCP) and the TCI Network. In terms of the membership, the cluster provides all the

information in their website, including the form requesting to enter in the association. The main

goals of the applying member should match the cluster’s objectives that are also available

online.

Number of Members: The cluster has a total of 60 members divided by:

35 SMEs;

12 Large companies;

Seven Universities / research organisations / technology centres;

Six other ecosystem actors.

Main Actions Developed: The AgroTransilvania Cluster aims to contribute to the harmonious

and balanced development of the region, with the elimination of disparities in development

between different areas of the county and especially between urban and rural areas. In this

respect, the desire to ensure the sustainable development of the area in general, and

particularly rural, the administrative court leadership considered it more than necessary to

support the agro-industrial revitalisation of Cluj.

In this sense, the cluster promotes a set of different activities to facilitate the collaboration

between members and fosters the competitiveness of its members. To achieve this, the cluster

supports the access to the European internal market, the access to public support

(regional/national programmes, innovation vouchers, etc.) and to private funding (connecting

to investors, seed-capital, venture-capital, crowd-funding, etc.), enables facilities sharing,

provides direct advisory services and facilitates the access to training for members (such as

innovation management), gives support in innovation processes (internal, external) and

provides access to technology services.

International Focus: One of the directions of development of AgroTransilvania Cluster is to

increase its visibility and its level of trust as a valuable partner for business, institutional

development, and research and policies and/or strategies makers, so it can play a better role

in its way to support the development of the agro-industrial sector. This is achieved by

increasing the competitiveness of the association itself and its members individually, both on

national and international market, based on a common development strategy.

As member of Romanian Cluster Association and based on a collaborative work with other

regional clusters, during the 4th and 5th of June 2015 in Cluj-Napoca City, AgroTransilvania

Cluster organised the “Clusters International Conference– Innovative Business Models”, with

the participation of almost 50 international known speakers at a European level and over 300

participants from all over Europe, like makers of cluster policies, public authorities, financial

institutions, support associations and European cluster management organisations,

universities, research institutes, companies, NGOs and professional associations.

The cluster is also involved in projects such as the “Sustainable development of agro-industrial

cluster under brand AgroTransilvania Cluster” and the “Cluster specializing in innovative bio-

economy”, as well as in the development of proposals for the H2020 programme.

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TABLE 4 – ID4CAR

ID4Car

Name of the Cluster: ID4Car

Website: http://www.id4car.org/

Country: France

Sector: Transport and Mobility

Excellence Label: Yes (Gold)

Description:

Created in the end of 2005, the competitiveness cluster ID4Car supports innovation in the

vehicles sector. ID4Car aims to fulfil the expectations and the needs of all actors from western

France from the automotive industry. The cluster’s mission is to develop the competitiveness

of companies through innovation, for all those involved in the vehicle and sustainable mobility

sector in north-west France. This includes SMEs and mid-sized businesses, large companies,

research and training organisations, public and private partners in economic development and

innovation. The cluster was set up by and for companies in the vehicle and sustainable mobility

sector in north-west France. The objectives of this cluster are:

Become a centre of excellence on simulation technologies;

Boosting innovation ecosystem, network and reputation;

Anticipating technological breakthroughs;

Promote project funding and its growth;

Provide access to resources;

Expand its members internationally;

Enhancing skills and expertise;

Guide the innovation to market;

Support the innovation process.

Number of Members:

The cluster has a total of 221 members among SMEs, large companies, research

laboratories and platforms.

Main Actions Developed:

The ID4Car cluster develops a range of initiatives to cover its four markets: automotive;

specific vehicles; agricultural machinery off road, machinery and robotics; and mobility

services. For these four markets the cluster has four strategic business units: vehicle materials

and architecture; innovative vehicles and uses; intelligence of on-board systems and ICT; and

sustainable mobility.

