This policy dialogue aims at raising the level of excellence and efficiency of cluster policies in Europe which will result in the creation of more competitive world-class clusters in Europe, as recently proposed by the Commission Communication on clusters.

The European Cluster Alliance was founded in September 2006 by the partners involved in 4 cluster policy projects funded under the PRO INNO Europe initiative of the European Commission. It has been welcomed by the Competitiveness Council as in important European initiative to foster cluster cooperation.

The European Cluster Alliance is much more than just another cluster networking project. Since January 2008, it is open to external public cluster-relevant organisations in Europe willing to share experiences and to develop joint activities with the other partners of the Alliance.

The European Cluster Alliance aims at becoming the single place at EU level for elaborating new ideas and practical tools for improving cluster policy in Europe and for fostering European cooperation at policy level that will facilitate the further development of more competitive world-class clusters in Europe.
Which is the objective of the European Cluster Alliance?
In the last few years, many EU countries and regions have developed specific policies in support of clusters. More information about such cluster initiatives is made publicly available by the European Cluster Observatory. The experience gained so far at national and regional level can be shared among public authorities in order to fine-tune existing, or develop new and better cluster policies in the future.

The objective of the European Cluster Alliance is to go beyond the identification of good cluster policies and to facilitate a true policy dialogue between those who wish to jointly advance the European cluster agenda in areas of common interest.

This initiative responds to the needs and interests of many Member States and EU regions to share experience in the field of cluster policies and initiatives and to share resources to address problems faced by many. The aim is to develop better cluster policies, avoid duplication of efforts and reduce fragmentation of cluster initiatives in Europe.

How is the work organised within the European Cluster Alliance?

The work carried out by the Alliance partners is organised in two different ways: A number of specific activities are carried out by the four projects funded under the PRO INNO Europe initiative, namely the BSR InnoNet, CEE-ClusterNetwork, CLUNET, and INNET. Each project has its own work programme for a period of three years, starting from September 2006.

In addition to this work, the European Cluster Alliance partners have agreed to work together in four horizontal working areas, with a view to jointly developing concrete tools, guides and methodologies of common interest to further advance the quality and impact of their cluster policies and programmes. These working areas include:
# Measuring the economic impact of cluster policies and programmes.
# Identifying financial resources to support cluster policies.
# Improving cluster infrastructure through cluster policy.
# Identifying the main activities of cluster programmes with emphasis on internationalisation.

Who are the members of the European Cluster Alliance?

The partners who are directly involved in the four cluster policy projects funded under PRO INNO Europe are the founding partners of the Alliance and they are referred to as “full partners” of the Alliance. The partners who joined the Alliance afterwards are referred to as “associated partners”.

The “associated partners” can be involved – at their own costs - in the work of one or two of the four specific projects and/or in one or two of the four horizontal working areas. Furthermore, “associated partners” have the right to participate in any events and workshops organised by the projects of their choice and to jointly work with the “full partners” of the Alliance.

Who can join the European Cluster Alliance and how?

“Associated partners” should first consult the document Joining the European Cluster Alliance which provides information about the eligibility criteria, procedure and the application form for becoming a partner.

The organisation should be registered in a country associated to the Competitiveness and Innovation Programme (CIP).

Then, the European Cluster Alliance Partnership Agreement is the formal document to be signed in order to join the Alliance, provided that the foreseen procedure is respected.

Source: http://www.proinno-europe.eu/index.cfm?fuseaction=page.display&topicID=395&parentID=395#intro