The question of how to ensure a sustainable budget of a cluster organisation has been accompanying my work for the last eight years. What I have learned from various projects with cluster organisations in this time is, that there is no “one-size-fits-all” model. Whether and how a sustainable budget can be developed depends on the individual situation of a cluster organisation and the environment it is operating in. However, there are some key principles successful cluster organisations follow in this regard: 1) Understand and treat your cluster company and partner as client, 2) have a good cluster strategy and clients will pay for your work, 3) a good cluster strategy aims at developing value chains through a sophisticated set of projects and activities that create a return-on-investment for the cluster participants. And – the main characteristic is: a sustainably financed cluster organisations acts as a consultancy for its cluster. It is a business. See my presentation at the meeting of the Council of European Biotech Region (CEBR) in Munich, March 22nd, for further details.

1. Financing cluster organisations and networks: is
there a “one-size-fits-all” model?
Thomas Lämmer-Gamp
Director, European Secretariat for Cluster Analysis (ESCA)/
Head of Group at VDI/VDE Innovation + Technik GmbH
+49 30 310078 414
tlg@vdivde-it.de
www.cluster-analysis.org
www.vdivde-it.de
Council of European Biotechnology Regions (CEBR)
2018 Annual Meeting, Munich, March 22nd, 2018

2. No. There is no “one-size-fits-all” model.

3. Diverse sources of Financing: biotech cluster organisations
n = 15, data source: ESCA cluster benchmarking

4. Diverse sources of Financing: Health and medical science cluster organisations
n = 36, data source: ESCA cluster benchmarking

5. Sustainable financing requires clients.

6. Cluster organisations: sources of financing and clients
Membership fees to
finance organisation and
services
Paid services
Basic funding of
organisation and
services or infrastructure
(public grant/ service
contract)
Projects
(public grants / service
contracts)
Cluster participants as clients:
companies, research institutions and
universities
Government
as client
Cluster organisation provides services and an organisation to deliver them.

7. What clients want to pay for: understanding the market for products and
services delivered by a cluster organisation
Source: Survey by Silicon Saxony, 2015/2016
Legal advice, certifications
Market and trend studies
Support in product development in new areas
Support in access to public funding
IPR / Trademark issues
Support in product design development
Feasibility studies
Business plan development for start-ups
Support in product development in old areas
General support for start-ups
Brainstorming / Open Innovation etc.
Demand
Willingness to pay
Low High

8. Clients pay if there is a
sophisticated cluster strategy.

9. Best practice example: cluster organisation “it’s owl” acts as a catalyst within
the cluster - strategy decides about success!
Source: Technology Network Ostwestfalen Lippe – it’s owl, www.its-owl.de/en/home
➢ Strategy contributes to efficient and
effective R&D project development
and commercialisation of R&D results.
➢ Clear and challenging time frame and
performance targets.
➢ Driven and financially supported by
larger companies in collaboration with
smaller ones and scientific institutions.
Business say want they want!
➢ “Seed-funding” from government, but
substantial co-investment from
industry!
Important: A cluster/cluster organisation is not a
business association, technology or industry park
whose purpose is to create infrastructure including site
development (e. g. real estate) and/or to provide
general R&D/business development support.

10. Cluster strategy is more than
just a report, it is a system.

11. Key elements of the “system cluster strategy”
Clear thematic focus
Clear plan: objectives and activities
in a coherent framework
Organisation and resources
Clear focus on value chain and cluster actors Business model

12. Business model is a key element of
cluster strategy: linking products and
services with clients.

13. What is a business model?
= Logic of how an organisation intends to make money.
The logic can be described through nine basic building blocks which cover the four
main areas of a business: customers, offer, infrastructure and financial viability.
https://www.youtube.
com/watch?v=QoAOz
MTLP5s

14. Do you have a
business model?

15. Q & A