By Teresa Paiva and Cláudia Domingues, presented at the 19th TCI Global Conference, Eindhoven, 2016.

1. Titel presentatie
[Naam, organisatienaam]
Working Day - Track: Academic Track
Cluster Evaluation
Teresa Paiva
Cláudia Domingues
Evaluation of the cluster
impact on innovation and
business performance

2. Evaluation of the cluster impact on
innovation and business performance
Teresa Paiva
Cláudia Domingues

3. • Who we are
• Theoretical framework
• Methodology
• Results
OVERVIEW

4. Location
Agro Food
Technological Center

5. 7% Medium-size enterprises
27% Small enterprises
64% Micro enterprises/individuals
InovCluster members
Companies
Municipalities
Universities
I&DT Institutions
Associations
140
81%
8
5%
7
4%
5
3%
14
8%

6. InovCluster Companies
Main areas Dairy products
Wine and vine
Olive oil
Fish
Cereals
Meat products
Fruits and vegetables
Honey
Complementary areas
Cold Packaging Logistics Equipment
Supply
Quality
Control
Marketing Design

7. • Promote the Network
• Cluster = facilitator
InovCluster Role
COMPETITIVENESS

8. New
Products
New
Markets
Disseminate
Members
Products
and services
Inform
Knowledge
Transfer
Projects
Development
and Support
Main Objectives

9. Intervention Units
For the Agroindustry Sector

10. 10
Evaluation Areas
 Organization of joint participation in International Trade Fairs
 Support companies at the internationalization process
 Market Monitoring
 Organization of Business Missions

11. 11
Evaluation Areas
Intelligence on Research & Development Technologies for Agro Food production:
 Events to the dissemination of Trend Reports and improve the innovation
capabilities of our members;
Identification of the regional products that have potential to fit the new consumer
needs worldwide and that can be used to the innovation processes;
Support the process of innovation by facilitation the cooperation between
Companies and the Universities and/or ID&T Institutions;
Dissemination of the innovative products of our members;

12. 12
Theoretical framework
Exploratory Study
Summative evaluation
Counterfactual impact evaluation
Traditional evaluation perspective on direct
beneficiaries
Not every aspects are going to be accountable, only
the ones that are possible to measure by the cluster
management
Strycznski, 2009
Raines, P., 2002

13. 13
Methodology
Documental
Survey
Internationalization
RD and Innovation
In the innovation process evaluation we have to acknowledge that the
innovation process doesn’t depend only on the cluster project and
support since it’s necessary learning and investment process of the
business resources;
All types of innovation will be registered.

14. 14
Internationalization Indicators
INDICATOR Starting
frame
Goal to
achieve
Deadline Results
(jan.2015)
A1: Nº of awareness and promotion
actions of the project
0 4 June 2015 2
A2: Number of companies present in the
actions of awareness and dissemination of
project
0 80 June 2015 88
A3: prospect development of
awareness/dissemination of project
0 1 June 2015 1
A4: Number of BBP actins performed 0 n.a June 2015 n.a
AS: number of actions for the
dissemination of results and good practice
0 4 June 2015 0
A6: number of companies in attendance
of dissemination of results and good
practice
0 80 June 2015 0
A7: number of companies in sectors not
agro industrial or actions of dissemination
of results and good practice
0 20 June 2015 0
AS: total number of adherent companies 0 20 June 2015 27
A9: preparation of catalogues of project
presentation
0 13 June 2015 5
AlO: number of international events
conducted with the brand "umbrella"
Portugal Foods by INOVCLUSTER
0 8
June 2015
5
Project Evaluation
impact
(intermediate
evaluation)
• Overcome goals of
associates
engagement
• Nearly reached
some indicators of
activities
execution

15. 15
Internationalization Indicators
Project Evaluation
impact
(intermediate
evaluation)
• Clearly business
beneficiate of the
international
project activities,
finding new
partners and
developing their
international
contacts
INDICATOR Starting frame Goal to
achieve
Deadline Results
(jan.2015)
R1: number of contacts arising from actions of
internationalization 0 250 June 2015 203
R2: number of bilateral meetings (one-to-one) with
potential customers in several markets, promoted
by the actions of the project: promotional
activities, international events and business
missions and reverse
0 80 June 2015 64
R3:nºof pre agreements of formalized cooperation
between the partners (as a result of the actions of
the project)
0 36 June 2015 47
R4: report development with detailed information
about the potential international partners
(contacts, skills, projects to develop, etc.)
0 11 June 2015 6
R5: matchmaking made by lnovCluster, of
meetings between companies and potential
customers, in Portugal or in the target market
0 36 June 2015 33
R6:elaboração de relatórios das ações efetuadas 0 11 June 2015 6
11: increase in the turnover of companies adhering
to the project
0 5% June 2015 n.a
12: increase of turnover resulting from export 0 15% June 2015 n.a
13: weight increase of turnover resulting from
export (export/turnover total turnover) 0 15% June 2015 n.a
14: number of new countries/export markets of
companies adhering to the project 0 1 June 2015 2
15: number of companies present in new countries
(contacts and/or effective presence) 0 10 June 2015 49
16: global impact of design on companies face their
competitive position (BBP) (evolution) 0 n.a June 2015 n.a

