Normandy clusters are gathering to propose innovative actions at a inter-regional level
In the framework of its call for projects, Datar identified 7 clusters in the Basse Normandie and Haute Normandie regions. These 7 local clusters (150 firms, more than 1500 employees) have decided to create a working group " Normandy clusters group " supported by the French Club of Industrial Districts (CDIF). They are having various meetings, dealing with 3 main objectives :
- exchange best practices of clustering
- develop sustainable partnerships with public authorities (State, regions, municipalities…) and socio-economic stakeholders
- propose collective answers to national and regional call for proposals and European call for projects, so as to foster the firms' opening to export and opening to transnational partnerships.
You can find the clusters member of this group on the CDIF website (in french).
Contact : Jean-Marie Rouillier direction.sme@wanadoo.fr, Jack Breton contact@cebanor.asso.fr.

Clusters and respecting competition rules…
How to respect competition rules when a firms network answers to a public call for tenders ? The Industrial and Naval Pole of Normandy (PI2N, Le Havre) wanted to make sure that its networking organisation wasn't going against the regulations. The Competition Regional Direction of Seine Maritime confirmed that " the principle of creating firms grouping is written down into the new public market laws (item n°51)" and that "firms groupings are lawful when they are created to respond to a call for tender". The same item highlights the clauses imposed to firms of a grouping not to limit or distort competition rules, notably " it is forbidden to change the composition of the firms grouping during the call for tender".
Many thanks to the PI2N that accepted to share this information… Contact : Martine Falck, pi2n@wanadoo.fr

The Metalworking cluster of Basse Normandie goes on with its Slovak partners
Following the recent decision of Peugeot PSA to set up a production plant in Slovakia, the subcontracting metalworking SMEs have to adapt their strategy and to open to Eastern Europe so as to keep their leader position in mechanical engineering. In the Basse Nomrmandie Region, the CEBANOR is the leading organism of the Metalworking cluster "Vallée des Alliages", that gathers 15 SMEs. CEBANOR proposes to these firms a transnational partnership programme to open them to Slovakia and to strenghten their relationships with French contractors. "For SMEs, it's a way to respond to the contractors'needs, de stay competitive - notably facing German rival SMEs -, and to avoid brutal relocations" says Jack Breton, Director of CEBANOR.
To get more details : contact@cebanor.asso.fr.

Call for proposals to create an " European network of mechanical poles"
So as to strengthen the mechanical industrial district of the Saint-Etienne basin (700 firms specialised in mechanical and metalworking), MECAPOLE wishes to develop partnerships with other European poles specialised in industrial equipment. Co-operations will be dealing with technologies, R&D, collective response to call for tenders... The main objective is to create an European network of mechanical poles.Future EU Members are also concerned by this call for proposals.
Contact: Robert Bourne Branchu rbb@mecapole.org - www.mecapole.org

The golden jewel production of the Cher County wishes to become a cluster (Centre region)
The fame of the territory of Saint-Amand - South of the Cher county, in the Centre region - is due to the age-old know-how of its jewellers. Nowadays, it became the third French golden jewel production pole (after Paris and Lyon). It wishes to become a cluster. Some 12 firms of the sector (2OO employees, 40% of the French market) signed a co-operation charter to confirm their will to share different services and to promote collectively their know-how. The cluster is working with a professional secondary school (the most important one in France in the jewellery sector) and with a "Golden city" (office promoting the production). Common actions have already been launched : promotion tools, design study, waste management study, R&D, possible organisation of a meeting on jewellery. The ADIMAC Berry and the Cher Commerce and Industry Chamber are working on the cluster development in collaboration with the Technological centre CRITT Z3T of Vierzon. To get more information : Michèle Archambault (Adimac Berry) m.archambault@adimac.com

Create a economic interest group to manage inter-firms co-operations ?
When some firms of a cluster decide to share a specific investment (machine tool for example) or a particular mission (commercial duties for example), they usually gather in a structure that is dedicated to the partnership. In the eyewear cluster of Jura (50 firms, 3750 employees), three economic interest groups (GIE) were created. "The choice of this juridical form respond to the will of the firms involved to develop their economic activity and to increase the results of this activity" explains Henry Venet, Director general of the Eyewear cluster. For example, two firms created a GIE without capital to study and elaborate a common organisation aiming to build and commercialise eyewear on the French territory. "The GIE implies a jointly and severally liable to the company of the associates, but when the aim of the GIE is precisely described, the firms members do not hesitate to be part of this type of organisation" explains Henri Venet (hvenet@lunetiers-du-jura.com).
More information about GIE on APCE website (in french)
SPL info will present, in futurs numbers, differents forms of organisation to manage inter-firms co-operations.

