ICT Cluster participated at the European Cluster Conference 2014

Representatives of ICT Cluster attended the fourth European Cluster Conference which took place in Brussels on October 20-21. The aim of the conference was to discuss latest trends and challenges for modern cluster policies and to identify priority areas for a new European Cluster Strategy for Growth. The participants had the opportunity to vote on different statements related to the formulation of a dynamic European cluster policy framework.

The final text of the declaration voted during the conference is available - here
Conference coverage video - here

You can find the speakers’ presentation at the following links:
1. Challenges for a new European Cluster Strategy for Growth,Massimo Baldinato;
2. A National Perspective from France on cluster policy challenges, Alain Schmitt; 
3. A Perspective from the Basque Country on the vanguard role that cluster policies can play in regional smart specialisation strategies, Arantxa Tapia;
4. The Business Perspective: The role of clusters in supporting SMEs to access industrial value chains, Franz Josef Kirschfink;
5. Findings from the Emerging Industries report and the European Cluster Excellence Scoreboard of the European Cluster Observatory, Laurent Probst;
6. New cluster mapping and trends, model demonstrator regions and services from the European Cluster Observatory, Christian Ketels and Kincso Izsak;
7. Actions for new linkages needed - A policy roadmap for stimulating emerging industries, Lennart Svensson;
8. The role of cluster organisations in supporting emerging industries, Gerd Meier zu Köcker;
9. Upcoming Commission call for cluster facilitated projects for new industrial value chains to help SMEs innovate and grow, Kirsi Ekroth-Manssila;
10. The future role of clusters in supporting cross-sectoral actions and growth, Mr. Anders Eldrup;
11. Elements of excellent policy for fostering mature and emerging clusters and benchmarking of cluster programs, Thomas Lämmer-Gamp;
12. Changes in cluster policy and how to measure their economic impact, Emily Wise;
13. The role of clusters in smart specialisation strategies and first trends observed, Claire Nauwelaers;
14. Development needs for cluster management excellence: Results from the benchmarking and labelling of cluster organisation, Helmut Kergel;
15. Widening of training modules for cluster managers, Reza Zadeh;
16. Observations from the first steps of European Strategic Cluster Partnerships and EU cluster matchmaking events, Marc Pattinson;
17. Growth accelerators and clusters, Nicholas Coutts;
18. Coworking incubation and clusters – Connecting to creatives and start-ups, Florian Bergmann;
19. Alternative sources of financing from cross-sectoral innovation vouchers, microcredits, refundable contributions, peer-to-peer lending to crowdfunding: What help can cluster support offer?, Edgar Garcia;
20. Designing new directions for cluster policies, Madeline Smith;