Balancing Bottom-up and Top-downCluster Activities –

The Case of North-Rhine-WestphaliaDieter Rehfeld

Institute for Work and Technology, Gelsenkirchen

13th TCI Global Competitiveness

ConferenceMDI/Gurgaon

Nov. 29 - Dec03 2010

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NRW – located in the core of Europe

Stockholm

Tallinn

Riga

Vilnius

Moscow

Warsaw

Budapest

Bratislava

Vienna

Ljubljana

Rome

Valletta

Athens

Nicosia

Madrid

Lisbon

Paris

LondonAmsterdam

Brussels

Copenhagen

Prague

Berlin

Dsseldorf

Frankfurt

Munich

Hamburg

Dublin

Bucharest

Istanbul

Bern

OsloHelsinki

Sofia

Kiev

Minsk

Zagreb

SkopjeTirana

Sarajewo Belgrade

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North Rhine-Westphalia – in brief

Total Percentage of German total

Surface area 34,088 sq.km 9.5%

Population 17.9 mill. 21.8%

Population density

526 inhabitants per sq.km

Gainfully employed 8,7 mill. 21.5%

Gross domestic product 521.7 bn EUR 21.7%

GDP per capita 29,160 EUR

Private consumption* 323.8 bn EUR 23.0%

Exports 138.6 bn EUR 17.1%

Imports 147.8 bn EUR 21.9%

Foreign direct investment** 187.7 bn EUR 28.7%

* 2008

** end of 2008; all other data 2009.

Australi

a

Mexico

Rep. o

f Korea

Netherl

ands

NRW (D)

Turkey

Indonesia

Switzerl

and

Belgium

Poland

Sweden

Austria

Norway

Saudi A

rabia

663627

597568

522

442387

359 336308 291 276 274 265

Gross domestic product 2009 (in EUR bn)

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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

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Steps in NRW’s Cluster Policy

Early 1990ies Initiative to support automotive suppliers

Mid 1990ies combining regional and sector activities (36 projects)

End 1990ies selected best practice (Dortmund-Project, ChemSite)

Early 2000s 12 fields of competence in the Ruhr Area

Mid 2000s 16 NRW-wide cluster initiatives

2010 ???

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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

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Regional clusters and networks in NRW 1

8

Regional clusters and networks in NRW 2

9

Clusters in NRW

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Balancing dilemmas in cluster management

Strong Commitment (SME)

Dense InteractionPragmatic spaces

Policy driven commitment

Thematic interaction (project based)

Administrative space

Limited ResourcesDanger of lock-in

„clustering around „

Strong resourcesCross-cluster potentials

Professional management

Different modes of division of

labor

Institutional innovationExcellent networks

Global nodsBranding

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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

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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)

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Key actors in cluster management

Consortia of regional clusters

Business associations (sectoral)

Former state initiatives

Consultancies

Research institutes

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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?

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Q&A?

Thank you for your attention!