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Lyon 2006: Governance and Business Involvement in Cluster Initiatives

Faced with the globalization of markets, the economies of the most advanced countries must thoroughly reconsider their economic and industrial policies. The United States, Japan and Western Europe must face up to new challenges.

For Advanced Countries, the issues of the next decade are to re-position their activities in the higher value added areas with more innovation, more value creation, and more reactivity. This re-positioning must be thought in a global perspective, taking into account the development needs and specific strengths of the "traditional" or emerging countries. It must also develop new strengths in both developed and developing countries, while at the same time pushing for a more harmonious life environment and guaranteeing sustainable development.

We believe the policies we are to implement must be thought out with a concern for increased partnerships across and between industrialised and emerging countries, and that the desired reactivity can only come through in a regional scale federated around a new governance which will bring together the worlds of Business, Politics and Academia.

Lyon Clusters 2006 conference will deal with:

Governance and Business Involvement in Cluster Initiatives

Two novelties are included in the proposal to host TCI in Lyon:

• Cluster governance will be dealt with in-depth, as it is the cornerstone of the emergence, sustainability and success of Clusters
• Business involvement will be emphasized as it is THE pre-requisite for successful clusters: what do companies get out of clusters, why do they participate, what do they take out of their active participation to the clustering process, what should be done for things to work even better?

Three regional conferences will be organised in Europe, Middle East and Africa between 2006 and 2008 to spread the outcome of the 9th Annual Conference.

Europe is a great cluster market.

The European Union is the instigator of great potential for clusters development. Many EU members as Sweden, Belgium, Spain, Finland, Denmark, Nederland, Slovenia speak about clusters policies. EU policies are and will be more and more cluster oriented.

Between 2002 and 2007, EU programs are already cluster-oriented (Interreg, ERA, IRE, ERIK, RITSS, etc.).
Between 2007and 2013, 3 new cluster oriented objectives are planned in the Regional Policy Program.
Moreover the 10 new EU members are developing new economic tools and benchmarks.

The Rhône-Alpes region is a stronghold of entrepreneurial culture, and companies in the region have long been deeply involved in networks and clusters; they have recently again shown their enthusiasm and dynamism by participating massively to the responses for the government's call for proposals to develop "Pôles de compétitivité" (local innovation systems based on the tripe-helix concept).

In Rhône-Alpes there are 16 "pôles de compétitivité", among them three who are world oriented clusters. The region is connected and keeps in touch with emerging clusters regions, mainly located in Africa and Eastern Countries.