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TCI Organizational Members

TCI is supported by a number of organizational members. These are mainly non-profit organizations, government agencies, or multilateral organizations dedicated to fostering economic development and interested in clusters, innovation systems and competitiveness issues. Here you can read who they are and what they do.

TCI offers them here a space to present themselves and inform about their latest activities and experiences.


SPRI - Association for the Promotion of Industry is a public limited company incorporated by the Basque Government - Department of Industry, Trade and Tourism, that acts as an agency for industrial development providing SMEs and other companies in the Basque Country with support in four main areas:
- Business Promotion: providing back-up for entrepreneurial projects.
- Technological Innovation: promoting Innovation using the results of transnational technology transfer and R&D, using the European IRC network by means of a contract drawn up with the European Commission and other relevant programmes.
- Information Society: encouraging the use of Information Technology and Telecommunications by Companies, Individuals and the Administration, as both users and providers of services and content.
- Internationalisation: Providing support to Basque companies with investment and trade projects abroad, and to foreign companies with investment projects in the Basque Country through SPRI network of Representative Offices in China, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Cuba, Czech Republic, Mexico, Poland, Venezuela and the United States and local agents in some other 15 countries. Fostering international cooperation in technological and industrial projects between Basque companies and companies from other countries. Promoting economic relations with other regions and countries.

About SPRI
About the Basque Government



The Centre for Innovation and Business Development (CIDEM) is an autonomous body of the Catalan Government's Ministry of Employment and Industry aimed to improve Catalonia's industrial community and increase its competitiveness.

About ACC1Ó

Links to publications:
in Catalan
in English
Link to Catalonia.com (Catalan Investment Agency)





The Swedish Governmental Agency for Innovation Systems (VINNOVA) is a State authority that aims to promote growth and prosperity throughout Sweden. Our particular area of responsibility comprises innovations linked to research and development. Our tasks are to fund the needs-driven research required by a competitive business and industrial sector, and to strengthen the networks that are such a necessary part of this work.

About VINNOVA
Current publications available in English
Activities



The Department of Economic Development and Tourism - Provincial Government of Western Cape spearheads the Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) programme for the Western Cape Province. The programme consists of 16 SPVs, ranging from Tool-making to Craft and Design. The success of this programme lies with the funding and support the SPVs receive from the provincial government.

About The Department of Economic Development and Tourism - Provincial Government of Western Cape



The City of Cape Town is interested in promoting the City of Cape Town region in terms of economic growth and development through various development initiatives, among which is the cluster development initiatives.

About The City of Cape Town



Orkestra, the Institute of Kompetitiveness and Development is a knowledge center born in the context of a thorough revision of what the Basque Country’s economy has achieved so far and of the challenges it faces in the quest for more sophisticated levels of competitiveness. After almost two decades of sustained economic growth, socio-economic agents in the Basque Country agreed on the need to create a research institute that capitalizes on the experience of the previous years and, most importantly, that orchestrates the path toward sustained competitiveness by fostering the Basque Country’s transition to a fully fledged knowledge economy. The Institute also contributes to disseminate knowledge on the Basque experience, which can be useful for other regions and countries. ORKESTRA is an initiative of the Instituto Vasco de Competitividad, which belongs to Deusto Fundation, an institution devoted to making scientific knowledge available to society. The Institute's MISSION is to orchestrate socioeconomic agents in the process of transforming the Basque Country into an idea-driven economy that consistently raises the standards of living of its population. Essential elements in this stage are cooperation and a philosophy that seeks to minimize losses for all players, building up on the economy’s main strengths and working to overcome its weaknesses.

About Orkestra, the Institute of Kompetitiveness and Development



MFG Baden-Württemberg is among the leading innovation agencies in Europe, focussing on information technology, software, telecommunication and the creative industries. By networking the creative and the technology sectors, MFG strenghtens Baden-Württemberg as a business location, supports cooperation in Europe and enhances collaboration in global value chains. MFG's specific focus lies on users of information technology across all sectors and their buyer potential. With services certified and according to the ISO 9001 standard and 100,000 technology relationships, MFG pioneers the systemic innovation management in the context of public-private partnerships.

