European Clusters Tour Report 12-29 April, 2016

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Contents 1. Executive Summary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 2. Tour Map. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 3. Overarching Insights and Observations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 4. Summary of European Cluster Meetings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 4.1 Scotland Food & Drink. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 4.2 TCI Network. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 4.3 Scottish Enterprise and Scottish Development International. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 4.4 Danish Food Cluster. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 4.5 REG LAB. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 4.6 Danish Agency for Science, Technology and Innovation, Ministry of Higher Education and Science. . 15 4.7 Cluster Excellence Denmark. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 4.8 The Innovation Network Lifestyle and Design Cluster. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 4.9 The Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 4.10 Oost NV, East Netherlands Development Agency. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 4.11 Wageningen University and Research. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 4.12 NIZO. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 4.13 Dutch Poultry Centre. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 4.14 Vitagora. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 4.15 Rhône-Alpes Gourmand and Aderly/Invest in Lyon Agency. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 4.16 Orkestra – Basque Institute of Competitiveness. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 4.17 Cluster de Alimentación de Euskadi. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 4.18 38th Agrofood Sector Group Meeting, Barcelona, Spain. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

© 2016 Food Innovation Australia Ltd (ABN 50 164 124 609). All rights reserved. This Report was prepared by Food Innovation Australia Ltd (ABN 50 164 124 609) (‘FIAL’). The Report has been compiled from information and material obtained during the visit including publicly available information which may (in part) be inaccurate or incomplete and which has not been independently verified by FIAL. FIAL makes no representation, warranty or guarantee as to the accuracy, reliability, currency or completeness of the information provided in this Report. Use or reliance upon this Report is subject to and conditional upon the user not holding FIAL liable in any way for any impact or consequence arising from any of the above factors or the user’s reliance on the contents of this Report.

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1. Executive Summary There’s an old proverb that says: “If you want to go fast, go alone, but if you want to go far, go together.” Fostering collaboration to drive innovation and commercial outcomes for Australia’s food and agribusiness industry is at the heart of everything that Food Innovation Australia Ltd (FIAL) does. That’s why we recently launched a new Industry Capability Directory to help businesses to connect. We have also just released Australia’s first Celebrating Australian Food & Agribusiness Innovations book, which shares the stories of some of our industry’s leading innovations. Just like industry, we need to keep moving, learning and challenging ourselves to ensure that our services continue to meet industry’s evolving needs. In May and June, we held roundtables in each state and territory, where we heard from businesses, industry groups and government bodies about industry’s priorities and received feedback and ideas to help inform FIAL’s future Role and Activities. We also wanted to look beyond our own borders to see what’s happening in other parts of the world and

what better place to do that than Europe – the home of clusters and innovation leaders. From 12-29 April 2016, Peter Schutz, FIAL’s Chairman, and myself met with 23 clusters, networks, governments, universities and research institutes across six European countries. Europe has a long history of clusters and collaboration is embedded in their culture, like in Denmark where cooperatives have existed for more than 120 years. We heard about what underpins successful clusters – you need believers, not just members, and we gained many valuable insights including different cluster funding models and how clusters are evaluated. This Report provides overviews of the organisations that we met with throughout our tour, along with Insights and Observations. Whether you’re a business, cluster, network, policy maker or researcher, I trust that you will find this information valuable in assisting your future collaborations and I look forward to sharing FIAL’s new Vision and Competitiveness Plan with you later in 2016.

Dr Mirjana Prica Managing Director, FIAL

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2. Tour Map

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Note: Minutes were not taken at all of the meetings held during the visit.

“A cluster is a geographical proximate group of interconnected companies and associated institutions in a particular field, linked by commonalities and externalities.” Michael E. Porter, On Competition

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3. Overarching Insights and Observations • Europe has history of clusters due to the work by Michael Porter about 30 years ago. See www.clustercollaboration.eu to learn more about the European Cluster Collaboration Platform • Clusters tend to evolve from a burning platform – either from a sense of urgency or a crisis, with SMEs as the key propellants of their success • Triple Helix Model – important to have industry, government and academia contributing to and driving a cluster’s strategy • Role of government is both as a financier and supporter, which is critical as it signals a commitment to industry of its intent • Funding model is a mixture of government, industry and other research/funding sources • Membership models vary but generally companies pay a joining fee and an annual fee that is a % based on their turnover or number of employees in the business • Clusters are run as small and lean businesses – not many employees • Skillset of cluster leaders is critical – entrepreneurial traits and training to update/ refresh skills • Many of the cluster leaders are women • Clusters are regularly reviewed – key performance metrics, both quantitative and qualitative; and it is important to measure cultural changes

• Services generally offered include: –– Information, business skills, project management, connections and networking events –– Clusters do not do the research work; it is usually outsourced • Projects are identified through consultations with industry and building a greater understanding of their commercial needs • All projects have varying degrees of matched cash contributions from industry but there is always ‘skin in the game.’ Some clusters take a no IP position and/or IP created is shared where many companies benefit. Case studies are always developed and shared with the industry • Projects that involve multiple companies – typically one large and at least two smaller sized companies – are generally supported by government • Projects that have multi-level government support, i.e. regional governments and city councils, tend to get national government support as this aligns interests and impact • Government tends to support only large or MNEs that are re-investing in the country and have a long-term perspective to stay • Understanding the tensions and dynamics between collaboration and competition is important

• Clusters need believers not members

• There is clarity of roles across government, industry, researchers and university and the role they play in research, especially who does pure research and who does applied research

• Industry champions are essential and it is important they have a dual reference frame – benefit both their company and also the industry or country

• Capability and experience of government departments varies but many of them have employees with industry experience.

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4. Summary of European Cluster Meetings

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4.1 SCOTLAND FOOD & DRINK James Withers, Chief Executive www.foodanddrink.scot HISTORY AND STRUCTURE Scotland Food & Drink (SF&D), established in 2007, is a not-for-profit membership-based organisation that was created to guide food and drink companies of all sizes towards increased profitability.

For their members, SF&D provides help and support that will give them a competitive edge and help save money. Services include: • Networking, trade and Meet the Buyer events

SF&D currently has 360 members and a 4-tier membership model, with annual fees varying from £600 to £2,000 according to company turnover. Other forms of revenue include government funding and commercial contracts. By 2018 SF&D will be fully self-funded, allowing them greater flexibility to respond to industry and members’ needs.

• Workshops and training events

SF&D has a Board drawn from a mixture of industry and public sector bodies and its role is to approve and guide the strategy of the organisation. The Executive Group, comprising leaders from across the industry, is the key delivery vehicle.

INSIGHTS AND OBSERVATIONS

VISION AND MISSION Scotland Food & Drink’s mission is to grow the industry to a value of £16.5 billion by 2017 and their vision is to build Scotland’s international reputation as a Land of Food and Drink. ROLE AND ACTIVITIES At an industry level, Scotland Food & Drink provides leadership and strategic thinking, analyses trends and works with the industry to encourage a stronger supply chain and more effective distribution networks. Through their strong links with the Scottish Government, they are ideally placed to inform decision-makers about industry needs.

• Market intelligence • Access to experts and a wide range of discounted services • Input to the Scottish food and drink industry’s future strategy.

• Key to SF&D’s success has been their collaborative approach and working with the “coalition of the willing” • Built a successful model based on opportunities rather than necessity or a crisis • Invested heavily in cultural change, which has taken a decade to achieve • Activities and services add value or complement existing services provided by other agencies and organisations; they do not duplicate • Targeted approach to export in the seven key markets that they have identified, focusing on premium, health and provenance • Through working closely with the Scottish Government, industry development programs and services are delivered by staff with industry skills • The Government’s Food and Agriculture portfolios are run by the same Minister.

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4.2 TCI NETWORK Madeline Smith, TCI Member & Head of Strategy at the Institute of Design Innovation, Glasgow School of Art www.tci-network.org HISTORY AND STRUCTURE

ROLE AND ACTIVITIES

TCI Network is a global network of persons and organisations with deep expertise in clusters and competitiveness, who collaborate in a unique open, flexible and practical way to pursue the common objective of making their regions and clusters more competitive.