The Environment cluster of Ravenna (Italy)
In the review " France-Italie " of sept/oct 2002 (www.france-italie.net), Florence Vidal, international consultant, describes the emergence of a district on the environmental sector. Within the 50s, important gas fields were discovered in Ravenna, that fostered the fast development of the petrochemical industry. Consequently, this important industrial activity produced significant environmental damages. Civil society has become very quickly aware of the fragility of ecosystems but the main question was : how to conciliate industrial activity (and its positive economic repercussions) and sustainable development. The answer was found thanks to a co-operative approach. A communication and information campaign was realised, focussing the whole stakeholders on that problem. Regional laws permitted investments and infrastructures to stop pollution. Research programmes have been launched to identify relevant and economical solutions for the industrials. During the 80s and the 90s, the territory has gained competencies concerning the heritage protection, on waste management, on risks prevention etc. "The Ravenna territory has become a real environment district" says Florence Vidal.

Creation of an automobile cluster in Wolfsbrug, Germany (source : CAP n°38, February 2003)
Wolfsburg, some 100 miles west of Berlin, lies close to the border with the former East Germany. It is a classic company town - 50,000 people, and more than half the local labour force works in Volkswagen offices and plants. Home of the Beetle, Wolfsburg had a labour market that was in steady decline for years - by the late 1990s, the unemployment rate had reached 18 percent. Volkswagen (VW), the local government, and McKinsey are working together to create a regional economic cluster. The project is designed to attract high-technology start-ups, as well as suppliers and other relevant companies, to Volkswagen's doorstep and thus to cut local unemployment in half (the equivalent of creating 10,000 new jobs) by 2003. In the home of the world's largest auto plant, the partners have formed a technology center based on the automotive industry. As well as showing corporate citizenship, Volkswagen hopes to benefit by creating a vibrant entrepreneurial community and improving the local supplier base. At the same time, city officials want to combat high unemployment and to revive a dwindling service and retail sector. Volkswagen and the local government have so far invested about $12 million and $10 million, respectively, in the project.
To get more information : Thomas Heuser, Peter Kraljic and Marin R. Stuchtey " The McKinsey Quaterly 2001 ".

Clusters and the development of innovation
During the inter-ministerial spatial planning committee (CIADT) of the 13th of December, the French government decided to support the development of clusters in rural areas. As development deals with innovation and technology transfer, the CIADT proposes to support the management and the co-ordination of the clusters' firms and to help identifying the firms' common needs concerning innovation and technology. Thus, this action fosters the elaboration of pluri-annual innovation contracts by clusters.
To prepare these pluri-annual innovation contracts, the project managers will be able to ask for a funds (territorial part of the State-Region planning contracts). 50% of the eligible expenses will be funded. A circular will be sent soon to the Regional Prefectures and will be available on the Datar website (in french).

A study on the French Wood-made furniture clusters
Pierre Bonnaire, General inspector at the Rural engineering (GREF), realised a report on the Wood-made furniture of the Lorraine and the Champagne-Ardenne Regions. This report was done for the DATAR and the General council of the GREF. Three local clusters were visited and analysed : the Wood-made furniture of Chaumont (Filière bois 52, Haute-Marne), GIPELOR (Nancy) and the Wood-made furniture pole of Lorraine (PLAB, Neuchâteau). This report highlights the fact that thanks to networking and co-operation, firms of a cluster can better endure the sector crisis (as the one due to the 1999 storm). Moreover, some "niches" as the energy-wood should be more developed by clusters. This analyse could be done for other French regions in 2003. To download this report (in french).

