Projects Database

OMNIPACK Cluster Establishment and Development

The OMNIPACK cluster project aims at establishing the regions of Královehradecký, Pardubický and Vysočina as a first-rate centre for the development of the packaging industry in the Czech Republic. The cluster management fosters cooperation and acts as a coordination mechanism for its members with a view to increase their competitiveness and innovativeness, and to enable them to enter new markets, create new job opportunities and new companies. The project was launched on 1 March 2006 and will finish on 30 June 2008. The OMNIPACK cluster is one of the first cluster projects in the Czech Republic.

InnoEnvi - Environmental mini clusters

The South Finland region successfully created environmental mini clusters which have generated sustainable cooperation which is now being extended nationally and internationally. 74 companies were involved in the 5 mini-clusters, each one containing one larger company to "drive" the project, as well as research institutions and universities. The cooperation and development projects have resulted in a number of commercial results and business to business developments.

Nanotechnology Fabrication Facility – NanoFab

The NanoFabrication Facility (NanoFab) is one of the first Italian laboratories devoted to the transfer of nanotechnologies to industrial production. It was inspired by the Penn State Nanofabrication facility (Pennsylvania, USA) and has been created with an investment of over €25.5m co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), the Italian Government, Veneto region and VEGA (the science and technology park of Venice).

STIMENT - Stimulating new ways of Entrepreneurship

The aim of the STIMENT project was to strengthen entrepreneurship potential in the regions of Övre Norrland in Sweden, Lorraine in France, Wielkopolska in Poland, Häme in Finland and Brescia in Italy. The regions share a common history of undergoing structural changes since the 1970s and most of them have a weak tradition of entrepreneurship. This case study focuses mainly on the Swedish Övre Norrland perspective on STIMENT.

PUCK - Polymerindustrins Utvecklingscentrum

PUCK, the Plastic and Polymer Centre in East Sweden, is a cluster organisation created especially for companies from the plastic industry. It promotes the use of polymers in construction and production, with a focus on high quality products. PUCK provides its members advisory services and technical assistance during the product development phase, construction, design, prototype and tool manufacturing phases, as well as during the manufacture of short and long product lines. In addition, PUCK provides qualified support on environmentally friendly material technologies.

OpTIC Technium (Opto-Electronics Technology and Incubation Centre)

OpTIC Technium is a technology and incubation centre in St Asaph (UK) that was set up under the initiative of the enterprises and universities in the opto-electronics cluster organisation in North Wales to provide support, knowledge and facilities for emerging technology businesses.

DIALOGUES

DIALOGUES is an initiative aimed at ensuring that the expertise and knowledge base of the University of Glasgow is accessible to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) based in Western Scotland. Scotland underperforms in exploiting its strong public science base and historically has had a low level of business R&D investment. Its SMEs suffer from a low level of absorptive capacity and enterprises in Scotland undertake less than half the amount of R&D per worker than in the UK generally.

ProfitNet

The South East of England piloted Learning Networks, driven by businesses and facilitated by local facilitators trained by the University. The ProfitNet groups have become powerful local networks in Hastings that are able to use their collective influence to improve the services to the local business community.

A Network of Regional Innovation Agents creates links between Technology Providers and remote businesses

The Castilla y León region of Spain established a network of regional innovation agents to make the link between small, mostly rural and remote businesses and existing centrally located technological services. 12 regional development agents from different academic backgrouds were recruited and trained to form the innovation network; 969 companies were visited, 231 businesses were put in contact with a Technological Centre; and 63 innovation projects were started in SMEs. The region continued to support the project after the period of EU cofunding.

L'agro-alimentaire breton au service de la nutrition santé

En améliorant la qualité nutritionnelle de leurs produits, les entreprises bretonnes contribuent à la politique nationale de santé et modifient l'image de la Bretagne. Seconde région agricole française, la Bretagne est en effet dotée d'une production industrielle techniquement avancé mais jusqu'à présent peu innovante en matière de nutrition santé.