TCI delivers a range of benefits and services to members including:

Founded in 1998, TCI is a not-for-profit, non‑governmental organisation with a global scope, open to members from all continents. With its headquarters in Spain, TCI has 462 active members from 50 countries, who pay an annual membership fee. Members comprise development agencies, government departments, cluster organisations, academic institutions, companies and multilateral organisations. The TCI Network is governed by a Board of Directors (currently 15), elected by and composed of TCI members. It governs, administers and represents the association. It also has a Board of Advisors, who are nominated by the Board of Directors and are honorary members of TCI. Their role is to assist and advise the Board of Directors and to promote the network worldwide. The Secretariat supports, facilitates and coordinates TCI activities and networking. VISION AND MISSION TCI’s mission is to support the effective use of cluster‑based economic development approaches as tools to raise the competitveness capacity of firms, cities, regions and countries. Their vision is to be the leading global network of professionals and organisations that are active in cluster-based economic development.

• Matchmaking • Study tours • Peer reviews • Staff exchange • Mentoring program. They run a number of annual conferences around the world, as well as regional initiatives and projects. One of these initiatives is the Cluster Evaluation Group, led by Madeline Smith. This Group seeks to capture some of the learnings from cluster evaluations, develop overall frameworks and share different techniques to show the value of collaboration and return on investment. INSIGHTS AND OBSERVATIONS • Typically, clusters are formed in five stages: 1. Collection – i.e. a group of people or a region (a sense of urgency or crisis brings people together) 2. Communication – people start talking 3. Coordination – people start working together 4. Collaboration – people start sharing and trusting each other 5. Cluster • Many clusters, such as Scotland Food & Drink, have their foundations in balancing government need with industry strength, natural assets and universities’ capabilities • Even if the sector has assets, it is critical that the industry is engaged and the best way to assess this is to look at the culture and behaviour of the industry

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• Measuring culture –– Why are you doing this? ƒƒ Metrics – economics ƒƒ Regional development

• Industry captains are critical to a cluster’s success and it is important to identify the company leaders and not the leading companies to provide leadership and build trust amongst members.

–– What did you do? ƒƒ Activities or projects around skills, innovation, markets etc –– How? What did we do differently? ƒƒ Built trust, leadership, collaboration etc

TCI Latin American Conference 2016.

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4.3 SCOTTISH ENTERPRISE AND SCOTTISH DEVELOPMENT INTERNATIONAL Mark Western, Senior Manager, Technology Sector, Scottish Enterprise; Susan Beattie, Head of Food and Drink, SDI; Lorna Edward, Senior Manager, Food and Drink, SDI; Alan Henderson, Senior Development Executive, Oil and Energy, SDI www.scottish-enterprise.com | www.sdi.co.uk HISTORY AND STRUCTURE

ROLE AND ACTIVITIES

Scottish Enterprise, set-up in 1991, is Scotland’s main economic development agency and a non-departmental public body of the Scottish Government, working with partners in the public and private sectors to identify and exploit the best opportunities to deliver a significant, lasting effect on the Scottish economy.

Key deliverables set out in Scottish Enterprise’s Business Plan 2015-2018 include:

Scottish Enterprise has an Executive Leadership team responsible for the day-to-day running of Scottish Enterprise. The Board, appointed by Scottish Government ministers, ensures Scottish Enterprise fulfils its statutory duties and the aims and objectives set out in the Scottish Government’s Economic Strategy. Regional Advisory Boards provide advice on the best way to maximise the contribution of each region to Scotland’s economic growth and Industry Leadership Groups, such as Scotland Food & Drink, provide strategic leadership and advice to industry and the public sector.

• Help establish the first Innovation and Investment Hub to secure international sources of funding and collaboration for Scottish companies.

Scottish Development International is the international arm of Scotland’s enterprise agencies. They offer financial incentives and other assistance to help establish and grow businesses in Scotland and worldwide and have 40 offices in 20 countries. VISION AND MISSION Reflecting the core vision set out in the Scottish Government’s Economic Strategy, Scottish Enterprise wants “Scotland to be an innovative, high wage and high productivity economy that competes in international markets and focuses on high value goods and services.” Their strategic priorities are centred around internationalisation, innovation, investment and inclusive growth.

• Launch an action plan to attract more investment capital to Scotland • Work with industry partners to address the issue of low productivity in key sectors including Food and Drink

INSIGHTS AND OBSERVATIONS • Clusters need a critical mass of companies or people to be sustainable • The cluster lifecycle is similar to a product lifecycle and it is important to identify how to stop the cluster from dying and growing again, which is where the cluster re-invents itself • Government can identify growth opportunities but industry must be responsible for driving the growth • Funding model of the organisation and some insights on funding clusters: –– 60:40 rule where 60% comes from grants and government and 40% from industry (membership etc) –– Organisations/groups that are established by government need to have a minimum FTE so their activities can include strategy development, sustainability, meeting government funding requirements etc –– Members are both industry and government –– A criterion for obtaining government funding is a cluster’s willingness to collaborate

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–– Important that companies pay membership fees so they have ‘skin in the game’ • Many Scottish Enterprise employees have previously worked in industry, so they have a good understanding of the industry and its needs • Scottish Development International (SDI) –– SDI only has a presence in markets where Scottish industry sectors have a comparative advantage. For example, they have 10 food and drink specialists in targeted international markets, who have a tacit knowledge and understanding of the food and drink industry in those markets and extensive contacts –– Assistance is provided to farmers to help them understand who their customers are and this is supported by a Market Driven Supply Chain project, providing £1.6 million over four years (2013-17) to strengthen food and drink supply chains • There can be challenges where research organisations are part of or affiliated with universities, due to research not always being connected to industry/market needs. Scotland does have industry driven research institutes such as The Scotch Whiskey Research Institute • Important to attach $ to a vehicle to encourage universities to want to change, and then establish the appropriate metrics that reward that change and drive the right behaviour and results for industry • In 2012 the Scottish Funding Council, with support from Scottish Enterprise and Highlands and Islands Enterprise, launched the Innovation Centre program. Since then, £120m (2013-18) has been invested in eight Innovation Centres across a range of key sectors, including aquaculture, to drive innovation through collaboration and encourage entrepreneurship www.sfc.ac.uk/Priorities/ Innovation/FundedInnovationCentres.aspx.

SCOTTISH OIL AND GAS INDUSTRY – CRISIS LEADS TO CLUSTER A 2005 industry report identified a range of critical issues: • Lack of response and intent to take sufficient risk

towards R&D • Relatively poor levels of innovation activity • Lack of resources for SMEs to test new

technologies • Lack of information and expertise for SMEs to

identify new market trends and opportunities and to sustain new market entries • Inadequate levels of commercialisation from

academia • Poor linkages between SMEs and academic

research and consultancy • Poor linkages with the education sector • Lack of private sector networks and weak business

support infrastructure covering renewables • Short-term approach to skills and training target at

statutory requirements • Fragmented delivery of initiatives • Poor public image of the sector, particularly relating

to the environment. These findings led to the establishment of a cluster, which has created many positive outcomes for the sector including a very successful program of educating graduates with the right skillset and firms sharing infrastructure such as pipes. The leadership meetings involve industry, government and researchers, which helps to identify the priority areas for the industry.

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4.4 DANISH FOOD CLUSTER Lone Ryg Olsen, Chief Executive Officer www.danishfoodcluster.dk HISTORY AND STRUCTURE

ROLE AND ACTIVITIES

The Danish Food Cluster is a membership organisation for businesses, research institutions, and public authorities working within the food and agriculture sector in Denmark. They exist to maximise the sector’s potential for global growth by facilitating innovative collaboration and knowledge sharing and attracting international business, talents, and investors.

The Danish Food Cluster facilitates networking opportunities across the food sector to help their members to start a dialogue that can lead to mutually beneficial collaboration. They also identify gaps in the innovation system and then facilitate solutions for their members. Their activities include:

The Danish Food Cluster has 135 members, covering approximately 75% of the total turnover in the industry as well as five universities, GTS institutes and major organisations in the sector. Their membership fee model is based on the number of employees, ranging from $500 per annum for small companies to $6,000 for large companies (3 of the 10 largest companies in Denmark are food companies and they are members). Core funding is through membership and companies sponsor events and the cluster. Other sources of funding include the Innovation Foundation, for projects relevant to members.

