The document discusses clusters, foreign direct investment (FDI) policies, and competitiveness strategies in the Basque Country. It provides an overview of the Basque Country's cluster program and policies since the 1990s which aimed to address economic decline and upgrade competitiveness. More recently, the Basque Country implemented its Research and Innovation for Smart Specialisation strategy (RIS3) to focus resources and investments on key priorities. The strategy identified priority domains like advanced manufacturing, energy, and high technology. It emphasizes public-private partnerships and cross-cluster cooperation. The role of clusters in FDI policy is also examined, with clusters helping to identify investment opportunities and strengthen value chains.

1. Clusters, FDI Policies & Competitiveness in the Light of
RIS3: The Basque Country case
David Fernández Terreros
Parallel 3.2 Topics on New Cluster Trends
12 November 2014

2. Clusters, FDI Policies &
Competitiveness in the Light of
RIS3: The Basque Country case

3. Clusters’ Programme: a tool of Industrial Policy to Address
The Basque Country 1990s’.
A context of economic decline
and industrial restructuring.
Need for a Competitiveness
Upgrade.
Pioneer Cluster Policy in
Europe
Competitiveness Challenges

4. Clusters Policy in the Basque Country
1990s’: 11 Priority Cluster 2008 : 11 Pre-clusters
CLUSTER
ORGANISATION
YEAR
ACEDE – Basque Home
Appliances Cluster
1992
AFM – Machine Tools
Cluster
1992
ACICAE – Basque
Automotive Cluster
1993
GAIA – Electronics &
ICT Cluster
1994
UNIPORT – Port of
Bilbao Cluster
1994
ACLIMA – Basque
Environmental Cluster
1995
Energy Cluster 1996
HEGAN – Basque
Aerospace Cluster
1997
Basque Maritime -
Shipbuilding Cluster
1997
Paper Cluster 1998
EIKEN – Basque
Audiovisual Cluster
2004
PRE-CLUSTER ORGANISATION YEAR
AFV - Basque Country &
Navarre Foundries Assoc.
2008
SIFE – Die-press Forging 2008
HABIC - Habitat, Wood, Office
& Hospitality Cluster
2009
Food Cluster of the Basque
Country
2009
Basque BIOcluster 2009
HERRAMEX - Spanish Assoc.
of Hand tool Manufacturers
2010
Spanish of Steel Products &
Equipment Exporters Assoc.
2010
ERAIKUNE – Basque
Construction Cluster
2010
MLC-ITS – Mobility, Logistics &
ITS Cluster
2011
MAFEX Spanish Railway
Assoc.
2012
LANGUNE Basque Assoc. of
Language Industries
2012

5. Economic Development & Clusters Policies reviewing and updating
Basque
Country
Industry Plan
2013-2016
Basque
Science,
Technology &
Innovation
Plan 2015
RIS3

6. RIS3: funding allocation criteria within HORIZON 2020 & European SFI
“a right balance between
Competition and Co-operation
Leads to Excellence.”
RIS3
a precondition & allocation criteria
for EFSI.

7. RIS3 strategies are defined as
integrated, place-based economic transformation agendas in the
national/regional level:
• Focusing policy support & investments on key national/regional
priorities, challenges & needs for knowledge-based development.
• Building on each country/region’s strengths, competitive
advantages & potential for excellence.
• Supporting technological as well as practice-based innovation &
aiming to stimulate private sector investment. Public Private
Partnership
• Getting stakeholders fully involved and encouraging innovation &
experimentation in a process of Entreprenurial Discovery.
RIS3

8. RIS3
RIS3
Focusing resources Prioritisation
Building on each country/region’s Strengths Specialisation
Bottom Up – PPP - Open Innovation Entrepreneurial Discovery
Social, Organisational, Market, Service & Technological Broad View of Innovation
Monitoring & Evaluation Accountability
More Efficient Resources Allocation
&
Higher Impact

9. Basque Country RIS3

10. Basque Country’s RIS3: Priority Domains and KETs
Priority domains:
Smart Specialisation of the Basque Country
Transportation
& mobility
ADVANCED MANUFACTURING
Equipment
ENERGY
Smart
Grids
Renewable
Offshore
Electrification
Storage
Micro Nano
HIGH TECHNOLOGY INTENSIVE
Bio-Health ICT / CPS*
(*) Cyber-Physical Systems

11. Cross-cluster solutions
A Joint Offer of
Cleantech &
Sustainable Urban
Development
Solutions

12. Related Diversification: Wave Energy
The Biscay Marine Energy Platform
(BIMEP) is an open sea test infrastructure
for research & demonstration of offshore
Wave Energy Converters (WEC).
Mutriku OSC Project. Since 2011,
the 1st plant in Europe in
commercial operation using Ocean
energy to generate electricity.

13. Hybridisation for Industrial Transformation
A Joint Offshore Wind
Energy Work Group:
+ 70 Companies
Working on a first Offshore
Wind Farm 50 MW
Starting collaboration with
other European Clusters.

14. Public-Private Engagement

15. Cross-cluster solutions & Public-Private Partnerships

16. Open Innovation & Public-Private Partnerships
• 3 Year Mobility Lab joint project “Mobility for Sustainable Territories”
• Design, development and validation of new Mobility technologies.
• One of 3 Basque projects in the Living Lab initiative, promoted by the EU
in order to boost new models of open innovation & collaboration
between the Administration, Business community and Society.

