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The "Redbook" on clusters was presented in Cape Town

Clusters: Balancing Evolutionary and Constructive Forces
This new publication on clusters was presented by its author, Örjan Sölvell at the 11th TCI Annual Global Conference in Cape Town 2008, South Africa. The Redbook is the outcome of many years of research around clusters, statistical cluster mapping, cluster initiatives, and cluster policy. It gives the reader an overview of the field, and shows how clusters can be used as a constructive tool, not only for scholars but also for cluster practitioners, industry, academic and political leaders, and civil servants working with clusters, regional development and innovation.

Note from the author:

"In 2003, the Cluster Initiative Greenbook was launched at the TCI conference in Gothenburg, presenting data and analysis on hundreds of cluster initiatives from around the world. The “Greenbook” pointed to the fact that these constructive forces must be put into the context of underlying cluster strengths and local institutional factors. A follow-up book on cluster initiatives in developing and transition countries – the “Bluebook” – was launched in 2006.

In the new “Redbook” we build a new model involving both evolutionary and constructive forces. Cluster policies and programs are now emerging in all corners of the world, at international, national and regional levels, bringing more resources and legitimacy to cluster construction. If such political initiatives are to succeed they must be based on sound data-driven analysis, underlying cluster strength and cluster programs must be carefully evaluated to improve our knowledge of how they affect the complex nature of clusters, and how the constructive work can be improved."

Professor Örjan Sölvell is member of the TCI Board of Advisors. He is head of CSC-Centre for Strategy and Competitiveness at the Stockholm School of Economics.


Click here to download an electronic copy of the Redbook.