• Company visits

The members elect the Board, which consists of 12 representatives from small and large companies, universities and organisations. At an operational level, the Danish Food Cluster has a CEO, who is responsible for marketing, promotions and strategy. Three FTEs cover innovation, events and investment. VISION AND MISSION The Danish Food Cluster’s Mission is to facilitate innovation through branding and cooperation in the whole food value chain, supporting the visibility and growth of members. Their vision is to build a worldleading cluster within food innovation, a hub for talent, investors, companies and science. Long-term, the Danish Food Cluster aspires to be the Silicon Valley for food in Europe, where people travel to, to learn about food innovation.

• Roundtables and group matchmaking • Seminars • Conferences • Insights • Member directory • Monthly newsletter. INSIGHTS AND OBSERVATIONS • The cluster is co-located at an Agri park next to Arla Global Research Centre, where a number of small start-ups are situated. Aarhus University is going to co-locate their food research arm at the site. The land is owned by a Danish farmers group. Copenhagen Uni also has a small presence there and there is an incubator onsite • There is a strong history and culture of collaboration and specialisation in Denmark, due to over 100 years of experience working in cooperatives. This has created a high degree of trust in the industry • 80% of food production is Danish owned so it is relatively easy to work with the industry • Most of the members are value-add companies and whilst the cluster could easily attract more members, they are focused on ensuring that their members are aligned with the cluster’s priorities and direction. No individual farmers are members but Danish farmer organisations are members

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• The cluster’s members are their biggest asset • The cluster is very clear about their role as they have limited resources. They do not receive ongoing government funding (only project based) and therefore there is no requirement or obligation to input into government strategy which can be very time consuming. • The cluster do an annual survey of their members, where they measure outcomes such as relationships formed, new knowledge, product innovation and increased turnover

“FOODS OF THE FUTURE” – A COLLABORATIVE PROJECT BETWEEN THE DANISH FOOD CLUSTER AND BILKA HYPERMARKET Like Australia, Denmark has two major supermarkets, Coop and Dansk, who both operate a number of chains. Seeing an opportunity to bridge the gap between food companies, supermarkets and ultimately consumers, the Danish Food Cluster teamed up with Bilka, a hypermarket in the Dansk chain and also a cluster member. The concept – to get more innovative Danish food products onto supermarket shelves and to up-skill food companies in the process. The cluster manages a space for small companies to showcase their innovative products to Bilka. It is a free trial for 3-6 months and enables the companies to test their products, refine their value proposition (pricing, packaging etc) and to be better prepared for future investments. The cluster prequalifies companies and prepares them for working with supermarkets. They also help the supermarkets to better understand how to work with smaller companies, who do not have large departments. This exposes the supermarkets to different innovation processes and products.

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4.5 REG LAB Bjarne Jensen, Chief Executive Officer www.reglab.dk HISTORY AND STRUCTURE

ROLE AND ACTIVITIES

REG LAB is a member based “laboratory” for regional economic development. Established in 2004, it is a not-for-profit, non-political association striving to create a unique space for mutual learning, debate and networking and pushing the boundaries through collaboration.

REG LAB delivers:

It is 100% financed by more than 118 member organisations from different levels of government, academia, training, business services, consultancies and clusters. These groups share a common interest in regional development and economic and innovation policy. VISION AND MISSION REG LABs mission is to strengthen knowledge, competencies and networking in regional economic development. Their vision is to be an important knowledge bank for organisations working for regional economic development. REG LAB aims to influence the agenda in discussions on future regional economic development policy.

• Seminars, workshops and conferences focusing on current issues • Agenda setting “analyses” – multi-stakeholder projects that are co-funded by members • One-on-one dialogue with members, providing feedback on issues, strategies, initiatives etc • Dissemination of analyses from conferences, councils, roundtables, workshops etc • Networking – matchmaking amongst members, identifying relevant partners, sharing knowledge etc • Newsletters – circulate 9-10 annually • REG RADAR – communiqué of new initiatives and publications centered around five core themes.

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4.6 DANISH AGENCY FOR SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND INNOVATION, MINISTRY OF HIGHER EDUCATION AND SCIENCE Morten Thomsen, Director www.ufm.dk HISTORY AND STRUCTURE

INSIGHTS AND OBSERVATIONS

The Danish Agency for Science, Technology and Innovation is an agency under the Danish Ministry of Higher Education and Science. It works for the creation, exchange and utilisation of knowledge, to provide better conditions and settings for research and innovation for the benefit of society.

• Within government, the Industry department focuses on marketing activities and the Innovation department focuses on the science. Innovation policy is focused on enhancing linkages and collaboration between industry and research

The agency has an Executive Board, nine Divisions and two Secretariats.

RESEARCH

• Increase translation of knowledge to value

• Denmark has seven advanced research and development organisations (e.g. TNO and Fraunhofer) that are not-for-profits and focus on applied research. The largest two cover most research disciplines and five are specialised (e.g. Danish Hydraulic Institute is a world leader in water management)

• Enhance internationalisation of Danish research and innovation

• Government’s process for identifying new areas of research is:

VISION AND MISSION The Agency’s key objectives are to: • Provide better quality and relevance in research

• Increase the innovation capacity in companies and research institutions • Improve access to the latest research infrastructure. ROLE AND ACTIVITIES The Agency performs tasks relating to research and innovation policy and provides secretariat services to and supervises the scientific research councils. The councils allocate funds for independent research, strategic research and innovation and advise the political system. The Agency works across four main areas: • Policy development • Statistics and analyses • Implementation of funds to research, technology development and innovation • Guidance and communication.

–– Triple helix approach – government, industry and research organisations work together to shape initiatives –– The Research Institutes put forward proposals –– Public consultations –– Industry feedback is used to reshape the proposals –– Proposals are submitted to government and generally approved due to the process • The Research Institutes get 10% of their revenue from the government, usually on a 3-year contract. Government invests in their continued capability and capacity to serve the needs of the industry. This model, where the Institutes need to secure 90% of their revenue from industry and other sources, ensures the capabilities and services are relevant to industry

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• To assist researchers with the translation of science for industry benefit, there is program that assists PhD students to pitch to journalists on TV. This has been an effective way to disseminate results and improve the skills of the PhD graduates • Universities have Technology Transfer offices to help commercialise IP

• Currently the Government supports 22 clusters, some of which are cross-sectoral • Clusters receive government funding for four years ($2.4m per cluster) and then need to build a case for further support. Government allows the clusters to self-manage • Cluster activities that government can support include:

• Universities can, but do not have to do contract research

–– Organisational structure (secretariat and staff to run the cluster)

• Blue-sky research is done by universities and funded by government. They do not do any foresight work.

–– Matchmaking activities (e.g. conferences where they do speed dating)

CLUSTERS • Government also invests in clusters, which provide a valuable channel for people to network and they connect industry with researchers to collaborate on joint initiatives relevant to industry

–– Small projects which are run as pilots and have the possibility to grow into bigger projects –– International activities (e.g. matchmaking and project work).

• Some clusters form naturally and others are created by government • Platforms are created for groups to meet and identify new technical areas for development, which can result in the formation of new clusters • There are open calls for EOI to create new clusters, which are selected based on: –– Best team composition –– Dedication of team in driving the cluster –– Quality of the proposal –– Degree of industry involvement

The impacts of cluster policy in Denmark

- An impact study on behaviour and economical effects of Innovation Network Denmark

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4.7 CLUSTER EXCELLENCE DENMARK Merete Daniel Nielsen, Director www.clusterexcellencedenmark.dk HISTORY AND STRUCTURE

INSIGHTS AND OBSERVATIONS

Cluster Excellence Denmark is the national support function for clusters in Denmark and aims to help Danish cluster secretariats perform even better by providing a number of services for the clusters to stimulate and ensure optimum working conditions. The initiative is co-funded by the Danish Agency for Science, Technology and Innovation and the six Danish regions.

• Denmark has had a 25-year journey of small and regional clusters, which has resulted in a larger national cluster approach to improve coordination for all the 50 clusters across the industry

VISION AND MISSION The key priority of Cluster Excellence Denmark is to support the Danish clusters and cluster managements. ROLE AND ACTIVITIES In close collaboration with the Enterprise Europe Network, Cluster Excellence Denmark helps clusters and networks to find relevant international contacts and partners, facilitates matchmaking events, arranges business and export promotion trips and more. Specific functions and activities include: • Daily contact and feedback to cluster managements • Stimulating cross-cluster knowledge and experience exchange • Thematic workshops on themes like internationalisation, branding and matchmaking tools • Cluster Labs for development of new tools of general interest for the clusters • Master Classes with international capacities for strategic development • Annual Innovation Camp for cluster management • Developing tools for clusters in their internationalisation process • Certified benchmark expert and trained assessors within the European Cluster Excellence Institute (bronze, silver and gold label).

