This document discusses national styles of cluster promotion in Europe. It notes that while cluster policies have diffused widely, there remains variety in approaches due to factors like levels of government intervention, federal vs. centralized systems, and liberal vs. coordinated market economies. Germany is used as a case study. The document outlines three major German cluster programs: BioRegio in 1995 to boost biotech; InnoRegio in 1999 focused on economic convergence in eastern states; and leading-edge clusters starting in 2007 to identify internationally competitive clusters.
The Strategic Factors Shaping Competitiveness for Maritime Clusters: An OverviewPeter J Stavroulakis
Objective: Industrial clusters have been an enduring object of study from Alfred Marshall’s ‘localized industries’ to the point that scholars are still analyzing the framework and dynamics of agglomeration economies and their underlying factors. Industrial clusters are considered as a pillar of competitiveness, innovation and sustainability for today's economies, for they may hold viable competitive advantages for industries and nations. Maritime clusters in particular provide a very attractive analytical base within a strategic management perspective, for many strategic aspects such as innovation, knowledge creation and diffusion, network economies etc. have been found to bloom within said divide of industrial clusters. We venture to extract the strategic factors that instigate the mechanisms triggering these effects. The objective of this work is to provide a topology of factors concerning maritime clusters, their critical linkages with factors concerning other industrial clusters and their differentiation from said generic clusters, referencing the factors that render them unique and add to their exclusivity.
The Strategic Factors Shaping Competitiveness for Maritime Clusters: An OverviewPeter J Stavroulakis
Objective: Industrial clusters have been an enduring object of study from Alfred Marshall’s ‘localized industries’ to the point that scholars are still analyzing the framework and dynamics of agglomeration economies and their underlying factors. Industrial clusters are considered as a pillar of competitiveness, innovation and sustainability for today's economies, for they may hold viable competitive advantages for industries and nations. Maritime clusters in particular provide a very attractive analytical base within a strategic management perspective, for many strategic aspects such as innovation, knowledge creation and diffusion, network economies etc. have been found to bloom within said divide of industrial clusters. We venture to extract the strategic factors that instigate the mechanisms triggering these effects. The objective of this work is to provide a topology of factors concerning maritime clusters, their critical linkages with factors concerning other industrial clusters and their differentiation from said generic clusters, referencing the factors that render them unique and add to their exclusivity.
Employability in the Cultural and Creative Sectors in Arab Mediterranean Coun...Jamaity
One of the main purposes of our study is to provide the conceptual and policy framework for understanding the creative economy, in order to identify major obstacles to
employment and employability in the cultural and creative sectors in four Arab Mediterranean Countries [AMC]: Palestine, Egypt, Tunisia and Morocco. We aim to identify the main obstacles facing job creation in these sectors, and assess gaps between the supply of skills (by universities and training centers) and their demand (by the labor market). To what extent are employment policies and Active Labor Market Programs [ALMP] in these countries capable of reducing the mismatch in these areas and supporting youth employability?
A preliminary study (literature review to collect data on the subject, including comparative studies for the four countries, etc.) allowed us to identify the main challenges of the cultural and creative sectors in AMC and to analyze the major characteristics of the labor market (section I). We conducted interviews with key-informants and stakeholders, by
developing a single questionnaire (see appendix 1), in order to discuss the specific challenges of each of the four countries (sections II, III, IV and V). Thus, we tried to combine two complementary approaches in our methodology: analysis of key documents and investigation methods used in development projects. While trying to identify our key
informants, we took into account the requirement to meet stakeholders from various backgrounds (including policy makers, cultural managers, artists…). Finally, five sets of
recommendations are suggested according to the main issues and challenges facing employability:
1- Improving the attractiveness and the quality of VET
2- Better preparedness of higher education institutions in order to reduce the skill
mismatch
3- The budget of ministries of culture should be increased and restructured
4- Need for better synergy between the local and the international scene
5- Better inclusive policies are needed for better jobs in the creative sector
Presentation on the potential of Mission-Oriented Policies in the up-coming European framework programme for research 'Horizon Europe' at the Conference: HORIZON EUROPE. The new Research and InnovationFramework Programme: challenges and opportunities. Organised by UIMP / CSIC. Santander 10-12 September 2018
Aumentare l'esperienza. Applicazioni mobile di realtà aumentata nello spazio ...Marco Carboni
Il lavoro mira ad esaminare la tecnologia definita come realtà aumentata (o AR dall'inglese augmented reality), analizzando, da una parte l'infrastruttura tecnica che la costituisce e dall'altra i diversi processi che ne hanno segnato la storia fino allo stato attuale. In particolare verrà centrata l'attenzione sui fattori che hanno portato lo sviluppo dell'AR in mobilità su diversi dispositivi, dei quali verranno spiegate alcune applicazioni fruibili nello spazio urbano.
Employability in the Cultural and Creative Sectors in Arab Mediterranean Coun...Jamaity
One of the main purposes of our study is to provide the conceptual and policy framework for understanding the creative economy, in order to identify major obstacles to
employment and employability in the cultural and creative sectors in four Arab Mediterranean Countries [AMC]: Palestine, Egypt, Tunisia and Morocco. We aim to identify the main obstacles facing job creation in these sectors, and assess gaps between the supply of skills (by universities and training centers) and their demand (by the labor market). To what extent are employment policies and Active Labor Market Programs [ALMP] in these countries capable of reducing the mismatch in these areas and supporting youth employability?
A preliminary study (literature review to collect data on the subject, including comparative studies for the four countries, etc.) allowed us to identify the main challenges of the cultural and creative sectors in AMC and to analyze the major characteristics of the labor market (section I). We conducted interviews with key-informants and stakeholders, by
developing a single questionnaire (see appendix 1), in order to discuss the specific challenges of each of the four countries (sections II, III, IV and V). Thus, we tried to combine two complementary approaches in our methodology: analysis of key documents and investigation methods used in development projects. While trying to identify our key
informants, we took into account the requirement to meet stakeholders from various backgrounds (including policy makers, cultural managers, artists…). Finally, five sets of
recommendations are suggested according to the main issues and challenges facing employability:
1- Improving the attractiveness and the quality of VET
2- Better preparedness of higher education institutions in order to reduce the skill
mismatch
3- The budget of ministries of culture should be increased and restructured
4- Need for better synergy between the local and the international scene
5- Better inclusive policies are needed for better jobs in the creative sector
Presentation on the potential of Mission-Oriented Policies in the up-coming European framework programme for research 'Horizon Europe' at the Conference: HORIZON EUROPE. The new Research and InnovationFramework Programme: challenges and opportunities. Organised by UIMP / CSIC. Santander 10-12 September 2018
Aumentare l'esperienza. Applicazioni mobile di realtà aumentata nello spazio ...Marco Carboni
Il lavoro mira ad esaminare la tecnologia definita come realtà aumentata (o AR dall'inglese augmented reality), analizzando, da una parte l'infrastruttura tecnica che la costituisce e dall'altra i diversi processi che ne hanno segnato la storia fino allo stato attuale. In particolare verrà centrata l'attenzione sui fattori che hanno portato lo sviluppo dell'AR in mobilità su diversi dispositivi, dei quali verranno spiegate alcune applicazioni fruibili nello spazio urbano.
