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Sports&Technology

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General Information
The date when the cluster organisation was established: 
Friday, 15 July, 2005
Number of staff in the management team of the cluster organisation : 
1-5
Legal form of the cluster organisation: 
Non-Profit
Regions: 
Noord-Brabant
Cluster Excellence Label: 
Bronze Label
Membership to European Strategic Cluster Partnerships (ESCP-4i, ESCP-S3 or ESCP-4x): 
EU4SPORTSCLUSTERSALL
SmartSports4GoodLife
Membership to other networks/partnerships: 
NameWebsite
EPSI
www.epsi.eu
Cluster Management Team: 
NameSurnamePositionTelephoneEmailGender
Rene
Wijlens
Cluster Manager
+31621829070
wijlens@sportsandtechnology.com
Male
George
de Jong
Cluster Manager
info@sportsandtechnology.com
Male
Marc
van der Zande
Project Manager
zande@sportsandechnology.com
Male
Languages spoken: 
Dutch
English
German
Sectoral and Industrial Focus
Sectoral Industries: 
Business Services
Recreational and Small Electric Goods
Technology fields: 
Sports and Leisure
S3 EU priority areas: 
Sports activities
e-Health (e.g. healthy ageing)
Emerging industries: 
Creative Industries
Medical Devices
Areas of specialisation of the cluster not covered above: 
sports innovation (products and services)
Composition of the cluster
Total number of members: 
150
Number of SME members: 
130
Number of start-ups among SME members: 
40
Number of larger company members: 
5
Number of research organisations/universities/technology centres: 
4
Number of other ecosystem actors : 
3
Entrepreneurship and scale-up support facilities in the cluster's ecosystem (see "Organisation type"): 
Name and link of major players: 
Cluster Strategy
Mission/Objectives: 

CREATING VALUE THROUGH SMART CONNECTIONS

Located in the Brainport region of the Netherlands, the Sports and Technology cluster is an open network of businesses, knowledge institutions, SportFieldLabs, and public organisations (the Q-helix) for sport innovation.

Cluster parties share their knowledge and experiences, in an ethos of open innovation and co-creation, to create social and technological innovations in the domain of sports and vitality, bringing

  • more people to an active lifestyle,
  • enhancing sport performance and
  • creating economical value.
Do you have a formalised strategy?: 
Yes
Do you have a specific strategy focus that addresses internationalisation ?: 
Yes
Services
Support services provided: 
Access to the European Internal market
Facilitation of collaboration between members
Facilitation of cross-sectorial cooperation
Trend-scouting (Ideas for innovative projects)
Innovation Management / Support of innovation processes (internal, external)
Cooperation Activities
International Cooperation
The main countries targeted by the cluster organisation: 
Australia
Brazil
United States
Our cluster organisation undertook the following international activities to support our members: 
Support to collaborative activities/etc.
Trans-national Cooperation
The main countries targeted by the cluster organisation: 
Belgium
France
Germany
Spain
United Kingdom
Our cluster organisation undertook the following trans-national activities to support our members: 
Support to collaborative activities/etc.
Which clusters do you collaborate with?: 
EPSI, INDESCAT, CLUSTER MONTAGNE, FLANDERS BIKE VALLEY, ASSOSPORT,
ASTN (Australia)
Support Programmes
Participation in Funded Support Programmes: 
European ProgrammesProject NameName & Description (Regional/National)
H2020
CIP/COSME
INTERREG
Other

Urbact Vital cities

Profit project

vital living lab 

several other project developments under construction

Interreg NWE

Intereg NL/VL

RvO

MRE

EFRO (stimulus)
Promotion
Success Story / Achievements: 

Success story 1: Profit project:

In the early 00’s the concept of SportsFieldLabs was initiated from the S&T community. Since then SportFieldLabs have become an important part of the Sports&Technology (S&T) cluster of field labs, knowledge organisations and businesses. A SportFieldLab is a research and development location in a real-life setting where:

  • Sportsmen and/or other citizens (children, adults, elderly) engage in sports and play activities.
  • Businesses can install new product prototypes or production models in the field-lab where the end-users can use and test them as part of regular sports activity.
  • Knowledge institutes use the field-lab to collect data on the end-user interaction with the products.

In 2010 S&T initiated the ProFit project  (Interreg IVb (EFRD)-project, budget 6 M€, 2011-March 2015, www.fieldlabs.eu ) with the goal:

  • to further develop the infrastructure of the SportFieldLab for sports and physical activity in Eindhoven (one of the 8 labs in the S&T cluster)
  • to stimulate innovation and new business creation in the S&T cluster.

S&T is the lead partner of the ProFit project in which local public authorities and knowledge institutions in three nations participate. It addresses some of the major partners of the cluster: Fontys and TU/e as knowledge partners, Field lab Eindhoven on sports and Physical activity (InnoSportLab Sport en Beweeg!), various companies and start-ups. 

Complexity/Challenge

The Profit project contributes to the strategic development of the S&T cluster infrastructure and organisation as it strengthens one of its major assets: the SportFieldLab. These labs are regarded a breeding places for innovations and business creation. 

Impact/Contribution to the sustainable development of the cluster

The project has strengthened not only the lab infrastructure but also the collaboration within the cluster partners in the region. The networking effect of this project has grown beyond the project end. The end event of the Profit project in March 2015 will therefor also be the starting point of new cluster collaboration projects in the area of People Sports and Vitality.

Why should partners choose you for cooperation?: 

The Sports & Technology cluster is an innovation driven cluster in the Q-helix of sports, industry, knolwedge organisations and government. The cluster provides access to the end user by the unique network of sport-specific SportFieldLabs supported by the excellent research and knowledge infrastructure in the Brainport Region (Europe's most innovative top technology region) (http://www.brainport.nl/en/ ). The ethos of open/shared innovation and co-creation within the cluster and within the Brainport Region together with the excellent international network makes S&T an innovative, reliable and strong partner for innovation projects and actions.