• A mapping system is used to show how companies use Cluster Excellence Denmark and company ABNs are used to map the cluster linkages across the country • The clusters collaborate with around 13,000 companies every year • In 2014, more than 3,100 companies gained new competencies and tools and 1,500 companies developed new products, services or processes as a result of collaborating with Danish clusters • There are five food clusters, including the Danish Food Cluster • New clusters that have formed are mostly driven by SMEs • A cluster needs a minimum of 20 companies to be viable • The government sees clusters as the gateway for internationalisation due to the barriers facing small business to penetrate international markets on their own • The Enterprise Europe Network is a channel used to identify other clusters in the EU who are working on themes of interest to the Danish clusters.

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EUROPEAN CLUSTER EXCELLENCE INITIATIVE (ECEI) ECEI is a certification system developed by the EU on cluster excellence and is used to assess performance. Developed by Germany, this system has over 800 companies and looks at the professionalism, competence, internationalisation etc of a cluster. It does not take into account softer measures such as culture. A full report is provided to the cluster, which shows where the cluster is doing well and areas for improvement. Cluster Excellence Denmark funds 22 clusters to do this survey and others pay for themselves. The costs are: • Bronze €1,000/2 hour interview • Silver €2,700/more involved interview • Gold €6,000/2 day visit and interview.

FRAMEWORK CONDITIONS

CLUSTER ACTORS

CLUSTER MANAGEMENT ORGANIZATION

Fig: The nutshell model of cluster intervention. From: Clusters are Individuals. Creating Economic Grwoth Through Cluster Policies for Cluster Management Excellence.

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4.8 THE INNOVATION NETWORK LIFESTYLE AND DESIGN CLUSTER Henriette Melchiorsen, Project Manager, Circular Economy and Sustainability; Jesper Rasch, Project Manager, Internationalisation www.ldcluster.com HISTORY AND STRUCTURE

ROLE AND ACTIVITIES

Established in 2002, the Innovation Network Lifestyle and Design Cluster works to promote innovation and sustainable growth, primarily in small and medium‑sized interior and clothing companies and the creative industries.

The Lifestyle and Design Cluster supports growth and innovation through development and knowledge sharing, matchmaking, research projects and international cooperation across four focal areas:

The cluster has more than 120 members and some 2,000 companies on their database. Members do not pay a membership fee, but do pay to be involved in cluster projects. Revenue is derived from:

• New Materials

• The Danish Agency for Science, Technology and Innovation: 30% • Regions: 10% • Other sources (e.g. EU): 60%. The Lifestyle and Design Cluster has a Board of Directors and a Secretariat, comprising 11 staff, who are responsible for gathering and disseminating new knowledge and initiating and supporting relevant projects. VISION AND MISSION The goal of the Lifestyle and Design Cluster is to create growth and development through bridge building activities, projects and networks between companies and knowledge, research and educational institutions. They identify needs and initiate appropriate activities to ensure the proper insight into innovative new opportunities for the industries. The vision of the Lifestyle and Design Cluster is to be a catalyst for the Danish interior and clothing industries and ensure they are among the most innovative in the world.

• Innovation and Design • Future Living • Clothing/Fashion. Their activities are targeted at companies, industry organisations and research institutions. Each year, some 800 companies participate in seminars, conferences and short or long-term courses organised by the cluster. The Interior and Clothing industries in Denmark export more than 80% of their turnover, which demands cooperation with international partners in a range of areas including research and development, matchmaking activities, visit programs and conferences. INSIGHTS AND OBSERVATIONS • The cluster takes a Triple Helix approach and is very focused on Design Thinking methodology • The cluster is reviewed every two years and a new strategy developed every four years • The Lifestyle and Design Cluster is a Gold label cluster, based on the EU cluster excellence ranking (ECEI) • In addition to the ECEI assessment, the cluster evaluates additional measures around cluster impact, including:

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–– Number of companies that have introduced innovation into their business –– Number of companies that participate in conferences or workshops –– Number of companies that were involved in developmental projects –– Number of new ideas that resulted from networking, matchmaking etc • The process for identifying cluster projects is: –– Desktop research to identify areas of focus

–– Determine the key critical success factors –– Develop a catalogue of activities, which is put to the members and they provide feedback –– The Danish Agency for Science, Technology and Innovation (DASTI) generally approves the projects due to the extensive industry consultation. • One of the cluster’s projects is design for disassembly, where companies look at setting up businesses with the view that it can be disassembled and reassembled

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4.9 THE FRAUNHOFER-GESELLSCHAFT Dr. Eckart Bierdümpel, Head of Networking and International Business Development www.fraunhofer.de HISTORY AND STRUCTURE Founded in 1949, Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft is the leading organisation for applied research in Europe, employing 24,000 staff who have an annual research budget totaling more than €2 billion. FUNDING MODEL • 1/3 is base funding that has historically been provided by the government. An additional 3-5% is negotiated every 2-5 years. The government does not stipulate how the funds are to be spent • 1/3 comes from the EU or state government to fund public projects that are typically pre-competitive research and usually have a 2-4 year time-scale. This provides a mechanism for effective networking • 1/3 comes from industrial contracts – direct innovation push – for applied projects. The timeframe for these is usually < 2years. Fraunhofer’s research activities are conducted by 67 institutes and research units, located throughout Germany. Each institute has their own profit centres and operates under seven different groups. Food sits under the lifestyle theme, which has 10 institutes. Each institute has a Chair, who has a minor role with Fraunhofer and is positioned within a university. The university pays their salary and they engage in pure research, which enables them to connect with the students and identify students who could potentially do a PhD and/or entrepreneurial, industry-orientated projects. Fraunhofer has a decenteralised organisational structure with connecting line functions. The Senate is comprised of representatives from governement (federal and state) and industry and it determines the organisation’s strategic direction. The Senate appoints the Executive Board, which receives advice from a Scientific and Technical Advisory Board. There

is also an assembly of members (+1000), who are formally invited by the Senate and help to identify areas of focus. VISION AND MISSION Applied research is the foundation of Fraunhofer and they partner with companies to transform original ideas into innovations that benefit society and strengthen both the German and the European economies. Their employees shape the future and great importance is placed on professional and personal development. Fraunhofer’s vision is to be the international leader of applied research. ROLE AND ACTIVITIES Fraunhofer promotes a well-balanced combination of excellent research and application-oriented development. This unique characteristic motivates them to achieve added value for their partners. They cooperate with the world’s best in science and business, which strengthens their own innovative capacity and that of the German and European economies. INSIGHTS AND OBSERVATIONS • Growth comes from the success of their business model • Name of Fraunhofer was chosen because the scientist Joseph von Fraunhofer had the following traits: –– Researcher – discovered the Fraunhofer lines in the solar spectrum –– Inventor – invented new methods for processing high quality lenses –– Entrepreneur – director and partner in a glassworks business to commercialise inventions

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• Fraunhofer use these three traits to recruit people – effectively it is the culture within the organisation: –– They have a high staff turnover (10%) with an expected tenure of 4-5 years for a researcher and longer for administration employees –– They expect people to move on as it provides new talent and expands their networks into industry and academia • Fraunhofer has many alliances with organisations around Germany and the world. These are established in response to requests by the Institutes or external organisations, based on identified gaps or interests (similar to Australia’s Cooperative Research Centres’ projects) • The German research and innovation system has a broad, differentiated structure, and research is conducted in a variety of public and private institutions:

–– At the public level, there are universities, colleges and universities of applied sciences –– In addition to the various academies, foundations, and centers of innovation, there are four research organisations with different profiles that make a significant contribution to Germany’s research and innovation landscape: ƒƒ Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft ƒƒ Max-Plank-Gesellschaft ƒƒ Helmholtz Association ƒƒ Leiniz Association • Whilst the framework for how research is conducted is important, if there is insufficient investment in the people working within the organisation, the task is impossible.

