Cluster research in Norwegian regions

Dr. Anne Katrine NormannResearch Council of Norway

akno@rcn.no

TCI Conference Delhi 29.11.-3.12.2010

Department for Regional R&D

NORWAY- 4.8 million people

- 385,199 km2

- GDP: $ 450 billions

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- Constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary system

- 19 administrative regions (counties)

- 430 municipalities

- Relatively equal living conditions

- Decentralised settlement pattern

Programme for Regional R&D and Innovation

VRI Finnmark

VRI Hordaland

VRI Møre og Romsdal

VRI Rogaland

VRI Agder

VRI Hedmark/Oppland

VRI Vestfold

VRI Østfold

VRI Sogn og Fjordane

VRI Trøndelag

VRI Nordland

VRI Troms

VRI Telemark

VRI Buskerud VRI Oslo/Akershus

15 regional projects

Prioritised areasFood

MaritimeMarineCulture

TourismEnergy

More info: www.forskningsradet.no/vri

Each region

Interaction instruments

Innovation research

BusinessRegional partners

R&D

Programme for Regional R&D and Innovation

VRI Finnmark

VRI Hordaland

VRI Møre og Romsdal

VRI Rogaland

VRI Agder

VRI Hedmark/Oppland

VRI Vestfold

VRI Østfold

VRI Sogn og Fjordane

VRI Trøndelag

VRI Nordland

VRI Troms

VRI Telemark

VRI Buskerud VRI Oslo/Akershus

Case: The Norwegian Water Clusterwww.vannklyngen.no

20 firms in Vestfold county, 100 km SW of Oslo Largest concentration of water treatment technology industry

in Norway

Many new firms established during the last 10 years

Small- and medium sized, non-hierarchical

500 workplaces

Highly educated staff – technical engineering dominated culture

Knowledge intensive

Total turnover 200 million USD

Customers: cruise ships, sewer plants, construction firms, relief organisations

Network formally established in 2007

The Norwegian Water Cluster

Significant growth potential of clean water industry

Main challenge of cluster companies: To improve the innovative capacity and to win larger and more challenging customer projects

Companies saw the benefits of becoming an innovative cluster

Started out with a «clusterish» name – long before it actually was a cluster

Then began the process towards becoming a cluster

Creating relationships and trust is essential for clustering

Norwegian Water Cluster

Academic interest: Can networks be developed through planned intervention from the outside?

Can researchers contribute?

Social scientists engaged as process leaders

From slow start to being much in demand – now function as gate openers

Choosing method

The industrial context must be considered

Small, busy, non-hierarchical, dominated by highly educated engineers

Strong collaborative processes between managers and employees already exist

Most participants are strangers to each other

They are also short of time to spend on such processes!

The process should

Contribute to building relationships and trust

Be strictly structured

Be swift and efficient – ½ day at the most!

Network IGP methodIndividual, Group and Plenary reflections

Combination of individual and collective reflection

Cross-organisation groups 3-6 members

Initiate collaboration by low-risk activities Sharing safe information

Value of face-to-face contact

Given problem

Individual reflection

Facilitate group reflection – talking rounds

Short presentations in plenary

Cluster / Group activities

Cluster meetings

Team meetings

ManTek – recruitment and competence development

Internationalisation – marketing and R&D

Product innovation

Board meetings

Study trips

Preparation R&D projects

Active web-site

Phases in developing the network

2007-I: Mapping and mobilising stakeholders

2007-II: Plenary dialogues and inter-organisation relationship building

2008-I: Team establishment, team-based dialogues, learning and joint action

Two teams established

2008-II: Interaction between team level and inter-organisation level

Results after one year

Frequency of contact increased by 30 per cent

Perception of closeness up 29 per cent

Increased know-who competence

18 firms wanted to share personnel and knowledge with other cluster firms

Joint campaign for recruiting personnel

Joint exhibition stand

Customer cooperation

Several joint technology development projects, also among competitors

More recent results

Innovation in terms of new products and work methods

8 preliminary collaborative projects, of which two have been initiated by researchers (micro-technology)

Several companies collaborate on R&D projects

Recruitment efforts

May 2010: Merged with another network of companies - Clean Water Norway – now 30 companies

High level of activities initiated by the companies

After 3,5 years the participants are dedicated to the development – high spirits!

Role of social scientists – persistent in use of process method – develop it further

References Gausdal, A.H. and J.M. Hildrum, 2008. Developing learning networks through

dialogue processes – the case of the Norwegian Water Cluster. NEON conference in Tromsø, Norway, November

Gausdal, A.H. 2010. VRI Vestfold. Presentasjon til Programstyret 25.5.10

Gausdal, A.H. 2008. Hvordan skape innovative nettverk? (How to create innovative networks?). Magma, oktober 2008

www.vannklyngen.no

www.forskningsradet.no/vri