In its 10 years of existence, the cluster has organised more than 200 events. From the relation

with the 221 members resulted a total of 239 SMEs accredited projects. Besides this, the

cluster has 180 additional accredited projects. ID4Car has 110 projects funded through 106

million euros of public funding, among other funding sources. In fact, the total R&D budget

reaches a total of 400 million euros. The cluster also organises a set of international missions

to promote its members and facilitate new cooperation opportunities.

http://www.id4car.org/

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International Focus:

One of the pillars of the ID4Car cluster is to facilitate the emergence of collaborations, building

partnerships and ensuring the visibility of French companies abroad, by providing the access

of its members to international markets and opportunities. This is done through the support

and promotion of SMEs and laboratories involved in the international division's projects, being

this one of the priorities of the cluster.

To urge its members to reach beyond the French borders, the cluster organises in partnership

with UBIFRANCE (French agency for export promotion) and the DGCIS (Directorate-General

for Competitiveness, Industry and Services), three to four international missions per year on

topics related to the transport and mobility sector. These trips are aimed to facilitate the

emergence of international collaborations, and to ensure the visibility and promotion of skills

of French companies abroad, building relationships and partnerships with other companies.

One example of these international missions was the mission to Rome (Italy) in 2015. Here,

several meetings were organised between the ID4Car cluster members and other automotive

Italian clusters (including 20 SMEs), the TTS key player association in European projects on

Intelligent Transport Systems, managers of traffic in Rome, emerging players on shared

mobility, the University of Turin, and Smart City Foundation in Turin. In 2016, three missions

were conducted. The first one took place in January at the “Consumer Electronics Show -

CES” in Las Vegas (United States) about autonomous vehicles. After this, in June, the cluster

members had the chance to participate in the “Electric vehicle congress” in Montreal (Canada).

Finally, the clusters visited Germany in December of 2016 for an international mission on

“Embedded systems for vehicle connected and intelligent congress”.

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TABLE 5 – SILICON SAXONY E. V.

Silicon Saxony e. V.

Name of the Cluster: Silicon Saxony e. V.

Website: http://www.silicon-saxony.de/home/

Country: Germany

Sector: Information and communications technology (ICT)


Description:

Silicon Saxony was founded as a network for the semiconductor industry in Dresden in 2000.

Since then, this initiative, having started with 20 partners, has grown into a huge network.

Today Silicon Saxony is one of Europe‘s most successful trade association for the

semiconductor, electronic, microsystems and software industries. The number of members is

currently of around 320 organisations. Silicon Saxony connects manufacturers, suppliers,

research institutes, universities and public institutions along the ICT value chain.

Today, Silicon Saxony is Europe’s largest microelectronics cluster and one of the world’s most

innovative ICT clusters when it comes to technical competence. Saxony’s firms are active in

the several phases of the ICT value chain. In Saxony, around 2,100 companies employ more

than 51,000 people, developing and manufacturing integrated circuits, or serving as materials

and equipment suppliers to the chip industry, producing and distributing electronic products

and systems based on integrated circuits, or developing and promoting their software.

With the objective of strengthening the sustainability of the business region as a location for

ICT at both national and international level, the association sees itself as a communication

and cooperation platform for its members. The close cooperation that exists within the network

promotes and balances the economic development of the member companies. Intelligent

cooperative partnerships among the members allow knowledge transfer, synergies, close

business relationships, and promote innovative power.

In terms of the membership application, all the information is easily available through the

website (in English), including the details on prices associated with the membership: up to 10

employees € 600; from 11 to 50 employees € 1.000; from 51 to 500 employees € 1.300; more

than 500 employees € 2.000. The application is then revised and approved by the cluster

board.

Number of Members:

The cluster has a total of 320 members divided by:

260 SMEs;

34 Large companies;

26 Universities / research organisations / technology centres.


Silicon Saxony assists its members in promoting the development of new technologies and

procedures as well the access to technological services, initiates partnerships and cooperative

projects and supports them in gaining access to new markets. Also, the promotion in these

http://www.silicon-saxony.de/home/

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new markets is backed up through the promotion of activities of marketing. In addition, the

cluster supports knowledge transfer by facilitating the collaboration between members. Silicon

Saxony is also a member of the Silicon Europe initiative (http://www.silicon-europe.eu).