Fraunhofer Institut für Materialfluss und Logistik

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4.10 OOST NV, EAST NETHERLANDS DEVELOPMENT AGENCY Jurgen Sonneborn de Leur, Advisor International Projects AgriFood and Biobased www.oostnv.com HISTORY AND STRUCTURE East Netherlands Development Agency (Oost NV) is a regional business development and investment agency that promotes development in the provinces of Gelderland and Overijssel. The agency works with businesses in those provinces and is commissioned by the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Agriculture and Innovation and the respective provinces. Oost NV has a Supervisory Board and around 100 employees across four departments: • Innovation • Internationalisation • Investments • Infrastructure. VISION AND MISSION Oost NV’s mission is to assist companies in the region’s top sectors to contribute to economic growth and employment opportunities in East Netherlands and address urgent societal challenges. Their vision is that the Netherlands is in the top five of the most competitive economies in the world. ROLE AND ACTIVITIES Oost NV plays an important role in executing the economic policies of the Dutch Government and the provinces and their various city governments. It maintains a wide network with regional, national and international businesses, knowledge institutes, intermediaries and governmental institutions. Specific services that the agency delivers include:

• Consulting on government regulations, taxes, financing and subsidies • Providing access to venture capital. INSIGHTS AND OBSERVATIONS • Holland is the second largest exporter of food in the world (population 17 million) • 10% of GNP is derived from agriculture and Holland is the world’s second largest exporter of agricultural products behind the USA • Wageningen, (in Gelderland) has an agrifood focus and 85% of Dutch innovation happens here • Dutch companies are considerably more efficient than the average company across the EU • Holland has very strong logistics and supply chains across Europe, which is why many companies have a base there • Generating knowledge is critical and highly concentrated, with about 30 research institutes within a radius of 50km • Oost NV shares a common database of companies with the Dutch Government and provinces. Permission is granted as to who can see what • Oost NV activities include: –– Investment ƒƒ Pool of €300 million per annum ƒƒ Invest in new companies – mainly start-ups (like EFIC)

• Finding joint-venture partners

ƒƒ Work a bit like a venture capital company with options for companies to pay back the investment + interest to the agency or take a minority shareholding

• Setting up distribution centers

ƒƒ Minimum of two investors to reduce risk/exposure

• Strategic alliances and technology transfers

ƒƒ Intent is to grow the pool of funds available for start-ups

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–– Innovation fund ƒƒ Small grants up to €75,000, targeted at SMEs ƒƒ All projects are joint initiatives with multiple companies and one of the criteria is that at least two smaller companies partner with a larger company. They found this to be critical to help the smaller companies learn how to access international markets etc ƒƒ Matched contribution from the company can be either cash or in-kind and the percentage varies between 30-75% depending on the project ƒƒ Run innovation programmes that go for a year, where they match scientists with entrepreneurs ƒƒ Take no IP position. IP owned by the company ƒƒ Produce case studies with non-confidential information so they can share the stories with industry.

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4.11 WAGENINGEN UNIVERSITY AND RESEARCH Marjolein van der Glas, Program Manager, Food and Biobased Research www.wageningenur.nl HISTORY AND STRUCTURE

ROLE AND ACTIVITIES

With a history stemming back to 1876, Wageningen University and Research Centre (Wageningen UR) specialises in good and safe food and food production, food security and a healthy living environment. It has a staff of 6,500 and 10,000 students from more than 100 countries.

In addition to training students to be professionals in the areas of ‘healthy food and living environment,’ Wageningen UR is renowned for its fundamental research and has a strong global position as a supplier of application-orientated and field-based research. The university offers 29 Masters programmes and 20 Bachelor programmes.

Wageningen University and Research Centre is made up of Wageningen University and nine research institutes, which are all governed by the same Executive Board. The Supervisory Board is appointed by the Minister of Economic Affairs and acts as the representative of the Minister. It supervises governance and management and the general state of affairs at Wageningen UR and advises the Executive Board. There are five science groups within Wageningen UR, each consisting of a university department and one or more research institutes. VISION AND MISSION Wageningen UR’s mission is to explore the potential of nature to improve the quality of life. Their vision is to find sustainable solutions to the challenges that the world is facing.

Research priority areas are: • Society and well-being • Food, feed and biobased production • Natural resources and living environment. INSIGHTS AND OBSERVATIONS • Wangeningen UR’s strength lies in the bringing together of specialised research institutes and the university • Voted best university in The Netherlands for the 11th consecutive year and 13th best in Europe • More students do the Masters than Bachelor programmes and around 25% are international • Consumer testing – found with 1:1 testing, consumers will notice changes in the food i.e. reduced salt. Group testing gets better results provided the groups are not aware of the changes • Food safety research is directed at the suppliers, which supports industry taking up new concepts.

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4.12 NIZO Ad Juriaanse, General Manager; Nel Zoon, Business Manager, Dairy; Liz Kamei, Vice-President, Business Development Asia Pacific www.nizo.com HISTORY AND STRUCTURE

ROLE AND ACTIVITIES

NIZO was founded in 1948 by Dutch dairy companies on the premise that the many small cooperatives and few larger dairy companies needed to cooperative to maximise the outcomes of investing in science and technology. Due to changes in the Dutch dairy industry, today NIZO is a private company that specialises in R&D in the areas of protein, bacteria and food processing.

As one of the most advanced contract research centres in the world, NIZO provides access to the latest food science and technology, including spray dryers, separation technologies and cheese-making facilities that can be adapted according to clients’ needs. They work with companies on a project basis and also offer a food grade pilot plant and access to an international network of research institutes and universities.

All NIZO’s revenue is generated by R&D and production contracts with industry worldwide. Around 70% of turnover is from outside the Netherlands. Food and ingredients companies account for 60% of the revenue and the remainder comes from the dairy industry globally. NIZO has around 200 employees and a management team that acquired total ownership of the company in 2009. Its headquarters are in Food Valley in Ede, The Netherlands, where there are more than 1,440 agrifood related companies, 70 research companies and 20 research institutes. NIZO also has offices in the USA, UK, France, and Japan.

INSIGHTS AND OBSERVATIONS • NIZO positions itself between universities and the food industry and sees itself as a translator • Reasons why companies use NIZO: –– Independent –– Strong reputation and history to leverage –– Try not to be everything to everybody –– All IP belongs to the company. NIZO will not undertake the research if they cannot find a different way of doing something • NIZO has previously worked on projects with Dairy Innovation Australia.

VISION AND MISSION NIZO’s mission is to accelerate innovation by improving their clients’ products and processes. Their vision is to help create a greater choice of tasty, healthy, sustainable, affordable and safe foods.

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Sustainability

Together to a greener level NIZO food research covers Profit, Planet and People. Together with clients, NIZO can bring the food chain to the next level of sustainability. Improving process efficiency, developing new products or introducing innovative technologies – all are core to NIZO food research. This brings food companies more value for money, reduces raw materials and energy consumption, and contributes to the production of healthier and safer food for a growing population. Last year, Bart Smit was appointed Manager Sustainability at NIZO. He has worked as a fermentation technologist in both academic and industry settings, and is now able to combine his personal passion for sustainability with all the opportunities that the NIZO technologies can bring to this field. Enthusiastically, Smit starts to list all kinds of technologies that can help clients in making their business more sustainable. “I want to show them all the possibilities and provide some inspiration.”

“Underlying each NIZO offer, the basic economic driver is ‘Profit’ for our clients. This applies to both product reformulation and process optimisation. The gain/cost calculation of each project is a standard criterion for success!”

People, Planet, Profit

Quick process scans

Smit refers to the well-known People, Planet and Profit aspects, to explain how NIZO serves the industry. “ ‘People’ covers our projects to develop safer and healthier foods: in our projects we show how diet influences gut microbiota, and subsequently health. But also the development of low-fat, -sugar or -salt alternatives for existing products is high on our priority list. In a rather different dimension of our work, our scientists get the chance to work on challenging projects to feed the world responsibly. Also the fact that we work so closely together with our clients helps them and us to realise their ‘people’ ambitions as it develops skills and responsibility for all involved!” “As for ‘Planet’, NIZO has an impressive track record in optimising raw material use, valorisation of side streams for new applications, water re-use, reduction of energy consumption (e.g. in drying processes) and shelf life extension to reduce waste.”

“Sustainability issues are part of the quick scans we conduct,” continues Smit. “Based on this scan, the company can decide how to combine economy and ecology. Process scans can be used to scan cost reduction opportunities as well as to assess the application potential for new protein sources. NIZO has helped companies to establish a new market by developing products using these proteins.”