This research begins by showing the different meanings attributed to the term cluster by different currents and authors, which suggests definitions that are found around its spatial framework. Next, the factors that intervene in the competitiveness of a region and its growth are shown, for the development of these, Porter’s model of competitiveness which was taken as reference, and the contexts: geographical and economic. Therefore, the methodology was used based on a qualitative design, with descriptive and correlational scope since it will analyze differences of each cluster, with respect to the factors of dimensions, establishments, growth, economic impact and policies. To do this, the information-gathering tool was two semi-structured interviews with cluster leaders in both countries, because the approach is based on data collection methods that are not completely standardized or predetermined. And finally, the results of the comparison of the Mexican Bajío automotive cluster with the German cluster located in Baden-Württemberg are presented.
03 - Le Chemin de l’Union Européenne vers la Spécialisation IntelligenteMohamed Larbi BEN YOUNES
Le Chemin de l’Union Européenne vers la Spécialisation Intelligente / The European Union's Approach to Smart Specialisation
Mr. Alessandro RAINOLDI, IPTS, Directorate-General (DG) Joint Research Centre (JRC), European Commission (EC)
Séminaire sur la Stratégie de Spécialisation Intelligente / S3 organisé par l'ANPR avec le support de l'UE les 17 et 18 mai 2016 à Hammamet.
Global governance and the interface withbusiness new instit.docxbudbarber38650
Global governance and the interface with
business: new institutions, processes and
partnerships
Partnered governance: aligning corporate
responsibility and public policy in the global
economy
Atle Midttun
Abstract
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to note the remarkable expansion of corporate social
responsibility (CSR) throughout the late 1990s and early 2000s. Taking this as point of departure, it aims
to discuss the potential for aligning CSR-oriented industrial self-regulation with public governance to fill
some of the governance gap in the global economy.
Design/methodology/approach – The paper provides a conceptual discussion, empirically
underpinned by three case studies.
Findings – The paper finds that it is plausible, and empirically supported by the case studies, to
conceive of a considerable role for CSR based self-regulation in the global economy. A central
precondition is the ability of civil society organizations to establish ‘‘moral rights’’ as credible voices for
‘‘just causes’’ in a media-driven communicative society, and thereby put pressure on brand sensitive
industry. The paper finds that corporate self-regulation may fill a larger part of the governance gap if
public policy is oriented to engage with industry in a partnered mode.
Research limitations/implications – The paper establishes a conceptual base for exploring the
governance implications of CSR, casuistically underpinned by three case studies. Further studies are
needed, however, to explore the scale and scope of partnered governance in the global economy.
Practical implications – The paper provides insights into an approach to increase governability of the
global economy.
Originality/value – The originality of the paper lies in exploring the implications of CSR for governance,
and for highlighting how the governance potential may be enhanced by reorientation of public policy.
Keywords Governance, Corporate social responsibility, Globalization, Regulation
Paper type Conceptual paper
Introduction
The late twentieth and the early twenty-first centuries have seen increasing economic
globalization in the form of both globally extended capital markets and extended
outsourcing of production in global supply systems across the world. After three decades of
predominant liberalist orientation, the international economy remains strongly
pro-commercially biased.
International governance of social and environmental concerns has been relatively much
weaker, reflecting the lack of resourceful engagement by committed powerful actors and
PAGE 406 j CORPORATE GOVERNANCE j VOL. 8 NO. 4 2008, pp. 406-418, Q Emerald Group Publishing Limited, ISSN 1472-0701 DOI 10.1108/14720700810899158
Atle Midttun is based at the
Norwegian School of
Management, Oslo,
Norway.
The author is grateful to the
Research Council of Norway for
support to this article under the
projects ‘‘C(S)R in Global Value
Chains’’ and ‘‘Sustainability for
the 21st Century: Overcomi.
OECD STIG: Governance of international research and innovation cooperation fo...Per Koch
Presentation of the OECD STIG-project on governance of international science, technology and innovation collaboration for global challenges. OECD STIG October 2011. Chair's presentation. UPDATE Nov 7 2012: Vi have set up a new blog on the follow up of STIG over at http://beyondstig.blogspot.com
Introduction to AI for Nonprofits with Tapp NetworkTechSoup
Dive into the world of AI! Experts Jon Hill and Tareq Monaur will guide you through AI's role in enhancing nonprofit websites and basic marketing strategies, making it easy to understand and apply.
MATATAG CURRICULUM: ASSESSING THE READINESS OF ELEM. PUBLIC SCHOOL TEACHERS I...NelTorrente
In this research, it concludes that while the readiness of teachers in Caloocan City to implement the MATATAG Curriculum is generally positive, targeted efforts in professional development, resource distribution, support networks, and comprehensive preparation can address the existing gaps and ensure successful curriculum implementation.
2024.06.01 Introducing a competency framework for languag learning materials ...Sandy Millin
http://sandymillin.wordpress.com/iateflwebinar2024
Published classroom materials form the basis of syllabuses, drive teacher professional development, and have a potentially huge influence on learners, teachers and education systems. All teachers also create their own materials, whether a few sentences on a blackboard, a highly-structured fully-realised online course, or anything in between. Despite this, the knowledge and skills needed to create effective language learning materials are rarely part of teacher training, and are mostly learnt by trial and error.
Knowledge and skills frameworks, generally called competency frameworks, for ELT teachers, trainers and managers have existed for a few years now. However, until I created one for my MA dissertation, there wasn’t one drawing together what we need to know and do to be able to effectively produce language learning materials.
This webinar will introduce you to my framework, highlighting the key competencies I identified from my research. It will also show how anybody involved in language teaching (any language, not just English!), teacher training, managing schools or developing language learning materials can benefit from using the framework.
Safalta Digital marketing institute in Noida, provide complete applications that encompass a huge range of virtual advertising and marketing additives, which includes search engine optimization, virtual communication advertising, pay-per-click on marketing, content material advertising, internet analytics, and greater. These university courses are designed for students who possess a comprehensive understanding of virtual marketing strategies and attributes.Safalta Digital Marketing Institute in Noida is a first choice for young individuals or students who are looking to start their careers in the field of digital advertising. The institute gives specialized courses designed and certification.
for beginners, providing thorough training in areas such as SEO, digital communication marketing, and PPC training in Noida. After finishing the program, students receive the certifications recognised by top different universitie, setting a strong foundation for a successful career in digital marketing.
Unit 8 - Information and Communication Technology (Paper I).pdfThiyagu K
This slides describes the basic concepts of ICT, basics of Email, Emerging Technology and Digital Initiatives in Education. This presentations aligns with the UGC Paper I syllabus.
June 3, 2024 Anti-Semitism Letter Sent to MIT President Kornbluth and MIT Cor...Levi Shapiro
Letter from the Congress of the United States regarding Anti-Semitism sent June 3rd to MIT President Sally Kornbluth, MIT Corp Chair, Mark Gorenberg
Dear Dr. Kornbluth and Mr. Gorenberg,
The US House of Representatives is deeply concerned by ongoing and pervasive acts of antisemitic
harassment and intimidation at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Failing to act decisively to ensure a safe learning environment for all students would be a grave dereliction of your responsibilities as President of MIT and Chair of the MIT Corporation.
This Congress will not stand idly by and allow an environment hostile to Jewish students to persist. The House believes that your institution is in violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, and the inability or
unwillingness to rectify this violation through action requires accountability.
Postsecondary education is a unique opportunity for students to learn and have their ideas and beliefs challenged. However, universities receiving hundreds of millions of federal funds annually have denied
students that opportunity and have been hijacked to become venues for the promotion of terrorism, antisemitic harassment and intimidation, unlawful encampments, and in some cases, assaults and riots.