About MFG Baden-Württemberg
Innovation Projects
Service Areas



Industrial Initiative for Central Germany

The Industrial Initiative for Central Germany (IICG) is a private initiative set up to promote and strengthen regional competitiveness with more than 50 members, including international investors, such as BMW, Dow, Siemens and Bayer.
In addition to companies that play a pivotal role in shaping the region’s economic structure, IICG also involves chambers of commerce and local authorities from the three German states of Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia.
The IICG furthers projects and processes in three different areas: promoting innovation, intensifiying growth, and communication and marketing

About the Industrial Initiative for Central Germany



Europa InterCluster is a non-profit organisation which is setting itself up as a real platform for the sharing of information as well as the pooling of resources and services.
In order to be competitive on global markets, clusters are urged to come together, to coordinate their strategies on common projects and share tools amongst themselves so as to reach a critical mass.
In order to respond to increasingly complex markets, businesses are starting to search for complementary competences beyond the scope of their own clusters. These clusters must therefore promote interactions with players located outside their original perimeter. The objective is to use InterClusters to develop common strategic partnerships on complex subjects which lie outside the competence of individual clusters.

About Europa InterCluster



22@Barcelona project transforms two hundred hectares of industrial land of Poblenou into an innovative district offering modern spaces for the strategic concentration of intensive knowledge-based activities. This initiative is also a project of urban refurbishment and a new model of city providing a response to the challenges posed by the knowledge-based society.
It is the most important project of urban transformation of Barcelona city of the last years and one of the most ambitious of Europe of these characteristics, with a high real state potential and a 180 million Euros public investment of infrastructure plan.

About 22@Barcelona



Fundacion Galega para a Sociedade do Conecemento

About Fundacion Galega para a Sociedade do Conecemento



The Regional Council of Central Finland aims to promote quality of life of people throughout the region. As regional development authorities they are involved in national Strategic Centres especially in the Forest Cluster. Centres of Expertise are focused on Forest Industry Future, Nano and Micro Systems and Adaptive materials, Ubiquitous Computing and Future Energy technologies. New generation machines and equipment was chosen as the spearhead cluster and Life force from bioenergy and New dimensions of living as emerging clusters. In addition new clusters are under development, such as the EDUCluster, Creative intensive business services (CIBS) and Wellness – physical activity, functional ability, and health. Development of Logistics and associated services is a natural choice since Central Finland occupies such a key position in the middle of Finland.

About The Regional Council of Central Finland



The Paris Region Economic Development Agency was set up to match business' needs and the regional offer. PREDA has five key remits set out in a contract between the regional council and the Agency, focused on the achivement of three main goals: Help create and safeguard jobs in Paris Region, Enhance Paris Region's economic attractiveness, Support areas in the region affected by economic changes 5 principal remits: Promote the economic attractiveness of the Region abroad, Attract foreign investors to Paris Region, Coordinate the marketing of the regional offer, Help investors prior to and during their location to Paris Region, and Support areas facing economic changes

About Paris Region Economic Development Agency



Zenit, Centre for Innovation and Technology in North-Rhine Westphalia. In terms of competence, ZENIT is a central pillar of cluster policy in North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW). In recent years, both cluster development as well as cluster management projects have been an integral component of the ZENIT portfolio. These have included demand-driven projects to support local NRW clusters in thematic areas such as health care, automotive, logistics and materials. Under the title of "Cluster Club", ZENIT is also currently offering a unique platform for NRW players to present cluster projects and activities, to develop further the know-how of cluster managers, and to strengthen contacts to administrative bodies and political players. The club's meetings focus on topics such as instruments, management methods, financing and international aspects.
Apart from its practical experience in the setting up of clusters, ZENIT has also acquired solid methodical skills from a number of cluster-related consulting and research projects. For example, in the "Innovative Milieus" project – based on the Porter cluster methodology – cluster and network approaches in Europe were evaluated and, in the framework of a "peer review", transferable elements identified for the regional government in NRW.
The internationalisation of clusters in NRW was at the heart of various projects for the regional government in NRW and for the European Commission. Through membership in TCI-The Global Practioners Network for Competitiveness, Clusters and Innovation, potential is being unlocked for cluster development in NRW and co-operation on a global scale. As a consequence of its competence in this field, ZENIT became a member of the steering group of the German preparatory conference in 2008 and the TCI Annual Conference 2009 in Leipzig.
Against this background, ZENIT GmbH has a proven track record in the areas of: Setting up and development of clusters; Evaluation of networks and clusters; Co-operation and network management; Data collection, analysis and assessment of clusters; Cluster concept development; Technology and innovation transfer in clusters; Access to relevant players in the national and international cluster landscape, e.g. via the Enterprise Europe Network and NRW.Europa and TCI; Experience with support programmes for clusters at EU, national and regional level with project financing from the private capital market (risk capital market).

