EXPERTISE AND NETWORKS
AFPC - Europe Commission
The cluster aims to support its members in their European development strategies. We belong to the alliance of French competitiveness clusters (AFPC), in particular its ‘Europe Commission’. It is now widely acknowledged that these high-level French hubs perform very well in the European calls for projects dedicated to clusters. The country’s clusters also provide significant support for French participants in European projects. This enables them to establish new partnerships and access European funding and markets.
Clusters are a key factor for industries across Europe. They play an essential role in:
- Supporting collaboration between companies, especially SMEs, and building bridges between different ecosystems in Europe
- Helping SMEs to adjust to and share in innovation, internationalisation and growth
- Building international partnerships to help SMEs access global value chains
- Acting as vectors of change in the digital and green transformations
The EU’s industrial policy identifies clusters as powerful drivers of economic development that support industrial innovation on the ground. The EU has also emphasised the importance of clusters, highlighting them in its communications on smart specialisation in 2017 and on the start-ups and scale-ups initiative in 2016.
NOE Bretagne
The NOE Bretagne network brings together operators from Brittany working on innovation and research projects. Its members aim to help and encourage the region’s research units and companies to access European finance, especially in the context of Horizon Europe – the EU’s funding programme for research and innovation. The NOE Bretagne network is supervised by the region, and operated jointly by Bretagne Développement Innovation (BDI), European Project Platform (2PE Brittany) and Brittany’s Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCI) – both the CCI and BDI are members of EEN Ouest.
PMBA is an active participant in the NOE network; its members benefit from:
- Working groups
- Information sessions on the Smart Specialisation Strategy (S3) approach
- Operational support sessions on responding to European calls for projects
Hub Europe
Hub Europe connects stakeholders from the Loire region’s research and innovation networks with the aim of sharing information and best practice on European matters. Ultimately, this will improve the region’s ability to take advantage of partnership and funding opportunities offered by the EU. Hub Europe is a joint project by the Pays de la Loire region’s European policy directorate, its Brussels office and Solutions&Co.
PMBA is an active participant in Hub Europe; its members benefit from:
- Working groups that strengthen mechanisms for pooling the Hub’s resources and expertise, create synergies and encourage joint projects
- Joint awareness-raising campaigns among Loire regional stakeholders, together with support in promoting projects to raise further funds from EU industry programmes, its interregional ‘Interreg’ programme and the European Structural and Investment Funds.
ECCP
Since 2015, the European Cluster Collaboration Platform has enabled industrial clusters to come together and strengthen the European economy through collaboration. Ultimately, the Platform seeks to strengthen the competitiveness and sustainability of Europe’s economy and industry, particularly SMEs, by improving their performance in terms of productivity, innovation, internationalisation and resource efficiency. ECCP is building on the firm foundations it has already established by merging with the European Observatory for Clusters and Industrial Change (OECIC) and the European Resource Efficiency Knowledge Centre (EREK).
PMBA is an active participant in the platform; its members benefit from:
- Use of networking tools (search and find potential partners and collaboration opportunities)
- Collaborations developed trans-nationally (within Europe) and internationally (beyond Europe)
- Support in eliciting new value chains through cooperation across sectors and industries
- Improved performance and competitiveness, for both the cluster and individual members
- Greater knowledge and capacity in relation to industrial ecosystems and cluster development at European level.
EEN
The Enterprise Europe Network (EEN) helps businesses to innovate and develop internationally. This is the world’s largest support network for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with international ambitions. The Network is active worldwide. It brings together experts from member organisations known for their excellent business support.
PMBA’s participation means its members benefit from campaigns EEN has developed. They can also enjoy introductions to experts from different countries and markets and to potential academic and industry partners across Europe.
PMBA EXPERT CONTRIBUTES TO DG MARE
Pôle Mer Bretagne Atlantique’s Director Philippe Monbet was selected by the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries (DG MARE) to assess proposed calls for projects. This means the Commission can benefit from his vision and experience, and he also represents the interests of cluster members to the European institutions.
Don’t hesitate to contact our team on europe@polemer-ba.com for more information about all these networks and the potential Europe-wide synergies that could benefit your business.