In order to create effective and efficient networks, the association enables constructive forums

for its members and experts. These work groups are an essential driving force in the

development of new technologies and procedures.

In addition to this, the cluster is also a member of the European Cluster Collaboration Platform

(www.clustercollaboration.eu).

International Focus: The Silicon Saxony Cluster has in its goals the fostering of the

internationalisation of their members. For this, the cluster organises missions with the

participation of its members in events, study visits and fairs. In the year of 2016 the cluster

organised missions to the following fairs: Semicon West (San Francisco, USA); Semicon

Taiwan (Taipei, Taiwan); Semicon Europe (Dresden, Germany) and Semicon Japan (Tokyo,

Japan). Additionally, the cluster participates in funded support programmes such as the

previous 7th Framework Programme (FP7); Horizon 2020; CIP/COSME and INTERREG.

Furthermore, the cluster acted as a project coordinator of “Silicon Europe” and project partner

of “C3-Saxony” and “ESCiP” projects.

http://www.silicon-europe.eu/

http://www.clustercollaboration.eu/

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TABLE 6 – PHARMACEUTICAL CLUSTER OF KALUGA REGION

Pharmaceutical Cluster of Kaluga Region

Name of the Cluster: Pharmaceutical Cluster of Kaluga

Region

Website: http://www.pharmclusterkaluga.ru/en/

Country: Russia

Sector: Pharmaceutical Industry

Excellence Label: Yes (Bronze)

Description:

Pharmaceutical Cluster Kaluga (PCK) was founded in 2012 as a non-profit partnership of

Kaluga region. The cluster’s main mission is to assist the members of the partnership in the

formation of high-tech complex of interrelated industries and regional infrastructure for the

development, production and sales of a new generation of medicines, medical equipment and

medical products in accordance with the standards of Good manufacturing practices (GMP).

The main aim of the cluster is to represent the interests of all its members in governing, helping

to empower the scientific, industrial and social development of the partnership members,

protect their rights and lawful interests, enhancing competitiveness and economic potential of

the partnership.

Number of Members:

The Kaluga Pharmaceutical Cluster has a total of 47 members divided by:

18 SMEs;

Six large companies;

19 research organisations/universities/technology centres;

Four other ecosystem actors.


The PKC cluster members are involved in preclinical and clinical studies, development and

synthesis of pharmaceuticals and radiopharmaceuticals, and the production and

manufacturing of pharmaceutical substances and finished pharmaceutical products (FPP),

infusion solutions and parenteral nutrition.

The Cluster SMEs are working on 31 innovative projects regarding new pharmaceuticals

development and marketing. Currently, the cluster members are actively engaged in

development and scaling of 25 pharmaceutical substances, as well as working on cooperative

projects, taking part in joint educational and research programmes.

International Focus: In terms of its international focus, the KPC is involved in regional and

federal support programmes, although the international activities of the cluster are at this point

limited. Nevertheless, cluster trans-national activities are developed, mainly with Finland,

France, Germany and Italy.

http://www.pharmclusterkaluga.ru/en/

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In addition to the clusters existing at the EU level, it is also relevant to analyse other

clusters from countries associated to Horizon 2020, which include some from the Black

Sea region. It should be highlighted that countries associated to Horizon 2020 have very

different national cluster policies as well as cooperation incentives.

In this context, Norway is internationally recognized by its strong cluster policy that aims

to enhance cooperation and internationalisation of Norwegian industrial clusters.

Norwegian Innovation Clusters11 is a government supported cluster programme that aims

to trigger and enhance collaborative development activities in clusters. The goal is to

increase the cluster dynamics and attractiveness, the individual company's

innovativeness and competitiveness. The programme is organised by Innovation Norway,

and supported by Siva (The Industrial Development Corporation of Norway) and the

Norwegian Research Council.

Turkey has also been very focused on industrial clusters’ internationalisation and

innovation and has implemented policies that consisted of infrastructural investments,

R&D incentives for firms and legal regulations in order to develop a better environment

for businesses.

