1. Balancing Bottom-up and Top-down Cluster Activities – The Case of North-Rhine-Westphalia Dieter Rehfeld Institute for Work and Technology, Gelsenkirchen 13th TCI Global Competitiveness Conference MDI/Gurgaon Nov. 29 - Dec03 2010

2. 2 NRW – located in the core of Europe Stockholm Tallinn Riga Vilnius Moscow Warsaw Budapest Bratislava Vienna Ljubljana Rome Valletta Athens Nicosia Madrid Lisbon Paris London Amsterdam Brussels Copenhagen Prague Berlin Dsseldorf Frankfurt Munich Hamburg Dublin Bucharest Istanbul Bern Oslo Helsinki Sofia Kiev Minsk Zagreb Skopje Tirana Sarajewo Belgrade

3. 3 North Rhine-Westphalia – in brief Total Percentage of German total Surface area34,088 sq.km9.5% Population17.9 mill.21.8% Population density 526 inhabitants per sq.km Gainfully employed 8,7 mill.21.5% Gross domestic product 521.7 bn EUR21.7% GDP per capita29,160 EUR Private consumption* 323.8 bn EUR23.0% Exports138.6 bn EUR17.1% Imports147.8 bn EUR21.9% Foreign direct investment** 187.7 bn EUR28.7% * 2008 ** end of 2008; all other data 2009. Gross domestic product 2009 (in EUR bn)

4. 4 Three sub regions in NRW  Rhine Axis (Bonn, Düsseldorf, Cologne, Aachen) Technology, Knowledge Based Services, Creative Industries Industrial Brands: Ford Germany, Bayer  Ruhr Area (Essen, Dortmund, Bochum, Duisburg) Ongoing structural change, new industries (Logistics, ITC, Health Care) and renewed strength (New Materials and Nano Technology)  Industrial Brands: Krupp Thyssen, Evonic (former Degussa)  Westphalia (Münster, Bielefeld, Siegen) Strong industrial base, rising technology intensity, SME and family company driven  Industrial Brands: Miele, Dr. Oetker, Claas, Wincor Nixdorf

5. 5 Steps in NRW’s Cluster Policy  Early 1990iesInitiative to support automotive suppliers  Mid 1990iescombining regional and sector activities (36 projects)  End 1990iesselected best practice (Dortmund-Project, ChemSite)  Early 2000s12 fields of competence in the Ruhr Area  Mid 2000s 16 NRW-wide cluster initiatives  2010???

6. 6 Situation Early 2000s  More than 50 NRW-wide initiatives (sector and/or technology)  More than 50 regional/local clusters or networks  Special approach in the Ruhr area: 12 fields of competence  Result in fragmented networks resp. clusters that are:  In a very different state of professionalization  Highly overlapping and partially competing  Regional and sector highly specialized

7. 7 Regional clusters and networks in NRW 1

8. 8 Regional clusters and networks in NRW 2

9. 9 Clusters in NRW

10. 10 Balancing dilemmas in cluster management Strong Commitment (SME) Dense Interaction Pragmatic spaces Strong Commitment (SME) Dense Interaction Pragmatic spaces Policy driven commitment Thematic interaction (project based) Administrative space Policy driven commitment Thematic interaction (project based) Administrative space Limited Resources Danger of lock-in „clustering around „ Limited Resources Danger of lock-in „clustering around „ Strong resources Cross-cluster potentials Professional management Strong resources Cross-cluster potentials Professional management Different modes of division of labor Institutional innovation Excellent networks Global nods Branding Institutional innovation Excellent networks Global nods Branding

11. 11 Division of labor between regional networks and centralized cluster Type one: Back-office  Companies are organized in strong regional networks  Each region has a thematic profile  Cluster helps in capacity building, marketing, scouting/technology foresight and so on regional clusters are present in the strategic boards of the clusters Type two: Association  Cluster integrates the activities of regional networks, thematic networks and sector associations  Thematic promotion, coordination and lobbying Type three: Promoter of strategic projects  Regional networks are weak and heterogeneous  Cluster organises thematic networks and lead projects Type four: Triple Helix  Cluster focuses on linking research, companies and politics  Driven by technology and research projects

12. 12 Mix of sources for financing central clusters  Direct fees by companies  Indirect support by companies (sponsoring, free services, donating)  Fees by regional networks and associations  Companies pay for specific services (Fairs, conferences, information, support)  Network and research projects  Public support (collective goods, support for administration)

13. 13 Key actors in cluster management  Consortia of regional clusters  Business associations (sectoral)  Former state initiatives  Consultancies  Research institutes

14. 14 Future of cluster policy in NRW – Facing insecurity  Different approaches and common quality standards?  Long-standing political commitment?  New initiatives by European policy?  Lead markets  Social innovation  Integrative, sustainable and intelligent growth  Evaluation and reorientation?  Institutional modernization?  Innovative spaces?

15. 15 Q&A? Thank you for your attention!