The House of Representatives will not countenance the use of federal funds to indoctrinate students into hateful, antisemitic, anti-American supporters of terrorism. Investigations into campus antisemitism by the Committee on Education and the Workforce and the Committee on Ways and Means have been expanded into a Congress-wide probe across all relevant jurisdictions to address this national crisis. The undersigned Committees will conduct oversight into the use of federal funds at MIT and its learning environment under authorities granted to each Committee.
• The Committee on Education and the Workforce has been investigating your institution since December 7, 2023. The Committee has broad jurisdiction over postsecondary education, including its compliance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, campus safety concerns over disruptions to the learning environment, and the awarding of federal student aid under the Higher Education Act.
• The Committee on Oversight and Accountability is investigating the sources of funding and other support flowing to groups espousing pro-Hamas propaganda and engaged in antisemitic harassment and intimidation of students. The Committee on Oversight and Accountability is the principal oversight committee of the US House of Representatives and has broad authority to investigate “any matter” at “any time” under House Rule X.
• The Committee on Ways and Means has been investigating several universities since November 15, 2023, when the Committee held a hearing entitled From Ivory Towers to Dark Corners: Investigating the Nexus Between Antisemitism, Tax-Exempt Universities, and Terror Financing. The Committee followed the hearing with letters to those institutions on January 10, 202
Executive Directors Chat Leveraging AI for Diversity, Equity, and InclusionTechSoup
Let’s explore the intersection of technology and equity in the final session of our DEI series. Discover how AI tools, like ChatGPT, can be used to support and enhance your nonprofit's DEI initiatives. Participants will gain insights into practical AI applications and get tips for leveraging technology to advance their DEI goals.
Read| The latest issue of The Challenger is here! We are thrilled to announce that our school paper has qualified for the NATIONAL SCHOOLS PRESS CONFERENCE (NSPC) 2024. Thank you for your unwavering support and trust. Dive into the stories that made us stand out!
Macroeconomics- Movie Location
This will be used as part of your Personal Professional Portfolio once graded.
Objective:
Prepare a presentation or a paper using research, basic comparative analysis, data organization and application of economic information. You will make an informed assessment of an economic climate outside of the United States to accomplish an entertainment industry objective.
A Strategic Approach: GenAI in EducationPeter Windle
Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies such as Generative AI, Image Generators and Large Language Models have had a dramatic impact on teaching, learning and assessment over the past 18 months. The most immediate threat AI posed was to Academic Integrity with Higher Education Institutes (HEIs) focusing their efforts on combating the use of GenAI in assessment. Guidelines were developed for staff and students, policies put in place too. Innovative educators have forged paths in the use of Generative AI for teaching, learning and assessments leading to pockets of transformation springing up across HEIs, often with little or no top-down guidance, support or direction.
This Gasta posits a strategic approach to integrating AI into HEIs to prepare staff, students and the curriculum for an evolving world and workplace. We will highlight the advantages of working with these technologies beyond the realm of teaching, learning and assessment by considering prompt engineering skills, industry impact, curriculum changes, and the need for staff upskilling. In contrast, not engaging strategically with Generative AI poses risks, including falling behind peers, missed opportunities and failing to ensure our graduates remain employable. The rapid evolution of AI technologies necessitates a proactive and strategic approach if we are to remain relevant.
1. Structural Change in Europe – Innovative City and Business Regions
see following page
burg, London, Paris and Munich. But the actual structur-
ing of the globally valid flexibilisation requirements hap-
pens in Berlin – place matters! – in a specifically Berlin
style. Their habitual practice is constituted in the City of
Berlin in accordance with its own rules, processes and
narratives that correspond with the contradiction, hetero-
geneity and improvisation that are the bedrock of this
city’s identity. (English editing: Blossom Stefani) ::
References
Lange, B. 2007 Die Räume der Kreativszenen. Culturepreneurs und ihre Orte in
Berlin (Bielefeld: Transcript Verlag).
Senate Administration for the Economy 2008 Kulturwirtschaft in Berlin – Entwick-
lungen und Potenziale (2. Kulturwirtschaftsbericht). Senate Administration for
the Economy 2008 (Berlin).
Wellmann, I. 2009 Schnittstellenkulturen – Hybride Akteure, Patchworkökonomien,
intermediäre Institutionen in Lange, B./Kalandides, A./Stöber, B./Wellmann, I.
Governance der Kreativwirtschaft. Diagnosen und Handlungsoptionen
(Bielefeld: Transcript Verlag).
37
2. Structural Change in Europe – Innovative City and Business Regions
National Styles of Cluster Promotion
Cluster policies between variety and convergence
Dr Matthias Kiese, Research Associate, Institute of Economic and Cultural Geography, Leibniz University of Hannover, Germany
Now that almost two decades have passed since the (OECD 1996) and the dearth of budgets making clusters
publication of Porter’s (1990) enquiry into ‘The Competi- an attractive means of focussing public funds. A growing
tive Advantage of Nations’, the cluster concept has appar- concern with technological capabilities was joined by a
ently not lost its appeal to academics, policymakers and mounting dissatisfaction with traditional technology poli-
practitioners thinking about the promotion of innovative cies based on linear models of innovation. As a result, the
capabilities and economic growth. interactive and systemic character of technological change
is now commonly acknowledged, as is the assumption
Defined by Porter himself (1998: 197 f.) as “geographic that despite globalisation, placebound ‘sticky’ assets such
concentrations of interconnected companies, specialised as the exchange of implicit knowledge assume even more
suppliers, service providers, firms in related industries, importance for the competitiveness of firms. In policy and
and associated institutions (for example, universities, practice, the cluster approach is often employed to develop
standards agencies, and trade associations) in particular so-called triple helix relations between universities, indus-
fields that compete but also cooperate,” clusters are wide- try and government (Etzkowitz & Leydesdorff 2000).
ly regarded as a panacea for national, regional and local
competitiveness. Diffusion channels for cluster know-how
Further to these common challenges, research high-
Business-led versus government-led initiatives lights a variety of channels available for the diffusion of
With the ongoing popularity of cluster promotion, it is policies across space and time. Knowledge of and about
often overlooked that the most shining cases of successful cluster promotion may diffuse through literature, either
spatial concentrations of industry emerged and grew with- academic, best practice case studies, or the growing sup-
out explicit government intention. Of over 800 clusters ply of manuals for cluster development distilled from the
identified world-wide in the Harvard Business School’s former. Such know-how is also disseminated by special-
Cluster Meta Study, only one emerged through a public ised consultants acting as transfer agents (Stone 2004),
initiative, while the emergence of a further 40 was influ- and by the mobility of practitioners between regions and
enced by public action such as wars and expulsions (van countries. Practitioners may also use cluster conferences
der Linde 2005: 28). Therefore, it is now widely accepted like those held annually by The Competitiveness Institute
that governments can only create favourable conditions to link into international communities of practice that
for the emergence of clusters and facilitate their growth might lead to knowledge flows in more informal networks
and restructuring once they have emerged. Cluster poli- later on (Brown & Duguid 1991). Finally, politicians and
cies can be defined as “efforts of government to develop practitioners may travel abroad to study cases of cluster
and support clusters in a particular region” (Hospers & promotion perceived as best-practice, or invite their peers
Beugelsdijk 2002: 382). Their degree of public agency to give presentations. Within the German-speaking area,
sets them apart from business-led cluster initiatives in for instance, politicians and practitioners tend to refer to
which cluster firms assume centre stage, while govern- Upper Austria as a source of inspiration, and as an occa-
ment and/or the research community only play a support- sional destination for policy tourism.
