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TCI News letter March 2003

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TCI Newsletter

From:

The Competitiveness Institute <bdoesborg[nospamplease]@competitiveness.org>

=========== The Competitiveness Institute Newsletter ==========
News from the cluster practitioners network Subscribe for free: http://www.competitiveness.org
================================================================

Georgia on my mind!
-----------------------------------------

I have just returned to New Zealand from a visit to Georgia (in
the Caucasus) where I had the opportunity to work alongside two
TCI members, Nana Adeishvili and Alec Hansen, in a World Bank
sponsored competitiveness project. CERMA, the organisation that
Nana heads, had assembled an exceptional group of local
consultants who are supporting the development of individual
enterprises, and increasingly working at the network and cluster
levels in developing collaborative agendas and addressing issues
that are beyond the reach of individual firms.
On my desk when I returned to New Zealand was a publication from
another TCI member, Stuart Rosenfeld, 'Just Clusters: Economic
development strategies that reach more people and places'. The
focus of this report is on shifting outcomes towards people,
places and firms that have been left behind. Whilst this report
is written from a US perspective, the findings are as applicable
to Dalton, Georgia as to Tbilisi, Georgia. Clusters forge a
pathway to higher incomes and stronger economies. A central theme
is the importance of connections, and the building of social
capital. Download the full report from:
http://www.rtsinc.org/publications.html.
It is social capital that is also a key ingredient in lubricating
the linkages amongst TCI members around the world and the
Gothenburg conference in September will provide a further impetus
for this.
In the meantime, if you have news, developments, or reports that
can be shared, please make contact.
Go well
Ifor Ffowcs-Williams
president@competitiveness.org

Canada optics - sharing ideas
-----------------------------------------

Ruth Rayman, Executive Director of the Canadian Photonics
Consortium (CPC) in Ottawa has offered the wider TCI network the
opportunity to share ideas on cluster activity relevant to the
photonics/optics industry. CPC is a national trade association
representing the Canadian optics and photonics industry. It
comprises national and provincial research centers as well as
centers of excellence. The CPC is essentially a cluster of
clusters and considered to be the national voice for 5 regional
photonics industry clusters located across Canada. In total, the
cluster membership exceeds 300 companies. Learn more about the
CPC at: http://www.photonics.ca
Southern Arizona Continues Development of High-Tech Clusters
The Future West - Greater Tucson Economic Council sponsors an
online informational site: http://www.futurewest.com/ about
southern Arizona's economic/cluster development. Optics,
information technology, aerospace, environmental technology,
advanced materials and life sciences are the most important
clusters in the region. This site provides information about the
areas infrastructure, education, workforce, R&D capabilities and
the general climate for business and development, and provides an
update for the TCI members who attended the 2001 conference in
Tucson.

New Zealand - Cluster Facilitators
-----------------------------------------

Twenty industry groupings have received approximately $US 15,000
each to engage facilitators who will work to share expertise,
identify common goals, and develop shared supplier and marketing
information. These were the first grants to be awarded under
Industry New Zealand's cluster development program. The funding
was allocated to clusters that offered the greatest benefits to
their regions and were clearly aligned with their regions
economic development strategy. For clusters that have received
the grants, see http://www.pressroom.co.nz/

India's Textile Clusters
-----------------------------------------

As India's trade policies are liberalised, its textile industry
faces the issue of upgrading its clusters and preparing itself
for global competition. The textile industry is composed of Small
and Medium Enterprises which face several common problems:
Inadequate technology
Inadequate capacity to source the requisite raw materials, and to
market products
Inability to access institutional credit
Absence of product innovation and diversification
Inadequacies in the area of infrastructure.

