THE ROLE AND FUNCTIONS OF BIOCLUSTERS IN THE TRANSITION TO A BIOECONOMY 20th ICABR Conference, Ravello June , 2016 Frans Hermans

2 Clusters and economic agglomerations Variety of activities Specialisation of activities Efficiency & flexibility Cities Industrial districts Innovation Creative regions Clusters (S ö lvell, 2008: p. 11)

3 Bioclusters: sectors and cluster organisations Sectors Primary biomass Food and feed Construction Chemicals and polymers Pulp and paper Pharmaceuticals Textile and clothing Energy R&D services (Sölvell 2008)

4 Transitions and the challenge of the bioeconomy Fossil resource intensity Industrial chemical production Mobility Horse to car Energy transition: biobased to fossil fuels Agriculture and artificial fertilizers time New energy transition: from fossil to renewable and bio-based (Loorbach 2014)

5 Transition Theory Fundamental changes in society’s structure, culture and practices Transition theory stresses: 1)Element of sustainable development 2)Radical change in terms of scope of innovation 3)Co-evolution of innovations and social environment 4)Social learning and experimentation in multi- disciplinary innovation coalitions (niches) 5)Long-term processes (decades)

6 Research frameworks for transitions Multi-level perspectiveNational, Technical and Sectoral Systems of Innovation

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8 Structural components of innovation systems Universities & research institutes Extension (public) Education Government Consultancy and advice (private) Agro-industry NGOs Infrastructure Legislation Values, norms and culture Networks and interactions Capabilities Market structures

9 Functions of Innovation Systems Bergek et al. 2008

10 Combining cluster theory and in transition theory: a research agenda Co-evolution of innovations and institutions More attention to radical innovations – From “fit and conform” to “stretch and transform” More attention for power and politics inclusters – Analysis of narratives, images, discourses, myths and hypes

11 Human agency and cross scale interactions Identification of boundaries From micro level interactions to societal impact Impact of higher levels and scales on cluster development (and vice versa) Global National Regional Lobbying Knowledge creation Innovation brokering Cluster Combining cluster theory and in transition theory: a research agenda

12 Research challenges: regional contexts and cluster evolution Cluster life cycles and path development Processes of adaptation, renewal and transformation CharacteristicsTypical development patterns Thick and diversified RIS Heterogeneous (but related) industries and knowledge bases Path renewal and path creation Thick and specialised RIS Narrow industrial base; specialised knowledge and support Path renewal, path extension and path exhaustion Thin RISWeak developed clusters, poor endowment with knowledge and support organisations Path exhaustion

13 TRAFOBIT: the role and function of bioclusters in transitions Junior research group / “Nachwuchsgruppe“ at IAMO – Funded by the German Ministry of Education and Science (BMBF) – Running period 5 years (starts July 1st) – Study bioclusters in Germany, Bulgaria, France, Sweden and The Netherlands First PhD position is now open! Or: Frans Hermans: Thank you for your attention