III International Intercluster Meeting: Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes meets Catalonia
Catalonia was a pioneer region in cluster policy, used as a tool to improve industry competitiveness through improving strategic positioning of companies and the business environment in which they compete. With a background of more than 20 years, Catalan cluster policy features some key elements: a combination of analysis and process, fostering change using Porter’s adapted tools, and an approach based on public-private partnerships and services.
Following the developments undergone over the years, internationalisation has become one of the main pillars of nowadays strategy and a set of actions have been envisaged and deployed to address the topic. Within this framework, the 3rd International Intercluster meeting, “Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes meets Catalonia” took place in Barcelona on the 17th and 18th of October.
The International Intercluster meeting has the ultimate goal of generating strategic alliances, business opportunities, knowledge transfer and promoting international collaboration and cooperation projects. Its origins can be traced back to 2013 with the promotion and strengthening of bilateral relations between Norwegian and Catalan clusters. This meeting represented a great opportunity for clusters in terms of networking, knowledge transfer and further collaborations. Hence, replicating the event would not only benefit clusters from both countries, but also benefit at the policy level, allowing both sides to learn from each other. For that, a second edition Intercluster meeting with Denmark took place in 2014. The third edition was held last week, where Catalonia met with the peer clusters from Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, a region with which Catalonia already has a long-standing tradition of cooperation within the framework of the 4 Motors for Europe.
This year’s International Intercluster gathered 45 clusters and pôles de compétitivité from sectors like food, design, health, energy, etc. from Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes and Catalonia. Specifically, around 50 bilateral meetings took place along with a session devoted to sharing best practices on intercluster. To round it up, on-site visits to two Catalan Clusters were organised: the Energy Efficiency Cluster (CEEC), dedicated to promote energy efficiency in buildings, mobility and industry, and the Beauty Cluster Barcelona (BCB), formed by companies and agents of the beauty sector value chain.
International Intercluster activities are fundamental in paving the way towards world-class clusters as they offer the grounds to create fruitful lasting relationships for cross-sectoral collaboration at the international level. Previous editions have already translated into concrete projects and collaborations between clusters thus evidencing the practical nature of the event.