In Iceland, even though there is no national cluster policy, the Icelandic Technology

Institute (IceTec) has been in the forefront of preparing and assisting in execution of

cluster initiatives (growth agreements) and works with cluster facilitators since cluster

initiatives are crucial to its economic performance.

On the other hand, countries such as Armenia, Azerbaijan, Moldova and Albania are still

developing their cluster policies, which will be crucial to the development of the industrial

clusters in the Black Sea region.

Regarding the heterogeneity that exists among Industrial Clusters in countries associated

to Horizon 2020, the implementation of cooperation and internationalisation actions is

crucial in order to ensure knowledge sharing among the good practice industrial clusters

and the small regional clusters.

The selection criteria for identifying successful examples of industrial clusters within

countries associated to Horizon 2020 were the following:

Countries from the Black Sea region;

11 http://www.innovationclusters.no/

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Countries associated with H2020 with the highest number of gold / silver / bronze

label clusters;

Active participation in national and international networks/relevant associations;

Presence in industrial cluster cooperation activities;

Participation in cluster internationalisation activities.

These criteria led to a selection of industrial clusters that are internationally renowned by

their excellence and are considered good practice clusters due to their orientation towards

cooperation and internationalisation activities. The assessment of the selected clusters is

presented below:

TABLE 7 – GOOD PRACTICE EXAMPLES AMONG INDUSTRIAL CLUSTERS AT COUNTRIES

ASSOCIATED TO HORIZON 2020

Countries from the

Black Sea region

Gold / silver / bronze

label clusters

Participation in national and international

networks/relevant associations

Presence in industrial

cluster cooperation

activities

Participation in cluster

internationalisation activities

TAYSAD x x x x

Lviv IT Cluster

x x

Blue Maritime Cluster

x x x

Iceland Geothermal

x x

The clusters selected in countries associated with H2020 are considered as good

practices if they have at least two of the required fields fulfilled. However, there are other

clusters that fit this criterion and could be presented in the list. The ones selected are in

line with the consortium’s partnership experience in the clusters’ thematic and in the

selected countries from the Black Sea region.

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TABLE 8 – TAYSAD - ASSOCIATION OF AUTOMOTIVE PARTS & COMPONENTS MANUFACTURERS

TAYSAD - Association of Automotive Parts & Components Manufacturers

Name of the Cluster: TAYSAD - Association of Automotive Parts

& Components Manufacturers

Website: http://www.taysad.org.tr/tr

Country: Turkey

Sector: Automotive


Description:

TAYSAD is an association established in 1978, being the sole and most competent

representative of the Turkish automotive supplier industry. With 350 members, represents

65% of the output of the automotive supplier industry and 70% of the industry’s exports, and

employ more than 140,000 people. TAYSAD is a member of the European Association of

Automotive Suppliers (CLEPA) and the founding partner of the Automotive Technologies

Research & Development Company (OTAM).

As the most competent non-governmental organisation in its own sector, TAYSAD strives to

create strategies to meet the expectations of its members and to support the sustainable

growth of the Automotive Supply industry through globally competitive businesses. To ensure

that it continues to serve as a “Reference Institution” in its own sector, TAYSAD keeps

developing itself by working in coordination with official institutions and stakeholders through

the strength derived from its values.

In order to adapt to the changing competitive environment, TAYSAD members closely follow

technological developments and continue to invest in innovation and expansion. With the help

of their advanced manufacturing capabilities, they produce prototypes, use testing facilities,

perform Computerized Numerical Control (CNC) based and conventional machining, engage

in product development, pursue collective R&D activities with foreign and domestic companies

and use CAD-CAM applications during the design process.

The product range of TAYSAD members covers all sorts of parts and is sufficiently diversified

to support an 85-90% local parts ratio in domestically-produced motor vehicles.

Number of Members:

The cluster members are the following:

350 Companies from the automotive supplier industry.


TAYSAD’s mission is to put the Turkish Automotive Supplier Industry into the top 10 in the

Global Automotive Market through its Design-Technology-Supply capability. For such, this

association provides a broad range of services to its members. This includes cooperating with

universities in order to enhance academia-industry joint activities, as in the case of the career

days and the support of internship programmes for the automotive engineering students,

conducted by TAYSAD.