ive role (cf. Sölvell et al. 2003: 31). In the European context, the Commission plays a cen-
tral role in disseminating best practice and promoting
Knowledge economy – from technology policy to policy-learning across borders. This aim is generally pur-
triple helix relations sued through the open method of co-ordination and the
The global spread of the cluster concept in policy and principle of yardstick competition. As for cluster policy,
practice can be explained by a set of common challenges the Commission focuses on mapping, the identification
faced by countries and regions at all stages of develop- and dissemination of best practice, the provision of plat-
ment. First and foremost, globalisation exposes nations forms for know-how exchange between policy-makers
and regions to intensified locational competition, which and practitioners, as well as on cross-border networking
in turn accelerates structural change and promotes the of clusters. Under the Commission’s Europe INNOVA
competitiveness of such territories to a new paradigm for Initiative, the installation of a High Level Advisory
economic development (cf. Siebert 2005, Martin et al. Group on Clusters led to the European Cluster Memoran-
2006). Further challenges include the transition of ad- dum as a common agenda for cluster policy action signed
vanced industrial countries into knowledge economies in January 2008.
38
3. Structural Change in Europe – Innovative City and Business Regions
Central or federal – path-dependent learning –––––––– Country Case Studies: Germany ––––––––
Despite these significant forces of convergence, struc-
tural and institutional differences between nations and re- To prevent any return to centralism after World War II,
gions mean that there is no such thing as a one-size-fits-all Germany was founded as a federal republic in 1949. As a
cluster policy. Furthermore, cumulative and path-depend- consequence, all 16 federal states pursue autonomous
ent learning by doing in policy and practice contribute to cluster policies today, but for brevity’s sake this paper can
persisting variety not only in the interpretation and appli- only focus on the federal level. Associated with the co-or-
cation of the cluster concept, but also in the rationales and dinated nature of its market economy, Germany’s system
targets of cluster polices. Cluster policies emerge at the of innovation is focused on incremental innovation and
interfaces of hitherto isolated policies, especially science diffusion, but has comparative weaknesses in radical and
and technology policy, industrial policy, and regional breakthrough innovations, such as biotechnology (cf.
policy which converge into regionalised innovation poli- Casper 2007). German policymakers praise the country’s
cy. A first source of international variety is thus the policy research excellence, but lament that German inventions
area which embraces the cluster notion first and most such as the MP3 standard are often commercialised
forcefully, and how well these formerly separate policies abroad. Clusters are hence seen as vehicles to bridge the
are integrated. Further institutional variety may be expected perceived gap between science and industry to accelerate
from the role of the state, and a country’s centralised vs. innovation. However, a too consequent spatial concentra-
federal set-up. tion of public resources is at odds with Germany’s tradi-
The role attributed to the public vis-à-vis the private tionally redistributive regional policy, given that spatial
sector is prominently captured by the concept of varieties equity is a constitutional goal. Unification in 1990 sud-
of capitalism that places market economies on a spectrum denly increased spatial disparities in productivity and in-
reaching from liberal on the one hand to co-ordinated on novative capabilities. Technological and socio-economic
the other (Hall & Soskice 2001). While the United States convergence of the new Länder towards the West German
are commonly regarded as the archetypal liberal market level is a special priority of federal government since, and
economy, this model is best represented by the United a regionalised innovation policy including the promotion
Kingdom (UK) within the EU. Co-ordinated market econ- of cluster structures in the new Länder is one way of
omies are epitomised by continental European countries pursuing this aim.
like France or Germany. The degree of centralisation vs. Federal government started to embrace the cluster
federalism is the third major source of variety since cluster concept with the BioRegio contest in 1995, an attempt to
promotion is a typical case of multi-level governance, as jump-start Germany’s embryonic biotech industry. Policy
it is pursued at all administrative levels from the suprana- lessons learnt from BioRegio were adapted to promote
tional via nations and regions all the way down to the eco- innovative capabilities in the new Länder with the Inno-
nomic development efforts of cities and municipalities Regio initiative in 1999 and the subsequent Entrepreneurial
(cf. Bovaird et al. 2008, Burfitt & MacNeill 2008, Conzel- Regions family of programmes. The federal government’s
mann & Smith 2008). Varieties of capitalism and federal- cluster policy received its most recent impetus with the
ism are thus expected to directly translate into distinct leading-edge cluster competition in 2007, which is part of
styles of cluster promotion that would ultimately determine a broader High-Tech Strategy for Germany.
the scope for cross-country policy learning.
To illustrate this variety, three countries have been se- The BioRegio contest
lected as case-studies for cluster promotion at the national Germany’s federal government got hooked on the
level. From a varieties of capitalism perspective, the UK cluster notion in the mid-1990s when trying to promote
is an obvious choice as it comes closest to the liberal ver- its fledgling biotechnology industry which was estimated
sion of a market economy, while Germany and France are to lag twenty years behind the U.S. and ten years behind
the two largest economies of the ‘old’ continental Europe. the UK at that time (Cooke 2001: 267). The experience
On the centralism-federalism axis, Germany was purpose- of those countries suggested that clusters like San Diego,
fully founded as a federal republic, while the UK and Boston or the English Cambridge were important sources
France have all embarked on varying decentralisation of national competitiveness in biotech. To close this gap,
efforts, but their centralist past is still far from a distant federal government decided to leverage on the competi-
memory. tive potential of federalism. In 1995, the BioRegio contest
39
4. Structural Change in Europe – Innovative City and Business Regions
was launched to identify and promote Germany’s most were selected by an independent jury, and 23 ultimately
promising potential biotech clusters (cf. Dohse 2007). qualified for funding. Convinced by the success of Inno-
17 regions entered the contest, and in November 1996, Regio, the federal ministry differentiated the initial con-
Munich, the Rhineland and the Rhine-Neckar area cept into a whole new family of programmes called Entre-
emerged as winners, with a special vote awarded to Jena preneurial Regions (Unternehmen Region) to support
in the new federal state of Thuringia. The three winners innovative networks in the new Länder.
received around 25 million € each over five years, plus
preferential access to R&D funding from the federal Bio- The Spitzencluster competition
technology 2000 programme. In September 2006, Germany’s federal government for
the first time announced an inter-ministerial high-tech-
However, it is worth pointing out that not only these strategy (BMBF 2006). Of 14.6 billion € earmarked for
winners benefitted from the competition. The contest mo- 2006–2009, 11.94 billion € are designated for a set of 17
bilised actors in most other regions, too, with the effect industries and technologies, while the remaining 2.66
that by the mid-2000s, there were 25 regional networks billion € are reserved for generic measures of innovation
and cluster initiatives and five state-level associations in policy. Of the latter, 600 million € are earmarked for
charge of regional biotech promotion (BMBF 2005: 5). measures to join the forces of science and industry, of
Some of them received support from subsequent pro- which the leading-edge cluster competition (Spitzencluster-
grammes like BioFuture, BioChance and BioProfile wettbewerb) is the key thrust. The aim is to promote up to
(Dohse 2007: 77 f.), but it remains questionable if the 15 already well-developed clusters irrespective of technol-
almost ubiquitous promotion of biotech networks is the ogy or industry in three rounds over a period of five years.
