Cluster Policy

Since the 1990s, implementation of cluster policies has helped to strengthen the Basque industrial fabric, a highly useful analytical tool when it comes to providing cohesion to the complexity of production activities and facilitating their relationship with the territory.

The progressive evolution of the model has given rise to the 22 business groups that make up the Basque cluster and precluster fabric, promoted by the Internationalisation Section of the Basque Government Department of Economic Development and Competitiveness (DDEC), and currently coordinated by SPRI, with a team of more than fifteen people, responsible for maintaining open, facilitating communication in monitoring their action plans.

Michael Porter addresses Basque Cluster Day

New Management Approach 

Immersed in a process of improvement since their founding, the evolution of the Basque clusters has seen their management directed, over time, towards the gradual development of the pyramid of cooperation in implementing their action plans on their strategic areas of operation.

Its goal is to promote cooperation among its members, when addressing the strategic challenges for each cluster, with a marked focus on making SMEs stronger.

It is a tool that creates value for its environment, as a result of public-private cooperation, aligned with its performance in deployment of strategic institutional policies: Industrialisation Plan; Internationalisation Plan; Science, Technology and Innovation Plan; RIS3 – Smart Specialisation, etc.

 

Action Framework

Cooperation actions arise from the matrix resulting from the logic of the Strategic Cluster Plan and the Strategic Action Areas defined in the Basque Government economic and competitiveness strategy:

 

Internationalisation

• By companies accessing new global markets and niches and their integration into global value chains.
• Implementation of collaboration initiatives and projects in intercluster opportunity areas such as offshore, smart cities, etc., in order to gain access to new global markets and niches.
• Support for attracting activities and establishment of foreign companies, as well as strategic industrial projects that contribute towards completing the value chains of each cluster.

 

Technological Innovation

• Increase the technological and innovative content of cluster company products.
• Apply converging technologies in developing intercluster collaboration initiatives and projects.
• Facilitate RVCTI (Basque Science, Technology and Innovation Network) collaboration with cluster companies in joint development and technology transfer projects.
• Increase environmental and energy sustainability by increasing efficiency and saving resources in the cluster value chain.
• Integrate advanced manufacturing processes in production transformation links.
• Incorporate new enabling technologies: EICT, BIO, NANO, sustainable energy and green economy into the production process and finished products.

 

Business Innovation

• Support the creation of Complete Activity Chains, from R&D to market.
• Encourage and support intrapreneurial initiatives in cluster companies.
• Dimensioning and convergence of companies.
• Facilitate people participation in companies.
• Develop new business models and access new intercluster opportunity areas by combining existing capabilities and converging technologies.
• Develop new specialised financial tools.
• Align cluster actions with the smart specialisation strategy.
• Actions linked to Advanced Manufacturing in the field of non-technological innovation, including the implementation of EICT tools for companies.

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