Bart Smit, Manager Sustainability

Time-scale reduction A fascinating new development in support of sustainable innovation is miniaturisation. Miniaturised processes are developed e.g. for heating, and for bread and cheese making, but also for wine or yoghurt. This is a unique feature that allows us to screen realistic product and process developments at high speed. With these models innovation time can be greatly reduced. What’s more, raw

material use is reduced dramatically. Sustainability surfaces even in R&D raw material use. “This saves companies the risk of experimenting in the full-scale factory,” Smit continues. By combining process models and testing the outcomes using miniature drying equipment, drying efficiency in many factories has been improved considerably. This is a fine example of the unique ability of NIZO to combine fundamental understanding of the product and the process. An equipment manufacturer may design a fine spray drying tower, but our expertise of the interaction with the product to be dried, can be used in fine-tuning the design. “The result in this particular case may sound trivial,” Smit concedes, “but the energy savings that can be achieved with this process innovation amount to millions of euros.” NIZO has been in the business for 65 years, combining health, safety and process innovations with profitability. The PPP approach will give a new impetus to how we serve the client. “In fact,” Smit concludes, “in each new project, we consider the impact of our solution on the sustainability for our client.”

[email protected]

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4.13 DUTCH POULTRY CENTRE Jan Wolleswinkel, President; Piet Simons, Ambassador www.dutchpoultrycentre.nl HISTORY AND STRUCTURE

ROLE AND ACTIVITIES

The Dutch Poultry Centre (DPC) was born out of a crisis back in 2003 when the Dutch poultry sector was hit by a severe bird flu outbreak. The sector recognised its vulnerabilities and companies came together and formed the DPC.

The DPC believes it is important to share quality knowledge (pre-competitive) and innovation. The services they provide to support this include:

Today, the DPC has 90 member companies and organisations that are specialised suppliers to the global poultry business and represent the whole supply chain from housing and breeding through to services. Around 70% of the Dutch chicken processing industry are members and collectively, DPC members account for €10 billion in turnover.

• Overseeing inbound and outbound missions

DPC members pay a joining fee of €2,000 and annual fees depend on the number of employees within a company: • 250 employees €5,000. VISION AND MISSION The DPC’s objective is to strengthen the international reputation of the Dutch poulty sector, by facilitating cooperation between industry partners and with customers and businesses worldwide.

• Networking events • Coordinating trade shows abroad • Gathering and disseminating relevant knowledge. The DPC undertakes very little research but they keep their members abreast of new technologies. INSIGHTS AND OBSERVATIONS • After the Second World War, there were significant developments in the poultry sector. There is no vertical integration in the sector, but they had 800 extension officers who helped farmers in the 1960s, 70s and 80s and many of these farms specialised and grew into the larger companies that operate in the sector today. Some companies now have 30-40% of the global market • The Dutch poultry industry gets its strength and reputation from its chain-oriented approach • Many international poultry companies are also located in Holland and are members, further encouraging cooperation and innovation. Examples of areas where this has happened are ventilation, laying cages and grading • The Dutch poultry sector has 900 laying hen farms and 600 broiler farms • Preventing the introduction of diseases is the number-one priority for the industry • An avian flu outbreak at a number of farms in 2014, led to the sector recognising that they cannot do everything on their own.

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4.14 VITAGORA Elisabeth Lustrat, Innovation and Scientific Network Manager www.vitagora.com HISTORY AND STRUCTURE

• Kitchen appliances

Vitagora is a leading food cluster based in the French regions of Burgundy and Franche-Comté. Founded in 2005, Vitagora was an initiative of the French Government to assist SMEs, who represent around 90% of the region’s turnover.

• Digital services.

Vitagora has nearly 300 members from across France and abroad, comprising businesses, public and private research organisations and higher education establishments. Around 200 members are companies and 85% of these are SMEs. Members pay an annual fee of €600, which provides access to all Vitagora’s services. Member fees, sponsors (e.g. banks) and partners contribute around 50% towards the cluster’s operating costs. The French Government and the regions account for the other 50% (initially it was 80%), providing €1.3 million per annum. Other revenue is generated through projects. Vitagora is run by a team of 11. VISION AND MISSION Vitagora aims to drive business growth for its members by facilitating the sharing of resources and knowledge and providing tools that support innovation processes. ROLE AND ACTIVITIES

Vitagora’s services include: • Connecting companies • Visiting research centres to identify new opportunities for their members • Market intelligence • Engaging with companies to help develop briefs for their projects. They also do market research and use an external consultancy that interviews ~1000 people to understand consumer behaviour and then produces a report that is sold to members. INSIGHTS AND OBSERVATIONS • The French Government established 70 clusters across a range of subjects where competence and capabilities existed. The government’s strategy is that the clusters are a partnership between industry, research organisations and higher education (Tripartite Model) • Currently there are 10 food clusters, of which Vitagora is one • The clusters are generally located near a university or a public research facility • Government reviews the performance of the clusters and has closed some of them. They assess:

Vitagora provides its members with industry leadership, guidance and support to identify relevant knowledge, partners and business opportunities, both within France and internationally. The themes central to the cluster’s activities are:

–– Involvement of SMEs in projects

• Food and beverage manufacturers

–– Member activity, e.g. companies participating in events, missions etc

• Health and nutrition • Industry for food service

–– Impacts of the innovations in the market – based on turnover –– Whether there has been an increase in employment or jobs preserved

–– Culture, which is measured by the relationships that are developed

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• Government funding of the clusters is performance based and there is a desire to decrease the public funding and increase private income • There is a strong push on the food industry to focus on ageing consumers and their food needs and desires. Subsequently, Vitagora’s strategic focus is consumer wellness and particularly the ageing population using sustainable food systems. This means that food must be: –– “Taste for pleasure” –– Able to preserve health

• IP is shared by all partners in the projects; Vitagora does not get any stake in the IP • Vitagora team members visit all member organisations several times per year to assess their needs and to identify potential collaborations and connections. They also visit universities and researchers to increase their skill base and collect ideas for research • Vitagora is a EU Gold label cluster • The research centres and universities typically work through the clusters to engage with industry.

–– Sustainable across production in the field, manufacturing and in consumers’ homes • Vitagora approaches the French Government to support projects: –– The government calls for applications twice a year –– Projects are generally €1-4 million but occasionally bigger projects up to €20 million are approved

VITANEWS I N T E R N AT I O N A L

• Vitagora defines the scope of projects, identifies partners, manages the IP upfront and sources the finance. Companies then manage and run the projects and Vitagora reviews their performance against defined milestones • The following criteria apply to the projects that Vitagora supports: –– Must involve at least two companies (SME and large) and one research organisation or university –– The cost to companies of being involved in a project depends on their turnover

Member of

F²Cinnovation French Food Cluster

LES PÔLES DE

COMPÉTITIVITÉ

MOTEURS DE CROISSANCE ET D'EMPLOI

–– Research organisations can get 100% of their projects costs matched, while smaller companies can get up to 50% and larger companies up to 20% –– The cluster approaches regional governments for their support during a project’s establishment phase; the French Government like to see regional governments supporting projects as it demonstrates alignment and collaboration

NEWSLETTER FEBRUARY 2015

Focus

Agro-ecology, cutting edge tools and knowledge Pages 8-14 INTERACTIVE SUMMARY Click on the title to go directly to the page...

IN THIS ISSUE Editorial • Agro-ecology: a unique potential united by Vitagora® International • Russia, Japan and South Korea Ecosystem • The “City of Gastronomy”: a showcase for local industry FOCUS - AGRO-ECOLOGY • R&D: Dijon’s Highspeed Phenotyping Platform • R&D: World class research units - UMR Agro-Ecology and LabEx SPS • Projects: Plant proteins pulses in the spotlight Events • Don’t miss our missions and the Forum Vitagora®!

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4.15 RHÔNE-ALPES GOURMAND AND ADERLY/INVEST IN LYON AGENCY Sylvie Portay-Marino, Director General, Rhône-Alpes Gourmand; Frederic Miribel, Global Business Developer, Invest in Lyon www.rhone-alpes-gourmand.fr | www.aderly.com HISTORY AND STRUCTURE

ROLE AND ACTIVITIES

Rhône-Alpes Gourmand is a regional association that undertakes a range of activities to promote and support the growth of the region’s food businesses. The Regional Council established the association to assist SMEs.

Rhône-Alpes Gourmand coordinates the network of clusters and undertakes a range of activities including:

Rhône-Alpes Gourmand’s members are food companies in the region and regional industry players such as local chambers and business organisations. The Regional Council and the national government support its activities.