most efficient way of growing internationally competitive Essentially, this means an extension of the BioRegio con-
clusters. However, the BioRegio contest is now regarded cept beyond the narrow confines of the industry. Conse-
as an important vehicle to jumpstart the biotech industry quently, the aims are the same: to identify and strategically
in Germany which scored spectacular growth in the sec- promote clusters to achieve leading positions in interna-
ond half of the 1990s, although this was helped by legis- tional competition, to accelerate the commercialisation of
lative changes, a favourable business cycle and ample new knowledge, to stabilise and create growth and employ-
supply of venture capital. Following the burst of the New ment, and to make Germany a more attractive business
Economy bubble in 2000/2001, the industry consolidated location. Following the first call for applications in August
at around 400 companies with about 10,000 employees 2007, 38 regional projects applied by the closing date in
(Ernst & Young 2008). December. A dozen of those projects qualified for the final,
before the winners of the first round were disclosed in
The InnoRegio contest September 2008:
In the mid-1990s, the initial convergence of the new
Länder vis-à-vis West Germany had come to a halt, and • Cool Silicon – Energy Efficiency Innovations from
significant disparities in innovative capabilities and eco- Silicon Saxony
nomic wealth threatened to become very persistent. The • Solarvalley Mitteldeutschland
federal Ministry of Education and Research thus adapted • Aviation Cluster in the Metropolitan Region of Hamburg
its acclaimed BioRegio model to the specific needs of the • Forum Organic Electronics in the Rhine-Neckar
new Länder: While BioRegio strove for the mobilisation Metropolitan Region
of regional assets for the benefit of national competitive- • Biotech-cluster “cell-based and molecular medicine”
ness, the InnoRegio contest was designed to narrow the in the Rhine-Neckar Metropolitan Region.
gap between the eastern and the western states. In contrast
to BioRegio, the new contest was not only confined to the These five winners qualify for a total funding of up to
new Länder, but also open to all industries and technolo- 200 million € over a five-year period. While the first two
gies. In 1999, the initial call triggered 444 applications winners are from the new Länder, the bottom project was
from diverse consortia of individuals and organisations filed by one of the BioRegio winners, regional network
such as businesses, research, education, politics, public BioRN. Soon after the first round of selection was com-
administration and associations at the sub-state level pleted, the call for the second round was issued in January
(Dohse 2007: 75 f.). Out of these applications, 25 projects 2009, with the application period closing in April.
40
5. Structural Change in Europe – Innovative City and Business Regions
Contest 0 100 km
Cartography: Stephan Pohl
BioRegio (1996)
InnoRegio (1999)
BioProfile (2001)
Kiel
Spitzencluster (2008) Schleswig- Rostock 18
Holstein Greifswald 11
Metropolregion Mecklenburg-
Hamburg Wismar 22 Western Pomerania
Aviation Schwerin
Hamburg
Parchim 17
Lower Bremen
Brandenburg
Saxony Braunschweig / Göttingen / Hennigsdorf 12
Hannover Gardelegen 9
Buch 2
Funktionelle Genomanalyse
Hannover Potsdam Berlin
Braun- Barleben 1 18 Wildau 21
schweig Magdeburg
13, 14 Potsdam / Berlin
Gatersleben 10 Genomforschung &
Pflanzenbiologie
North Rhine- Saxony-
Westphalia Göttingen
Anhalt
Dresden
Düsseldorf Solar Valley Mitteldeutschland Cool Silicon
Energy
BioRiver Saxony Efficiency
Erfurt 5 6 Innovations
Köln 7 Jena
Ohrdruf 16
Freiberg 8 Dresden
Aachen Bonn Zwickau
Chemnitz
Schmalkalden 20 BioInstrumente Jena 3, 4
23
Hesse Thuringia Markneukirchen
15
Rhineland- Wiesbaden
Palatinate Mainz
BioRegion Metropolregion Rhein-Neckar
Rhein- - Forum Organic Electronics
Neckar-
Dreieck - Bio RN Cell-based & Molecular Medicine
Saarland
Ludwigshafen Mannheim
Saarbrücken Heidelberg
Bavaria 11 Diabetes Informations- und
Service-Center DISCO
1 MAHREG Innovationsnetzwerk Stuttgart Esslingen 12 RIO - Regionales
AUTOMOTIVE Tübingen Reutlingen Innovationsbündnis Oberhavel
2 Gesundheitsregion Berlin-Buch 13 Innovationspotential Börde
Region Stuttgart /
3 Innosachs Innovationsregion (REPHYNA)
Mittelsachsen
Neckar- Neckar-Alb 14 INNOMED Innovative
4 INNTex Textilregion
Alb Bioregion STERN Medizintechnologien
Mittelsachsen Regenerations- München 15 Musicon-Valley
5 BioMeT - Innovationsnetzwerk Baden- biologie 16 Barrierefreie Modellregion für
Dresden Württemberg BioRegio Integrativen Tourismus
6 KONUS - Kooperative Nutzung München 17 NUKLEUS - Netzwerk
von Datennetzen Präzisionsmaschinenbau
7 Bautronic 18 BioHyTec
8 RIST: Mit neuen Netzen zur 19 Maritime Allianz
Wissensregion 20 inprosys
9 NinA Naturstoff- 21 FIRM
Innovationsnetzwerk Altmark 22 Kunststoffzentrum
10 InnoPlanta Westmecklenburg
Pflanzenbiotechnologie 23 IAW 2010 - Industrie- und
Nordharz/Börde Automobilregion Westsachsen
The winners of Federal Government cluster contests in Germany, 1996–2008
41
6. Structural Change in Europe – Innovative City and Business Regions
0 100 200 km global clusters
Boulogne-sur-Mer 66
Arques 62 Lille 19 / 17, 24, 54 national clusters
Le Havre 61
Rouen 23 Laon 18
Lannion 15 Caen 37
Mondeville 13
Brest 30
Paris Metz 50
6, 14, 34, 48 / 4, 39
Rennes 38, 42
Chartres 8 Strasbourg 3
Orléans 10 Epinal 45
Nantes 12, 41, 59 Angers 55
Cholet 65 Mulhouse 56
Tours 70
1 Aerospace Valley
Dijon 58, 67
Besançon 49
2 Agrimip Innovation
3 Alsace Biovalley
4 Astech Paris Région Poitiers 63
5 Axelera
6 Cap Digital Paris Région Limoges 11, 29 Oyonnax 28
7 Capénergies
8 Cosmetic Valley Chappes 44
9 Derbi
Annecy 40
10 Elastopôle Clermont-Ferrand 60
11 Elopsys Lyon 5, 21 / 16, 20, 35
12 EMC2
13 Filière équine Bordeaux 32, 47, 68 Saint-Étienne 57, 71
14 Finance innovation Grenoble 22, 36
15 Images et réseaux
16 Imaginove
17 Industries du commerce
18 Industries et agro-ressources Pont-Saint-Esprit 53
19 i-Trans Vocation
20 Lyon Urban Truck&Bus Avignon 51 Sophia Antipolis-
21 Lyonbiopôle Toulouse St-Paul-lez-
22 Minalogic 2, 43 / 1 Durance 7 Rousset 33
23 MOV‘EO
24 Nutrition Santé Longévité Montpellier
69 Marseille Aix-en- Grasse 64
25 Optitec Provence 46
26 Orpheme 25, 26, 27
Perpignan 9 Toulon 31
French Guiana Guadeloupe
Reunion
St-Denis 52
0 200 km 0 50 km 0 50 km
Source: DGE/DIACT, quoted in Longhi 2008, p. 33
Cartography: Stephan Pohl
27 Pégase 42 Automobile haut de gamme 57 Viaméca
28 Plastipolis 43 Cancer-Bio-Santé 58 Vitagora
29 Pôle européen de la céramique 44 Céréales Vallée 59 Génie civil Ouest
30 Pôle Mer Bretagne 45 Fibres Grand‘Est 60 InnoViandes
31 Pôle Mer PACA 46 Gestion des risques 61 Logistique Seine Normandie (Nov@log)