At the government level, the association also cooperates to improve the competitive

manufacturing structure of the sector in order to establish automotive supply strategies by

http://www.taysad.org.tr/tr

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considering the global competition. In the value chain of the industry, TAYSAD organises visits

to local and global Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) to improve the relationship with

sub-supplier and also organises “Supplier Days” and B2B meetings.

In addition, TAYSAD promotes the members’ relations and cooperation through the

organisation of a regional member meeting every year in order to maintain closer relations

and creating new projects. TAYSAD also organises trainings for its members in order to

ensure that they will adapt to the changing conditions. Top themes are Quality, R&D, HR,

Finance, Management, Sales & Marketing and Lean Production.

TAYSAD signs agreements with trade fair organisations in order to provide more appropriate

conditions for its members to participate in the domestic and international exhibitions, and also

participates in the adequate trade fairs by establishing an info stand to promote and publicize

the manufacturing technical capacities of its members. This association also participates in

the domestic and international conferences and meetings concerning automotive industry.

Additionally, TAYSAD provides substantial benefits to the organisations by means of annual

“Benchmarking Study” that makes the comparison of its members with respect to other plants

in the industry in general and manufacturing processes. Furthermore, TAYSAD’s reputation in

the sector allows to provide relevant inputs for several studies within the industry, influencing

policy making decisions – e.g. TAYSAD developed an extensive survey in 2015 and prepared

a report with the outcomes of that study.

At the communication level, this association acts as public relations provider, publicizing the

supplier Industry’s needs and solution methods throughout media. TAYSAD also publishes

“TAYSAD Magazine” every 2 months, containing the developments in the automotive industry

and the future predictions for the sector.

International Focus: TAYSAD provides educational and consultancy services that help its

member companies expand lean production techniques and make the structural

transformation necessary to meet customer expectations. Those projects are being carried

out with the support of Turkish Ministry of Economy. In this way, TAYSAD improves the

international competitiveness of its member companies.

This association also concludes collaboration agreements with the relevant sectoral

organisations of the potential foreign markets. TAYSAD organises foreign delegation visits,

especially to the newly developing areas and markets.

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TABLE 9 – LVIV IT CLUSTER

LVIV IT Cluster

Name of the Cluster: LVIV IT Cluster

Website: http://itcluster.lviv.ua/en

Country: Ukraine

Sector: ICT

Excellence Label: No

Description:

Lviv IT Cluster is a centre of leading information technology companies founded in 2013, that

in cooperation with universities and local authorities provides improvement and development

of the IT system in the city of Lviv.

The cluster aims to promote Lviv as a European city, attracting organisations from Ukraine and

other countries internationally to cooperate in the field of ICT, developing the innovation

ecosystem in the city. In addition, Lviv IT Cluster implements projects for supporting the IT

industry and promoting career development and enhancing international cooperation.

The Lviv IT Cluster is managed by a General Assembly that takes the decision on the activities

developed by the cluster. Each cluster member has a number of votes proportional to the

number of workers employed under the Cluster member in Lviv. There is also the Supervisory

Board that is the permanent collegial management body. The Supervisory Board consists of

companies’ representatives, local authorities and representatives of educational institutions

that train IT professionals.

Number of Members:


54 companies;

One local authority;

Seven universities.


The main activities developed by the Cluster can be defined in five areas:

Lviv promotion;

Human Capital;

Promotion and development of Cluster member companies;

Loyalty and quality of life;

Science (Research) IT Research.

In particular, the cluster promotes the establishment of contacts and cooperation actions

between IT companies and clusters in different cities for the development of IT in Ukraine. In

addition, the cluster develops supporting actions that try to ensure that the members have

access to a pool of competent human capital and that young experts have access to

educational opportunities.

http://itcluster.lviv.ua/en

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Furthermore, the cluster implements international projects in the ICT area, promoting several

actions such as organizing events, matchmaking sessions, training, exhibitions, analytical

studies, among others.

