Canadian Federal Government Funds Dairy Research Cluster

Funding of $8.7 million is being provided by the federal government to help the dairy industry create a cluster of scientific and technical expertise to study the health benefits of dairy products and ways to improve animal productivity through health and breeding.

The funding includes up to $7.2 million under the Agri-Science Clusters initiative, with a $1.5 million contribution from the Canadian Dairy Commission and $121,000 from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada. The funding will support the Dairy Farmers of Canada’s contribution of $3 million for the cluster.

The Government of Canada is also providing up to $995,000 in the Dairy Farmers of Canada’s Canadian Quality Milk (CQM) food safety system, which helps producers proactively strengthen on-farm food systems. This funding will help the DFC develop a national database (National Electronic Administration System – NEAS) to track on-farm audits and manage the validation and registration processes for the system.

US Federal Government will invest $366M in Energy Innovation Hubs / Clusters

U.S. Department of Energy Secretary Steven Chu has presented a plan outlining how the DoE will invest up to US $122 over five years in each three hubs.

DoE will review proposal in the coming months from prospective clusters/hubs.

The overall objective is bring together a multidisciplinary team of researchers to accelerate R&D and to shorten the time from discovery to technological development and commercialization  promising energy-related technologies.

The three hubs/clusters will focus on:

• production of fuels directly from sunlight
• improving energy-efficient building systems design
• computer modeling and simulation for the development of advanced nuclear reactors

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Michigan’s Great Lakes Bay Bioeconomy Cluster Development

Headed by Saginaw Valley State University (SVSU), a coalition with Michgan State University and other partners is making up a group called  larger “Mid-Michigan Innovation Team.” In 2006, the coalition was a among 13 regions who received funding under the US Department of Labor’s Workforce Innovation in Regional Economic Development (WIRED) initiative.

The purpose of the BioEconomy Cluster Development Initiative is to accelerate the creation, retention, expansion and attraction of a BioEconomy industry in the Great Lakes Bay Region.

As a part of the initiative, the “Mid Michigan Innovation Team” has organized several cluster development workshops, attracting 100-150 participants with the objective to foster networking, discuss opportunities and supply chain improvements.

Next workshop is scheduled for January 14th 2010.

President Obama’s request for funding to industry clusters meets resistance

Earlier this year, President Obama requested US$50 million for Economic Development Administration (EDA) that should be matched 50% by regional economic development authorities towards cluster development - totaling the dedicated funding for cluster development to US$ 100 million . This funding is further detailed in  ’A Strategy for American Innovation‘ a white paper published in August of this year.

Currently, both the House and Senate are refusing the funding, where the House only allocates US$ 10 million to the dedicated cluster program.

In these dire economic times, a fresh take on innovation and economic development in the US would likely have been a breath of fresh air.  A dedicated cluster development effort from EDA will be a great opportunity to test a new approach to engage regional stakeholders to drive local/regional innovation and economic development

Even the proposed  US$ 50 million by itself seems like a measly amount for US nation-wide cluster development effort. If this is reduced to as little as US $10 proposed by the House of Representatives it is one step forward and two steps backward in an effort to bring a new cluster driven innovation policy forward.

We will keep our eyes open.

French approach to cluster based innovation policy seems to pay off

In 2004, the French government  announced shift towards a “functional approach” in their national innovation policy. This was anchored in an initiative (Pôles de Compétitivité initiative) to develop a number of Cluster Initiatives around the country.

As a part of this process, a consortium of French governmental organizations committed to fund the development of 66 clusters with 1.5 billion Euros over 3 years.

The clusters selected to receive funding was selected based on 105 proposal submitted by regional economic and industrial development organizations.

The selection was based on the following criteria:

• The clusters must be anchored into a regional dynamic economy, able to compete internationally. The fit with local industry and strengths was perhaps the most critical criteria.
• The clusters must be built around leading and world-class technology, being able to provide credibility and take a leadership role in its sector worldwide.
• The cluster must incorporate R&D partnership among academia, R&D centers, industry etc.
• The cluster must demonstrate a governance policy / model.
• The overall goal of the cluster is to help bring R&D and innovation to market, and further grow the knowledge based economy in France – improving the country’s competitiveness and create jobs.

Since the initial launch in ’04/’05, an additional 5 clusters have been launched.

Following the Cluster Initiative model, each cluster has a governance model, membership structure, central management and marketing activities.

Since the inception, more than 2,000 R&D projects have been launched within the clusters, and  more than 5 billion euros have been committed (half funded by the French government).

In all, there are 10,000 researchers working on these projects with 5,000 businesses, including SMEs. The French government has committed to maintain the funding until 2011,  with 1.5 billion euros over three years.

Local and regional authorities are funding projects launched by their respective clusters.

As of today, 500 foreign businesses are involved in the clusters and their projects.

Backed by a significant public funding, it seems that the French government continue to believe in the Cluster Initiatives as a central pillar in the country’s innovation and economic development policy.

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.

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.

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