IV International Intercluster Meeting: Lombardy meets Catalonia

Submitted by Alina Danieles… on 14 May 2018

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 25 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 4thInternational Intercluster meeting, “Lombardy meets Catalonia” took place in Barcelona on the 19th and 20th of April.

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 and third edition of theIntercluster meeting with Denmark and Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes took place in 2014 and 2016 respectively. The fourth edition was held last month, where Catalonia met with the peer clusters from Lombardy, 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 13 clusters from sectors like health, mobility and smart cities from Lombardy and Catalonia. Specifically, 17 bilateral meetings took place along with a session devoted to sharing best practices on international experiences. To round it up, an on-site visit to the Home and building automation and Smart Cities Cluster (DOMOTYS) was organised.

In conclusion, these kind of 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.

For further information please contact Emma Vendrell emma.vendrell [at] gencat.cat.

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