International Focus: As previously described, the Lviv IT cluster develops a set of international

projects in the ICT area, promoting the cluster member companies. It also attracts additional

funding which includes EU programmes for the Institutional Cluster Development. Besides

organising trade missions for establishing new partnerships, the cluster supports the

development of international exhibitions and conferences for the participation of Cluster

companies. This also serves as an effective tool to attract new members to the cluster.

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TABLE 10 – BLUE MARITIME CLUSTER

Blue Maritime Cluster

Name of the Cluster: Blue Maritime Cluster

Website: http://www.bluemaritimecluster.no/gce

Country: Norway

Sector: Maritime technologies, water resources


Description:

The Blue Maritime Cluster situated at Møre is a world leader in design, construction, equipment

and operation of advanced offshore vessels for the global oil and gas industry. In 2014, due to

its unique global market position and its important contribution to Norwegian value creation, the

cluster was granted the status of a Global Centre of Expertise.

This cluster is a new top level in the Norwegian cluster programme and it has been referred to

by Norway’s Minister for Trade and Industry, Monica Mæland, as the industry’s Champions

League. Tree business clusters in Norway currently carry this status: the Møre maritime cluster,

the oil equipment/drilling cluster in Sørlandet and the oil and gas subsea cluster in Bergen. It is

a national status awarded by the government to the most global and rapidly growing business

clusters in the country. It will assist in increased value creation and strengthened attractiveness

and position within global value chains, through strategic collaborative projects between the

cluster’s partners and with external partners.

Blue Maritime Cluster’s ambition is to become a global centre for the safe and sustainable

commercialisation of advanced technology and operations at sea. Its pioneering spirit, unique

experience-based skills and culture for entrepreneurship make this cluster well placed to create

pure food, energy and minerals from “the blue sea”. In this way, it should contribute with

knowledge and help to commercially exploit the ocean in a safe and sustainable way, for

growing future businesses in Norway. This will create values and employment and will lay the

foundations for future prosperity and welfare. The main goals of the Blue Maritime Cluster are:

Serve as Norway's central hub for commercial and sustainable “blue” activities;

Contribute to make 'the blue” Norway's new growth industry;

Seize and exploit new “blue” opportunities through high innovation rate;

Be the leading hub of “blue” knowledge and innovation;

Be the most attractive cluster for establishing “blue” operations;

Be the most interesting cluster to work in, for “blue” experts and talents.

Number of Members:


216 Companies.


The Blue Maritime Cluster project is managed by the innovation company ÅKP AS and can,

therefore, draw on the extensive expertise and excellent network in this knowledge

environment. The project is managed by a distinguished and balanced steering committee,

http://www.bluemaritimecluster.no/gce

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consisting of key people from the maritime business in the region, country and NTNU Ålesund.

In order to archive the objectives mentioned before, the cluster organises a set of events,

workshops and conferences.

Every year the cluster organises the “Blue Maritime's Annual Conference” related to the

discussion of the cluster’s and its member’s performance and also another main topic, being

the offshore shipping the main topic in the 2016 edition. In this year the cluster organised one

workshop on venture design. During the workshop, participants were exposed to the science

of capital formation and the emerging methodology for creating sustainable ventures and high-

yield innovation ecosystems such as the Silicon Valley.

As an example of an event organised by Blue Maritime Cluster it can be mentioned the

recruitment event called “Ocean talent camp”. In its fourth edition in 2016, this is an event

created for joining together companies from the ocean industries and students from high

schools to showcase job opportunities.

International Focus: The Blue Maritime Cluster fosters the internationalisation of its members

through the elaboration of several initiatives to increase competitiveness. One example of this

is the pilot project “Brand Norway”. This is one of Innovation Norway's strategic priorities for the

next four years and aims to develop a strong common brand for Norway. The Blue Maritime

Cluster and other ocean clusters will participate in this national initiative.