32 Route des lasers 47 Industries et pin maritime du futur 62 Matériaux à usage domestique (MAUD)
33 Solutions communicantes sécurisées (SCS) 48 Medicen Paris Région 63 Mobilité et transports avancés
34 System@tic Paris Région 49 Microtechniques 64 Parfums, arômes, senteurs, saveurs (PASS)
35 Techtera 50 Matériaux innovants produits intelligents (MIPI) 65 Pôle Enfant
36 Tenerrdis 51 Pôle européen d‘innovation fruits et légumes 66 Pôle filière produits aquatiques
37 Transactions électroniques sécurisées (TES) 52 Qualitropic 67 Pôle Nucléaire Bourgogne
38 Valorial 53 Trimatec 68 Prod‘Innov
39 Ville et mobilité durables 54 Up-Tex 69 Q@LI-MEDéditerranée
40 Arve Industries 55 Végépolys 70 Sciences et systèmes de l’énergie électrique (S2E2)
41 Atlantic Biotherapies 56 Véhicule du futur 71 Sporaltec
France’s Pôles de Compétitivité, 2008
42
7. Structural Change in Europe – Innovative City and Business Regions
Policy learning – yet conflicting aims The Systèmes Productifs Locaux
Federal innovation policy in Germany has firmly em- The Systèmes Productifs Locaux (SPL) programme
braced the notion that national competitiveness depends was launched as part of French regional policy in 1998 to
on localised assets. To unleash the hitherto underutilised promote clusters of small and medium-sized enterprises
potential of competitive federalism, the federal govern- (SMEs) in low-technology sectors and in peripheral areas
ment employs contests as a device for discovery and mo- (OECD 2007). Such industrial districts were required to
bilisation, and shows signs of cumulative policy learning exhibit a concentration of activities in a specific industry,
when differentiating initial concepts like BioRegio and a high level of inter-firm linkages, supporting infrastruc-
InnoRegio into entire programme families. Owing to the ture and operators qualified to stimulate interaction. Out
power of the Länder in Germany’s federal set-up, federal of 180 business plans submitted by co-ordination bodies,
government acts as a facilitator by organising competi- 96 were initially selected, with two more specific calls to
tions and selecting regions, but does not intervene in state follow in 2001 and 2003, respectively. A typical SPL con-
policies, nor is it actively involved in programme man- sists of around 100 SMEs, of which between 30 and 40
agement which is left to the federal states or to independ- actually participate in collaborative projects. Co-operation
ent agencies. However, it may be criticised that the pre- with a university or research institute is encouraged but
vailing approach promotes intraregional networks at the no funding requirement. Central government funds up to
expense of interregional and international networking, 3.6 million € per SPL for collective management expenses
and that the InnoRegio family to promote innovation net- to engage local actors, but SPL receive most of their fund-
works in the new Länder is intrinsically trapped between ing from other sources. Many of them are networked in
the conflicting aims of growth and competitiveness on the the Club des Districts Industriels Français (CDIF), a vol-
one hand, and spatial equity on the other. untary association of French industrial districts.
––––––––– Country Case Studies: France ––––––––– The Genopole programme
Akin to Germany’s BioRegio initiative, the French
In sharp contrast to Germany’s federal system and poly- government embarked on its Genopole programme in
centric spatial structure, France has a long history of cen- 1999 to spur the commercialisation of life sciences. The
tralism and dominance of its capital region Île de France. support of innovation networks was expected to boost
This is still evident today despite the decentralisation France’s competitive position in life sciences through scien-
thrust initiated in 1982. While industrial policy tradition- tific advances and improved science-industry relationships
ally promoted large firms as national champions, technol- (Quéré 2008). Following a call for applications in 1999,
ogy policy used to follow the linear model of innovation eight Genopoles were selected in 2000, and a further two
through Grandes Programmes or the open science model in 2001. The government spent around 75 million € on the
(Brette & Chappoz 2007). In regional policy, France pio- establishment of technological platforms for co-operation
neered the promotion of growth poles in a tradition linked over the first three years and promoted a nationwide divi-
to the works of Francois Perroux in the 1950s, but that sion of labour between the ten specialised Genopoles.
approach fell into disgrace with the demise of industrial Three main assessments carried out between 2001 and
policy in the 1980s (Longhi & Rainelli 2007: 2 f.). More 2003 found that the initiative did have some impact on the
recently, the government responds to perceived weakness- science infrastructure and improved the networking of
es in high-tech industries as highlighted by Beffa (2005), scientists. However, the programme’s economic impact
a lack of collective processes involving firms, universities appeared unsatisfactory since networks were dominated
and research, and to the Lisbon agenda by e.g. adding a by academic actors and raised output mainly in the form
competitiveness dimension to its regional policy from of academic publications. Most Genopoles outside the
1999 and 2002 onwards. Central government in France Île de France region still lack a critical mass of firms and
first embraced the cluster approach with a programme to hence failed to mobilise public funding.
support local production systems in 1998 and responded
to the German BioRegio example with a Genopole initia- The Pôles de Compétitivité
tive to spur the commercialisation of life sciences in 1999, First outlined by the French regional planning Author-
before embarking on its massive Pôles de Compétivité ity DATAR (2004, now DIACT = Interministerial Delega-
programme in the mid-2000s. tion for Territorial Competitiveness and Attractiveness),
43
8. Structural Change in Europe – Innovative City and Business Regions
the Pôles de Compétitivité programme was originally maining 18.3% of Pôles were found not to have met their
designed to improve the international competitiveness of targets, they were thus recommended for a reconfigura-
10–15 clusters. However, a call for proposals in September tion. While Pôle status will expire for the latter group af-
2004 stimulated 105 project applications, of which 67 ter one grace year at the end of 2009, the first two groups
clusters were ultimately selected. This figure was further will remain eligible for funding under the Pôles 2.0 pro-
increased to 71 in a second round in 2007. The expansion gramme that is endowed with another 1.5 billion € from
of the original programme design meant that the orienta- 2009 to 2011.