17. Coopetition & Public-Private Partnerships
Open Innovation & Innovation
through Cooperation
26 Companies (local &
multinational, OEM, Tier1, Tier2 and
Tier3) have set up R&D units in AIC
premises.

18. Cross-cluster cooperation: ADVANCED MANUFACTURING CENTRES
• Will allow to Integrate & Validate co-developed Advanced technologies &
innovations.
• Open & Customer Driven Innovation, ensuring its Rapid Transfer to the
Marketplace.
• Public-private Governance: a mix of industrial founding partners, institutional
stakeholders (Basque Country & Provincial Govs.), University, R&D centres & relevant
Cluster organisations.
• Better Alignment between Technology Providers and User Clients.
 CFA Aerospace: Aerospace cluster + Machine Tool Cluster,
 CFA Wind Energy WINDBOX: Energy + Machine Tool Cluster.

19. FDI Policy in the Basque Country

20. Invest in the Basque Country: a Lean Team structure
based on distributed knowledge.
Working on a task-force scheme for each project, engaging relevant cluster organisations,
and other agents and key players in a matrix lead by Invest in the Basque Country.
SPRI
Support
Programmes
Sectors
Operational
Costs
Employers
’ Board
Infrastructure
Logistics
Diputacion
es Forales
DDEC
DMAPAP
DEAS
CEIs
TECH
Parks
SPRILUR
EVE
Utilities
SGCR
Clusters &
Pre-Clusters
Technolog
y Centres
Other
Agencies:
Environment,
Energy
Sector
Diversification
Initiatives
Business
Associations
Port of
Bilbao
Vías
Port of
Pasaia
Bilbao
Air
• Automotive
• Advanced
Manufacturing
• Aerospace
• Agro food
• Audiovisuals
• Shipbuilding
• ICT (GAIA)
• MLC-ITS
• Environment
• Energy Cluster
• HABIC
• Construction
• Household
appliances
• Paper Cluster
• Railway Eq.
• Uniport
• …
• Universities (UPV/EHU,
Deusto, UM/MU)
• Basic Excellence Research
Centres (BERCs)
• Cooperative Research
Centres (CICs)
• TECNALIA
• IK4
• Sector Technology Centres
•EVE
•IHOBE
•BIOBASQUE
•NANOBASQUE
•BASQUETOUR
•AGRAGEX
•FLUIDEX
•FUNDIGEX
•HERRAMEX
•SIDEREX
•AVIC

21. Invest in the Basque Country: THE CLUSTERS’s Role
Clusters’ Main Contribution within FDI Policy
Clusters role within FDI policy implementation:
 Providing relevant information for drafting location promotion
documents and, together with qualified contacts, for specific
investment location proposals.
 Identifying portfolio of local companies/projects that might be
reinforced through Co-investment and FDI, fostering strategic
partnerships.
• Defining an Action Plan for Co-investment & Urgent FDI search for
local companies threatened with closure or delocalisation.
 Identifying new opportunities and specific target companies and
helping to prioritize the most interesting niches for attracting FDI into
the Basque Country:
• Allowing for related diversification and hybridisation.
• Strengthening the Value Chain.

22. Diagnostics for Proactive Action in FDI Attraction & Development: ENERGY
NICHE Priority MAIN REASONS MAIN ASSETS (Attractiveness Factors)
T&D Smart
Grids
HVDC • Would have a driving effect on
Basque suppliers with relevant
capabilities.
• Possible increased activity of
multinationals currently located
in the B.C.
• Existence of local companies that could be potential
partners for a JV agreement.
• Presence HVDC companies in the BC currently
engaged in other activities (aftercare FDI
development).
Wind Energy
(Offshore)
Another
Leader
OEM
• Would have a driving effect on
the network of Basque
suppliers.
• There is no market competition
in Euskadi
• Presence of a large network of companies and
Technology Centres in Onshore and Offshore wind
power.
• Sea Access to key offshore markets
Storage Batteries /
storage
systems
Current lack of industrial capacity
to manufacture the batteries.
• Linked with development/ attraction of an Electric
Vehicle OEM.
• Presence of companies integrating storage
technologies and
Marine
Energies
Converters Possibility to take advantage of
various initiatives with
considerable public investment
(BIMEP)
• Existence of demonstration infrastructure and other
initiatives with public support (BIMEP, Mutriku Wave
Power Plant).
• Presence of companies in the maritime and
offshore sectors.
Electric
Vehicle
Electric
Vehicle
OEM
It would exert a pull effect on
energy and automotive cluster
suppliers
• Charge infrastructure already in place (IBIL
government agency).
• Access to major markets in Europe.
• Presence of a remarkable supply base in the
energy and automotive clusters.

23. “When Small Is Beautiful; Lessons From Highly–Innovative Smaller Countries”
“When Small Is Beautiful; Lessons
From Highly–Innovative Smaller
Countries”: Finland, Estonia, Israel,
Singapore and the Basque Country.
Available at:
http://www.nesta.org.uk/sites/default/files/when2
0small20is20beautiful20final.pdf

24. Eskerrik asko
Muchas gracias
Thank You Very Much
David Fernández Terreros
dfernandez@spri.es