The project will contribute to increased growth and value creation by strengthening Norwegian

export and ensure access to capital, knowledge, talent and tourists. One wishes to unite

business and government in a common and long-term commitment that will permit increased

exports and economic growth across industries.

This is not about creating a new logo for Norway, but a comprehensive strategy to strengthen

international competitiveness. The ocean industries are, in fact, Norway's strongest card

internationally. The project has defined five key focus areas:

An aggressive export strategy for Norwegian goods and services;

A strategy to attract foreign investors, talents and tourists;

An adaptation of Innovation Norway tools;

Establish collaboration arenas;

Develop a Norwegian brand and communications platform.

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TABLE 11 – ICELAND GEOTHERMAL

Iceland Geothermal

Name of the Cluster: Iceland Geothermal

Website: http://www.icelandgeothermal.is/

Country: Iceland

Sector: Maritime technologies, water resources

Excellence Label: No

Description:

The Iceland Geothermal Cluster Initiative is an industry based cooperative group focusing on

the field of geothermal energy in Iceland. The role of the Iceland Geothermal Cluster (IGC)

Initiative is to promote Iceland’s unique geothermal energy utilisation, and to label it as the land

of geothermal energy and geothermal utilisation. This cluster was founded by 43 diverse

members, including; companies, associations and institutions.

The purpose of this organisation is to stimulate competitiveness within the Icelandic

Geothermal Cluster, create value, new opportunities and improve the utilisation of Iceland’s

geothermal energy sector. The possibility for improvement is endless. The cluster initiative

focus on opportunities related to: research programmes, scientific studies, exportation

programmes, construction, innovation, and the associated services provided during various

project stages.

The main goals are to create new opportunities within the geothermal energy sector, facilitate

cooperation with the aim of exporting services and building new partnerships, create a strong

global geothermal value chain to enhance geothermal utilisation worldwide. Provide benefits to

the sector as well as to developing countries and protecting and valuing the environment are

also in the scope of this cluster.

Number of Members:

The cluster has a total of 56 members divided by:

Seven Universities;

Five Government institutions;

Four Associations;

16 Services Providers;

24 Companies.


The Iceland Geothermal Cluster Initiative promotes the services and expertise of its members.

It also organises domestic and international events, promotes innovative programmes, plans

and leads field trips, hosts seminars and bringing professionals together.

For this, the Cluster has created a new platform for its members to share and market their skills.

Here it is possible to access all general information about geothermal energy in Iceland and

leads them to the right coordinator if they are building up infrastructure or business in relation

to the resource of geothermal. This cluster also organises conferences and seminars. In 2016,

http://www.icelandgeothermal.is/

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the cluster conducted a seminar on energy and tourism, whose objective was to open the

debate and raise awareness of the potential synergies on these two industries.

However, the main event organised by the Iceland Geothermal Cluster is the Iceland

Geothermal Conference started in October, 2009. After mapping the geothermal cluster in

Iceland in collaboration with the Icelandic consultancy Gekon, Professor Michael Porter and his

team at Harvard Business School recommended an optimal path to take to strengthen the

infrastructure within the geothermal sector in Iceland. IGC takes place in Reykjavik, Iceland

since 2009 during spring time every third or second year.

International Focus:

Iceland is a leading country in the utilisation and development of geothermal resources. The

Icelandic holistic approach of utilisation of geothermal resources is unique in the world.

Geothermal energy is not only used for electricity generation, but also in various direct and

indirect applications, leading to secondary businesses like household space heating, aquatic

farming, methanol production and health related productions, to mention only a few. Icelandic

companies and organisations work globally on a number of diverse projects within the various

fields of geothermal energy utilisation. Up to twenty Icelandic companies and members of the

Iceland Geothermal are currently working on geothermal projects within 70 different countries.

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Annex II – National Cluster Policies in the Black Sea Region

Following the analysis developed on industrial clusters at the EU level and in countries

associated with H2020, the report focuses on providing a general overview of national

cluster policies in Black Sea countries. This analysis supports the development of

guidelines for clusters in the regions as detailed in Section 2.