tion towards international competitiveness had to be com- Academics are more critical about the Pôles pro-
promised. As a result, only six clusters were classified as gramme than the official evaluation commissioned by the
international, with ‘international orientation’ attributed to French government. Longhi & Rainelli (2007) acknowl-
a further nine, adding up to the number originally targeted. edge a positive mobilisation effect since most Pôles did
The remainder consists of 15 inter-regional and 37 regional not have formal co-operation structures prior to their ap-
clusters. Spatially, the programme was expanded from the plication. Furthermore, the programme has improved poli-
most competitive clusters nation-wide to include applicants cy co-ordination within and across the various level of
from almost all regions across the country, which means a government, including a diffusion of knowledge on clus-
shift from national to regional objectives. Sectorally, this ter promotion. Their main critique, however, surrounds
inflation led to the inclusion of industries like meat the inflation of clusters supported by the programme. A
processing and construction (OECD 2007: 191). It is no committee staffed mainly by civil servants rather than
surprise that the most advanced “global competitiveness business representatives selected many former low-tech
poles” can be found in those regions commonly known SPL which have thus been relabelled Pôles, while other
for their outstanding technological capabilities, i.e. Île de Pôles would rather suit the definition of SPLs rather than
France (Medicin Paris Region, System@tic, Finance), the original understanding of Pôles. As a result of their
Rhône-Alpes (Lyonbiopole, Minalogic), Midi-Pyrénées heterogeneous economic and innovative capabilities, the
(Aerospace Valley) and the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur 71 clusters scored very differently on the generation of
(Secured Communication Solutions). R&D projects. Further critique include the tight time-
A Pôle typically includes up to a handful of very large frame of the application process, the dominance of large
firms, up to hundreds of SMEs, and three to four institu- firms in many clusters, different expectations especially
tions of higher education and research institutions, respec- between large firms and SMEs, governance structures
tively. Responding to the expansion of the programme, complicated by a multiplicity of oversight bodies, as well
central government doubled its funding from 750 million as a lack of inter-cluster networking. To improve their
€ originally earmarked for 10–15 international clusters to chance for selection, applicants moved towards the forma-
1.5 billion € for 67 Pôles over three years, which may be tion of larger areas, leading to a gradual shift from region-
topped up by EU, regional and local government funds. al towards national clusters. In sum, the Pôles de Com-
80% of this funding is reserved for the 15 clusters with at pétitivité programme integrates top-down elements
least international orientation, while only 11 million € go (initiation, selection of Pôles) with a bottom-up approach,
into the cluster management of the Pôles, averaging around but the decision on R&D funding remains a centralised
55,000 € per cluster and year. The bulk of the money is and very demanding multi-step process: “The label pole is
used as competitive funding for projects accessible for not a guarantee of financing, it is only a prerequisite to
consortia of at least two firms and one research institute compete for subsidies” (Longhi/Rainelli 2007, S. 11).
from a territory designated as Pôle, the demarcation of Despite a quarter-century of decentralisation effort, the
which was part of the Pôle’s initial application (Longhi & French government’s recent cluster policy is still marked
Rainelli 2007: 10). by a considerable degree of centralism.
Evaluation of the Pôles programme ––––– Country Case Studies: United Kingdom –––––
Between November 2007 and June 2008, the Pôles
programme has been subject to an official evaluation Within the EU, the United Kingdom is the most promi-
(BCG & CM International 2008). It was found that 54.9% nent case of a liberal market economy. While centralism
of the Pôles achieved their policy targets fully, while a reached its latest climax under the Thatcher administra-
further 26.8% achieved them partially at least. The re- tion, New Labour engaged in a major devolution effort
44
9. Structural Change in Europe – Innovative City and Business Regions
from 1997 by decentralising powers to the Devolved sport Development UK which pulls together the four
Administrations (DAs) in Scotland, Wales and Northern RDAs covering England’s Motorsport Valley (cf. Aston
Ireland, as well as to the Regional Development Agencies 1998). Cluster initiatives supported by RDAs include
(RDAs) in England. In general, UK policy has a strong high-tech and more traditional industries alike and com-
focus on improving labour productivity by removing ob- bine a range of activities from regional mapping studies
stacles to innovation, skills and infrastructure. As part of via the identification and forging of links with important
this overarching thrust, regional policy focuses on improve- regional clusters to employing clusters as vehicles for wider
ments in lagging regions which are seen as a drag on economic development initiatives (OECD 2007: 318).
national productivity and income levels in the light of an
ever-deepening North-South divide. Flexibility at the expense of strategic coherence
Mirroring the French situation, the UK way of cluster
DTI – top-down mapping and best practice manual promotion retains a significant degree of central control
While Scottish Enterprise has been a European pioneer despite noticeable devolution. It is through their funding
of cluster policies in the early 1990s (cf. Brown 2000), that regional institutions such as DAs and RDAs remain
Whitehall did not open its doors for clusters until the De- “closely linked to and strongly associated with central
partment of Trade and Industry’s 1998 Competitiveness government” (ibid: 315). However, there are significant
White Paper included an enquiry into the UK’s biotech differences to France: In line with the UK’s classification
clusters. From 1999 to 2003, a High-level Cluster Policy as a liberal market economy, cluster policy does not in-
Steering Group looked at barriers to cluster development volve top-down prescriptions but rather provides a flexible
and recommended appropriate policy measures. This was framework for cluster promotion through the regional
accompanied by a top-down cluster mapping exercise that agencies. The cluster concept is used intensively for map-
identified a total of 154 ‘clusters’, amounting to between ping and localisation of industrial dynamics, but less for
eight and 18 per UK region. These clusters accounted for specific policy action. Although the UK pioneered the use
43 per cent of regional employment in London, but only of the cluster idea through Scottish Enterprise in the early
15 per cent in the North West (DTI 2001: 8 f.). The DTI’s 1990s, cluster policy remains “a peripheral isolated area
2001 White Paper “Opportunity for all in a World of of piecemeal policy development” (Borrás & Tasgdis
Change” encourages the newly-formed RDAs to develop 2008: 89). RDAs are the lead agencies in charge of cluster
existing and embryonic clusters in their regions. The DTI promotion, but since they are fraught with a wide range of
stresses that the focus should be on creating favourable tasks, cluster policy has to compete with issues like lifelong
conditions for the formation and growth of clusters, but learning or the ageing workforce for attention. Under a
not on attempting to create clusters artificially. It promotes liberal framework, the greater flexibility in cluster promo-
clusters to RDAs as a key instrument to support business tion obviously comes at the expense of strategic coherence.
excellence and to promote innovation. Initially, the DTI
tied its funding of RDA cluster initiatives to the results of –––––– National Styles of Cluster Promotion ––––––
its 2001 mapping exercise. However, following two years
of consultation the RDAs decides to pursue cluster poli- What scope for cross-border policy learning?
cies autonomously of the DTI to better suit their regional Cluster promotion represents a textbook case of multi-
needs (Borrás & Tsagdis 2008: 90). To provide guidance, level governance involving supra-national, national, re-
the DTI (2004) issued a best practice manual on cluster gional and local actors and hence the interaction of top-
development which highlights functioning networks and down and bottom-up policies. This is evidenced by all
partnerships, a strong innovation base with supporting country cases studied in this paper, irrespective of their
R&D activities and a strong skills base as the most critical variety in terms of capitalism and federalism. Despite
success factors. decentralisation efforts in the UK and France, top-down
elements in the cluster policies of both countries remain
RDAs – a range of different cluster initiatives stronger than in an originally federal country like Germany.
The flexibility of the DTI-RDA framework has encour- Varieties of capitalism help explaining why the UK ap-
aged a rather diverse set of regional initiatives ranging proach provides a flexible framework for cluster promo-
from single RDA projects to collective cluster initiatives tion, but lacks strategic coherence. However, this does not
involving the joint effort of several RDAs such as Motor- necessary imply that the more co-ordinated efforts of
45
10. Structural Change in Europe – Innovative City and Business Regions
Germany and France are more effective or even more effi- References
Aston, B., 1998: Advanced Auto-Engineering: A Technology-Led UK Cluster. In: Business
cient. More research and independent evaluation is clearly Strategy Review, 9(1): 45–53.
BCG; CM International, 2008: Evaluation des Pôles de Compétitivité: Synthèse du rap-
needed to investigate this connection. Porter-style cluster port d’évaluation. http://www.competitivite.gouv.fr/IMG/pdf/synthese_BCG-CMI_
policies with a lot of mapping and little intervention pre- evaluation_des_poles_de_competitivite.pdf, accessed 10.02.2009.