Despite these problems, with the help of UNIDO and other agencies
to improve competitiveness, opportunities for investment and
development within this industry are emerging.
Sources:

http://textilescommittee.nic.in/netsme.htm,
http://www.unido.org/userfiles/RussoF/Vie3.pdf,
http://www.unido.org/en/doc/4308

Putting the Pieces Back Together: Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam
-----------------------------------------------------------------

Last November, J.E. Austin Associates and the Kenon Institute
Asia (KIAsia) began working as part of the "Southeast Asia
Competitiveness Iniciative" (SEACI) in Thailand, Vietnam and
Cambodia. SEACI, sponsored by U.S. AID, is supporting these
countries with cluster development as part of helping them
recover from the 1997 Asian Crisis. As a first step, KIAsia
sponsored workshops and roundtable discussion to educate
representatives from the three countries on what clusters were
and how cluster development has been used successfully in other
countries. Over the course of the next year, step two will be the
implementation of the actual strategies within each country.
See: http://www.kiasia.org/regional/index.html

European Seminar on Cluster Policy- Copenhagen, 10 June 2003
-----------------------------------------------------------------

The seminar is part of the enterprise clusters and networks
project under the EU's Multi-Annual Programme for Enterprise and
Entrepreneurship
The overall objective at the conference will be to disseminate
lessons learned and best practices in enterprise policy. It also
hopes to provide substantial input about efforts in designing a
new and more efficient approach to competitiveness policy. The
conference will include workshops focusing on regional, national
and international policies. The discussions will be based on
concrete examples, results and evaluations of good and bad
practice. TCI-member Oxford Research is co-organising the
programme.For more information and registration please
visit:http://www.ebst.dk/cluster or contact
Bjarne E. Jensen, Oxford Research:bej@oxfordresearch.dk.

Berlin Adopts Cluster Based Strategy for Development
-----------------------------------------------------------------

The Berlin RITTS Project was created to design an innovative
strategy for Berlin and rebuild the economy after the difficult
post reunification transition. To facilitate this effort the
Technologiestiftung Innovationszentrum Berlin (TSB) was created
to coordinate the actors from science, industry and
intermediaries. Berlin has always been the most research
intensive region of Germany and the RITTS Project identified the
three industry areas that demonstrated the strongest clusters and
the most potential for growth - biotechnology, machinery tool
industry and medical technology. Berlin is developing the
necessary infrastructure to help its clusters grow by increasing
the level of technology interchange and establishing the TSB that
brings together the top minds and practitioners from industry,
science and SME's. For more information visit:http://
www.innovating-regions.org

Innovation and Technology Development Forum III
-----------------------------------------------------------------

This conference will run between the 26th and the 29th of March
in Granada, Spain. The organisers encourage interested parties to
visit their website on: http://www.fermasa.org/foroinnovacion

New Members
-----------------------------------------------------------------

TCI would like to introduce the following new members:
Individual Members
From Ecuador:
Ana Mar�a Martinez Garc�a, doing a Masters in the Economics of
Development at the Latin-American Faculty of Social Sciences
(FLACSO) in Ecuador. Sra Garcia is also an experienced worker in
organization and human resource consultancy.
From Russia:
Igor Pilipenko, a student at Moscow State University -Department
of Geography of the World Economy. He is an assistant to the Head
of the Department, and is developing a thesis about "The
Economic-Geographical factors of the competitiveness of small
western European countries"
From Ireland:
Denis Kearney, an experienced researcher of AMT Ireland, a
research and technology transfer body associated with the
University of Limerick and Enterprise Ireland. His experience in
cluster development stems from his work with SNS (Supply Network
Shannon) that was responsible for setting up an electronic
cluster and precision engineering cluster.

Welcome to everyone!

TCI Annual Conference Update
-----------------------------------------------------------------

TCI has begun a new project in preparation for the Annual
Conference in September in Gothenburg (see
http://www.competitiveness.org/gothenburg/ ). Each month a
different group of the EMEA-Team will be contacted in order to
discuss potential clusters. These contributions will be entered
into a book that will be written by Prof. �rjan S�lvell prior to
the conference. The purpose of the book is to gather best
practices / policies of clusters in the EMEA region, which will
then be discussed in workgroups during the first two days of the
conference. We have already gathered some interesting
propositions. For more information please contact Franziska
Blunck: fblunck@competitiveness.org.