The cluster policies can be defined as policies developed by governmental institutions to

create, support and sustain the growth and competitiveness of clusters. These are also

influenced by smart specialisation strategies due to the focus on specific industries12.

Regarding specific cooperation policies, it is relevant to highlight the Black Sea Economic

Cooperation (BSEC)13, an economic organisation for promoting interaction among

members of the region: Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Georgia, Greece,

Moldova, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Turkey and Ukraine. In terms of specific cluster

initiatives, it is important to mention the Balkan and Black Sea ICT Clusters Network, an

initiative that gathers some relevant cluster actions from the ICT sector. In total, the

network includes 17 organisations from all countries in the Balkans and the Black Sea

region.

The status of development of national cluster policies varies according to the different

countries in the Black Sea region. In this sense, countries such as Bulgaria and Romania

present higher levels of development than couentries such as Georgia or Armenia. From

this, a relevant initiative concerns the “Support for Cluster Development in Bulgaria”, a

scheme that includes a budget of 15 million euros to support the building of clusters’

capacity, internationalisation as well as investment in new innovative technologies and

services. However, in Bulgaria, it is noticed that cluster actions should be more inter-

related with technology parks, as well as key stakeholders from the Black Sea region14.

For the Romanian example, the cluster policy is considered to be integrated within the

industrial policy, having resulted in the first cluster organisation in the country in 2010. In

12 Cluster Policy and Smart Specialisation - The Case of Bulgaria, Journal of US-China Public Administration, September 2014 13 http://www.bsec-organization.org 14 Cluster Policy and Smart Specialisation—The Case of Bulgaria, Journal of US-China Public Administration, September 2014

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addition, the Romanian Cluster Association was created in 2011, as a cross-sectorial

organisation with 15 members15.

It is also relevant to highlight the Ukrainian example, where there is no specific legislation

adopted for clustering. According to BSEC, Ukrainian clusters are well developed in

practices related to the ICT and business services field (such as the Lviv IT Cluster), as

well as construction, organic farming and eco-tourism sectors. Turkey has also developed

several initiatives that support the cluster promotion. These started in the 1960’s with the

State Planning Organisation (SPO), and in 1980 with policies that promoted the creation

of regional production networks. Nowadays, there are several national policies for the

formation of clusters or similar-sector firms, including actions to encourage firms to

operate in certain areas and the “small industrial estates" (KSS) and "organised industry

zones" (OSB) initiatives16.

15 Eco‐innovation and national cluster policies in Europe – A Qualitative Review, Greenovate Europe EEIG (2011) 16 Erdil, Erkan, Clusters and Cluster Policies in Turkey, INSME Ninth Annual Meeting (2013)

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References

Cluster Policy and Smart Specialisation – The Case of Bulgaria, Journal of US-China

Public Administration (2014)

Creating successful and sustainable Clusters through cluster organisations ‐ Micael

Gustafsson, European Cluster Manager of the Year 2012

Eco‐innovation and national cluster policies in Europe – A Qualitative Review,

Greenovate Europe – EEIG (2011)

Erdil, Erkan, Clusters and Cluster Policies in Turkey, INSME Ninth Annual Meeting

(2013)

European Cluster Collaboration Platform (http://www.clustercollaboration.eu/)

European Cluster Excellence Initiative (http://www.cluster-analysis.org/)

European Cluster Observatory (http://www.clusterobservatory.eu/)

How to support SME Policy from Structural Funds, Smart Guide to Cluster Policy, EC,

Directorate-General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs (2016)

Porter, M. E., The Competitive Advantage of Nations. Massachusetts: Harvard

Business Review (1990)

Porter, M. E., On Competition. Boston: Updated and Expanded Ed. Boston: Harvard

Business School Publishing (2008)

Scheer, G., & Zallinger, L. v., Cluster Management – A Practical Guide. Croatia:

Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ) GmbH (2007)

TCI Network (www.tci-network.org/)

http://www.clustercollaboration.eu/

http://www.cluster-analysis.org/

http://www.clusterobservatory.eu/

http://www.tci-network.org/

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