• Providing innovation support

Aderly is the Lyon Area Economic Development Agency. Created in 1974, it has a team of 30 experts who research, approach, accompany and advise companies as they set-up in the Lyon area. Aderly has around 60 active members. VISION AND MISSION Rhône-Alpes Gourmand aims to develop the region’s food sector by supporting companies to innovate and commercialise new products.

• Promoting the region’s products and producers • Holding events, fairs, shows etc • Coordinating networking events • Up-skilling businesses. INSIGHTS AND OBSERVATIONS • In 2005, the French Government decided to put some governance around cluster operations to ensure they complied with policy and were eligible for funding. The focus today is on ‘field to plate’ • Government funding to larger companies is contingent on them working/collaborating with local, smaller companies • Believe clusters that form naturally must have some regional funding to be able to support the basic operations of the business • A cluster is all about what people bring to the cluster and not what they get out of the cluster • There are many professionals in food craft and creativity industries in the region with 40,000 companies of which 17,000 are craft businesses and 23,000 are restaurants. Some 147,000 people are employed across these industries • Branding –– Use ‘Only in Lyon’ despite different regions falling under Lyon and this branding sits under the national brand ‘Business France’. Both brands are used internationally. It has been a 10-year journey to get to this branding approach

–– Organisations/companies pay a small fee for regional, branded collateral and news bulletins –– Important to identify champions who are credible and will lead the process of building and positioning a brand –– Position: place, product and quality –– Valley of gastronomy – this is what France is known for – 30-40% of a family’s budget is for food and wine

] INVEST IN [BLYON y Aderly Lyon becomes more attractive for international investment

• Wine in Rhône-Alpes – l’oenotheque –– 8,000 wineries –– Produce both red and white wine –– Two certifications: AOC and IGP –– Promote the location and not just the grape, plus the experience of drinking wine and eating good food at restaurants across the region –– Observed more innovation in the region following government grants i.e. went from 100 to 250 applications –– Chambers fund their employees and projects are funded through regions, national government and industry.

The Water Dragon by BIBI - Dubaï Festival of Lights

[Contents] [In]ItIAtIvEs In Lyon Franco-Chinese partnership: Lyon in the spotlight . . . . . 2 ONLYLYON starts a new international campaign. . . . .4 Focus on the Dubaï Festival of Lights. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5 Lyon in robolution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5

BusInEss [story] Aderly’s 2013 results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Business real estate: 2013 recap . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7 They chose Lyon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 ADErLy In ACtI[on] Tertiary sector team strengthens Paris office . . . . . . . . . . 8 Aderly shifts its prospecting towards the concept of . . Smart City . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

The official visit of the Chinese President, Xi Jiping, to Lyon was a significant event for our city. A look at the articles in the Chinese press shows that the reputation of Lyon and the surrounding region reached new heights in the space of just a few hours! The visit was a great success and included stops at the bioMérieux Institute and the Franco-Chinese Institute, where the President was able to have a long chat with the Institute’s longest surviving member, now aged of 99! Some companies from the region were also presented thanks to a joint effort by Aderly and the Lyon Chamber of Commerce and Industry: Serge Ferrari, Gattefossé, Electricfil and Valrhona. No doubt this honour will allow them to boost their development in China and Lyon can also count on attracting new Chinese companies more easily, to add the ones that already have a presence here, for example, Bluestar, NFM, Haier, Yingli, Huawei and Rotam. This will help to consolidate the industrial and technological sectors in the region. The Franco-Chinese Institute will be transformed into a centre to promote relations between Lyon and China, and with the creation of a new club for Chinese and French businesses, the “ONLYLYON China Club”, connections with cities in Canton and Xi’an will be strengthened. The aim is to make Lyon the number one French city for Chinese visitors to Europe! Jacques de Chilly, Executive Director of Aderly

April 2014

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4.16 ORKESTRA – BASQUE INSTITUTE OF COMPETITIVENESS James Wilson, Senior Researcher http://www.orkestra.deusto.es/es/ HISTORY AND STRUCTURE

ROLE AND ACTIVTIES

Orkestra-Basque Institute of Competitiveness is a notfor-profit centre for analysis and debate on territorial competitiveness. An initiative of the University of Deusto, the centre was established in 2006 following a study of clusters, primarily from Spain and some international. It applies Michael Porter’s Diamond model for competitive advantage and does not take a sectoral approach.

Orkestra drives transformative research, working on projects with a large number of networks, corporations, governments and institutions. Whilst most of their work is with public stakeholders, they have a strong focus on the transfer of research from public institutions to industry.

Orkestra receives approximately €3 million in revenue, broken down as follows: • 50% from stakeholders, comprising: –– 35% from regional, provincial and city governments –– 15% from private income i.e. companies • 40% from other research funding sources i.e. the EU • 10% from teaching i.e. they run the MBA and Masters of Competitiveness. Orkestra is governed by a Board of Directors and has an Advisory Board comprised of international experts on regional competiteness. VISION AND MISSION Orkestra strives to be a major player in improving the Basque Country’s sustainable competitiveness and to contribute to the improvement of its citizens’ wellbeing – always within the context of sustainable development. The main objectives are to establish ways to achieve innovative production systems and use other policies and instruments, to improve competitiveness in the region.

Orkestra’s activities include: • Analysing the competitiveness of the Basque economy and society within the changing framework of global economic relationships • Reflecting on the most appropriate ways to achieve a more competitive production system and improve the citizens’ well-being • Assessing the impact of policies, instruments (public and private) and tools that are applied to improve competitiveness • Building and promote appropriate competitive strategies, in conjunction with the socio-economic actors. INSIGHTS AND OBSERVATIONS • How Spain is run from a ministerial and governance level including guiding industry: –– Each region is reasonably autonomous and is left to operate their countries to varying degrees. For example, the Basque Country, with 2.1 million people, collects both income taxes and good and services taxes, whereas Navarra collects their income taxes but not GST –– The National Government is only involved in defence, diplomacy and judiciary matters –– Spain has a very complicated tax system – five levels

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CLUSTERS • 30-year history of clusters, which began when the dictatorship ended. Governments did not have adequate personnel to work in the different regions so they employed industry people. This is one of the success factors for Basque, as they had people driving policy who understood the needs of industry. It also meant a strong link between industry and government • Process for determining priority areas: –– Identified areas of interest through consultation with industry, government (different levels), researchers and the general community. Consulted widely to ensure different viewpoints were captured. Following an extensive process, seven areas were agreed upon:

• The entrepreneurial discovery process is about continually refining the seven areas and then creating the space for industry, research and government stakeholders to see how the technology can create economic benefit and maximise the opportunity for the Basque Country • Measuring the success of the clusters remains a challenge and there is a need to balance hard measures with softer measures such as culture. There can be a lot of assumptions underlying the data • There is a project underway on productivity assessment, where they have established a methodology for measuring the region’s economic performance.

1. Advanced manufacturing

EUROPEAN COMMISSION SMART SPECIALISATION PLATFORM

2. Biosciences and health

www.s3platform.jrc.ec.europa.eu

3. Energy 4. Environmental ecosystems 5. Cultural and creative industries 6. Urban habitats 7. Food • Steering groups were created for each area, comprising government departments, universities/ technical centres and clusters to drive these forward • Thematic working groups were set-up to identify specific problems for the industries and these have resulted in project ideas • The next stage will be to seek funding for projects, which will have to come from other sources as there is insufficient funds in the local pool • Success of clusters is due to: –– Funding is both private and public –– Leaders must want to benefit their business and the region • The next challenge for the clusters is to create an entrepreneurial culture (not government-led) to drive the seven priority areas

Smart specialisation is a place-based approach, meaning that it builds on the assets and resources available to regions and Member States and on their specific socio-economic challenges in order to identify unique opportunities for development and growth. Setting priorities should not be a top-down, picking‑the-winner process. It should be an inclusive process of stakeholders’ involvement centred on “entrepreneurial discovery” that is an interactive process in which market forces and the private sector are discovering and producing information about new activities and the government assesses the outcomes and empowers those actors most capable of realizing this potential.