Beffa, J.-L., 2005: Pour une Nouvelle Politique Industrielle.
vails in the UK to raise productivity, while national cluster http://lesrapports.ladocumentationfrancaise.fr/cgi-bin/brp/telestats.cgi?brpref=
054000044 &brp_file=0000.pdf, accessed 09.02.2009.
policies in Germany and France follow the triple-helix BMBF, 2005: BioRegionen in Deutschland. Starke Impulse für die nationale Technologie-
model of university- industry-government relations, using entwicklung. (3rd ed.) Berlin: Federal Ministry for Education and Research.
BMBF, 2006: Die Hightech-Strategie für Deutschland. Berlin: BMBF.
clusters as a vehicle to accelerate the commercialisation Borrás, S.; Tsagdis, D., 2008: Cluster Policies in Europe: Firms, Institutions, and Govern-
of new technological knowledge. ance. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar.
Bovaird, A. G.; Löffler, E.; Parrado-Díez, S. (eds.), 2008: Multi-level Governance:
New Approaches to Decentralising Power in European Countries. Cheltenham:
Edward Elgar.
Institutional context and policy traditions matter Brette, O.; Chappoz, Y., 2007: The French Competitiveness Clusters: Toward a New
Especially the comparison of Germany and France Public Policy for Innovation and Research? In: Journal of Economic Issues, 41(2):
391–398.
shows that learning through mutual observation has already Brown, J.S.; Duguid, P., 1991: Organizational Learning and Communities of Practice:
Toward a Unified View of Working, Learning, and Innovation. In: Organization
taken place. For instance, French Genopoles are a reflec- Science, 2(1), S. 40–57.
tion of the older German BioRegio initiative but failed to Brown, R., 2000: Cluster Dynamics in Theory and Practice with Application to Scotland.
(=Regional and Industrial Policy Research Paper, 38). Glasgow: EPRC.
boost the commercialisation of research. Conversely, Burfitt, A.; MacNeill, S., 2008: The Challenges of Pursuing Cluster Policy in the Congested
State. In: International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, 32(2): 492–505.
Germany’s leading-edge cluster competition may well be Casper, S., 2007: Creating Silicon Valley in Europe: Public Policy Towards New Tech-
inspired by the French Pôles de Compétitivité, but was not nology Industries. Oxford: Oxford Univ. Press.
Conzelmann, T.; Smith, R. (eds.), 2008: Multi-Level Governance in the European Union:
subject to the same pressures that led to the inflation of Taking Stock and Looking Ahead. Baden-Baden: Nomos.
Cooke, P.N., 2001: New Economy Innovation Systems: Biotechnology in Europe and in
clusters. In Germany, lobbyism and the specific rationali- the USA. In: Industry and Innovation, 8(3): 267–289.
ties of politicians and bureaucrats are absorbed by Länder DATAR, 2004: La France, Puissance Industrielle – Une Nouvelle Politique Industrielle par
les Territoires: Réseaux d‘Entreprises, Vallées Technologiques, Pôles de Compétitivité.
policies where cluster inflation is commonplace. Take tiny http://lesrapports.ladocumentationfrancaise.fr/cgi-bin/brp/telestats.cgi?brp_ref=
Brandenburg for example: With only 2.5 million inhabit- 044000090&brp_file=0000.pdf, accessed 09.02.2009.
Dohse, D., 2007: Cluster-based Technology Policy: The German Experience. In: Industry
ants, the federal state surrounding Berlin embarked on an and Innovation, 14(1): 69–94.
DTI, 2001: Business Clusters in the UK: A First Assessment. London: DTI.
ambitious policy in 2006 targeting no less than 16 clusters. DTI, 2004: A Practical Guide to Cluster Development: A Report to the Department of Trade
and Industry and the English RDAs by Ecotec Research & Consulting. London: DTI.
Ernst & Young, 2008: Biotech-Branche mit stabilem Wachstum. Press Release, Frankfurt/
Despite globalisation and strong forces of convergence, Main, 7. Mai 2008.
Etzkowitz, H.; Leydesdorff, L., 2000: The Dynamics of Innovation: From National Sys-
national varieties of cluster promotion exist and tend to tems and “Mode 2” to a Triple Helix of University-Industry-Government Relations.
prevail. Learning from another country’s experiences thus In: Research Policy, 29(2–3): 109–123.
Hall, P. A.; Soskice, D., 2001: An Introduction to Varieties of Capitalism. In: Hall, P.A.;
requires a careful look at that country’s institutional con- Soskice, D. (eds.): Varieties of Capitalism: The Institutional Foundations of Compara-
tive Advantage. Oxford: Oxford Univ. Press, 1–68.
text and policy traditions. As a first approximation, institu- Hospers, G.-J.; Beugelsdijk, S., 2002: Regional Cluster Policies: Learning by Comparing?
tional context may be read as the relative weight attached In: Kyklos, 55(3): 381–402.
Longhi, C., 2008: The French Regional Policy in the 21st Century: Old Wine in New
to public vs. private initiative captured by the varieties of Bottles? Unpublished paper prepared for the Korea Development Institute International
capitalism approach, while policy traditions can be located Conference on “International Experiences of Regional Policy and Policy Implications
for Korea,” Seoul, July 15–16, 2008.
on a highly persistent scale from centralism to federalism. Longhi, C.; Rainelli, M., 2007: Poles of Competitiveness, a French Dangerous Obsession?
mimeo, Sophia Antipolis.
Taking these differences into account may help to extract Martin, R.A.; Kitson, M.; Tyler, P. (eds.), 2006: Regional Competitiveness. London:
valuable lessons from seemingly incomparable settings. Routledge.
OECD, 1996: The Knowledge-based Economy. Paris: OECD.
However, the current quest for best practice lessons tends OECD, 2007: Competitive Regional Clusters: National Policy Approaches. (=OECD
Reviews of Regional Innovation). Paris: OECD.
to overlook the heuristic value of failed attempts and poor Porter, M.E., 1990: The Competitive Advantage of Nations. New York: Free Press.
practice – which are by the way more easily transferable Porter, M.E., 1998: Clusters and Competition: New Agendas for Companies, Governments
and Institutions. In: Porter, M.E.: On Competition. (=The Harvard Business Review
across borders. (English editing by the author) :: Book Series). Boston: The Harvard Business School Publishing, 197–287.
Quéré, M., 2008: Innovation Networks in the Life Sciences Industry: A Discussion of the
French Genopoles Policy. In: European Planning Studies, 16(3): 411–427.
Siebert, H., 2005: Locational Competition: A Neglected Paradigm in the International
Division of Labour. (=Kiel Working Paper, 1258). Kiel: Institute of World Economics.
Sölvell, Ö.; Lindqvist, G.; Ketels, C.H.M., 2003: The Cluster Initiative Greenbook.
Gothenburg: Ivory Tower AB.
Stone, D., 2004: Transfer Agents and Global Networks in the “Transnationalization” of
Policy. In: Journal of European Economic Policy, 11(3): 545–566.
van der Linde, C.M., 2005: Cluster und regionale Wettbewerbsfähigkeit: Wie Cluster ent-
stehen, wirken und aufgewertet werden. In: Cernavin, O.; Führ, M.; Kaltenbach, M.
(eds.): Cluster und Wettbewerbsfähigkeit von Regionen: Erfolgsfaktoren regionaler
Wirtschaftsentwicklung. (=Volkswirtschaftliche Schriften, 543). Berlin: Duncker &
Humblot, 15–34.
46