By Cecilia Johansson and Ewa Andersson, presented at the 18th TCI Global Conference, Daegu, 2015.

1. Smart Specialisation through
Cross-clustering
Ewa Andersson and Cecilia Johansson,
Swedish Agency for Economic and
Regional Growth
Parallel Session 2.3: Cross-Sectoral Innovation

2. SWEDISH AGENCY FOR ECONOMIC
AND REGIONAL GROWTH
Smart Specialisation
• Smart specialisation is a strategic approach to economic
development through targeted support to Research and
Innovation (R&I). It will be the basis for European Structural and
Investment Fund interventions in R&I as part of the current
Regional and Cohesion Policy's contribution to the Europe 2020
jobs and growth agenda.
• More generally, smart specialisation involves a process of
developing a vision, identifying competitive advantage, setting
strategic priorities and making use of smart policies to maximise
the knowledge-based development potential of any region, strong
or weak, high-tech or low-tech.
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3. SWEDISH AGENCY FOR ECONOMIC
AND REGIONAL GROWTH
Smart Specialisation in Sweden
- on a national level
• We don´t know the key areas in
advance
• We are looking for strenghts but
also renewal
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4. SWEDISH AGENCY FOR ECONOMIC
AND REGIONAL GROWTH
How to get regions to collaborate
around a specific area of strength?
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5. SWEDISH AGENCY FOR ECONOMIC
AND REGIONAL GROWTH
Learnings
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6. SWEDISH AGENCY FOR ECONOMIC
AND REGIONAL GROWTH
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The Packaging Arena and
Printed Electronics Arena
• How to combine excellent research for intelligent
packaging and service related research for
packaging?
• How can these clusters - one research based
cluster and one cluster close to the market –
provide and support each other to get stronger
and more competitive?

7. SWEDISH AGENCY FOR ECONOMIC
AND REGIONAL GROWTH
Learnings from cross-clustering
• Legitimacy from the industry
• Two leading clusters can take advantage of each other – if they
are complementary to each other
• Cluster networking must be a bottom-up process.
• Important with an engaged leadership in both clusters
• Start with the market needs – research is a long term process
• Mutual trust is essential
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8. SWEDISH AGENCY FOR ECONOMIC
AND REGIONAL GROWTH
BSR Innovation Express
• Encompasses both a cluster-to-cluster
matchmaking event and a coordinated call
(where approved projects are funded through
distributed regional/national sources)
• An efficient way to facilitate linkages and initiate
transnational collaboration projects
• Funding for common activities from Nordic
Council of Ministers
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9. SWEDISH AGENCY FOR ECONOMIC
AND REGIONAL GROWTH
Results
• Strengthened presence/visibility in new markets
• Access to new partners and broadened networks (with
other companies and public sector actors)
• Knowledge sharing and inspiration; identification of new
opportunities (both within and between clusters)
• Initiation of longer-term research and innovation
collaboration
• Initiation of longer-term development processes or
commercial contract
.
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10. SWEDISH AGENCY FOR ECONOMIC
AND REGIONAL GROWTH
Our learnings from BSR Innovation Express
• Develop stronger (and more structured) cooperation with
the regional level and coupling to ’smart specialization
strategies’
• Develop clearer linkages with different available
instruments and project phases:
- Improve transition between R&D to commercialization
- Checks/grants to individual companies
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11. SWEDISH AGENCY FOR ECONOMIC
AND REGIONAL GROWTH
How to use these learnings?
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12. SWEDISH AGENCY FOR ECONOMIC
AND REGIONAL GROWTH
A call for cross-clustering
Each region has their key areas of strenghts
Our task is to connect these areas
A long-term development of some thematic areas
International competitiveness
Increased participation of the industry
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13. SWEDISH AGENCY FOR ECONOMIC
AND REGIONAL GROWTH
We focus on
Stimulate border crossing cooperation between
constellations in different regions and nations
Support the development and renewal of Swedish
key areas
Complement ongoing activities with new
knowledge and competence
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14. SWEDISH AGENCY FOR ECONOMIC
AND REGIONAL GROWTH
Discussion
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15. SWEDISH AGENCY FOR ECONOMIC
AND REGIONAL GROWTH
What´s positive?
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16. SWEDISH AGENCY FOR ECONOMIC
AND REGIONAL GROWTH
Doubts?
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17. SWEDISH AGENCY FOR ECONOMIC
AND REGIONAL GROWTH
Thank you
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