16. 1616
Internationalization Survey
 Diagnosis:
 Lack of human resources dedicated to the export process;
 Lack of training in essential areas internationalization;
 Lack of preparation for international actions (pre, and Post);
 Lack of selection strategy/actions on international markets;
 Low rate of doing business;
 Lack of appropriate promotional material and adjusted to the
markets of interest

17. 17
Research questions:
When participating in the internacionalization project activities did
you conduct business?
Did you started/leveraged your internationalization process with the
support of Inovcluster, after your participation?
Following your participation in internationalization actions promoted
by Inovcluster, did you already made a deal?
The majority of
the interviewed
answer yes
The majority of
the interviewed
answer “less than
10% if the times
The majority of
the interviewed
answer yes but
the difference
between yes and
no is not big
Internationalization Survey

18. 1818
Internationalization Survey
 Future goals:
 Increased rate of implementation of business regarding the
participating companies
 Increasing export rate, resulting from the participation of
companies of Castelo Branco in international actions
 Establishment of ties with potential importers identified in
international actions
Notes: Almost every interviewed answer that if he wouldn’t have participated in the
internationalization project he would be just worried with the operative matters os«f
the company and the main reasons for exportation are to get rid of the product stocks;
add value to the product and to diversify their clients

19. 19
General Indicators
INDICATOR Starting frame Goal to
achieve
Results
Nº Cluster members 148 160 168
Signed protocols 0 3 6
Work groups 0 3 6
Knowledge acquisition / technical and scientific
update
0 12 63
Public support promotion 0 20 2
Surveys implementation 0 4 10
Studies and sectorial data elaboration 0 2 7
Inovcluster institutional representation 0 8 21
Product development support 0 10 26
New business creation support 0 2 2
Events organization 0 10 50
International Actions organization 0 12 14
Number of business participants in the international
actions
0 60 139
Communication and Promotion
Written press 0 24 28
Online press 0 12 12
Press conferences 0 2 1
Social network /website 0 144 177
Meetings Participation / Organization
Operational meetings 0 10 47
Bilateral meetings with associates 0 30 84
Bilateral meeting with potential associates 0 10 52
Meetings with national institutional management 0 4 0
Overall cluster
activity
• Clear
innovation
promotion
activity within

20. 20
Research questions:
How many interactions with the Cluster and/or CATAA did you have for
innovation development?
How many interactions with HEIs and / or others research centers did
you have for innovation development?
How many new products did your business launched?
Innovation Survey
Each innovation
support process
implies 15
interaction in
average for each
Each innovation
support process
implies 12
interaction in
average for each
For the business
innovators
identified in
average one
product was
launched

21. 2121
Products
“Os Presidentes” (The Presidents)– nannies in brandy sauce (dessert)
Crackers of Castelo Branco cheese (Snack)
Cottage Cheese Toast (cold dessert)
Cheese with cured ham embedded in the mass
Goat cheese with various flavours
(Curry, pepper, …)
-Shiitake flour
-Shiitake Preserved,
- Pâté of shiitake,
- Salt flavoured with shiitake flour, herbs, ginger
Mixing cheese cured with herbs
Innovation Indicators – New
products launched

22. 22
CONCLUSIONS
Summative evaluation permitted to
access the cluster effectiveness
Counterfactual impact evaluation
clearly quantified the cluster effect
that wouldn’t exist without the cluster
intervention
Inovcluster was effective in its contribution to improve the internationalization process of the
local business as seen in the number of post meeting contacts
If the international project wouldn’t have existed the business would remain without improve
their exportations and just focusing in the operational management
Inovcluster was effective in its contribution to improve the innovation process of the local
business as seen in the number of reunions and contacts between Research centers and
busness and for the number of innovation registered
Without innovation promotion business wouldn’t launch so many new products and/or the
new products might not be acepted

23. 23
Limitations
Number of business involved in the
research
No analysis of the origin of the impact
effect
No analysis of the impact dimension
No analysis of the temporal effect

24. 24
Teresa Paiva
tpaiva@ipg.pt
Cláudia Domingues
claudiadomingues@inovcluster.com
Luis Pinto de Andrade
luispa@ipcb.pt
geral@inovcluster.pt
www.inovcluster.pt
Edifício do Centro de Apoio Tecnológico Agro-Alimentar
Zona Industrial de Castelo Branco, Rua A
6000-459 Castelo Branco
Tel. +351 272 349 100 Fax. +351 272 349 101
CONTACTS