Requests
-----------------------------------------------------------------

Jess Macasaet is a Masters degree candidate in Urban and Regional
Planning at the
University of the Philippines, researching clustering as a viable
agro-industrial development strategy for the Philippines. The
focus of his work is on the coffee industry in one of the
country's provinces. Specifically, he would like to request help
in using appropriate quantitave and qualitative tools for cluster
identification. If anybody would like to recommend any texts or
publications to him, please write to:
competitiveness@competitiveness.com

�
Pros and Cons of Targeting Clusters
-----------------------------------------------------------------

Professors David Barkley and Mark Henry of Clemson University
(U.S.A) recently published the results of their research
concerning the pros and cons of intervention to develop clusters.
A summary of their findings follows, and more information can be
obtained from: http://cherokee.agecon.clemson.edu/redrl_rpt3.pdf
The advantages - Clusters:
Strengthen localised economies and provide cost savings to firms.
This is achieved through a greater availability of input
suppliers, trained workers, better gearing of public
infrastructure and enhanced technology transfer
Facilitate industrial reorganisation - e.g. the transition from
large firms engaged in mass production to SME�s focused on
specialty production
Encourage networking among firms - cooperation occurs more
naturally and frequently
Generate a greater focus on public resource - i.e. they enable
strategic recruitment, retention, and tailoring of development
initiatives

The disadvantages:
Difficulty picking 'winners' - e.g. How do public officials
identify regional competitive advantage, select 'good' industries
to target, or design appropriate programs?
Latecomers may not be as competitive as existing clusters
Supportive institutions are not easily established

Catalytic Technology
-----------------------------------------------------------------

A new report from Acenet explains the need for an EU based system
whereby EU industry can utilize and benefit from "Catalytic
Technology." Catalytic technology helps reduce energy usage and
waste, and increases efficiency. It is particularly beneficial in
industries that produce chemicals and pharmaceuticals. Acenet's
main goals are:
To find ways to improve educational and research capabilities in
developing catalytic technologies
To allow industries to improve their efficiency and innovations
To improve the link between industry and research/technology.

To read more visit: http://www.nwo.nl

"Smart Hungary"
-----------------------------------------------------------------

Hungary has had one of the fastest growing economies in all of
Europe over the past few years. To continue this growth, Hungary
has launched their new economic policy, called "Smart Hungary."
This new strategy is based in greater Budapest's cluster of
universities and research institutes, many owned by
multinationals. In fact, it has been Hungary's ability to attract
foreign investment that has allowed this growth to continue, even
when other world economies have grown sluggish. It is in these
clusters that, "the bulk of the country's market-making products
and services are developed. It is also where many managers,
scientists, and technicians that staff theses companies are
educated. This has "elevated Hungary into one of Europe's leading
providers of high-end capital goods and technical services."
In the last year, General Electric Medical Systems has launched
three high-tech projects in Hungary, totaling more than $1.1
billion. The auto industry, one of the most successful high-tech
industries, has also been attracted to Hungary's economic
policies and clustering approach. Last fall, Audi invested 135
million Euro to expand its engine building capacity. The new
expansion puts Audi's total investment over 1.4 billion Euro and,
more importantly, has attracted Ford and Suzuki, thus expanding
and strengthening the automotive cluster. With over 25,000
foreign companies investing in the economy, it appears that they
certainly are - "Smart Hungary."

Asia Pacific Cities Summit - April 2003
-----------------------------------------------------------------

Registrations have opened for the fourth annual Asia Pacific
Cities Summit, hosted by Brisbane City Council commencing 13
April. Approximately 600 national and international delegates are
expected. The theme is 'Emerging Futures of the City' and will
include discussion and debate on:
"Transforming urban sprawl"
"Greening our cities"
"Creating healthy cities"
"Global and local governance"
"Alternative futures"
Register online:- http:// www.apcsummit.org
Canada Continues to Innovate For Future
The Canadian government is placing considerable weight on an
innovation strategy for the country as a means of enhancing
Canada?s international positioning and improving the Canadian
standard of living.
The Innovation Series 2002/03 is four conferences under one
banner, covering key aspects of innovation in the country and in
individual organizations. Each of the events is developed at the
intersection of economic reality and sound business practice with
innovation as their principal subject. Still to come on the
events list:

Focusing on Innovation: Creativity and Capacity Building and a
National Innovation Update
-----------------------------------------------------------------

April 7 and 8, 2003 in Toronto
2003 Strategic Alliances Conference: Growing in Real Time through
Strategic Alliances
May 27 and 28, 2003 in Ottawa
For more information visit: http://www.conferenceboard.ca/�
================================================================
The Competitiveness Institute - http://www.competitiveness.org

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