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4.17 CLUSTER DE ALIMENTACIÓN DE EUSKADI Jon Ander Egana, Director www.clusteralimentacion.com HISTORY AND STRUCTURE Based in Basque Country, Cluster de Alimentación de Euskadi is a not-for-profit food cluster that was established in 2009 to increase the competitiveness of the sector. Basque Country is a small region with a population of around 2.1 million and 1,500 companies, many of which are family owned. There are 10-15 larger companies with more than 100 employees. Cluster de Alimentación de Euskadi has 70 members and the following fee structure: • €1,000 joining fee • 10 employees €1,300 per annum. Members also pay for the cluster’s services. There was strong support from the Basque Country Government for the cluster’s establishment and the cluster is aiming to have 50:50 public to private funding by 2019. Currently it stands at: • 60% from government (two departments: Cluster Policy/Agriculture & Food and Fisheries) • 40% from industry (e.g. sponsorships from banks and involvement in special programmes. VISION AND MISSION Cluster de Alimentación de Euskadi aims to improve the competitiveness of the sector through co-operation. ROLE AND ACTIVITIES Cluster de Alimentación de Euskadi undertakes a range of activities for its members including: • Collaborative projects in response to specific challenges facing the sector • Pilot projects

• Networking events including a major one every year where the members showcase their products to each other and share their stories • Annual newsletters and regular communications. INSIGHTS AND OBSERVATIONS • It takes about 10 years to establish trust amongst cluster members • Strategy is to work with those companies that want to be active participants. Others will come aboard later due to a fear of missing out • The cluster has 10 different groups in areas such as marketing, business processes etc. These groups are an important mechanism to foster and encourage active participation • Communications need to be targeted and members not bombarded with information that is not relevant to their needs • The best way to communicate with cluster members is face-to-face • It is important to create projects that involve people at the same level within an organisation; this is where they see value in actively participating • Pilot Projects: –– Must involve a minimum of six companies that know each other and the MDs must participate –– A topic/area is selected where the companies do not compete and that is of interest to them all –– The companies meet informally to explore the topic, generate ideas etc –– A technical director then becomes involved to share the challenges around quality, production etc –– All members become involved at this stage and the six companies act as champions to drive specific initiatives forward.

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4.18 38TH AGROFOOD SECTOR GROUP MEETING, BARCELONA, SPAIN A series of short presentations were made by the organisations listed below. Following is a snapshot of the organisations and their activities and insights. ACCIÓ – CATALONIA TRADE AND INVESTMENT Judit Hidalgo, Director, Trade and Investment; Gemma Brey, Projects Consultant, International Enterprise Europe Network; Cristina Peña, R&D Food and Health and RDi Advisor; Encarnació Aviles, Head of Assessment to Cluster Managers; Mireira Fageda, Project Manager, Tecniospring www.accio.gencat.cat ACCIÓ is the agency set up by the Catalan Government to make Catalan enterprise more competitive throughout the world. It works with export-orientated businesses to drive innovation, internationalisation and attract inward investment and has 36 offices worldwide. ACCIÓ also provides the R&D infrastructure across the region and offers, guidance, support, training and connections. CATALONIA’S FOOD AND DRINK SECTOR • The food and drink sector represents 20% of the Catalan economy and 18% of its workforce

• 1/3 of the Spanish Government’s investment happens in Catalonia • New market trends include snacks, organic and functional foods and food linked to technology, i.e. commerce • Regions are strategically located with good access to markets and Barcelona is a hub to Europe, North Africa and Latin America: –– Roads and ports – integrated –– Reach ~400 million consumers within 48 hours (major markets are France, Italy, Germany and Portugal) –– Biggest food cluster in the EU –– Consolidated and innovative gastronomically (50 Michelin star restaurants) –– Talented and cost effective workforce (labour costs well below rest of Europe) –– Business friendly environment.

• Biggest sectors include: meat – predominately pork (31%), oil/fat (13%), animal feed (12%) and drinks – predominately wine (11%) • There are 10,000 grape growers and 853 wine companies in Catalonia, generating €1.6 billion in revenue • Of the 3,700 companies in the food and drink sector, most are SMEs who benefit from business and R&D support to encourage innovation. Some of the larger companies include Danone, Nestle and Cargill • The sector employs around 76,000 people and has a turnover of €25 billion • From 2006-15 food and drink increased 91% and this was primarily driven by exports, despite unfavourable global market conditions. Around 2,000 or 30% of the food and drink companies export

L-R: Mirjana Prica, Alberto Pezzi, Peter Schutz TCI Network Headquarters – Barcelona, Spain

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CLUSTERS • Catalonia has more than 20 years of experience in cluster policy and currently has 30 clusters in its Cluster Programme, encompassing 1,700 firms and accounting for a turnover of €65 billion. The focus is on having world-class clusters • The Food Cluster has 300 members • Government can support more companies through clusters

TECNIOSPRING PLUS TECNIOspring PLUS is ACCIÓ’s fellowship programme. It provides financial support to individual mobility proposals presented by experienced researchers in liaison with a host organisation. Fellows are offered 2-year employment contracts in order to develop applied research projects. The programme aims to:

• Clusters must have believers, not just members

• Attract highly talented researchers

• Clusters provide the economies of scale as most cluster projects involve a minimum of 10 companies

• Reinforce companies and technological

• Cluster projects must be cross-sectoral to bring different viewpoints and provide the opportunity to fertilise concepts from another discipline

• Provide international experience to researchers

• Process for establishing clusters: –– Strategic analysis to build the base understanding of the challenges and needs of the industry –– Develop an action plan or activities to address these challenges and fill the gaps –– Set-up the cluster association to create the governance around projects etc –– Appoint a MD and Board, comprising companies from the sector. The MD is usually the Chairman of the Board • Personnel: –– T-shaped skills approach – Must have people who are passionate, good project managers, strategic and effective communicators –– Need to continuously invest in cluster managers – send them to visit other clusters around the world to learn and form new relationships. Have been to Israel, Boston, Quebec etc and sending them to Korea next month • Value proposition: –– Provide market intelligence –– Valuable networking i.e. have at least a bi‑monthly networking event –– Opportunity to be involved in transformational projects.

centres capabilities • Foster collaborations with international entities.

With a budget of €10 million and co-financed by the H2020 Marie Skłodowska-Curie actions of the European Union, TECNIOspring PLUS is seeking to award 72 fellowships between 2016-2021.

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SUPPLIER SEARCH SERVICE

Current areas of focus include:

Ava Aumedes, Supplier Search Service Consultant

• Sensors for plant installations

Established in December 2015, this is a free service to help companies to connect with the right companies both locally and abroad, with the aim of assisting them to be more innovative, internationalise and attract foreign direct investment.

• Smartfoods – new ingredients and products to meet health/nutritional requirements

The service focuses on companies that are: • Established in Catalonia • Considering investment • Seeking suppliers • Manufacturing partners. When companies contact Supplier Search Service, there is a five-step process: 1. Company request 2. Market research 3. Report 4. Company feedback 5. Connection. ORDESA LAB Jose A Moreno, Scientific Research Manager www.ordesa.es Ordesa Lab is a privately run laboratory that works extensively with the industry and is located in Science Park in Barcelona. The Lab has a turnover of €120 million. Their primary research areas are with populations with specific nutritional needs i.e. infants, women and children. They are diversifying into Sens Nutrition, innovative nutritional products for farm animals and pets. Ordesa Lab focuses on applied research and formulation work and conducts clinical trials. Their facilities include cereal and dairy processing equipment.

• Dynahealth – diabetes health related projects • Agro-food connect EU Group – promote the EU activities to the food and agribusiness industry across Catalonia. AINS – NUTRITION AND HEALTH CLUSTER, Margarida Colet, Cluster Manager www.ainscluster.cat AINS, the Cluster of Nutrition and Health, was created in 2010 to contribute to innovation within the Spanish food sector in the field of healthy and functional foods, and increase its competitiveness through shared strategies that generate knowledge and innovation flows. It currently has 34 members that include pharma, processors, nutritional research centres and universities. There is no joining fee and annual fees are based on turnover: • €900 < €1M • €1,200 < €1-50M • €1,500 < €50M The Government of Catalonia provides training support, meeting rooms etc but does not fund the cluster’s operations. It has an annual programme of activities that cluster managers can attend. • Clusters are not lobby groups • Need more world leading clusters rather than having more clusters • A way to engage larger MNEs is to run pilots with smaller companies where the smaller companies can test packaging for the larger company. Treat it as a small test market.

For further information on this report please contact FIAL [email protected] www.fial.com.au