Policy supporting clusters in Wallonia (Belgium)
DFollowing a first feasibility study, the Region of Wallonia has launched, at the end of 2002, 4 experimental clusters projects in the aeronautics, mechanics, wood-made furniture, food biotechnology. Among the 9 objectives of this programme :
- economic repercussions for the subcontracting firms (promote the existing subcontracting, increase subcontractors' number, support quality procedure)
- benchmarking
- more technological development
- diversification actions (new products and activities)
The Region will be financing the leader of each cluster during 2 years. Then, according to the evaluation results, the policy supporting clusters could be a sustainable one in Wallonia.
The Wallonia policy and the clusters projects were presented during the " 1st Wallonia Forum on the internalisation of firms' networks " (November 13th, 2002).
More information (in french)

CEEC representatives are visiting Normandy clusters
Representatives from the Czech Republic, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Poland, Bulgaria, etc will be doing a study tour and visiting French clusters in April. The visit will concentrate on the Normandy region and every effort will be made to accommodate all sectors mentioned so far namely ICTs, Electronics, Food, Textiles and Biotech. This study tour, prepared in collaboration with the Basse Normandie Economic Development Committee (CEBANOR), is following the first meeting of the focus group on "Innovation in clusters and sectors " organised by Innovating Regions in Europe that was held in Cyprus on the 22nd of November 2002.
To get more information on this study tour : contact@cebanor.asso.fr

How to identify and develop a sectorial activity "
On the 28th of January, the Association of local economic development stakeholders of the Rhone-Alpes Region (ARADEL) organised, in co-operation with the French Club on industrial districts, a seminar on " How to identify and develop a sectorial activity ". Were represented :
- the emerging mechanic cluster of Bourg-en-Bresse
- the Grand Lyon policy that promotes sectorial activity and excellence pole , illustrated by the numerical sector (Lyon InfoCité)
- the sectorial policy of the Loire territory.
You may find the speakers presentation on the ARADEL website (in french).

Mecanic Valley's meetings
The cluster Mecanic Valley organised on the 13th of February, 2003 the "5th business meeting of the industrial subcontracting" in Figeac (Midi-Pyrénées). This meeting is the main annual event of the cluster. It was created to promote the know-how of the 90 firms of the cluster (1100 employees). In 2002, this event gathered 600 participants and 700 inter-firms meetings were organised.
Contact : Aurélien Robin arobin@mecanicvallee.com. More info : www.mecanicvallee.com.

Business intelligence and territory : Compared experiences in Europe and abroad (ACFCI)
The use of business intelligence (BI) in strategies of territorial development is getting more and more used. There are a lot of experiences realised, in particular in local clusters. The creation of BI plate-forms for SMEs networks and the display of territorial BI systems are a major tendency of local development ; it seems the key of competitive advantage. According to the experiences led in Europe and abroad, we observe the elaboration of BI networks fostering the SMEs development that include the firms ' new organisation models (clusters, networking) : English business links, Japanese excellence center, Canadian competitive intelligence centers, French local BI programmes.
To get more details, you can download the presentations (in french) of Philippe Clerc (p.clerc@acfci.cci.fr), Director of business intelligence and of ITC at the French Assembly of Commerce and Industry Chamber (ACFCI).

Kit pédagogique sur les SPL (methological guide on local clusters) (ETD)
Aimed to inform and train economic development players on local clusters questions, this guide includes a power-point presentation of the French local clusters, some methodological advice and a video with some clusters leaders' point of view. This guide can be used by local players themselves to introduce clustering dynamics to their partners. Cost : 20Euros. To buy it, contact the association ETD (Tel : + 33 1 43 92 67 67) or check ETD website.
So as to get used to working with this guide, the association ETD will organise a training seminar on inter-firms co-operation and clusters on March 19th. Cost of this seminar : 50Euros. (lunch and guide included).
Contact : Armelle Laperriere a.laperriere@etd.asso.fr, programme of the seminar and registration : Farida Mehdioui f.mehdioui@etd.asso.fr.

" Creating small systems : a guide to cluster strategies in less favoured regions " (Stuart A. Rosenfeld, European commission / DG Regio, April 2002)
Presented during the third assembly of Innovating Regions of Europe (Stratford-upon-Avon, June 2002), this book aims to be a guide to develop clustering dynamics in less industrialised regions where innovation and technology process are less developed. To get more information on the Stratford conference and on Innovating Regions of Europe : www.innovating-regions.org.

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