The coordination of the Polish cluster programs with other funding programs can be described as good which is not surprising giving the importance that the government attaches to clusters as tools for economic development. With R&D programs 4 3 2 1 0 With business development programs With infrastructure programs Orange line: Innovative Economy Operational Program, Measure 5.1 “Support of the Development of supra-regional clusters” Blue line: Operational Program Development of Eastern Poland 2007-2013, Priority 1.4 “Promotion and cooperation” with Measure 1.4 “Cooperation – cluster creation and development 0 = coordination is poor ==> 4 = coordination is excellent Figure 46: Coordination of Polish cluster programs with other national programs 123
2.8 FRANCE 2.8.1 GRAPPE D’ENTREPRISES Name of program Country Grappe d’entreprises France Contact details DATAR – Délégation interministérielle à l’Aménagement duerritorie et à l’Attractivité Régionale Constance Arnaud Cluster Policy Manager Tel. +33 1 40 65 10 87 Email: constance.arnaud@datar.gouv.fr Internet http://territoires.gouv.fr/grappes-dentreprises 2.8.1.1 Objectives and Rationale of the Program The program Grappe d’entreprises pursues the overall objective of developing business clusters in economic sectors with weak R&D activity. These sectors <strong>are</strong> either not covered by clusters of the Pôles de compétitivité program 74 or do not have the critical mass to be a Pôles de compétitivité. In order to increase efficiency and effectiveness of support clusters from both programs, Grappe d’entreprises and Pôles de compétitivité, <strong>are</strong> expected to collaborate. Grappe d’entreprises clusters will benefit from cooperation in terms of R&D, while Pôles de compétitivité clusters can benefit in terms of additional opportunities to commercialize R&D results. The term business cluster has to be understood as a generic term for a particular category of clusters. Business clusters targeted by the program can be defined as follows: • They mainly consist of micro-enterprises/SMEs that <strong>are</strong> active in the same sphere of activity; where relevant, they integrate large businesses; they work with or integrate training, job and skills management, innovation and research organizations, according to their particular contexts and initiatives; • They have a “hard core” anchored within one territory which facilitates easy and close relationships between their members and which is relevant to the business network concerned; • They provide services to businesses which can handle all of their needs through pooling or collective actions, particularly in relation to innovation in all of its forms 75 , jobs and skills, work organization, international development, communication, environmental aspects; • They have a specific governance structure, in which the entrepreneurs play a driving role, with a collectively developed strategy implemented through a concerted action plan; • All businesses <strong>are</strong> included (production businesses, liberal professions, service providers, craft-based manufacturing, etc.), in all activities (commercial, industrial, crafts, tourism, artistic, agricultural, service, etc.) and in all the territories (urban, peri-urban, rural), both metropolitan and overseas; • They forge links and cooperate with public and private actors from within their territorial ecosystem. The selection of the beneficiaries was carried out in two stages. Following a first call for proposals 42 out of 112 applications were selected for support. They sh<strong>are</strong> the following characteristics: • Over 30 per cent of these business clusters <strong>are</strong> positioned in future activity sectors related to the e-economy, the green economy, cultural and creative industries or the services industry. The other sectors that currently form the basis of the French economy, like the food-processing industry, mechanics, construction, health and pharmacy, represent about 60 per cent of the selected applications. 74 Pôles de compétitivité refers to clusters that <strong>are</strong> funded within the government program of the same name. For further details about the pôles de compétitivité program see http://competitivite.gouv.fr/. 75 Technological, organizational (corporate structure, work organization, knowledge management, relationships with external partners, etc.) marketing, service, social, territorial, etc. 124