Clusters are individuals - VDI/VDE-IT
Clusters are individuals - VDI/VDE-IT
Clusters are individuals - VDI/VDE-IT
You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles
YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.
3. RESULTS OF THE BENCHMARKING OF CLUSTER PROGRAMS<br />
In recent years cluster policies and cluster programs have<br />
increasingly gained weight on the political agenda. As already<br />
stated in the introduction, nowadays policy makers<br />
and program owners <strong>are</strong> no longer facing the question<br />
whether they should establish new clusters, but the question<br />
how they can improve the global competitiveness<br />
of existing clusters. How can cluster programs support<br />
the development of clusters that can compete in a global<br />
economy How can cluster programs contribute to cluster<br />
management excellence as a precondition of world-class<br />
clusters These questions motivated policy makers and<br />
program owners from different European countries to engage<br />
in a benchmarking of cluster programs that should<br />
facilitate mutual learning in this respect.<br />
This chapter presents the results of the benchmarking of<br />
cluster programs. Chapter 3.1 introduces the comparative<br />
portfolio, which consists of 16 cluster programs from<br />
nine countries. Chapter 3.2 describes the characteristics<br />
of these programs in terms of objectives, strategic focus,<br />
instruments, terms and financial aspects. Important key<br />
findings from the benchmarking <strong>are</strong> presented in chapter<br />
3.3. The key findings give further insight into the different<br />
types of cluster programs, their relevance on the<br />
policy agenda and their coordination with other funding<br />
programs, support of cluster internationalization, the role<br />
of program owners when it comes to the development of<br />
individual clusters, the relevance of cluster management<br />
excellence in the programs, monitoring and evaluation<br />
practices and lessons learned by the program owners.<br />
Chapter 3.4 outlines a perfect cluster program with regard<br />
its overall strategic set up, target group, instruments and<br />
implementation.<br />
3.1 COMPARATIVE PORTFOLIO<br />
The cluster program benchmarking covered 16 cluster<br />
programs from Denmark, Germany, Norway, Sweden, Finland,<br />
Iceland, Poland, France and Greece (see Table 7). The<br />
programs cover a wide array of different rationales, objectives<br />
and instruments, but have the development of clusters<br />
through the support of cluster management organizations<br />
in common.<br />
32
Change language