Cluster Ambassador Program

Clusters are increasingly acknowledging the importance of alliances with other clusters and regions to help fuel innovation and growth. The Scandinavian life science cluster Medicon Valley has taken a unique approach by establishing a Cluster Ambassador program.

The program was launched in 2008, with the objective to improve collaboration and information exchange with leading life science clusters in the world.

The Life Science Ambassador Program is based on the idea of exchanging representatives (Ambassadors) between Medicon Valley and other leading life science clusters around the world.

Midicon Valley will send an Ambassador to a participating cluster, and that cluster will in return send one to Medicon Valley. The exchange will  last for a period of 2-3 years and the Ambassador will be integrated into the day-to-day operations at the clusters.

The Ambassadors will work together to develop new relations by scouting for science and business opportunities and by promoting networking between the participating clusters.

When the program is fully implemented, Medicon Valley expects to be home to representatives from 12 of the world’s leading life science clusters. The Ambassadors will work daily in the same environment to form productive win-win alliances between cluster organizations and clusters stakeholders.

The concept in short:

• Build a strategic network of contacts and active collaborations with 10 of the leading and emerging life science clusters in the world.
• Representatives from the these leading and emerging regional clusters will call Medicon Valley “home” for a period of 2-3 years
• Foreign Ambassadors will be embedded into day to day operations at Medicon Valley Alliance
• Medicon Valley’s representatives will be embedded into the host organizations abroad.
• Creation of a global life science “Hub” in Medicon Valley where ”The world meets for life science.”

The program strives to achieve the following goals:

• Increased business-to-business interactions
• University/hospital collaborations with the purpose of defining and executing complementary research programs
• Cross-sector initiatives combining the skills and competences of the private life science sector, the universities and health care sectors
• Cross-exploitation of accumulated knowledge between the regional organizations of the bio clusters
• Actively promote opportunities for private Venture Capital investments in either regions.

Three Ambassador Programs/exchanges have been signed as of today. These are with Kobe-Kansai cluster in Japan, Life Science British Columbia, Seoul Life Science Cluster in Korea.

Milwaukee receives federal funding to develop water technology cluster

In September of this year, the city of Milwaukee was awarded a federal grant to explore the opportunity to develop a water technology cluster. The grant was awarded to The Milwaukee Water Council, who will match the funds in order to study will develop  research and development plan for the water cluster. The study will look at the regulatory as well as technology landscape for water technology.

Previously Michigan Economic Development Corporation launched an effort to develop a water technology cluster. The US water technology market is valued at US$ 14 billion and MEDC is looking to capture a significant share of this market.

The overarching objective of the initiative is to fuel innovation and corporate growth by linking public and private R&D, manufacturing and capital investments in the areas of water technologies for industrial and municipal use.

Clusterpreneur.com founders publish article on cluster alliances

Increasingly clusters are forming alliances, domestically as well as internationally. This is often done as a strategic effort to better meet the goals of the cluster and its stakeholders. There are different approaches for developing such alliances. Some clusters have a very structured and deliberate approach, other reach out in a less structured and even a serendipitous manner.

Despite the approach, establishing alliances is increasingly critical to the successful growth of the cluster, and depending on the maturity stage of the cluster, can become a major driver for economic development and the cluster’s growth.

The article is available in the Life Science Clusters journal.

Clusters vs. Cluster Initiatives; The little extra makes a big difference

Porter and others used the cluster theory as a framework for analyzing and describing economic factors and innovation. Looking at the basic definition of a cluster, throughout the developed world, literally every region and jurisdiction has cluster in the particular industries important to that region, where private corporations, government, academia and R&D are participants and stakeholders.

Since the mid 90s, the idea of building on clusters to create a competitive regional structure, accelerating innovation, achieving critical mass, encouraging entrepreneurship, etc., in an organized manner, has become increasingly dominant in economic development and innovation policy. These deliberated efforts are often referred to as Cluster Initiatives (CI).

The possibility of creating a formal structure and program around a cluster – develop a Cluster Initiative is an issue that we often see the organizations we work with finds quite compelling.

Clusters and Cluster Initiatives are often used synonymously in practical terms. However, whereas clusters describe existing economic structures (independent from political initiatives), Cluster Initiatives are defined as:

Organized efforts to increase growth and competitiveness of clusters within a region, involving cluster firms, government and/or the research community.

The Cluster Initiative Greenbook 2003 (Sölvell et al. 2003)

Central to the idea of a Cluster Initiative are several key factors; creating a central management organization for information sharing and joint representation, developing a governance model. strategy development and reporting procedure, membership offering (in many cases membership is a for-fee arrangement) and branding and marketing of the cluster.

Our research has identified several factors that are critical to the development, launch and viability of Cluster Initiatives. Some of these are quite obvious, including industry involvement (market pull strategy vs. technology pull), creating CIs around technologies and focus areas that are native to the region, sound development of vision and mission etc. We will cover these and more in postings to follow.

Digital and Creative Industries Cluster takes shape in Liverpool, UK

After a somewhat rocky history (and here) the development of the Baltic Triangle, a large mixed-use area in the down-town part of Liverpool, UK will receive a significant investment towards the vision of creating a cluster for digital, creative and performing arts.  A £5.2 million investment has been announced as a joint effort between The North-West Regional Development Agency (NWDA) and the European Regional Development Fund.

The cluster is named the Baltic Triangle after the community interest company managing the initiative. According to NWDA the cluster will support 60 new businesses by creating 2,790 sq meters of floorspace and is eventually expected to contribute £1 million a year to the Liverpool economy.

We look forward to see and learn more about how Baltic Creative will develop tools and programs that will attract and grow companies in such a wide and dynamic industry.

Additional funding secured for solar energy cluster in New York state

Congressman Maurice Hinchey has announced that an additional US$ 2.25 million has been secured in federal funding to further develop a solar energy cluster in New York’s Hudson Valley. The effort is organized by The Solar Energy Consortium, and has with the help of Congressman Hinchey secured more than US$ 20.0 million in federal funding.

More info

Saskatoon ranked as the best city for entrepreneurs in Canada

The Canadian Federation of Independent Business in its second annual survey for the Financial Post, ranked Saskatoon the No. 1 small business friendly community, based on a series of criteria, including the number of business startups, population, self-employment intensity and the requisite costs and “sensitivity” by local government toward facilitating small business opportunities.

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Diamond industry cluster in Northern Ontario, Canada?

The province of Ontario is looking to position itself as the pipeline of Canada’s diamond industry by successfully attracting and establishing the province’s first diamond processing plant in Sudbury, northern Ontario. Currently servicing De Beers Canada, the plant will soon also charter to other major mining companies in Canada.

John Rodriguez, major of Sudbry recently expressed high hopes for the potential this new facility represent for the city’s economic development. It remains to be seen how the city and province will utilize this important first accomplishment to develop a compelling strategy to help attract new and grow current industry members. A “build it an they will come” is not a viable strategy in most cases.

Solar energy cluster opportunity for Mid-Michigan

Harry Leaver, executive director of the Center for Economic & Business Development at Saginaw Valley State University outlines the strengths of the Mid-Michigan region in order to build case for a possible development of a solar energy cluster.

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