Zenit Cluster Activities.doc
Web About Zenit Cluster Activities



Chamber of Industry and Commerce Ulm (IHK) core competences are reflected in the structure of the operating areas. They have six segments, one of them is business encouragement.
As a critical partner of policy-makers, the Chamber works within the municipalities and at regional, national and European level to shape the opinions and decisions of political decision makers.
As an independent advocate of the market, the Chamber safeguards clear regulations that are binding for all market participants and fulfils a multitude of sovereign functions entrusted to business by government to perform its own responsability.
As a service provider for business, the IHK Ulm supports companies in achieving their objectives by providing them with first class products and services.

About The Chamber of Industry and Commerce Ulm (IHK)



The Paraguayan Organization for Competitiveness Strategy

About The Paraguayan Organization for Competitiveness Strategy



CORFO -The Chilean Economic Development Agency lends support to Chilean firms to help them improve their competitiveness in international markets. Its scope of action ranges from individual companies and networked firms to full production chains, including clusters or geographic groups of companies working in a particular industry.
The Agency also promotes the formation of new businesses that renew and diversify opportunities for growth. For this reason, it supports innovative entrepreneurship and investments, especially those that allow Chile to access highly competitive international production networks.

About CORFO -The Chilean Economic Development Agency



Wirtschaftsforderung Karlsruhe - Economic Development City of Karlsruhe

Karlsruhe is a leader in the field of cluster development, having established CLOE – Cluster linked over Europe, a European network of excellence for cluster management, matching and promotion. The CLOE-project was founded in 2004 and by now has 15 member regions throughout Europe who co-operate in the area of cluster management. As CLOE activities have been very successful, the European Commission chose the network to be the first pilot project under the European Commission’s initiative “Regions for economic change”.

About Wirtschaftsforderung Karlsruhe - Economic Development City of Karlsruhe



Desert Knowledge is establishing networks of people to undertake the research, product development and marketing needed for thriving desert knowledge economies.
This includes drawing from informal and formal knowledge bases, developing business models to capitalise sustainably on our natural resources, facilitating better remote delivery of health and education services, and developing policy and appropriate tenure including Intellectual Property arrangements for communities to progress commercial opportunities.
To live and thrive in desert regions, people require particular knowledge and know-how. Australia has extensive scientific and technical knowledge as well as thousands of years of accumulated indigenous expertise and other skills relevant to desert livelihoods.
The knowledge that resides within inland Australia - individually and collectively - about successfully developing and sustainably living in harmony with these arid lands is of great value. These abilities have commercial potential in other desert countries facing problems such as installing renewable energy supplies, encroaching desertification, productive land management and service delivery over large distances to highly dispersed small communities.

About Desert Knowledge



Scottish Enterprise is Scotland's main economic, enterprise, innovation and investment agency.

It is largely funded by the Scottish Government.
Their mission is to stimulate economic growth in Scotland by supporting business growth and developing the business environment. The key priorities are to provide a range of high-quality services to help new high growth businesses; support and develop existing businesses and help Scottish businesses and industries to develop a strong presence in the global economy - building on Scotland's reputation as a great place to live, work and do business.

About Scottish Enterprise



Region Skane - development, promotion and co-operation in Skane
Skane is the southernmost region of Sweden. Region Skane is a regional public body responsible for health, medical and dental services, and will also have responsibility for future issues.

About Region Skane - development, promotion and co-operation in Skane



Kemi-Tornio University of Applied Sciences is a public educational institute, owned by the municipalities of Western Lapland, in south-western Lapland. KTUAS provides higher education and adult education as well as research and development and consultant services in six different units within five areas of study: Business and Administration, Engineering and Technology, Health Care and Nursing, Social Care and Visual and Media Arts. KTUAS's main research and development at the moment is on the fields of eLearning, eHealth, SMEs, wellness, ICT and media, and innovation systems.

About Kemi-Tornio University of Applied Sciences